What can we learn from the 2019 GCSE Mathematics papers? By Jemma Sherwood We have now seen the third year of the new GCSE in Mathematics and we are starting to get a feel for the question types, the mix of procedure and application, and the complexity of the problems. It is clearly a different […]
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The examiner reports from OCR have now been published, highlighting some of the features of the best answers from the summer exams of 2019. There were several key characteristics that helped essays to score higher marks; the examiners’ reports should help current students to see where they can improve as they develop their own writing. […]
Author: Gwen Nelson The literature NEAs involve a comparison of different texts, linked via a theme, form, or authorial method with application of literary criticism. It is a demanding piece of work which is worth 20% of the A-Level as a whole. There are varying approaches across Centres, with some choosing to use one common […]
Author: Gwen Nelson Reading a set for exam reports for AS and A-Level for different versions of the A-Level course is no mean feat, but nowhere near as difficult as actually doing the marking and leading a bunch of exhausted assistant examiners. So, to all assistant examiners and team leaders, I thank you for a […]
We’re now three years into what is still being referred to as the ‘new spec’, and students, teachers and examiners have settled into a pattern of expectation: most students know what to do in the exam, teachers teach it and examiners examine it. Something is obviously working because results continue to get better year on […]
So, just like that, another exam season is over and the GCSE Geography exams of 2019 are completed. With this being the second cohort of Year 11s to sit the reformed Geography specifications, I think that many Geography teachers were intrigued to see another set of live papers – what would be tested this year? […]
We have taken a detailed look at the examiner reports for the first GCSE PE 9–1 exams in order to understand the issues that students struggled with the most. The reports reveal the following common issues: Understanding the question Using technical terms Mastering ‘forgotten’ topics Data analysis UNDERSTANDING THE QUESTION A high proportion […]
Continuing our look at the Examiner’s Reports for the 2018 GCSE English Literature exams, as with English Language, students had much to feel proud about. Examiners were bowled over by the creativity displayed by many candidates and the analysis of their set texts. As always there were areas for improvement and we’ve summarised these below […]
The dust has finally settled on the 2018 exams; students have received their results and the examiners have now published their reports. This year, although examiners found lots to commend students and saw improvements throughout the English Language and Literature exams, they also identified a number of areas where some students struggled. Below are […]
Examiners’ reports are a wealth of information, giving data about how many students tried each question as well as breaking down misconceptions for every section. Are there any key messages that we can draw from the examiners reports to improve the performance of our students? Sam Holyman has looked through the reports to give you […]