AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON March 27, 2012 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Form 20-F (Mark One) ‘ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 or Í ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 or ‘ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 for the transition period from to or ‘ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of event requiring this shell company report Commission file number 1-16055 PEARSON PLC (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) England and Wales (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) 80 Strand London, England WC2R 0RL (Address of principal executive offices) Stephen Jones Telephone: +44 20 7010 2000 Fax: +44 20 7010 6060 80 Strand London, England WC2R 0RL (Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile Number and Address of Company Contact Person) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of Class Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered *Ordinary Shares, 25p par value New York Stock Exchange American Depositary Shares, each New York Stock Exchange Representing One Ordinary Share, 25p per Ordinary Share * Not for trading, but only in connection with the registration of American Depositary Shares, pursuant to the requirements of the SEC. Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock at the close of the period covered by the annual report: Ordinary Shares, 25p par value .............................................................................................. 815,626,237 Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes Í No ‘ If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ‘ No Í Note — Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections. Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes Í No ‘ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ‘ No ‘ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated file” and “large accelerated filer”, in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Í Large accelerated filer ‘ Accelerated filer ‘ Non-accelerated filer Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing ‘ US GAAP Í International financial Reporting Standards as Issued ‘ Other by the International Accounting Standards Board If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the Registrant has elected to follow: Item 17 ‘ Item 18 ‘ If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): Yes ‘ No Í TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction ................................................................... 3 Forward-Looking Statements ..................................................... 4 PART I Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers ............................. 5 Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable .......................................... 5 Item 3. Key Information .............................................................. 5 Selected Consolidated Financial Data .............................................. 5 Dividend Information ........................................................... 6 Exchange Rate Information ...................................................... 7 Risk Factors .................................................................. 8 Item 4. Information on the Company ................................................... 13 Pearson plc ................................................................... 13 Overview of Operating Divisions .................................................. 13 Our Strategy .................................................................. 13 Operating Divisions ............................................................ 14 Operating Cycles .............................................................. 17 Competition .................................................................. 18 Intellectual Property ............................................................ 18 Raw Materials ................................................................. 18 Government Regulation ......................................................... 19 Licenses, Patents and Contracts ................................................... 19 Legal Proceedings .............................................................. 19 Recent Developments ........................................................... 19 Organizational Structure ......................................................... 20 Property, Plant and Equipment .................................................... 20 Capital Expenditures ............................................................ 21 Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments .................................................... 21 Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects .................................... 21 General Overview .............................................................. 22 Results of Operations ........................................................... 25 Liquidity and Capital Resources ................................................... 43 Accounting Principles ........................................................... 46 Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees ..................................... 46 Directors and Senior Management ................................................. 46 Compensation of Senior Management .............................................. 49 Share Options of Senior Management .............................................. 57 Share Ownership of Senior Management ............................................ 57 Employee Share Ownership Plans ................................................. 58 Board Practices ................................................................ 58 Employees .................................................................... 59 Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions ............................... 60 Item 8. Financial Information ......................................................... 60 Item 9. The Offer and Listing .......................................................... 60 Item 10. Additional Information ........................................................ 61 Articles of Association .......................................................... 61 Material Contracts ............................................................. 67 Exchange Controls ............................................................. 67 Tax Considerations ............................................................. 67 Documents on Display .......................................................... 70 1 Page Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk ......................... 71 Introduction ................................................................... 71 Interest Rates ................................................................. 71 Currency Exchange Rates ........................................................ 72 Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts .............................................. 72 Derivatives ................................................................... 73 Quantitative Information about Market Risk ......................................... 73 Item 12. Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities .............................. 73 Item 12D. American Depositary Shares .................................................... 73 Fees paid by ADR holders ....................................................... 73 Fees incurred in past annual period and fees to be paid in the future ...................... 74 PART II Item 13. Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies .................................. 75 Item 14. Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds ........... 75 Item 15. Controls and Procedures ....................................................... 75