We received a petition asking:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Reject as inadequate the new GCSE criteria for Science, with particular reference to the lack of meaningful Physics content.”
Details of Petition:
“This year saw the introduction by the government of new criteria for the teaching of Science at GCSE. Many anticipated it as “science fit only for the pub”. Now, at the end of its first year, a huge number of science teachers (particularly physics teachers) are indeed judging it to be overly simplistic, devoid of any real physics and inadequate preparation for further study. This GCSE will remove Britain’s technological base within a decade: it is that serious. There is further concern over the accreditation (by the government) of some of the specifications produced by some of the exam boards. In a recent exam, pupils were able to attain an A-grade by scoring just 51%. This is firm evidence of slipping standards, happening openly, with the approval of the government. Should these new criteria be allowed to run their full lifetime of FIVE years, it would constitute incredible hypocrisy, given the Prime Minister’s recent comments regarding his valuing British science education.”
Read the Government’s response
The Government is aware of the well-publicised criticism of how physics and other science subjects are taught and assessed, but believes that this criticism fails to appreciate how important it is that science has a focus on its relevance to everyday life, so that science teaching for all age groups is integrated and engaging. There is much, much more to physics than precision and numbers, and we would be doing young people no service to undersell it to them by focusing solely on these aspects. The inclusion of precision and numbers does not, of itself, make assessment rigorous. However, precision and numbers are appropriately represented in the science GCSEs in accordance with the requirements of the GCSE science subject criteria [sections 3.8 (i)a, (ii)c, d, (iii)a, b, c.], which can be viewed online at www.nc.uk.net
Recent changes in the science curriculum at key stage 4 were designed to give teachers more flexibility to communicate the excitement of science. With a focus on demonstrating the relevance of science to everyday life, the curriculum aims to encourage and inspire young people, and boost further study in the separate sciences. Our ambition is to create an education and training environment that delivers the best in science teaching and learning at every stage.
Following criticism of the previous key stage 4 science curricula, the Government commissioned the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) to conduct a review of the standards of the science curricula. The key issues identified by the review were considered as part of a wider consultation of key partners and stakeholders to develop a new programme, based on ‘How Science Works’. It includes scientific methods and the way scientific knowledge develops. ‘How Science Works’ focuses on the evidence to support or refute ideas and theories.
In order to understand how science works, learners need skills such as practical collection of data, working safely, presenting scientific information; they need to understand the power of science to explain phenomena, and the way understanding of science changes over time. Basing the new science curriculum on a more appropriate balance between science process and factual knowledge, is a clear aim to make science more interesting to young people, including the quality of achievement, and increasing attainment levels.
The national curriculum determines the content of what will be taught, and sets attainment targets for learning. However, it is a matter for individual schools to determine the content and delivery of lessons, with teachers using their professional judgement to achieve this while taking into account the needs of their pupils. At GCSE level there are three different unitary awarding bodies who offer examination courses: AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance), Edexcel, and OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA examinations). This allows flexibilities for schools to make informed decisions on the most appropriate assessment packages for their students. All GCSE syllabuses used in maintained schools have to be approved by QCA.
The new curriculum, overall, retains all of the detailed subject knowledge that has stood the test of time and which is important for the next generation to know and understand. It is natural that aspects of subject content will change over time, to reflect developments and changes in society. The new curriculum balances detailed subject knowledge with an increased emphasis on personal and practical skills - such as initiative, enterprise, and the ability to work in teams - which will equip young people for success in the world as it is today, and will be in the future, not as it used to be.
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