Welcome to our Autumn 2025 newsletter

We hope the new term has started well for everyone. At this busy time, we want to offer some important reminders and updates to support you throughout the new school year.

We’re looking forward to working with you over the year ahead and receiving the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment review when it’s published. In this email you’ll find all the information to get you started this term.

If any members of your team would like to receive subject-specific updates, they can easily sign up for AQA subject updates, so they’re always informed and part of our community.

Rebecca Crumpton
Subject Lead for Business, Economics and Accounting

Sign up to myAQA to get quick access to resources, CPD training and events, Data Insights (our results analysis tool) and much more this autumn term. Make sure you’ve filled in your myAQA profile including your role and subject specialism so we can instantly start connecting you with the tools, training and resources most relevant to you.

Once you’re logged into your myAQA account, you can also access Centre Services.

Curriculum Connect: Exploring summer 2025

This online event is focused on a review of the 2025 summer exam series, highlighting key performance trends, common challenges, and implications for teaching and curriculum planning. Designed for educators and subject leaders, the session provides evidence-based insights to support strategic preparation for the year ahead. Book your place now on our website:

• A-level Accounting: Exploring Summer 2025 – 9 October 4.00pm – 5.00pm

Whether it’s schemes of work, community links or teaching guides, we’ve got what you need.

• Updated scheme of work
• Teaching guide: financial statements (including editable templates for use in lessons)
• Answers and commentary booklets

To find more resources, visit the plan, teach and assess tabs on our accounting subject pages. More resources are also available on our Centre Services secure web page.

Free@3

We’re delighted to extend our popular ‘Free@3’ appointments, following the success of last term’s trial. These 20-minute sessions gave us the chance to speak with many of you – mainly about resources, exams and qualifications and we’re keen to keep those conversations going.

If there’s something you’d like to discuss, we’d love to hear from you. Just get in touch using the Free@3 link to book your slot in mySupport – available between 3.00pm - 5.00pm, every Wednesday.

Post-results services

Log into myAQA for post-results services to find information and deadlines and our easy summary guide.

Join a free CPD session in the autumn term, alongside our accounting experts and fellow teachers and discover the latest news, resources and support available to you. We’ll focus on topics that support you in the autumn term and beyond, keeping you well-connected and inspired to do what you do best.

Live CPD:

• Preparing for 2026 (Paper 1 and 2)

On-demand and eLearning modules:

• Mark scheme guidance and application
• Getting started
• Data Insights: Getting the most from your results

Data Insights on Centre Services – see how your school, subject, class and individual students have performed and dig deeper into your students’ results.

Find summer 2025 question papers, mark schemes, and examiners’ reports, all in one place on Centre Services. See what is available and when.

You can find each of the grade boundaries on our website and the overall results statistics with cumulative pass rates for the whole AQA cohort.

The use of AI within assessments

JCQ’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use in Assessments: Protecting the Integrity of Qualifications document provides teachers/assessors involved in delivering JCQ qualifications with the information they need to manage use of AI in assessments. All relevant staff need to be aware of and familiarise themselves with the new guidance and instructions. If AI misuse is detected or suspected by your school or college, and the declaration of authentication has been signed, the case must be reported.

Remember, if you have any learners who use a word processor, it must have all internet connectivity disabled. This is to help prevent, among other things, the potential misuse of AI in exams.

Using AQA resources for AI tools

AQA does not allow anybody (including schools and colleges) to use any AQA materials to train Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered tools or technologies. This includes question papers, specifications, mark schemes, reports, teaching resources and other such materials. While we understand how useful these tools are, putting any AQA material into an AI tool would be in breach of copyright law, and AQA policy.

Centre visits

Last year, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting our AQA schools and colleges. By joining teachers and students in the classroom, this was an opportunity to see our specification in action and listen to your thoughts about our specification content and assessment. As we look to the future, this valuable insight will help shape our future Accounting specifications and assessments. If you’d welcome a visit at your school or college, please get in touch with us at accounting@aqa.org.uk.

Student Advisory Group – recruitment for 2025/26

We’re looking for learners to join our Student Advisory Group to help us make key decisions about the future of exams. We’d love to hear from learners who’ve completed AQA specification GCSEs since 2024, as well as from those taking AQA AS and A-levels. We also really want to hear from students taking our vocational qualifications, or vocational qualifications with any other exam board, as long as they have sat at least one AQA qualification.

Since the Student Advisory group began they’ve; represented the student voice each year at the Parliamentary Youth Reception, shared their views at the Curriculum and Assessment Youth Shadow Panel, fed into our Curriculum and Assessment call for evidence response, given insights on AI in the Classroom at the 2025 Festival of Education, helped with reviewing books for our English literature set texts list, and much more.

So if you know any learners who you think would be interested, please pass this on. Full details of the role and how to apply can be found on our website. Applications open on Monday 8 September and close at 5.00pm on Monday 22 September 2025.

Apply to become an AQA examiner

Enhance your teaching career while shaping learners' futures. Become an AQA examiner and gain unique insights into assessments, boost your professional growth, and earn extra income, all while making a real impact.

Becoming an examiner can be a valuable experience for you as a teacher and also your school/college. Our vacancies are open, and you can apply on our website.