FROM September, most A-level subjects will be taught with a linear approach, meaning the end of the current modular exams, breaking down the syllabus into bite-sized chunks. Instead, students will be examined on the whole of the two-year specification at the end of their second year. Only the exams taken at the end of the second year count towards a final A-level grade, with coursework minimised.
This has led to quite a lot of debate, not only here at Bosworth but further afield, too. Will it help raise standards? Is it fair?
FROM September, most A-level subjects will be taught with a linear approach, meaning the end of the current modular exams, breaking down the syllabus into bite-sized chunks. Instead, students will be examined on the whole of the two-year specification at the end of their second year. Only the exams taken at the end of the second year count towards a final A-level grade, with coursework minimised.
This has led to quite a lot of debate, not only here at Bosworth but further afield, too. Will it help raise standards? Is it fair? How will students cope with fewer but ‘bigger’ exams?
The consolation for any student or parent is that all students are in exactly the same position. The new specifications come in for all awarding bodies (exam boards) at the same time for the same subjects and so no candidate will be either advantaged or disadvantaged.
It is anticipated that the level of difficulty will not change and that an A-level grade A taken this summer or next will be every bit as valuable as an A grade achieved from 2017 onwards.
So we shall still be measuring like with like and selection for universities will remain unchanged.
There will still be an AS qualification, but de-coupled from A-level. This means that any result achieved at AS does not count towards the final A-level grade. Students may therefore ask why they should sit the AS. Our response is that it provides universities with a valid and reliable measure of an applicant’s potential outcome at A-level, at the point of application.
Equally importantly, it indicates to a student how well he or she is doing at the end of the first year of A-level study and this can be both reassuring and informative, helping a student choose which subjects to continue in the second year.
GCSEs are changing too from September in English Language, English Literature and Maths.
Our teachers are already well prepared and waiting to deliver the new specifications to this September’s new students.
We thrive on change and like to think of ourselves as flexible and ready to adapt to change. This exam facelift is more than cosmetic and Bosworth teachers’ enthusiasm likewise is more than skin deep! Find out more about Bosworth Independent College on 01604 235090 or visit www.bosworthcollege.com