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 July 2004

                                   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 Statement re Appointment


Press Release

28 July 2004

Susan Fuhrman Joins Pearson Board

Pearson plc, the international media and education company,  today announces the
appointment  of  Professor  Susan  Fuhrman,  Dean of  Penn  Graduate  School  of
Education at the University of Pennsylvania, as a non-executive director.

Professor  Fuhrman has spent her entire career  working in  education,  spanning
school and university teaching, public policy and research.

After  teaching  history  in public  and  private  secondary  schools in the US,
Professor  Fuhrman  received a joint PhD from  Columbia  University in political
science and education.  She has taught at Teachers College,  Columbia University
and held a professorship at Rutgers,  The State University of New Jersey,  where
she was  affiliated  with the Eagleton  Institute  of Politics.  In 1995 she was
appointed Dean of Penn GSE, one of the leading schools of education in the US.

Additionally,  since 1985 as founder and director of the  Consortium  for Policy
Research in Education, she has managed an extensive,  ve-university programme to
improve elementary and secondary education through practical research.

She is a member of the Board of  Trustees  of the  Carnegie  Foundation  for the
Advancement  of  Teaching,  a member of the  Council  for  Corporate  and School
Partnerships  of the Coca-Cola  Foundation,  and former co-chair of the National
Advisory Panel for the Third International Math and Science Study-Replication.

Dennis Stevenson, chairman of Pearson, said: "Susan has a lifelong commitment to
education  and is among the  leading  educational  experts in the US. With these
credentials,  and her record of success at some highly  respected  institutions,
she will be a terrific addition to our board."

Professor Fuhrman will stand for reappointment to the Pearson board at Pearson's
next AGM on 29 April 2005.

For further information:

Charlotte Elston                     Pearson                   + 44 20 7010 2310



                                    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: 28 July 2004

                             By:   /s/ STEPHEN JONES
                            -----------------------
                                   Stephen Jones
                                   Deputy Secretary