dear all

 

it seems to me that an exam board simply cannot be permitted by government to remove a core national subject area from its portfolio, especially one that forms part of the ebacc.  

 

regards, steve

 

steve giles

emeritus professor of german studies and critical theory
 
honorary research fellow, centre for translation and comparative cultural studies
co-investigator ahrc project 'brecht into english' http://brecht.mml.ox.ac.uk/
 
school of cultures, languages and area studies
university of nottingham
nottingham ng7 2rd
 
tel 0115 9515815
From: JISCmail German Studies List [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Stuart Bridge [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2016 5:26 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: OCR to discontinue MFL qualifications

Dear Colleagues,

I've not posted anything here before, but as a(n) M(F)L Teacher in Secondary Education, at a School where we moved from OCR to another exam board, and as an Assistant Examiner (Specialist Assessor as we're now called I believe) for OCR, I thought I might offer something.

Numbers (at least for German) at GCSE have been in decline over the last few years, and as result we've lost some Examiners along the way, and our own marking allocations this year are significantly lower than should/could be. Whilst OCR have not released any details, one would speculate perhaps that this is a business (i.e. financial) decision. Other main exam boards (WJEC, AQA, Edexcel/Pearson) have all had their A Levels and GCSEs accredited - most Schools would be, by now, looking at choosing their new exam boards, and putting in budget bids for resources for the next academic year. By not having the specifications accredited at the same time, or before other boards, I can imagine many will have jumped ship in an attempt to get ahead in terms of planning. Other boards have also announced new textbooks etc. Edexcel have publishers behind them, and AQA also do with the OUP acquisition of Nelson Thornes (if I'm not mistaken) a few years ago - meaning that their online resources Kerboodle.com are more readily available, and also update-able. The OxBox software, originally by OUP and used for OCR specifications has died an out-dated death. AQA developed Exampro and Testbase - again online resources for testing and test-creation, whilst OCR have struggled to get anything similar developed. There are also several other resources from educational publishers (such as peer-reviewed ZigZag Publishing), which are out there already being finalised and printed. Although I was involved in the inititial 'lets meet the Teachers and find out what they want/what they think of our plans' for OCR, there may be an element here of having 'missed the boat'. No customers, as it were, equals no income to fund the development.

Indeed, whilst many may disagree, what with the seemingly stringent requirements from Ofqual, it could be questioned as to whether a need for several exam boards offering the same subjects even exists - I've heard calls for 'nationalisation' and specialism from colleagues.

Apologies - appear to have rambled on for longer than I intended.

--
Kind Regards,

Stuart Bridge PGCE, BA(hons)

[log in to unmask]
www.sjbridge.co.uk
+44 (0) 758 109 7363

On 16 May 2016 at 16:19, Sarah Colvin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Dear colleagues,

The communication below from Jocelyn Wyburd (UCML) is of interest, though not in a good way. UCML and the AGS will be making representations to OCR, Ofqual and the DfE - please feel free to make your own objections individually or as organisations / institutions.

All best

Sarah


-----Original Message-----
From: Jocelyn Wyburd [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 16 May 2016 13:34

Dear all

OCR exam board has today announced that it will not be proceeding to get their reformed GCSE, A and AS levels in French, German and Spanish accredited. This effectively means that a major exam board of the UK will offer NO MFL (sorry, that's the designation, rather than my preferred ML) qualifications at all in future.

All the best
Jocelyn


--
Jocelyn Wyburd
Director
University of Cambridge Language Centre
Downing Place
Cambridge CB2 3EL
www.langcen.cam.ac.uk

Tel: 44 (0)1223 (3)35012
Fax: 44 (0)1223 (7)63618
[log in to unmask]

Fellow of Clare College
www.clare.cam.ac.uk

Chair of UCML
www.ucml.ac.uk


This email (together with any files transmitted with it) is intended only for the use of the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. It may contain information which is confidential and/or legally privileged. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender by return email (or telephone) and delete the original message.

The sender has taken reasonable precautions to check for viruses but the recipient opens this message at his or her own risk.



This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
and may contain confidential information. If you have received this
message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. 

Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this
message or in any attachment.  Any views or opinions expressed by the
author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the
University of Nottingham.

This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an
attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your
computer system, you are advised to perform your own checks. Email
communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as
permitted by UK legislation.