Students who sat GCSE Mathematics 1380 3H and 4H this month may have noticed that both papers contained the question, "Factorise p2 – 6p+8”. This appeared in both 1380 3H question 15b and 1380 4H question 8e.

Please be assured that we have plans in place for ensuring that no student is either advantaged or disadvantaged by this duplication. Our senior examiners are aware of the issue and will be applying the same mark scheme to both questions consistently.

In addition, we will consider whether the duplication will have affected student performance before we award the grade boundaries for the qualification. Using data from our online marking system, we will be able to compare student performance on both questions. This will show us how student performance has been affected, so that we can take appropriate action when grading the papers.

If necessary, an adjustment will be made to the grades of individual candidates based on this detailed analysis.

We hope that this reassures you. We’ll continue to keep you fully informed of any action we take, but if you have any further questions in the meantime, you can email us at gcsemathematics@pearson.com.

 Letter to centres - GCSE Mathematics papers 1380/3H and 1380/4H