GCSEs 2018 (4 already)

[Stickerrocks]

Following on from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3152060-GCSEs-2018-3

I'm not sure. Here is a series of copy-paste from the specification:
Working scientifically
The GCSE in Physics requires students to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding of working scientifically. Working scientifically will be assessed through examination and the completion of the eight core practicals.

The content includes eight mandatory core practicals,

Centres must confirm that each student has completed the eight mandatory core practicals.
Students need to record the work that they have undertaken for the eight mandatory core practicals. The practical record must include the knowledge, skills and understanding they have derived from the practical activities. Centres must complete and submit a Practical Science Statement (see Appendix 6) to confirm that all students have completed the eight mandatory core practicals. This must be submitted to Pearson by 15th April in the year that the students will sit their examinations. Any failure by centres to provide this Practical Science Statement will be treated as malpractice and/or maladministration.

DD's specification

 Section 1: Forces and motion
 Section 2: Electricity
 Section 3: Waves
 Section 4: Energy resources and energy transfer
 Section 5: Solids, liquids and gases
 Section 6: Magnetism and electromagnetism
 Section 7: Radioactivity and particles

It did state that they would need knowledge of the following practicals :
Appendix 4: Suggested practicals
The following suggestions for practical investigations exemplify the scientific
process and can support students’ understanding of the subject.
 Investigate the power consumption of low-voltage electrical items
 Investigate factors affecting the generation of electric current by induction
 Investigate how the nature of a surface affects the amount of energy radiated
or absorbed
 Investigate models to show refraction, such as toy cars travelling into a region
of sand
 Investigate the areas beyond the visible spectrum, such as those found by
Herschel and Ritter who discovered infrared and ultraviolet (UV) respectively
 Investigate the relationship between potential difference (voltage), current and
resistance
 Investigate the relationship between force, mass and acceleration
 Investigate the forces required to slide blocks along different surfaces, with
differing amounts of friction
 Investigate how crumple zones can be used to reduce the forces in collisions
 Investigate forces between charges
 Conduct experiments to show the relationship between potential difference
(voltage), current and resistance, for a component whose resistance varies with
a given factor, such as temperature, light intensity and pressure
 Investigate the motion of falling
 Investigate momentum during collisions
 Investigate power by running up the stairs or lifting objects of different weights
 Investigate the critical angle for perspex/air or glass/air or water/air boundaries
 Investigate factors affecting the height of rebound of bouncing balls
 Investigate the temperature and volume relationship for a gas
 Investigate the volume and pressure relationship for a gas
 Investigate the absorption of light by translucent materials in order to simulate
rays’ absorption

mmzz look at pg 13 of spec it does say they have to do all 8 core practicals and exam centres must confirm that pupils have completed all 8 practicals

Sorry pg 9 of spec

Not GCSE related - DS (y9) has got a detention for not completing homework. I have queried with school as he is adamant he handed it in on time. Head of department has been in touch to say they wish to enforce the detention as he didn’t raise it with teacher today. He tried during lesson but didn’t try at break, hence detention still stands.

I can kind of see school’s point, but DS is being resolutely stubborn and refusing to attend detention (non attendance escalates to further detentions and so on).

Banging head against brick wall

Oddsocks - I think its unfair because the detention is for not handing in homework (which your DS states he did)...therefore why should he attend the detention ...if they have the homework then this situation would not have arisen.

I agree teen however Head of Department saying detention still stands as DS didn’t raise it at break time

So they accept that he handed in the homework on time and they have it? Or are they saying they can't find it so if he handed it why didn't he mention it? (Ie they don't believe him?)

I see you say he did try and raise it in the lesson though

I just think morally to give someone a detention for something they have not done is wrong....the situation lies with the teacher for not checking to see whether homework had been received. Why should a child lose some of his breaktime to find a teacher to tell him that the teacher has made a mistake. I had a similar situation with DD's French teacher and we ended up with a tit for tat - she has never liked me since (or DD).

If he definitely handed in the homework then I would be refusing to allow him to attend the detention.

