NEWS


Government comes under fire for EBacc subject choice


by Daniel White


The exclusion of certain qualifications from the English Baccalaureate has led to criticism of the government. The English Baccalaureate


(EBacc) will not include applied sciences and languages or religious education which it is feared could leave thousands of students ineligi- ble for the qualification. In the government’s education


White Paper in November it was said the qualification would be awarded to anyone gaining five A* to C grades in English, maths, a language, a science and a humani- ties subject. However, late last month the


government published further details of which qualifications will count and has said that some applied GCSE science and languag- es courses will be excluded, with religious education no longer being considered a humanities subject. The move has sparked a firm


response from John Townsley, chairman of the National Headteacher Steering Group at the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT). Mr Townsley, who is also


headteacher at Morley High School in Leeds, has written to education secretary Michael Gove urging the government to undertake further debate with school leaders. Mr Townsley said that applied


courses in science and languages should be included in the qualifica- tion “where these can be shown to lead to successful further study and employment”. He also urged Mr Gove to consider the case for “including religious studies and possibly other humanities options”. Elsewhere, the headteacher has


urged a delay in publishing league tables based on the EBacc until 2013, when next year’s year 10 cohort graduates. He says that including the


measure earlier could “undermine” schools which are still working to past educational policy and “disad- vantage” students already partway through their GCSE courses. He told SecEd: “‘We are very


concerned that the new baccalaure- ate should not disadvantage pupils who are already part way through GCSE courses that do not appear on the list approved for inclusion in the new baccalaureate. I am writing urgently to Michael Gove to clarify which courses can be included in the new baccalaureate. “Thousands of young people


study GCSEs in applied science and languages as well as religious education which do not appear to count towards the baccalaureate. “Large numbers of young peo-


ple completed these courses in the summer, or are part way through courses leading to exams next year or the year after. Schools offered these subjects in good faith, and young people took them on not


UCAS calls on students to think about choices


Of the 209,000 students who did not get a place at university last year, around 95,000 turned down all their offers or withdrew during the process. In a bid to reduce this number,


the university admissions service UCAS is calling on this year’s applicants to think their applica- tions through carefully. The main deadline for submis-


sion for the majority of university applications is Saturday, January 15, and UCAS is pointing both stu- dents and their teachers to the raft of guidance and advice on its website. The main advice centres on


encouraging students to use their five course choices “wisely”. Many students fail to garner even one offer because they apply to five highly competitive courses or high- er education institutions. A UCAS spokesman told


SecEd: “If you spread your choices across a range of higher education institutions you will give yourself a better chance.” If students do have their sights


fixed on a specific course, then a gap year may also be advisable. This would allow a student to apply to their course armed with their actual examination results and possibly get an early offer of a place. However, students will also


want to consider the fact that the new system of tuition fees will come into effect in September 2012. UCAS has also emphasised the


importance of students using their “insurance choice” appropriately. The spokesman said: “We saw


last year that there was some evi- dence that people were not using their insurance choice properly.


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Sometimes a student’s insurance choice had higher entry require- ments then their first choice – it’s meant to be a backstop.” Students are also being remind-


ed of the importance of their refer- ences and personal statement in the application. The spokesman continued:


“People have a misconception that if you get the grades you are a shoe-in. This is not the case – if you get the grades, you get through the first round, but the application is really important. It is a competitive process.” Students who submit applica-


tions on January 15 should receive their offers by the end of March. Elsewhere, UCAS is not yet see-


ing any marked changes in applica- tion rates in light of the govern- ment’s plans to overhaul higher education funding systems. It is thought that the plans to


remove the cap on tuition fees, allowing universities to charge up to £9,000 a year from 2012/13 could result in many students decid- ing against taking a gap year and applying for university this year. However, a UCAS spokesman


told SecEd that the numbers com- ing through the system are “no higher or lower than we would have expected”. He added: “It is hard to say –we


do not yet know the impact that the new student finance arrangements will have.” Full advice for students and


teachers, including on writing per- sonal statements, references and the whole application process, are available on the UCAS website. Visit www.ucas.com/advisers


knowing they might not form part of an important qualification which might improve their prospects in later life.” Overall, Mr Townsley supported


the “broad ambition” of the EBacc but said it should leave “space and flexibility in the curriculum needed for schools to provide an imagi- native and creative offer to their students”. He added: “Teaching English,


maths, science, languages and humanities is at the very heart of what schools do and we are happy to be measured by the standards our students achieve in these important subject areas. “However, the school system


reacts to, and is shaped by, the targets it is set. To avoid unintended and potentially damaging conse- quences of any new accountability measure, it is vital that it is tested and calibrated with schools before it enters general use.” The government’s Statement of


