Pearson Edexcel GCSE Citizenship Paper 2 2025 Mark Scheme

Download the official Pearson Edexcel GCSE Citizenship Studies (9–1) Paper 2 mark scheme for the Summer 2025 examination series (1CS0/02). This examiner-approved PDF contains complete answers, indicative content, assessment criteria, evaluative guidance, level descriptors, and official Pearson marking principles used during the June 2025 GCSE Citizenship Studies examinations.

The mark scheme provides full examiner guidance for all sections of the Paper 2 examination, including Own Citizenship Action, Power and Influence: Others’ Actions, and Power and Influence within democratic society. Students can study exactly how Pearson Edexcel examiners award marks for citizenship-action evaluation, source analysis, explanation, argument, judgement, and extended evaluative writing.

Section A contains detailed marking guidance for citizenship-action questions linked to students’ own campaigns and activities. The mark scheme explains how candidates are rewarded for discussing teamwork, planning, methods, goals, research, viewpoints, organisation, awareness campaigns, and realistic action outcomes based on their own citizenship-action experiences.

Examiner guidance includes examples of acceptable responses involving questionnaires, surveys, interviews, awareness campaigns, fundraising, social-media campaigns, assemblies, petitions, and local-community action. The mark scheme also explains why generic answers are not credited unless they clearly relate to a candidate’s own citizenship-action project.

The document provides full indicative content and level descriptors for the 12-mark evaluative essay about whether citizenship actions fail because of the methods chosen. Pearson examiners explain how high-level answers analyse both sides of the argument, evaluate organisation, teamwork, goals, communication methods, and campaign effectiveness, and support conclusions using evidence from personal citizenship-action experience.

Section B contains official answers and examiner guidance relating to petitions, campaign methods, parliamentary influence, and e-petitions. Source A focuses on Black history and cultural-diversity campaigns led by Nell Bevan, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, Yacoub Yasin, and Cynthia Muthoni. The mark scheme explains how campaigns can use e-petitions, direct action, social media, assemblies, lobbying, speeches, and parliamentary engagement to influence decision-makers and raise awareness.

Students can study examiner-approved explanations about why successful e-petitions may still fail to achieve change, including government inaction, lack of parliamentary debate, competing political priorities, and limits of awareness campaigns.

Section C provides official answers and assessment guidance for questions about tribunals, press regulation, the Geneva Convention, democracy, Brexit, censorship, international organisations, media influence, and human rights. The mark scheme includes detailed indicative content for extended evaluative essays discussing whether international organisations such as the United Nations should protect human rights and whether excessive media influence is undemocratic.

The document also includes Pearson’s official level descriptors for 6-mark, 10-mark, 12-mark, and 15-mark evaluative questions, explaining how examiners assess AO1, AO2, and AO3 skills including analysis, evaluation, substantiated judgement, coherent argument, balanced viewpoints, and evidence-based reasoning.

The mark scheme uses authentic Pearson examiner language and includes positive-marking principles, accepted alternative responses, and detailed explanations of how candidates are rewarded for demonstrating understanding rather than penalised for omissions.

Ideal for revision, self-assessment, mock exam marking, classroom feedback, intervention sessions, evaluative-writing practice, citizenship-action preparation, and preparation for future GCSE Citizenship Studies exams, this downloadable PDF provides authentic examiner guidance and realistic examples of high-scoring Edexcel Citizenship responses.

This document is designed for Year 10 and Year 11 students studying Pearson Edexcel GCSE Citizenship Studies (9–1), including students preparing for the 2026 examinations, independent learners, private candidates, home-educated students, and learners aiming for grades 7–9.

It is also highly valuable for Citizenship Studies teachers, tutors, revision centres, intervention coordinators, and parents who require authentic examiner guidance, citizenship-action assessment criteria, evaluative-writing support, and official Pearson assessment standards for GCSE Citizenship revision.