Fifteen years of change

27 February 2018

This year's Annual Review includes an afterword by Group Chief Executive Simon Lebus in which he reflects on 15 years of change in education and assessment.

Simon writes about how the years since he joined have seen huge growth internationally. In 2002 75 per cent of the Group's then £129 million annual revenue was generated in the UK, while 25 per cent came from our international operations. That is now almost reversed and in the year covered by the Annual Review, less than 20 per cent of our £413 million revenue came from the UK, with the remaining 80 per cent derived from international sources. Simon says that two trends have driven this: continued growth in demand for English language learning (Cambridge Assessment is one of the two largest English language testing organisations globally) and huge demand for schools that offer an international, English-medium curriculum.

Simon also talks about how we have invested heavily in our research effort over the years, thanks to a supportive owner in the form of Cambridge University (we are the only remaining university-owned Awarding Body). He charts the migration to online marking of nearly all our exams and notes how we now deliver several hundred thousand tests a year online. He then goes on to talk about the future, saying that he believes the velocity of change will continue, but that he is convinced that public exams will remain an essential part of most countries' education systems for many years to come.

Read the 2016-2017 Annual Review.

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