Well, that was quite a year! It might not have panned out as any of us expected. But, one thing is for sure, our young people have shown themselves to adapt well to the changing circumstances and, in the overwhelming majority of cases, resilient to the setbacks that 18 months of a pandemic have thrown […]
“Studying’s boring. I’ve already done enough. The test’s not for ages. The teacher told us it wasn’t important. What’s the point, I’m rubbish anyway?” I could go on with the list of typical student reactions to the prospect of revision. Not only have I heard them from my own children and other students, but I […]
There’s something comforting about seeing a teen’s notepad with actual notes inside it! Of course, the occasional diagram has its place too. The written word reassures us that they are working. Simply; the more notes, the harder they’re working. After all, that’s how they did it in my day. However, there are a number of […]
Teaching and learning are something that has been happening since the dawn of time – or thereabouts. And we do it all the time in non-school contexts, as do our children. But that doesn’t mean, necessarily that the things we need to learn stick, especially when there is an entire world of excitement and interest […]
In ‘normal times’, exams can be a cause of stress and anxiety for students. Even those students who have studied and you’d think are well prepared are subjected to the mounting pressure. In fact, these abnormal times are no different. Exams have been replaced with Teacher Assessment; a process that for some feels uncertain and […]
The end of the academic year is upon us. For GCSE and A Level students, the worst is now over. Many have finished their courses and looking forward to a couple of extra weeks of the British summer. However, for other year groups throughout secondary school, just over the horizon looms the prospect of end-of-year […]
The pandemic has resulted in canceled exams for hundreds of thousands of pupils across the UK. In their place, we have Teacher Assessed Grades; where teachers are using their professional and holistic judgment to determine the level that a student is performing at. On the face of it at all sounds relatively straightforward. However, as […]
In any normal year, the GCSE and A Level exam period would be starting about now. But, there’s scarcely any need to point out that this isn’t a normal year! You might be forgiven for thinking that in the absence of exams there would be less pressure and a distinct lack of need to revise. […]
Between finding things that explode or pop or fizzle and trying to not set notes alight with Bunsen burners many of us will have fond memories of Chemistry lessons. But it’s not all parlour tricks and safety goggles, there’s a considerable amount of content to be learnt. Between the scientific terms and symbols, it can […]
As we’re now well into the swing of the Summer term, the end is firmly – and finally – in sight for our GCSE and A Level students. Unfortunately for many, that goal post can still seem a little blurry. We know that, like last year, disrupted and unequal access to schooling has resulted in […]