Leadership

Provisional November 2018 Exam Entries: GCSEs

Tens of thousands of sixth form pupils were forced to wait an extra year before resitting their English and maths GCSEs because of reforms to the qualifications, acording to this Ofqual report.

Ofqual said many of this year’s year 13 pupils who failed their English or maths GCSEs during the last year of the old qualifications in 2016 had to “complete a full year of study” before re-sitting the exams, prompting a 94 per cent rise in November entries among that year group.

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      string(294) "By deciding to withdraw from the EU’s world leading international education exchange programme ‘Erasmus+’, the UK has undoubtedly shot itself badly in the foot.  Simon Sharron writes how this Brexit 'surprise' serves to underline again the lamentable state of language learning in the UK."
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      string(344) "... In England: drops of between30% and 50% since 2013 in the numbers taking GCSE language courses in the worstaffected areas.In Wales figures showed that GCSE language entries fell by 29% overfive years, and 35% of schools have dropped at least one language from theiroptions at GCSE.In Northern Ireland ..."
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      string(5737) "international engagement. “Schools with fewer teaching hours forlanguages at KS3 are more likely to have higher proportions of pupils eligiblefor FSM and lower overall educational attainment.”EBacc and new Scottish exams fail to revive languages The British Council’s findings revealthe Government’s failure to revive languages by making MFL or Classics one ofthe five pillars of the so-called ‘English Bacc’.“Languages form one of the five pillars of the government’s EnglishBaccalaureate (EBacc) measure of school performance alongside English,mathematics, the sciences, and the humanities (geography or history). The EBacchad a temporary effect on improving uptake of languages at General Certificateof Secondary Education (GCSE) in 2013; however, in 2017 only 38.2%7 of pupilsin the state sector were entered for the EBacc, and of those who entered 4 outof the 5 components 80.4% were missing the languages component”A 2019 BBC survey about modern languagestrends in UK secondary schools had a response from 2048 mainstream schoolsshedding light on the gloomy picture around the country:In England: drops of between30% and 50% since 2013 in the numbers taking GCSE language courses in the worstaffected areas.In Wales figures showed that GCSE language entries fell by 29% overfive years, and 35% of schools have dropped at least one language from theiroptions at GCSE.In Northern Ireland, the numbers taking modern languages at GCSEhave fallen by 40% since 2003, with 45% of schools saying they have cut thenumbers of specialist language teachers in the past five years.In Scotland: since 2014 a 19%decline in language entries at National 4 and 5 level (GSCE equivalents) . 41%of schools who responded said they had stopped offering at least one foreignlanguage course to 16-year-olds.There were also five council educationdepartments in Scotland where no National 4 or 5 exams in German were recordedin 2017/18.A Level entries fall for MFLGiven the parlous state of languages forthe 5-16 age group, it is hardly surprising that the rot has spread to post-16and university coursesIn OFQUAL’s  2019 analysis of“Recent trends in modern languages exam entries in anglophone countries”, itsauthor, Darren Churchward, found that in the UK A Level entries in MFL haddropped by 20% in the period 2002-2019. The BBC survey used figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications toillustrate this alarming downward trend.However, interestingly, the same analysis shows that in the Republic ofIreland, an Anglophone country fully committed to the EU, the level of entriesfor Modern Languages in its A Level equivalent Leaving Certificatequalification increased over a 13-year period between 2005 and 2013. Incontrast to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, this upward trendincluded an increase in the number of entries for German.To enhance cooperation in education with Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland will pay and make it possible for any student holding a British passport and enrolled at a university in Northern Ireland to participate in the EU flagship Erasmus+ Programme.University MFL courses disappearingIn their report for the British Academyentitled “Language learning: turning a crisis into an opportunity”, Neil Kennyand Harriet Barnes collated startling data showing:“The number of students studying modernlanguages at undergraduate level has fallen by 54 per cent since 2007–08 ….In the same period, at least 10 university modern language departments haveclosed, and another nine have significantly downsized. Fewer than half thepupils in English secondary schools take a GCSE in a modern or ancientlanguage. Half of sixth-form colleges in England have stopped offering at leastone modern language A level. And can you guess how many secondary school pupilsstudied German A level in Wales in 2018? A mere 70.”Call for ActionIn 2016 the Teaching Schools Councilproduced an authoritative, review of pedagogy in Modern Languages under the leadershipof Ian Bauckham CBE, recently appointed in December 2020 as interim head ofOFQUAL. The review resulted in  a compendiumof good practice instructions in an attempt to shore up Modern Languages whichBauckham recognised was in a fragile state.In November 2018, a Primary LanguagesPolicy Summit (RIPL), assembled leading players in policy making as well leadingprimary languages practitioners and academics from across the country toproduce the ‘White Paper Primary Languages Policy in England – The Way Forward’.In March 2019, the ‘All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Languages producedits own recovery plan for languages. In July 2020, The British Academy, the Arts and Humanities ResearchCouncil, the Association of School and College Leaders, the British Council andUniversities UK joined forces to propose ‘Towards a national languagesstrategy: education and skills’National Centre of Excellence for LanguagesIn August 2018, the DfE itself unveiled a“new drive to deliver a nation of confident linguists and ensure businesseshave the skilled workers they need.”A national Centre of Excellence was ledagain by Ian Bauckham CBE and supported by 9 regional hubs. DartfordGrammar School, DartfordDixonsKings Academy, BradfordPresdalesSchool, Ware, HertfordshireSirWilliam Borlase’s Grammar School, MarlowSt James’School, ExeterTheBroxbourne School, Broxbourne, HertfordshireArchbishopTemple School, PrestonBlatchingtonMill School and Sixth Form, HoveCardinalHume Catholic School, GatesheadIts mission is  “to improve language curriculum design"
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Leadership

