Need to know?

We have one set in year 11 who are following a totally different syllabus to everyone else. They are all new students from overseas who joined us this year because they want to take IB in the 6th form. There was no easy way to slot them into the IGCSE course which everyone else is taking, so they are doing Edexcel GCSE additional science instead. The HoDs have organised most of this between themselves - they even ordered their own textbooks!

This GCSE course has a 'controlled assessment' element - essentially it's coursework. I've known this was coming up for a few weeks because my HoD emailed me all the paperwork to have a look at so that I could order any extra equipment we need. This morning he asked me to go onto the Edexcel website and download the paperwork for bio and chem and then email it to the techs. This caused a certain degree of confusion. Neither of them apparently had any idea that this controlled assessment even existed, and in chatting to the bio tech I discovered that she hasn't been given any info about the A-level assessed practicals yet either.

It's weird how our HoDs have such different approaches. I've been given login details for AQA and Edexcel so I can go to their websites and find out all the information I need about the practicals. For A-level ISAs, I did it back in september, so I've had plenty of time to order the equipment, trial the practicals and am now in a position to advise the teachers so that the students have the best chance to do well. It sounds like the other 2 HoDs like to keep all the information close to their chests, but I can't see why.

You're never going to get the best technical support if you don't give the technicians the information they need. Maybe the difference is that I'm treated as an integral and trusted part of the team by all of my teachers. It sounds as though my colleagues aren't getting the respect they deserve.

I hate ISAs

The thing that triggered me starting this blog almost 2 years ago was an ISA (the practical assessments for A-level physics) and they really don't get any better.

All of our year 13s are retaking the AS ISA so this week has been a non-stop flurry of practice ISA practicals and tests. We have 2 classes and my HoD is perpetually confused as to which set is doing which ISA and when. I'm mostly on top of it, but it's SO stressful. Today and monday will be the real ISAs, but that's not the end of it. Oh no!

There are 2 AS ISA experiments. They do both of them and submit the best one. Of course the year 12s also have to do their ISAs and the year 13s haven't started on the A2 ISAs yet either.

If I make it to Easter without either a nervous breakdown or murdering my HoD I think I will be doing quite well.