GEC Academy brings ‘the most important GCSE in a generation’ to students across China, Asia and the Middle East

GEC Academy & 8billionideas connect OxfordAQA International GCSE Global Skills Projects and International Extended Project Qualification for Asian students

BEIJING, CHINA, October 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new kind of International GCSE is arriving for students in China and Asia – delivered by 8billionideas as teaching and learning partner, and assessed through real projects, real teamwork and real ownership of the outcome, rather than written exams.

The launch forms part of a wider strategic partnership between GEC Academy, 8billionideas and OxfordAQA, centred on project-based learning (PBL) and spanning the three organisations’ networks across Asia and the Middle East.

GEC Academy has partnered with 8billionideas to deliver the qualification to its students, adding a formally accredited, project-based International GCSE alongside GEC Academy’s existing academic programmes, which include its Learning Centre for OxfordAQA’s International Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and academic online research pathways for students preparing for competitive university admissions.

More than 1,000 students have participated in OxfordAQA’s EPQ with GEC Academy to date, with a typical programme comprising around 120 hours of learning – including at least 30 hours of guided teaching – leading to formal OxfordAQA results and certification.

The launch marks the start of a much bigger ambition. 8billionideas aims to bring the qualification to 1 million students across China and Asia over the next decade – with GEC Academy’s first students, enrolling from today, as the opening step.

The OxfordAQA International GCSE Global Skills Projects (qualification 9697) is assessed entirely through two pieces of project work, with no written exam, and can be completed within a single year or longer at the student’s own pace.

Students carry out an Individual Project – worth 60% of the final grade – choosing their own topic and developing it either as a written report of around 2,500 words, or a practical project with a shorter supporting report.

Alongside it, students work in teams on a Group Sustainability Action Project – worth the remaining 40% – tackling a real sustainability challenge together and presenting their findings formally.

The partnership goes further than a single qualification. The OxfordAQA International GCSE Global Skills Projects sits at Level 2 – a first, formally assessed step into independent research and project work.

OxfordAQA’s International EPQ, a Level 3 qualification, offers the natural next step as students progress toward A-level study. OxfordAQA already positions the OxfordAQA International GCSE Global Skills Projects as a progression route toward the International EPQ, with 8billionideas listed as a supporting partner for the programme.

Rather than treat the two as separate products, GEC Academy and 8billionideas are building a single progression pathway between them: 8billionideas is now bringing OxfordAQA’s EPQ to schools across its existing Middle East network, alongside the OxfordAQA International GCSE Global Skills Projects’ launch across GEC Academy’s schools in China and Asia.

University admissions boards see thousands of similar applications every year, many built around exam grades alone. This qualification adds something different: two pieces of independent project work, completed at the student’s own pace, that a student can point to directly rather than describe from memory.

GEC Academy has made a similar case in its own recent research, published via BESA, which argued that independent research capability should be treated as core academic infrastructure for schools rather than optional enrichment.

Students choose their own Individual Project topic, and that is where 8billionideas’ The Critical Curriculum comes in.

Across eight areas of practical learning in 8billionideas’ The Critical Curriculum – entrepreneurship, leadership, wellbeing, performance, careers, financial literacy, sustainability and technology – students build the thinking and skills they then apply to a project of genuine personal interest.

These are not separate exam subjects: they are the preparation. OxfordAQA awards a single grade for the qualification, based on the Individual Project and the Group Sustainability Action Project.

OxfordAQA – a partnership between Oxford University Press and AQA – sets the qualification standard and awards the final certification.

Dr Ran Li, GEC London Branch Director, overseeing GEC Academy’s international marketing and collaborations, said: “Our students are already building strong, research-led academic profiles. This qualification gives them a formally recognised way to show the independent thinking and project skills that universities are increasingly looking for, alongside their existing coursework.

“Paired with OxfordAQA’s International EPQ, it gives students a single pathway from International GCSE through to A-level – and, as this partnership grows, toward more advanced research – we believe it’s the most important course in a generation.”

David Harkin, CEO and Co-Founder, 8billionideas, added: “This is a partnership between two organisations with complementary strengths – GEC Academy’s school partnerships and delivery experience across China and Asia, and our own client network across the Middle East, with GEC Academy also opening access to its wider international-school network as the partnership develops.

“Together we’re building a research and academic-skills pathway, from the OxfordAQA International GCSE Global Skills Projects through to OxfordAQA’s International EPQ and beyond, that can grow with a student from GCSE all the way to university, starting what many leading educators have told me is the most important GCSE in a generation.”

Jennifer Duggan, Head of International Qualifications, OxfordAQA, said: “We’re delighted that 8billionideas’ partnership with GEC Academy will bring the OxfordAQA International GCSE Global Skills Projects to many more students across China and Asia. It’s a qualification built on real project work – the independent research, thinking and teamwork that serve students well beyond."

Families can enrol now and choose the month their child begins, with the programme running alongside students’ existing academic studies rather than replacing any part of them.

Founding offer: RMB 2,500 (US$370) for families who enrol by 13 November 2026. The OxfordAQA assessment and certification fee – approximately RMB 680 (US$100) – is payable separately on completion.

For further information and to enrol: https://gecx8billionideas.vercel.app/

Further information about the OxfordAQA International GCSE Global Skills Projects is available here: https://oxfordaqa-lp.vercel.app/

Jon Bramley
8billionideas