In a previous blog post I outlined a very basic memory technique which works by creating a story out of to-be-remembered information. This makes the information more memorable than recalling a list of unrelated words and the technique itself requires no real groundwork, after all, you are just making up a story. Whilst impressive results […]
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Nationally, 70% of Yr 7s achieved the ‘expected standard’ in KS2 Maths SATs tests. This ‘expected standard’ was decided by a panel of teachers looking at the scores from completed test papers and comparing them to the national curriculum, as well as by the testing agency. Perhaps eventually there will be more detailed information about […]
Read moreIt’s almost over. Almost exactly four years after Michael Gove formally announced the abolition of National Curriculum level descriptions, the first use of the new statutory assessment arrangements is nearing completion. Children in Years 2 and 6 have done their statutory tests, external moderation visits to selected schools are in full swing and teacher assessment […]
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Over the past few weeks my GCSE and A Level students have had their mock exams which has inevitably meant a number of revision lessons. I don’t know about you, but I find that it gets difficult to think of new and engaging ideas as the lessons continue and students learn in different ways, so […]
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It’s all change in the geography curriculum! Both GCSE and A Level specifications are changing in September 2016, with first examinations in summer 2018. The last examinations for the existing qualifications will take place in summer 2017. Any teachers teaching a three-year GCSE will already have started teaching the new courses! Change at GCSE The […]
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Memory in the internet age Having worked with David Thomas, former US Memory Champion , memory is something which excites me and I firmly believe it plays an enormous part in the successful preparation of students for examinations. His tremendous passion for memory enabled him to recite Pi to 22,500 digits and he later gained 4th place in the World Memory […]
Read more Geographical issues are wide-ranging, important, complex, and they present themselves on a range of scales. As teachers, we happily spend weeks developing students’ knowledge and understanding of case studies that represent these issues. I want to question how this material is being assessed and why examination boards assess specific aspects of geographical issues. I am […]
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Exams are over. A new cohort is ready to start along the path to Higher Maths. It’s June. What topic do we use as an introduction? Come August some of the original students will have gone, and some more will have joined the course. The latter set will prove problematic if we have already covered […]
Read moreWelcome to the brave new world of Key Stage 4 English And the trouble is that it’s sitting alongside the brave new world of Key Stage 3, which itself rubs shoulders with a whole new primary curriculum, and then at the other end there are all those momentous changes to post-16 English. So welcome, in […]
Read moreDuring a GCSE intervention session recently, I asked one boy why he disliked English so much. He sat back and, with a cheerful smile, provided me with a list. These were his exact words: All that writing makes my hand hurt so much You have to write loads of stuff just to explain one little […]
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