External Assessments / Secure Tests / Preparatory Materials for Vocational Qualifications

You can access question papers through the BTEC assessment download web page. You will need to log in with your Edexcel Online username and password. This is only available to Exams Officers and Exams Office staff.

This tool has been designed for you to use when you need to print a question paper on coloured paper or if, for some reason, you don't have access to hard-copy papers. You can download the question paper and then print it in centre.

Question papers will be uploaded to the BTEC assessment download webpage, protected by a gold padlock. This means that only Exams Officers and Exams staff can access these. Exams Officers and Exams staff are also required to have the Secure Download Service (SDS) profile added to their account to access the materials.

If you are a teacher, you will need to contact your Exams Officer. 

You'll have access to download question papers for two hours, starting 60 minutes before the exam start time. This means for morning exams, 8:00 am–9:30 am, and afternoon exams, 12:30 pm–2:00 pm. Printed tasks with a one-day window can be downloaded from 8:00 am–11:59 pm.

Please check that you are using the correct Edexcel Online username and password. You can reset your password from the login screen of Edexcel Online. You will only be able to access question papers in this way if you have made entries for the assessment you are attempting to download. If you've made late entries, they can take up to 24 hours to clear.

If you have made a very late entry, please contact us, and we can provide the question paper through secure file transfer.

The integrity and security of the electronic question paper must be maintained during the downloading, printing and collating process. Detailed guidance on handling electronic copies of question papers can be found on the JCQ website.

Key points from the 'Instructions for the Conduct of the Examination' document are summarised below:

• Electronic question paper materials must only be handled by members of staff authorised to do so by the head of centre. There should be at least two members of authorised staff and no more than six.
• With the introduction of MFA to EOL, all centres can only have one user per Edexcel Online account; hence, with additional security measures Pearson has in place, it will supersede JCQ ICE regulation 4.4, which states, "Email accounts used for secure material access must belong to named individuals or be a group email account accessed solely by individuals authorised by the head of centre to handle secure materials."
• Files must only be accessed by the named individual(s) to whom they have been sent. Emails or links to secure materials must never be forwarded or shared.
• The file must be stored locally only for printing and must then be deleted immediately. The file must then be deleted from the deleted items folder.
• Once printed, question papers must be sealed within a non-transparent envelope marked clearly with the exam details on the outside of the envelope. The envelope must be stored securely, ready for transfer to the examination room at the appropriate time, in line with the requirements for printed question papers supplied by us.

This is available for all BTEC and T Level assessment materials where you receive a physical dispatch to your centre. This does not cover BTEC Tech Award 2022 timetabled/General Qualification timetables question papers. Any material which has previously been accessed as a digital download only will remain on the secure tests web page.