A LEVELS Reforming our A levels


The government wants universities to be involved in designing


A levels. Based on his experience of developing science qualifications for pre- university students, Dr Peter Wothers offers his advice.


T


wo unanswered questions following education secretary Michael Gove’s announcement last month that exam boards involve universities in designing A levels are what university involvement might look like and how exactly it would work?


The idea of involving universities in school exam


reform is, in my view, a strong one. Not only are they going to teach some of the students as they progress from A level but, more importantly, they are in the best position to know what is relevant in their particular disciplines at any given moment. Although there are many courses run by universities


to update teachers’ knowledge, it is often difficult for teachers to stay on top of the latest developments in their subjects in addition to preparing and giving lessons (not to mention the exponential increase in paperwork they are expected to undertake). The challenge comes in getting the level of involvement right and balancing any involvement from


universities with ongoing engagement from schools to create a collaboration between universities, schools and exam boards. This approach was taken when drawing up the plans for the Cambridge Pre-U. The big challenge in developing this post-16 qualification was forging strong, productive, relationships with teachers. When I was first asked to look at an A level syllabus,


many years ago, and made recommendations, I was told that they could not be implemented since the topics would not be in the existing textbooks. Essentially, we could only remove things from the existing syllabus, not add to it. Perhaps one of the most worrying changes in the


science syllabuses is the gradual exclusion of maths. It is simply not possible to study the physical sciences at university without some understanding of mathematics. We are in danger now of giving students the impression that it is not necessary to study maths for the sciences which can lead to a nasty shock at university. What is needed is a thorough look at what is on


the syllabus and why it is there, and this is certainly something that the universities could have a valuable hand in. As an example from my subject, chemistry, the


analytical topic of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was included in the A level syllabus. For what can only now be historical reasons, it was deemed important to teach a type of NMR known as “proton NMR”. This is a subject that at the University of Cambridge


we have felt is better left to the second year to teach, since it rapidly becomes so complicated. Instead, we teach other variations to the first-year students, notably “carbon-NMR”. This is significantly simpler to grasp, and introduces the concepts necessary to properly understand the subject. In contrast, trying to teach the more complicated


proton NMR in a classroom is ludicrous. The examples have to be artificially simplified and only a handful of molecules have a basic enough structure for the students (and teachers) to cope with. Taking this into account, when designing Cambridge Pre-U, we included carbon NMR which is simpler to


understand, but also means more interesting, real-life molecules can actually be analysed using it, even by weaker students. Why was this topic not introduced earlier? The


answer is because it has not been routinely available for as long as proton NMR and so those responsible for the different syllabuses had not realised how routine it had become, and how easy it is to teach. One of my colleagues at University of Cambridge


has commented, only slightly tongue-in-cheek, that if the students all came here knowing the content of this course, we would not have to teach our first year. Of course, this is not true – it is about providing a


sound education that is still accessible to all students of varying ability but one that gives them the skills to truly understand their chosen subjects and further develop


Reform: Cambridge chemist Dr Peter Wothers reminds us that academics are just one of the voices involved in A level reform


these if they choose to go on to university. This can only be accomplished with the co-operation of all parties involved – teachers, universities and exam boards. So what is the lesson for Mr Gove? Involve academics


but remember we are one of a number of voices and the real key is to get everyone working together to develop qualifications that allow our students to be truly fit for the future.


SecEd


• Dr Peter Wothers is a chemist at the University of Cambridge and director of studies at St Catharine’s College.


BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT The right skills for work


With youth unemployment rising, headteacher


John Dowd looks at how education-employer integration is vital to equipping young people with the right skills


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he new national curriculum and its focus on subject content raises serious questions about the roles and responsibilities of schools in ensuring that young people are properly equipped for the challenges that the real world presents.


Our young people can expect to work until they are


in their 70s and the life expectancy for those born today will be close to 100 years. With this in mind, schools have the responsibility and accountability for ensuring that their pupils are equipped with the relevant skills so that they can contribute economically, intellectually and socially to the society that they will help to define. I am clear that schools need to work in partnerships


in all they do. Schools need to develop strong and productive relationships with community and business partners which can bring huge mutual benefits. I am head of a large multicultural comprehensive


school in Chalk Farm, London. Our community is a demanding but deserving one and is often defined by the word “challenging”. Our young people certainly


SecEd • May 24 2012


bring challenges to us but in themselves are generally the opposite of challenging. Rather, they are engaging, communicative, articulate


and full of enthusiasm to learn. These are qualities that employers will be looking for and we need to give currency to them alongside the academic qualifications that they clearly also need. While many of our pupils come from disadvantaged


backgrounds; more than 50 per cent on free school meals and nearly 25 per cent refugees and asylum seekers; our geographical location provides us with a rich hinterland, particularly with business and commerce, and I have always sought to use this opportunity. The Panel on Fair Access to the Professions, chaired


by Alan Milburn, former cabinet minister, judged that for those from less affluent backgrounds many professions are more challenging now than a generation ago. It also found that the children of less prosperous or non-professional parents – like the majority of our intake – are at a real disadvantage in accessing formal and informal networks that provide contacts, work experience and internships.


The saying “it’s not what you know but who you


know” has resonance here, so we have set up successful partnerships that redress some of the inequalities that many of our pupils have, and afford them the same opportunities as their peers. This thinking initially motivated us to become a


business and enterprise college and then drew us to Career Academies UK, a business-education charity that fosters links between schools and colleges directly with local business to provide young people with meaningful experiences of the workplace. We run two Career Academies for our 6th form


students – business and finance and creative and media – and these were judged by Ofsted to be one of our significant strengths, especially the outstanding relationships between business partners, including Santander, Olswang, NBC Universal Picture, Sony, Morgan-Stanley and BBC Worldwide. We launched this initiative in 2006 with just six


students and since then 110 have graduated from the programme with almost all of them going on to follow a business-related course to move in to successful careers


as graduates. The effect on the young people involved and the overall impact on the school has been enormous and unequivocally positive. This is reflected in improved attainment, destinations,


improvements in self-confidence and self-worth and also giving our young people a sense of themselves as having equal value with their peers and contemporaries. This is supported by a strong information, advice


and guidance programme throughout the school, work experience in year 10 and six-week paid internships for Career Academy students at the end of year 12 with supporting local employers. As well as this, we have benefited from many


other initiatives that have developed alongside our partnerships with businesses. Examples include a share trading club, business planning competitions, the Olswang Art Award, a Lawyers in School programme, and extended mentoring opportunities for younger students. However, the benefits of strong, reliable and


established partnerships with business are not “one- way”. There are significant benefits to the business world, not least that working with young people improves opportunities for staff development and makes corporate and social responsibility programmes real. Businesses also feel that young people leave school


with deficits in work-place and life-skills and it gives them an opportunity to influence this, and also to gain from the energy, enthusiasm, creativity and commitment that young people can bring given the chance. I will continue to expand and develop our business


network on all fronts, many of which are still untapped. There really is no limit to enhancing opportunities for young people and the more schools get involved directly with the world of work the more equipped our young people will be to achieve success when they get there.


SecEd


• John Dowd is headteacher of Haverstock School in Camden, London.


Further information Career Academies: www.careeracademies.org.uk


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