UK’s Huge Languages Skills Deficit Revealed By Erasmus Exit

23 Jan 2021

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Leadership Briefing 9.04(100)"
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Leadership Briefing 9.04(100)"
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      string(5922) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.SPECIAL CONSIDERATION, ACCESSARRANGEMENTS AND ENTRY STATISTICSKeywordspupilattainment;ethnicity;immigrants;London schools,population,qualificationsSummary•	 Access	Arrangements	for	GCSE	and	A	Level:	2013/14	Academic	Year•	 Special	Consideration	in	GCSE	and	A	Level:	Summer	2014	Exam	Series•	 Entries	and	Late	Entries	for	GCSE	and	A	Level:	2013/14	Academic	YearThese	Ofqual	reports	shows	that	there	has	been	a	rise	in	requests	from	schools	for	specialarrangements	for	candidates	at	GCSE	and	A-level.	The	statistics	show	an	increase	in	both	thenumber	of	candidates	requesting	access	arrangements	and	special	consideration.	Entriesand	late	entries	have	both	decreased	this	year.	Ofqual	will	be	asking	the	exam	boards	toinvestigate.Some candidates, for example those with disabilities or medical conditions, are allowed adjustmentsto their exams. These can include extra time, a reader or scribe, coloured exam papers or a sign-language interpreter. Last year saw a 10% rise in such requests from schools in England, Wales andNorthern Ireland.During the 2013-14 academic year there were 271,850 requests for access arrangements – up 10%on the year before. however, a tightening of the rules for access arrangements, particularly for extratime, had resulted in a fall in requests in 2012-13. The numbers of requests have now increased sothey are in line with previous levels.These requests were for 168,400 candidates – a rise of 9% on the previous year. Most requests(almost 92%) were approved, again a 9% increase.Ofqual says the total number of requests is higher than the number of candidates as schools andcolleges may request more than one type of access arrangement for a candidate.The regulator puts the number of requests into context by pointing out that in 2014, there were morethan 1.2 million GCSE candidates and almost 700,000 for AS or A-Levels.Ofqual says the most frequently granted access arrangement was the allowance of up to 25%extra time, for which 132,050 requests were approved last year, representing over half (53%) of allapproved access arrangements.Other types of access arrangements include bilingual dictionaries or requests for modified exampapers, for example printing on coloured paper can help some dyslexic students, while visuallyWeek Commencing 17th November 2014http://ofqual.gov.uk/documents/access-arrangements-for-gcse-and-a-level/http://ofqual.gov.uk/documents/special-consideration-in-gcse-and-a-level-summer-exam-series/http://ofqual.gov.uk/documents/entries-and-late-entries-for-gcse-and-a-level/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359483/DFE-RR286_-_Are_free_schools_using_innovative_approaches.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.impaired candidates can request papers in large print or in Braille.Key Points: ■ The number of requests for access arrangements is up 10 per cent on 2012/13 at 271,850. It ismore in line with 2011/2012, when there were 276,650 requests. ■ These requests are for 168,400 candidates, up 9 per cent on 2012/13. ■ The number of requests approved is up by 9 per cent on 2012/13 at 248,950. However, this isdown on 2011/12, when there were 257,450 approvals. ■ There were 132,050 approved requests for the most frequently granted access arrangement, ofup to 25 per cent extra time. This is an 11 per cent increase compared with 2012/13, but down 2per cent on 2011/12. ■ The number of approved requests for modified papers has also increased. There were 28,700approved requests in summer 2014, compared with 18,400 in 2013, an increase of 56 per cent.This is partly explained by the increase in scripts, up by 18 per cent on last summer. ■ The number of modified papers represents 0.18 per cent of the total scripts marked, up from 0.14per cent last summer. ■ The number of requests for special consideration has increased by 20 per cent on last year, from413,150 in summer 2013 to 496,500 for the summer 2014 exam series. However, this is in thecontext of an 18 per cent increase in the number of scripts. ■ Just under 3 per cent of all scripts received approval for special consideration in the summer 2014exam series. ■ From the requests for special consideration there were 456,450 approvals (92 per cent),compared with 372,700 approvals in 2013. This is a 22 per cent increase, but is in line with theincrease in scripts marked. ■ For the third year running, the most common mark adjustment made was 3 per cent of themaximum mark of a question paper. ■ There has been a 6 per cent decrease in GCSE entries and a 15 per cent decrease in A levelentries. ■ There were 503,200 GCSE entries that were late in the 2013/14 academic year, compared with1,252,700 in 2012/13. The proportion of GCSE entries that were late in 2013/14 was 3 per cent,compared with 7 per cent in 2012/13. ■ There were 173,400 A level entries that were late in the 2013/14 academic year, compared with295,900 in 2012/13. The proportion of A level entries that were late in 2013/14 was 2.9 per cent,compared with 4.1 per cent in 2012/13.WEB LINK•	 Access	Arrangements	for	GCSE	and	A	Level:	2013/14	Academic	Year•	"
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Leadership

