article_snippet: Teenagers taking GCSE science will no longer have Teenagers taking GCSE science practical work assessed through coursework, Teenagers taking GCSE science was confirmed yesterday.
article_snippet: Universities have argued that that those entering undergraduate courses needed tried and tested basic skills to study at a higher level.
article_snippet: GCSE science students will no longer have practical work assessed through coursework.
article_snippet: But Ofqual has insisted that the change will ‘liberate’ teachers from repetitive practicals and offer more variety to pupils.
article_snippet: Under the proposals, there will be no separate exam specifically covering the lab work students have done, but instead there will be written exam questions that will draw on what students have learnt.
article_snippet: This will count for at least 15 per cent of the total marks available.
article_snippet: Each exam board offering science GCSEs will have to specify a minimum number of practical experiments a pupil must take part in and a minimum number of practical experiments will be no less than eight in each individual science and 16 for combined science courses.
article_snippet: the move means that practical science will no longer be assessed through ‘controlled assessment’ - a type of coursework completed in the classroom.
article_snippet: ’ Schools will also have to confirm that students have completed a range of experiments and each pupil will have to keep a record of students work.
article_snippet: Ofqual chief Glenys Stacey said: ‘There is unanimous agreement among scientists that practical work is central to good science qualifications.
article_snippet: We have consulted widely and have identified a new approach to the assessment of practical science that will liberate teachers to offer a wider variety of classroom experimentation and promote effective student progression to further study or employment.
article_snippet: A document on the plans says that students who do not do practical work will still be able to achieve science GCSEs, but insists that these young people ‘are likely to find it challenging to achieve the highest grades without having the relevant practical experience’.
article_snippet: Mrs Morgan wrote: ‘I continue to share the concerns of many in the science community that not having an assessment of practicals as part of the GCSE risks undermining the teaching of practicals in schools.
highlights_snippet: Pupils will no longer have practical work assessed through coursework .
  