Marjorie Coulon is a Chemistry Teacher at a comprehensive school in North London.
I have been responsible for teaching the Chemistry part of the (21st Century Science) course to the higher ability students. Apart from drawing a few molecules in C1 and C2 in year 10, I do not feel that the year 10 course covered any chemistry at all, certainly not enough to do the subject any justice.
I like the idea of teaching science in context. It is something we do well as a science department anyway as it engages the students at all levels however the exams were appalling. Students were not being tested on the ability, understanding or application of their knowledge, instead they had to second guess what was intended by the questions, some of which were vague. High ability students felt that they had wasted their time learning science or even revising as the exams almost had nothing to do with the science they learned.
Year 11 was terrible. The students learned some Chemistry but there wasn’t enough time to do justice to the subject, the exam was too easy and did not allow them to do any lateral thinking. (What can be tested in 40 minutes - when students have learned equations, calculations and periodicity?) Students doing AS Chemistry after doing this course are not equipped with the basic knowledge and struggle with the concept and calculations in the initial phase. We basically have to assume zero knowledge when we start AS and considering the time constraints of the course, it is not really acceptable that students come to us with an insecure knowledge of basic Chemistry.
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science is one of the most important subjects children can learn these days specifically because everything we have relies on science. The UK is loosing scientists at an alarming rate not just because they leave the country but less and less students are continuing with science at higher levels.
Looking at the science curriculum I have had to teach, the new GCSE courses are nowhere near good enough to support students' interest and imagination.
In year 10, the science is dumbed down and does not challenge them scientifically. The exams challenge them in their understranding of ethics and english and therefore there is no real test for the scientific knowledge that they have acquired.
In year 11, although the biology part of the additional science courses does link to AS level, there is no consistancy up to AS level in the chemistry and physics. The continuity is atrocious and most science AS teachers have to assume that students know nothing when they start their AS courses. This is the same for all courses and, at the moment, it is up to teacahers to ensure that students have a grounding that will see them well at AS. If we were to teach simply by the course, the students will know nothing.
The whole point of the new GCSE that was brought in a few years ago was to improve continuity to AS level and to improve interest in science and this has not been done. Students feel let down by the exams after all of the hard work that they put in. They become disheartened with the subject and lose interest much more quickly especially in cases where AS and A2 level is touched upon but, due to the lack of time to complete the course, cannot be looked at in any depth, really infuriates students, particularly the higher ability.
something needs to change and the government needs to listen to the people that actually do know best which are us science teachers. We know best of all how students work, what they find interesting and how to stimulate their interests.
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