Aqa spec for physics practicals:

The following practical activities must be carried out by all students taking GCSE Physics. Following any revision by the Secretary of State of the apparatus or techniques specified, we will review and revise the required practical activities as appropriate. Schools and colleges will be informed of any changes in a timely manner and the amended specification will be published, highlighting the changes accordingly. Teachers are encouraged to vary their approach to these practical activities. Some are more suitable for highly structured approaches that develop key techniques while others allow opportunities for students to develop investigative approaches. This list is not designed to limit the practical activities carried out by students. A rich practical experience will include more than the tenrequired practical activities. The explicit teaching of practical skills will build students’ competence. Many teachers will also use practical approaches to introduce content knowledge in the course of their normal teaching. Schools and colleges are required to provide a practical science statement to AQA, that is a true and accurate written statement, which confirms that it has taken reasonable steps to secure that each student has: • completed the required practical activities detailed in this specification • made a contemporaneous record of such work undertaken during the activities and the knowledge, skills and understanding derived from those activities. We will provide a form for the head of centre to sign. You must submit the form to us by the date published at aqa.org.uk/science. We will contact schools and colleges directly with the deadline date and timely reminders if the form is not received. Failure to send this form counts as malpractice/ maladministration, and may result in formal action or warning for the school or college. Practicals 1, 3 – 8 and 10 are common with GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy and GCSE Combined Science: Synergy. Practicals 2 and 9 are GCSE Physics only

Teen Alexander Opal - I agree, I think it is unreasonable to expect DS to find Head of Department at break time, part of me thinks maybe he could have made more of a effort to speak to his teacher. He tried during the lesson but maybe he could have tried after lesson. Maybe I’m being too reasonable.

Finding a teacher at break is more than reasonable.

If teachers dropped any sanction on the grounds of 'but they said they handed it in' then you'd get more issues than it's worth.

I've had good hardworking kids insist that they've handed their book in and getting stressed because it's gone missing (nice kids who don't start with 'you have lost my book') and once I've calmed them down, go through the fact the books haven't left my room and they may have taken it for revision, you'd be amazed how many books are found at home.

With homework missing I don't have discussions about it in class. A quick word at the end or if they want a further discussion then they find me and we talk. That way I only get the children who genuinely have an issue and we talk about it sensibly (rather than silly stand offs in front of peers)

That sort of unreasonable behaviour on behalf of the school towards a child who has done homework just makes the teachers look petty imo and does nothing for relationships between school and pupil. Sometimes you need to back down as a parent or teacher if you were wrong.

Particularly in y9 which I think is the most difficult year for kids rebelling and raging against the system. They are too busy by y10!

I think I'd be pointing this out to the hoy or pastoral manager. Might not get you anywhere but really is it in their interests to piss off a kid who HAS done his homework.

maisypops I agree with you to a point, but can’t be right to hand out a detention for homework that has been completed and handed in on time?? What message does that give my DS?

Donald I have emailed H of Dept this morning and see how it pans out.

Oddsocks15
I can only say what I would do in my classroom.
If a child wants to have a discussion with me then I'm more than happy to.

There have been times when I've got 'no submission of homework' and then the child has seen me and said they've handed it in. I've got their book and it's not there. Turns out the homework was on a loose piece of paper folded in the back of their book. Detention cancelled with a reminder of where I expect homework.

If I'm not in my room, I expect books/work to go in the book box for each class. All students are told explicitly to never leave something on my desk as othet teachers use the room (and i have a stack of paper on it!). I woukdn't want work to get lost.
Student says they handed it in. We talk. It turns out they put it on my desk. I tell them I'll look through my desk. If it's there detention cancelled. If it's not, detention stands. They've been told exactly where to put work.

On one occasion a child handed their homework to me on duty. I didn't have it jotted down so issued a detention. They came to see me and reminded me of thrm handing it to me. I realised i had made a mistake. I'd handed their book in with my next class and sure enough there was their work. Entirely my fault. No detention.

They come to see me sensibly and it looks like I've made a mistake, I'll cancel the detention (even if we don't find the work). Rarely happens though.

If a child didn't come to see me and just refused to do a detention then we have an issue because I'm more than reasonable but i don't cancel detentions just because someone says and they are refusing.

10 practicals for aqa physics for my dgd Double sciences 8. Dgd said only one more to do then complete.

Are the school saying they don't have the homework and think it hadn't been handed in?

You'd be very lucky to find a teacher at break time at dgds school because the campus is huge with at least 6 Victorian buildings 2 storeys high in grounds that are huge. It would take most of break time to get from the furthest building to the nearest staffroom!

Hope it gets sorted*oddsocks think its unfair if homework has been handed in to be penalised!

Hope it gets sortedoddsocks. I think mistakes like this are molehills that can end up being a mountain in a teens eyes.

mmzz maybe worth contacting the school about Physics practicals because the original deadline was moved forward from 15/5 until 15/4 and whilst practicals only take one lesson there are probably only 10 lessons prior to Easter.

Mmzz does your dc know how many practicals been done so far?