There has been much speculation in the press about forthcoming changes to A Level teaching. The aim has been to re-design the assessment of 16-18 year olds, to begin in September 2015 with the Sciences being one of the first subject areas to negotiate the new system.
Lancing College was delighted to welcome Amanda Spielman, Chair of Ofqual, as the guest speaker at the Annual Conference for Science Teachers in South East England.
Changes to education policy elicit politically-charged debate and strong opinions. Amanda Spielman gave the science teachers at the conference a rare and valuable opportunity to hear about the planned changes, first-hand. The discussion was lively, and sometimes contentious, prompted by the teachers’ need to be reassured that the new specifications continue to support, encourage and actually require practical work to be done by students. This worry was, according to a straw poll after the event, largely allayed!
Ms Spielman confirmed that removing the formal assessment of coursework will not eliminate all practical work. Indeed, students will be required to complete a set number of practical reports which will be marked, although they will not form part of a student’s final grade. It has been accepted that the coursework element of A Level science needs re-working, as 100% is becoming the most common mark for the coursework component in some subjects.
Ms Spielman commented that, quite rightly, large-scale changes to education generate a huge amount of interest and concern from within the teaching and the wider community; and while discussion and debate nationally should always be encouraged, it can be difficult to communicate the specifics of a new system to a national audience. “I am very pleased to have been asked to come to Lancing College for this event and speak directly with enthusiastic and committed teachers” she said.
Dr Giles Preston, Head of Science at Lancing College, said:
“Teachers strive to help students achieve their full potential. It can be difficult to make good sense of the proposed changes to the A Level system and this dialogue with Amanda Spielman has been invaluable in helping us to understand the reasoning behind the need for the changes.”