science | Schools Week

Science capital can be built!

Researchers have identified “science capital” as a major factor they believe influences pupils’ decisions to study science at higher levels, writes Louise Archer Although many school students find science lessons interesting, the majority do not see science as being relevant to their lives or “for me”. In the UK and abroad, there is a widespread concern […]

Science teachers unclear over GCSE ‘standard pass’

Science teachers need clarification on what counts as a “strong” and a “standard” pass in the combined science GCSE because they cannot predict outcomes, policy experts have claimed. Pupils taking the double-award combined science GCSE will get two numbered grades, such as a 5-4, rather than just one, when they sit their papers in 2018. […]

Only 1 in 4 pupils meets expected standard in science tests

Less than one in four primary pupils reached the expected standard in science last year, according to figures buried in a data release at the end of the last academic year. In July, the Standards and Testing Agency released the key stage 2 science sampling results for 2016, which showed that just 23 per cent […]

Literacy strongest predictor of science grades

A new report on socioeconomic status (SES) and science learning has found literacy is “the strongest and most consistent predictor of pupils’ scientific attainment”. Reading and writing skills are particularly important for helping pupils to understand scientific vocabulary and prepare their own scientific reports, according to the research from the University of Oxford. The Education […]

Animal dissection must be cut from the curriculum

The modern curriculum is no place for cutting up dead animals, argues PETA’s Dr Julia Baines As a teacher, if you could take a stand against needless suffering while improving your students’ learning experience, wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity? Fortunately, this isn’t a rhetorical exercise: you can do both, by replacing animal dissection with […]

How worrying is the drop in Science results?

GCSE results out. Ofqual have released numbers showing the dips and rises in school numbers. It shows a quirk with science. Each year on results day Ofqual produce boring-sounding ‘variability charts’. Dull name, but important data. These charts show how many ‘centres’ (schools or colleges) dropped or increased their results compared to the previous year. […]

Science GCSE pass rate drops as pupils shift from other courses

GCSE results day 2016 has revealed a dramatic drop of 3.8 per cent in the A*-C rate for science, resulting from significant changes to student entry patterns. The A*-C grades for additional science also fell by 3.5 percentage points. At A*-A only, overall science results dipped by 0.7 percentage points, and additional science by 1.4 […]

The next micro:bit? BBC launches primary science education campaign 2017

The BBC’s next flagship education campaign will be based around a series of mass participation science experiments for primary pupils, Schools Week can exclusively reveal. The initiative, which is yet to be named, is expected to launch at the start of 2017 and run for two years. It follows this year’s BBC micro:bit device project, […]

The battle for informal learning

What have you been working on? I’ve been talking to teachers who are working to provide informal science teaching for students in extra-curricular clubs. I wanted to understand their motivation and their struggle. From a broader perspective, my aim is to look at education policy and try to find how it plays out in teachers’ […]