Edexcel is a London-based for-profit company and one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards. The others are AQA, OCR, the Welsh Joint Education Committee, and the CCEA. Its name is a portmanteau word derived from the words "educational" and "excellence". Edexcel offers a variety of qualifications, including A-levels (GCEs), GCSEs and the BTEC suite of vocational qualifications. It is an international organisation, awarding over 1.5 million certificates to students around the world every year.[citation needed] It held the responsibility of the marking of the UK National Curriculum assessments until 2008 when ETS Europe was given the contract. Following the 2008 marking debacle, ETS Europe was stripped of its contract and Edexcel were awarded a contract to remark disputed test papers.

Edexcel was formed in 1996 by the merger of two bodies , the BTEC (Business & Technology Education Council) and ULEAC (University of London Examinations and Assessment Council). In 2003, the Edexcel Foundation (the charity which managed the board) formed a partnership with Pearson PLC to set up a new company called London Qualifications Ltd, which was 75% owned by Pearson and 25% by the Edexcel Foundation. London Qualifications Limited changed its name to Edexcel Limited in November 2004.

In 2005 Edexcel became the only large examination board to be held in private hands, when Pearson PLC took complete control. Edexcel subsequently received investment from their new parent company.

In 2003, it introduced an onscreen marking system, ePen, which Edexcel claims has brought dramatic benefits. ePen has produced rich student performance data, at question level, which Edexcel has made available to schools through its Results Analysis Service (RAS) and forms the basis of a new service to schools and students.

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