Special Consideration, Access Arrangements And Entry Statistics

12 Nov 2014

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      string(316) "... 18. This represents a slight proportional increase from 2.3 per cent of total entries in 2016-17 to 2.7 per cent of total entries in 2017-18. All the exam boards saw their proportion of late entries shoot up for AS and A-level entries. The greatest rise ..."
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      string(4187) "In the most recent series of GCSE and A-level exams, 18.4 per cent of all students were awarded 25 per cent extra time. Requests for extra time have soared in recent years and Ofqual said that it is concerned by the rise. Access arrangements are the provisions made for students, agreed before they take an assessment, to ensure that they can be validly assessed and are not unfairly disadvantaged due to a disability, temporary illness or injury or if their first language is not English. Any student with a disability (as defined by the Equality Act 2010 – ie has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities) is legally entitled to reasonable adjustments, which are a form of access arrangement. Any students taking GCSE, AS or A level exams or non-exam assessments who meet the exam boards’ eligibility criteria can have an access arrangement. Schools can apply to the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) to request extra time for a student on a variety on grounds. These include learning difficulties, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or a mental health condition . Figures from Ofqual show that 25 per cent extra time is the most popular form of special dispensation for exams, and has increased by 43 per cent over the past five years. Other forms of access arrangement can include having a reader, scribe, an exam printed on coloured paper, or computer assistance. Ofqual expects exam boards to identify and investigate schools and colleges that, without obvious good reason, have an unusually high number of students who are given extra time and to sanction for malpractice any found to be misusing extra time arrangements. Main Findings: The number of pupils awarded 25 per cent extra time in their exams increased by more than 11,000 this year. In 2016-17, 223,405 candidates in GCSEs and AS and A-levels with particular needs or disabilities had 25 per cent extra time. But this rose to 235,060 in 2017-18, making up nearly one in five (18.4 per cent) of all candidates. There were also slight rises in the proportion of pupils who benefited from a computer reader or reader – up to 7.5 per cent of candidates, and those who used a scribe or speech recognition technology – up to 3.2 per cent. But the proportion of candidates using coloured or enlarged paper more than halved to 0.6 per cent. The overall number of access arrangements granted to pupils in exam students dropped for the first time in recent years, down 0.5 per cent on 2016-17 to 391,130. But this drop is likely to be largely the result of a drop in the total exam cohort. The figures show late GCSE entries increased by 22 per cent from 471,685 in 2016-17 to 573,475 in 2017-18. This represents a proportional increase from 3.3 per cent of total entries in 2016-17 to 4.2 per cent of total entries in 2017-18. If an entry is made after the deadline set by the Joint Council for Qualifications it is classed as late and the school may be fined. The number of late AS/A level entries meanwhile decreased by 12 per cent from 86,100 in 2016- 17 to 75,830 in 2017-18. This represents a slight proportional increase from 2.3 per cent of total entries in 2016-17 to 2.7 per cent of total entries in 2017-18. All the exam boards saw their proportion of late entries shoot up for AS and A-level entries. The greatest rise was at WJEC, from 2.6 per cent in 2016-17 to 3.5 per cent this summer, followed by OCR, from four per cent to 4.6 per cent. Overall there has been a 29 per cent decrease in AS and A-level certificates from 2016-17 to last year, mainly due to the decoupling of AS and A-levels. WEB LINK Access Arrangements For GCSE, AS And A Level 2017 To 2018 Academic Years Official StatisticsKeywords Access Arrangements, GCSE, AS, A-Level, extra time, exams, students, loophole, unfairly advantaged, assessment "
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Leadership

