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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Getting my head around the new GCSEs and A-levels due 2015

33 replies

noblegiraffe · 15/09/2013 15:28

I'm a maths teacher, currently on maternity leave and trying to keep up-to-date with developments (hard when Gove is in charge!).

From what I gather, at GCSE we will have new, harder (harder than the current new, harder) GCSEs in maths and English for first teaching in 2015. Other subjects will follow in 2016.

At A-level, things are going linear. I understand that maths and further maths are proving problematic and we will start linear teaching in 2016, but other subject linear courses will start in 2015. AS level as a midway point will cease, but students can opt to take a standalone AS level which will be a separate qualification, not a part of the A-level. I'm assuming this means they will have to select which subject they want their AS level to be in at the start of Y12 rather than reviewing results at the end of Y12 and deciding which subject to drop.

In maths, at least, we will have students starting the new A-level in 2016, having sat the old GCSE, as the new GCSE only starts in 2015. Presumably this will be a disadvantage as you would hope that the new GCSE will be designed to prepare better for the new A-level. Other subjects will have it worse as the new A-level will start in 2015, but the new GCSE not till 2016.

Am I right? Any other subject teachers want to chip in? I think if I were a parent of a child in this middle of the changeover, I'd be concerned.

Info here:
ofqual.gov.uk/news/publication-notice/

OP posts:

longingforsomesleep · 16/09/2013 00:13

Perhaps students will revert back to the (very) old system of just choosing 3 A levels (or 4 for the very brightest) and not bothering with AS? The benefit of doing 4 AS levels was, I assumed that it gave you some flexibility and you could drop whichever subject turned out to be your weakest.

Original poster

noblegiraffe · 15/09/2013 17:37

No, they mean properly linear, as in all exams taken at the end of Y13, none at the end of Y12. They are getting rid of AS as a component of A-level.

From what I read of the report I linked to, they realise this will cause problems in maths by removing the flexibility of pure and applied modules between maths and further maths. Sorting this (and other issues) is why the maths and further maths a-levels have been put back a year.

OP posts:

secretscwirrels · 15/09/2013 17:22

his seems a very muddled and rushed way of doing things. You wouldn't really expect it to be carefully planned and measured would you?

Doesn't the fact that all A2 maths modules are now taken at the end of Y13 mean they are in fact linear? They are broken down by topic but they are all sat in May / June.
Do you think they plan to merge the topics somehow and have one big exam instead of Mechanics / Pure / Stats etc?

Original poster

noblegiraffe · 15/09/2013 16:03

BackForGood

I guess if the first cohort to do the new GCSE were also the first cohort to do the new A-level, then they'd be hit with a double whammy of unfamiliarity and that might seem unfair. But this seems a very muddled and rushed way of doing things.

I'm predicting, that with the syllabus for the September 2015 first teaching undoubtedly arriving in schools the summer of 2015, there will be a mad rush of early entries for the old GCSEs in June 2016.

OP posts:

RussiansOnTheSpree · 15/09/2013 15:57

I am a parent with a child in the middle of this changeover. I am extremely concerned (not least because DS is dyslexic and has AS).

HmmAnOxfordComma · 15/09/2013 15:50

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/michael-gove-told-exam-reforms-must-be-delayed-to-ensure-quality-8802707.html

Oh, ok it is still maths and English, just not the other ones they wanted to do (humanities, science and languages?).

As you were.

HmmAnOxfordComma · 15/09/2013 15:45

Didn't they announce a week or so ago that the changes were getting put back another year because they were running out of time to implement them? (So no longer affecting my yr 8 ds but the current yr 7s?) Off to consult Mr Google.

You're right about the A level thing though: they should lead on from each other ideally...new GCSE first, new A level 2 years after?

BackforGood · 15/09/2013 15:39

"I was going to say, watching with interest, as I have dds who will be affected, but someone knowledgeable like noblegiraffe will be along soon to answer"

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