Intent outlining the plans for the EBacc said that the five A* to C measure of attainment would con- tinue to be used in the league tables as well “for the time being”. It adds: “The EBacc is not a new


qualification in itself. It will recog- nise students’ achievements across a core of selected academic subjects in getting good passes in rigorous GCSEs or iGCSEs.” Read the statement of intent at


www.education.gov.uk/performan cetables


What will count towards the EBacc? Full GCSEs at grades A* to C and Double Award GCSEs at grades A*A* to CC will count towards its achievement. Accredited iGCSEs at grades A* to C and their legacy qualifications will also count. Further details of the specific components are given below:


English GCSE in English GCSE in English Language GCSE Double Award in English Cambridge International Certificate in First Language English CIE legacy iGCSE in English – First Language Not included: English Studies, English Literature, English as a Second Language, and Digital Communication.


Mathematics GCSE in Mathematics GCSE in Additional Mathematics Achievement of a grade C in at least one of the new linked pair mathematics GCSE qualifications ‘Applications of Mathematics’ and ‘Methods in Mathematics’ Cambridge International Certificate in Mathematics CIE legacy iGCSE in Mathematics


Science The science component will be awarded if pupils: Enter all three single sciences (Biology, Chemistry


and Physics GCSEs, Cambridge International Certificates or CIE legacy iGCSEs) and achieve grades A* to C in two of them. Achieve grades A* to C in Science and Additional Science GCSEs Achieve grades A*A* to CC in Science GCSE Double Award


Humanities GCSE in History GCSE in Ancient History GCSE in Geography Cambridge International Certificate in History Cambridge International Certificate in Geography CIE legacy iGCSE in History CIE legacy iGCSE in Geography


Languages GCSEs in Modern Foreign Languages including Welsh and Welsh as a Second Language GCSE in Latin GCSE in Classical Greek GCSE in Biblical Hebrew Cambridge International Certificate in French Cambridge International Certificate in Greek Cambridge International Certificate in Hindi as a Second Language CIE legacy iGCSE in French CIE legacy iGCSE in Greek CIE legacy iGCSE in Hindi as a Second Language Not included: GCSEs in Applied French and Applied Welsh Second Language.


STEM challenge: Students are challenged to build a buffer for a magnetic levitation train during Routes into STEM Pupils get hands-on at STEM day


One hundred and fifty students tried out a range of hi-tech resources and tools during a hands-on day of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activities. The Routes to STEM event took


place at Watford Football Club over two days with participants from 11 schools. It was all thanks to a collabora- tive project from STEM resources


company LJ Create and South West Herts 14 to 19 – a partnership group based in Hertfordshire. Aged between 12 and 15, the


students were split up into teams of four or five to investigate a number of problems. The students spent the day working together looking at design projects, green construc- tion and sustainable energy among other topics.


The aim of Routes to STEM is


to demonstrate to the pupils that all four subjects can work together in order to solve real world problems. Each team spent 20 minutes


working in six different zones com- pleting tasks ranging from building a crash buffer for a magnetic levitation train using balloons, cotton wool and straws, to making a wind farm and measuring the power output.


Students from West


Hertfordshire College, Watford Girls Grammar School and St Clement Danes High School acted as student ambassadors at the event. The tools and resources used at


the event will now be distributed among the schools that participated for future use. For more information, visit www.southwestherts14-19.com


Hunt is on for the best young news presenter


Some of the country’s leading educational charities and non-profit initiatives have joined forces to support a competition to find the UK and Ireland’s best young news presenter. The competition was developed


as a classroom tool for teachers, with a range of free educational resources from charities such as the Eden Project and Stand Against


Violence available to help teachers use the competition as a tool for learning. Ciaran McCormack from


EuroCreator, a non-profit education initiative, explained: “The competi- tion can be used across all subject areas; presenting from science les- sons about the success of an experi- ment, from the North Pole on the environment, or from a flashpoint


in history. Presentation skills often play a fundamental role in employ- ment so honing those skills is a very useful side effect of this competi- tion.” Sarah Mumford, learning


manager at the National Media Museum, added: “We will have set up a mini-studio so that pupils can film their presentations at the muse- um as well as in the classroom.”


The competition runs until the


end of February, with specialist soft- ware free for download. Pupils up to the age of 16 can


enter and resources donated by edu- cation suppliers such as Kudlian Software and BrainPop, alongside iPod Touches and educational days out are among the prizes on offer. For more information, visit www.bestyoungpresenter.net


SecEd • January 6 2011


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