MARKERS AWARD STUDENTS FOR WRITING OBSCENITIES ON GCSE PAPERS

6/30/2008 7:08:00 AM

The Times 30 June

Write ‘f*** off’ on a GCSE paper and you’ll get 7.5%. Add an exclamation mark and it’ll go up to 11%Pupils are being rewarded for writing obscenities in their GCSE English examinations even when it has nothing to do with the question. One pupil who wrote “f*** off” was given marks for accurate spelling and conveying a meaning successfully. His paper was marked by Peter Buckroyd, a chief examiner who has instructed fellow examiners to mark in the same way. He told trainee examiners recently to adhere strictly to the mark scheme, to the extent that pupils who wrote only expletives on their papers should be awarded points. Mr Buckroyd, chief examiner of English for the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), an examination board, said that he had given the pupil two marks, out of a possible 27, for the expletive. Times

Curriculum / Quality Assurance

DIPLOMAS HIT BY LOW-STATUS CLAIM

6/30/2008 7:07:00 AM

FT 30 June

Ministers’ controversial diplomas for teenagers were hit by yet another brickbat when they were branded by a think-tank as qualifications for “refugees” from tougher academic exams.The report from the Nuffield Foundation, one of Britain’s leading independent authorities on public policy, also raised fears that diplomas would be “unable to establish a high-status reputation”. It cuts to the heart of fears about diplomas in business and the education industry: that more able pupils will happily continue doing GCSEs and A-levels, and ignore diplomas – turning them into a low-prestige qualification for poorly-performing pupils.Diplomas, which will be pursued by a small number of pupils from September ahead of a full national rollout, were devised by Whitehall largely to recapture an interest in learning among English children who are turned off education by the relatively academic GCSEs and A-levels. But diplomas were also supposed to attract more academic students as well, offering a more work-focused and practical alternative to GCSEs and A-levels for this group while retaining academic rigour. The thinking was to bridge the academic-vocational divide that has bedevilled British education for more than a century, in order to turn out more job-ready students. But Ken Spours, one of the authors and an academic at the Institute of Education in London, painted a very different picture. He said: “Vocational education has to absorb ‘refugees’ fleeing from GCSEs and A-levels and is unable to establish a high-status reputation. This could be the fate that awaits the new 14–19 diploma qualifications.”The Nuffield Foundation instead recommends a European-style high school baccalaureate containing a mixture of the academic and vocational, which it thinks would be more prestigious than diplomas, while offering a broader education than A-levels. Various parts of the diploma programme have already been criticised by business groups, academics and even exam boards. FT

Lead Story | Curriculum / Quality Assurance

PHYSICS TEACHERS DYING OUT IN SOME STATE SCHOOLS, REPORT SAYS

6/30/2008 7:06:00 AM

The Guardian 30 June

Applications to physics teacher training courses have fallen dramatically, according to a report which suggests that the traditional physics specialist is disappearing from some state schools. The number of applications dropped 27% in the last year, and retiring physics teachers now outnumber new recruits by 26%. Half of teachers have only a GCSE or A-level in the subject despite being expected to prepare pupils for university, said Alan Smithers, professor of education at Buckinghamshire University, who led the research. The figures suggest that independent and high-scoring state schools have a near monopoly on physics teachers with the best degrees in the subject. The report also finds that: · Applications to teacher training courses overall have fallen nearly 10% since last year, with physics the worst affected, according to figures from the Graduate Teacher Training Registry; · The shortage of physics teachers is most acute in low-performing secondaries without a sixth form or specialist status in the sciences, and a quarter of schools have no specialist physics teachers; · Half of admissions tutors to teacher training courses believe changes in the GCSE curriculum to a general science course which focuses more on teaching science through topical issues such as global warming have deterred potential specialist teachers.Guardian

General | Curriculum / Quality Assurance

TOP PRIVATE SCHOOLS SHUN 'TOO COMPLEX' DIPLOMA PROGRAMME

6/30/2008 7:41:00 AM

The Guardian 30 June

Leading private schools are refusing to adopt the government's new diploma qualification because it is too complex, confidential reports seen by the Guardian reveal. The independent schools' decision to opt out comes despite a number of incentives offered by ministers, and may damage state-educated pupils' chances of getting into the best universities. A separate report by academics at London University's Institute of Education warns today that the diploma risks worsening the divide between vocational and academic education, as private schools increasingly opt for a new range of academically elite qualifications, including the international baccalaureates and the Cambridge University Pre-U. Qualifications such as the Pre-U are designed to prepare students for the top universities, many of which have yet to endorse the diploma. The Department for Children, Schools and Families last month held a private seminar for independent schools that had expressed an interest in the diploma. The reports of that seminar reveal the efforts that the department has made to lure private schools into the diploma programme. They include private schools being offered a special "associate" or "observer" status, to join one of the consortiums of state schools and colleges which will deliver the full range of diplomas, as well as offers of state funding for training teachers. The report says that it is important for the "credibility and reputation" of the new diplomas that they are offered by private schools. However, a second report on the reaction of delegates from private schools - which are understood to include Wellington College and Brighton College - said they had identified "obstacles and difficulties" to joining, which included the question of funding for the scheme.Guardian

Curriculum / Quality Assurance | Independent/ Private Sector

PRIVATE SCHOOL ENLISTS POET TO MIX RHYME AND REASON IN CLASS

6/30/2008 7:10:00 AM

FT 28 June

The vogue at private schools for lessons that feed the heart as well as the head has scaled new heights, with the appointment of a "poet in residence" at one of the highest-performing schools. Colette Bryce, an award-winning Irish poet, this week completed a two-week stint at St Paul's Girls' School in London, helping pupils with their literary creations and giving some readings of her own.Pundits draw comparisons with "happiness lessons" announced by Wellington College in 2006 and Brighton College's recent decision to teach etiquette. But the Good Schools Guide has unearthed a wealth of other intriguing examples of what it calls "lifestyle" lessons. Susan Hamlyn, editor, said: "The schools are all working to the same end - to show parents they can turn out happier and more civilised human beings."St James Senior Girls School teaches the art of hospitality, at its London premises and on stays at Nanpantan Hall, a rented country house. Pupils learn a staggering range of arts, including cooking, interior design, Zen calligraphy, flower-arranging and conversation. Laura Hyde, headmistress, said: "Its main function is to give the girls good social skills and the ability to entertain efficiently and beautifully."FT