Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School liked the OCR Chemistry A specification they were teaching and hoped the new one wouldn't be too different. They decided to stay with OCR as they were very happy with the content and feel that we made the process "as pain free as possible".
Jo Gaisford, Head of Science, Chemistry and Biology shared the school's insights.
As they were already happily using OCR for A Level Chemistry, the school was approaching the reform to A Level with some trepidation. Jo Gaisford said:
They liked the OCR Chemistry A specification they were teaching, so when the new one came out, they hoped it would not be too different. As a department, they were also concerned about the requirements for the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC) and how much recording and marking would be required.
They decided to stay with OCR for the reformed A Level Chemistry; the main reason being that they were very happy with the content. They also enjoy a range of other benefits with the new OCR specification, including the following:
The new practical activity groups (PAGs)
OCR's model for the practical endorsement maps out 12 activities into different categories. The availability of three experiments per PAG has allowed the team to select the experiments they see as most suitable for their students and they have not felt the need to add their own. Jo said:
OCR also produces a PAG tracker, which Jo said, "…is brilliant!" They find that it answers most of the questions that the monitor has, if used effectively. Jo added: "It provides all of the information I have ever needed and more. I wouldn’t change it at all."
Support
Jo commented that the support from OCR has been "superb". She said, "OCR have led the way, particularly with the CPAC lead teacher training."
They found this training both simple to complete and very informative, allowing them to feel confident that they had understood the CPAC guidance correctly.
Monitor visit
Any concerns they had about quite what to expect from the monitor visit were soon diminished as their monitor was an experienced teacher who related well to the department and students.
Local network meetings
OCR runs a number of regional teacher network meetings – a great opportunity for teachers to meet with its own subject leaders and other teachers. Attending these in her area, Jo noted that, as well as there being a theme to each event and a main speaker, much of each session was given over to informal conversations and Q&A sessions – which she found really helpful and informative.
Commenting on the move to the reformed A Level, Jo said:
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