Choosing an exam board and specification for the new science GCSEs #asechat

New specifications come into effect from September this year as the government continues the introduction of new linear GCSEs from grade 1-9 intended to be tougher and more challenging.  In the past schools chose an exam board based on content and assessment of the content.  To a certain extent there will be a lot more homogeneity …

A new way of working for a new science GCSE curriculum #asechat

Schools across England will start teaching the new GCSE specs in September (assuming they are ever approved by Ofqual).  Some of these schools will be buying in schemes of work, some will write their own and some will do a mixture of the two. I’ve seen groups on Twitter offering a chance to get together …

Last call to have your say on the future of GCSE coursework

I’ve just completed my first GCSE ISA in years (I’ve relied on BTEC in the past to hit target grades) and it started me thinking about what is the best way to assess practical skills in science. As all schools do, we had rehearsed the format, discussed variables, discussed what goes into a plan, what to …

My science GCSE revision/support site – your help please

When I started running GCSE science alongside our existing L1 BTEC Applied Science (FLT) I realised that my students would need a little bit of extra help if they were ever going to pass the exam. Many of them (remember I teach in a special school) struggle to remember what we did last week, so …

The Edexcel past papers app – the future of revision?

I have mixed feelings about our for-profit exam boards.  On one hand they are a drain on school resources – costing and arm and a leg in fees.  On the other hand it encourages competition and with Pearson embracing new technologies it seems to be leaving the other exam boards behind. I had a promotional …

Getting students to prepare for exams–There’s an app for that!

We all know that students are notoriously bad at preparing for exams.  Pearson (owners of the Edexcel exam board) think they have a solution – an app (for Apple devices). http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf From launching the app with the ‘My Exams’ icon, you come the my exams page where you enter the dates and subjects of any …