science | Schools Week

GCSE results 2021: Chemistry

Here are the trends in the latest chemistry GCSE results for summer 2021. The proportion of grade 9 results achieved by chemistry students, equivalent to a high A* under the old GCSE system, rose to 17.7 per cent, compared to 16.8 per cent in 2020 and 13 per cent in 2019. You can find the […]

GCSE results 2021: Biology

Here are the trends in the latest biology GCSE results for summer 2021. The proportion of grade 9 results achieved by students, equivalent to a high A* under the old GCSE system, rose to 18.3 per cent, compared to 17 per cent in 2020 and 12.7 per cent in 2019. You can find the full […]

TIMSS 2019: Year 9 science performance drops, but England still doing well overall

The performance of year 9 pupils in science has “dropped considerably”, an international study has found. According to the latest trends in international mathematics and science study, performance in year 9 science dropped to a score “significantly lower” than in any iteration of the study going back to 1995. The reasons for this change are […]

‘Attenborough effect’ is ‘fuelling’ interest in GCSE science

The “Attenborough effect” – where pupils want to “make a difference” in the world – is fuelling an interest in science, the vice president of Pearson has said. In England, 767,722 16-year-olds took science double award this year – a rise of 5.1 per cent (37,132) from the 730,590 pupils who entered the exam last […]

Don’t shy away from seeking science specialists, urges new report

Advertising for general science teachers is no more effective than seeking those with subject-specific qualifications, according to new research. Analysis by SchoolDash of teaching job adverts found roles for specialist positions were less likely to be re-advertised than for those general positions, contradicting a “common assumption that specialist positions are harder to fill”. The results […]

Seven ways to improve science teaching, according to the EEF

The Education Endowment Foundation has published a new report on ‘improving secondary science’, which gives seven recommendations to try out in the classroom. Sir Kevan Collins, chief executive of the EEF, said he hoped the research will help to boost science teaching, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. “The attainment gap in science may not be as […]

When do practicals work well in science?

Do pupils learn more science when they’re taught in classrooms – with the teacher explaining concepts – or in labs, through pupil experimentation? Phil Naylor takes a look at what the research says, and shares some tips for effective science teaching “Are we doing a practical, sir?” screams the excited year 9 down the corridor, […]

Ofqual lowers pass grade for higher tier science

Ofqual has dropped the pass threshold for the GCSE science higher tier exams this year, following concerns that too many pupils would receive an ‘unclassified’ result. In a blog post released today, Cath Jadhav, associate director of standards and comparability at Ofqual, explained that during the awarding period this year exam boards had reported to the […]

Art & Design GCSE entries stay strong in face of EBacc

Fewer pupils have been entered for non-EBacc subjects this year, except in art and design which has bucked the decline and increased by two per cent. Official government figures released this morning also show entries to EBacc subjects have soared, especially in the sciences. A larger cohort of pupils means there are more overall GCSE entries […]