UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of December 2003
PEARSON plc
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
N/A
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
80 Strand
London, England WC2R 0RL
44-20-7010-2000
(Address of principal executive office)
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Yes No X
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This Report includes the following documents:
1. A press release from Pearson plc announcing 'Pearson wins GMAT Contract'
11 December 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pearson wins $200 million GMAT contract
Pearson, the international media and education company, today announced that it
has been selected as the prime contractor for a seven-year, $200 million
contract to develop and administer the Graduate Management Admission Test
(GMAT) exam worldwide.
Beginning in January 2006, the GMAT exam will be available at more than 400
Pearson VUE test centres in 96 countries. As part of the agreement with the
Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), Pearson VUE will expand its
network of test centres to include more locations in major markets throughout
the world.
The GMAC is a not-for-profit educational association composed of leading
business schools from around the world committed to creating access to graduate
business education. Currently used or required by more than 1,700 graduate
business programs for admission, the GMAT exam is the most widely used
assessment - and most reliable predictor - of a candidate's ability to succeed
academically in graduate business studies. Approximately 230,000 GMAT exams
are taken each year.
"GMAC's faith in us is a great compliment," said Bob Whelan, vice president and
general manager of Pearson VUE. "We're very pleased to have been selected to
deliver this prestigious exam. The consistency and control offered by our
testing network is tailor-made for the needs of organizations involved in
admissions and qualifications testing."
"The GMAT will remain the international gold-standard assessment tool for
management education," said David A. Wilson, president and CEO of the Graduate
Management Admission Council. "This partnership will allow us to better serve
the graduate management education community in the future by increasing global
reach, advancing security measures, and providing flexible access to test
information."
Ends
For further information: Luke Swanson/ Charlotte Elston + 44 (0) 20 7010 2311
About Pearson VUE Pearson VUE (www.pearsonvue.com) is the electronic testing
business of Pearson Education, the world's leading education company. Its
customers include global technology companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and
Sun Microsystems as well as the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing,
the National Association of Securities Dealers, the Driving Standards Agency
(DSA) of Great Britain and the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) of
Northern Ireland.
Pearson also provides educational testing services for more than 20 US states
and the US Department of Education and is one of the major academic and
vocational testing organizations in the UK through a partnership with Edexcel, a
leading examinations board.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
PEARSON plc
Date: 11 December 2003
By: /s/ STEPHEN JONES
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Stephen Jones
Deputy Secretary