STEM news

In May 2010 Ofsted published a report on guidance in schools for students studying science.

Inspectors visited 45 secondary schools in February 2010 to find out how students at the end of Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 were guided to science courses. A total of 1,623 Key Stage 4 students returned questionnaires.

The schools were found to be directing most students appropriately to suitable courses at the end of Key Stage 3 and very few students felt that they had been misdirected. Sixth form students chose science partly because of their particular career intentions, but mainly because of their interest in and enjoyment of the subject. They often cited good teaching as a factor that attracted them to science.

During the survey, school leaders said unanimously that the rescinding of the requirement for students to take statutory Key Stage 3 tests in science gave them increased curricular freedom. They said that this allowed them to design science courses that put a greater emphasis on developing science skills in Key Stage 3. As a result, students were now following different courses that were more suitable, engaging and interesting for them.

Key findings from the report:

• The vast majority of current Year 10 students were following science courses well matched to their talents, and sufficiently broad enough to permit successful progression to further science study in Year 12. However, the opportunities for students following a vocational Key Stage 4 course to continue with a level 3 science-based qualification were limited, and this information was not always made clear to students.
• All but one of the schools visited had changed the curriculum offered to their current Key Stage 4 students compared to the curriculum they had offered in 2007. Of the 45 schools visited, 34 were offering a pathway of triple science. All but one of the remaining schools were planning to do so for September 2010. Some schools had not been fully aware of the statutory requirements for science that 'all maintained schools must offer any pupil who so wishes the opportunity to study either GCSEs in Science and Additional Science or Triple Science'.
• In 33 of the schools visited, Year 9 students had already begun GCSE or vocational science courses. Schools said that this had been made easier by the ending of the Key Stage 3 statutory tests.
• The schools were using the increased flexibility of Key Stage 3 to emphasise the development of practical science skills, with a focus on making science engaging and enjoyable for students.
• All but two of the schools firmly directed Key Stage 3 students to one of their available science pathways at Key Stage 4. The vast majority of the 422 students with whom discussions were held, and of those who made written comments in the questionnaire, felt they had little choice about the science course they were studying. Despite this, only 5% who completed the questionnaire were unhappy with their science programme.
• The 25 schools currently offering a vocational pathway were very selective about which students they enrolled. Schools based the decision on their perception of a student's aptitude for course assessment using solely coursework, with no written test component. For such students, schools believed that these courses would lead to better grades than a more traditional examination-based qualification.
• Information, advice and guidance about science were more robust and much better understood by sixth form students. A large majority of the 195 sixth form students spoken to in the schools visited had a good understanding about science courses and the connection to further careers. The sixth form survey suggested that almost every student was content with her or his choice of science studies.
• In the schools visited that had sixth forms, the uptake of post-16 separate science level 3 courses was not directly related to whether the students had studied double award GCSE or triple science, once a minimum threshold grade for entry to the post-16 course had been reached. Students cited their enjoyment of the subject and, particularly, the quality of practical investigative work as important factors in choosing science at A level.
• Students who had followed a vocational course at Key Stage 4 had limited opportunities for studying vocational science at either level 2 or level 3 at post-16 level, and were ill-prepared to switch back to separate sciences at AS and A level. Students who had studied applied science at GCSE could continue to applied science A level, but were not easily able to pick up a separate A-level science. This limitation was not the case for students who studied double award or triple science at Key Stage 4: they could choose vocational or applied level 3 science courses as well as the separate science AS/A levels.

Main report published 27 May 2010.

Main report (opens a new browser window)