AS Science in Y11 - any teachers out there?

[LaineyW]

My DD1 (16) is doing AS science this year after doing Accelerated Science in Y10, but we're worried about the actual assessment of it (or part of it).

She had to do a Case Study recently, was given a subject and then they had to write an essay on that subject under exam conditions. Pupils were apparently allowed to use the internet in the assessment (although my DD's computer didn't have internet access and she was told to just 'get on with it'...) but now it would seem that that was incorrect and the Case Study is therefore not valid, so some of them are re-sitting it after Easter.

Does this sound right to you? We'll be talking to the head of science after the hols but DD1 is fed up with the whole thing, and I must admit it does sound a bit of a shambles...

Sciencteacher will be your person.

Sounds like either Edexcel Biology or Physics to me. Can your confirm which subject and specification she is doing?

IME, they do either an industrial visit or a case study (if a visit is not possible for their school). Then they do a practical related to one of the concepts they encountered on the visit/case study, and write a short, prescriptive, essay under examination conditions.

I'm not sure about the case study, since we do the visit. If you let me know for sure what spec your DD is doing, I can look it up.

This is the first year of the new specifications, so it may well look like a shambles. However, a student should not embark on an A-level course without being intimate with the specification and assessments.

Sorry, to be clear -

The case study or visit report is prescriptive and is supposed to be done for homework.

The practical plan, execution and write up is done in class.

"However, a student should not embark on an A-level course without being intimate with the specification and assessments"

Do you really think that scienceteacher? I'd have thought it was the teacher's job to be intimate with it & the students only need to be broadly aware of what's involved when they start out. The teacher's should then disseminate the finer details to the students as and when they need to know imo. Students are well advised to check what they're told in case the teacher has it wrong too, but not necessarily at the outset.

The first thing we ask our A-level students to do is to download the spec and print it out, and read it over the summer holidays.

Thanks for the messages.

Scienceteacher, it's OCR apparently.

It's sparked quite a debate among parents as to who is actually benefiting from doing AS science in Y11 - the student or the school.

The school is a specialist science college and got tremendous results last year (94% A*-C grades) so I can't help but feel that they're just desperate to improve their own standing. Is it right that any pass points will count on UCAS applications? We asked the teachers before DD embarked on this particular science path whether she would be repeating any of the work if she chose to go on to do science A levels and they said 'probably not'. DD has in fact chosen to do human biology for A levels - presumably there may be some repetition? I suppose it depends on the syllabus and which exam board etc.

Sorry, forgot to clarify that this particular course covers all three disciplines. As far as I know, a visit wasn't an option but I could be wrong.

Think we need to speak to the teachers and see exactly what's involved...

My DD2 in year is taking AS level Science in Society as an extra subject. Although this seems more like a sciency general studies than a hard worthwhile course I think there are several benefits to taking it in year 11.

1. It provides a little bit of a bridge between GCSE and A level both in the exam situation and the level expected for coursework.

(My eldest DD in doing A levels this year and they are meant to make quite a jump in level from GCSE to A level very quickly in order to take the Jan exams)

1. It hasn't taken a huge amount of work after the science GCSEs

1. It does count towards UCAS points.

DD2 is a bit grumpy about the whole thing but I think that's because the exam will be on her birthday

I'm not familiar with that specification (I didn't know you could even do a GCE in integrated/combined sciences.

I had a look at the spec, and couldn't find any mention of a case study. I'll have another look later when I have more time.

I don't think this course is a substitute for Physics/Chemistry/Biology for access to pure Science or Engineering courses at uni, but it might be attractive to careers where you don't need a lot of science as such, but want to show that you can think logically, etc (eg Law). My instinct is that is on par with something like Psychology - but that's just me thinking about it for no more than 5 minutes

As for doing it in Year 11...I think it is useful if this is the last time you are going to do sciences, but not necessarily if sciences are going to be your career. My DS did French GCSE in Year 10 and AS in Year 11. I think it was useful for him because it didn't compete with any of his career focussed A-levels, so getting to do it in Year 11 means that he has a useful level of French now.

One downside of doing GCEs in Year 11 is that they may not have the maturity to handle the different methods of assessment and may expect to be spoon-fed by their teachers.

As for UCAS points, they can't get them twice if the course overlaps with something else. They get the UCAS points for the higher grade.

If your DD is going onto do other Science A-levels, she will probably not get UCAS points for this course - but on the plus side, it should give her an easier ride next year.