Rising enrolment into virtual schools and AI exam tools boost Pearson

Education publisher Pearson has revealed a spike in sales for its virtual schools, while it said more teachers were using its AI tool to create exams.

The London-listed company reported underlying sales growth of 4% over the third quarter, compared with the same period last year.

This was partly driven by a 17% surge in its virtual learning division, with enrolments jumping by 13% for the 2025-26 academic year.

Pearson runs full-time online schools for students in the US through to virtual courses or part-time online learning.

AI study tools are embedded into learning materials for the virtual schools, such as providing students with explanations if they get a test question wrong.

The business said it has growing evidence that students achieve higher grades when using AI to study.

It also reported increased usage among teachers of its AI assessment tool, which creates exam questions using the technology.

“By more than halving the time needed to create custom student assessments, the tool enables teachers to spend more time on meaningful student interactions,” the company said.

Elsewhere, Pearson reported a 1% decline in sales for its higher education arm amid challenging trading conditions among the university and college student market.

Omar Abbosh, Pearson’s chief executive, said: “Pearson delivered another quarter of good progress, with accelerated sales growth in Q3 (third quarter), and robust performance across our businesses.

“Our teams continue to execute against our strategic priorities, leading on the application of innovative technologies and growing our enterprise customer footprint.”