Access Arrangements For GCSE, AS And A Level 2017 To 2018 Academic Years

3 Dec 2018

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      string(349) "... school (76.3% at GCSE). Relatively few students choose to take the subject: at GCSE, only 11.9%, and at A level, just 2.7%. Provision though remains ‘patchy’: grammar schools are more likely than comprehensives to offer CS, independent schools rather less so. At GCSE, the typical CS student ..."
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      string(4893) "ICT (Information and Communication Technology) – which was widely derided as being no more than a course in Microsoft Office skills – is being phased out of the curriculum and disappears after this summer as an exam subject. But its replacement at GCSE and A-level is the far more challenging computer science. The report says this subject is proving very hard – both for the students and for the schools which need to find the staff to teach it. In 2017, just over half of all schools in England offered the subject at GCSE level – smaller schools and those in the independent sector were less likely to give pupils the chance to study computer science. But overall, only 12% of all students choose to take the subject. It is also proving less attractive to girls than ICT – they make up only 20% of GCSE entrants. Entries by pupils from poorer backgrounds are also lower. The typical computer science entrant, says the report, is “academically strong, mathematically able, likely to be taking triple science, from a relatively affluent family, and overwhelmingly likely to be male (even if the smaller number of girls taking the subject do better in the exam)”. And while entries for the new subject have been gradually rising they are not keeping up with the fall in those for ICT. After that exam disappears this summer, it looks as though there will be a big fall in the overall number of 16-year-olds achieving some form of computing qualification. “This will disproportionately impact girls, poorer students and some ethnic minority groups,” warns the report. Overall, the findings suggest that we now must rise to the challenge of encouraging (or perhaps allowing) more students to have a go at CS, learning from the good practice in schools, local authorities and trusts that are already succeeding here. This issue is particularly acute at A level, where less than 15% of colleges or sixth forms have cohorts that the DfE would regard as viable. Key Findings: Increasing numbers of schools are offering Computer Science(CS) at GCSE (52.5%) and A level (36.2%), and so now there’s a good chance that a student will find CS on offer at their school (76.3% at GCSE). Relatively few students choose to take the subject: at GCSE, only 11.9%, and at A level, just 2.7%. Provision though remains ‘patchy’: grammar schools are more likely than comprehensives to offer CS, independent schools rather less so. At GCSE, the typical CS student is academically strong, mathematically able, likely to be taking triple science (despite CS counting as a science for the EBacc), from a relatively affluent family, and overwhelming likely to be male (even if the smaller number of girls taking the subject do better in the exam). Some schools and local authorities are doing well in addressing the gender gap in CS, but there are 382 ‘mixed’ schools where the CS students are all boys. A-level CS remains a niche subject: students typically have good maths grades, but their overall academic performance is not strong. CS is often taken in combination with maths and physics.. Again, students are likely to come from relatively affluent backgrounds, but rather more of these students will be on the school’s SEN register than for most subjects. Girls continue to be heavily underrepresented in the study of computer science. In 25 local authorities, all the CS entries come from boys. At GCSE 20% of entries are from female students (1 in 5) and only 10% (1 in 10) at A-level, even though girls do better than boys at GCSE. Of note is that girls no longer outperform boys at the top A-level CS grades, A* and A. Only 34.2% of all females are taking a computing KS4 qualification, compared to 51.2% of all males. CS and ICT are quite different qualifications, and thus are taken by quite different students: the latter are (on average) from less affluent backgrounds, weaker academically, closer to a typical mix for ethnicity, and more likely to be female: the decision to remove ICT as qualifications at GCSE and A level, seems likely to result in fewer, and rather less diverse, students overall taking qualifications in computing. GCSE and A level CS are hard! At GCSE, students typically get half a grade lower in CS than in their other subjects; at A level, CS grades are also a little lower (about a sixth of a grade) than those students get for their other subjects. WEB LINK The Roehampton Annual Computing Education ReportKeywords Computing Education Report, pupils achievement, GCSE entrants, A-level computing, CS, ICT, good practice, schools "
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Leadership

The Roehampton Annual Computing Education Report

2 Jul 2018

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