February 2012

The know zone

  • Fault lines
    As keen readers of this column know, ‘vicarious liability’ is the legal doctrine that makes employers answerable for the actions of an employee in the course of his or her employment. But how does this translate to extra-curricular school activities? Richard Bird explains. More
  • Stay in touch?
    Teacher contact ratio is a topic of perennial importance but attempting to work out what the ideal figure should be is always a frustrating business, says Sam Ellis More
  • Lead vocals
    Quotes from Confucius, Douglas Adams and Aristotle More
  • Action man
    Until this spring, Graeme Hornsby is assistant principal (business management) at Lutterworth College, Leicestershire, a school with a £10m budget, 400 staff and 2,000 pupils where he has worked since 1989. A keen triathlete, he regularly undertakes a 600-mile round trip to see his beloved Celtic FC play. More
  • E-safety first...
    Online safety is in the spotlight throughout the world in February. More
  • Adding value
    A simple answer to saving money More
  • A level playing field
    UCAS has proposed allowing students to apply to university after they receive their A level results, even though it means moving the A level teaching period and shortening the exam window. Is it the best way to improve the admissions system? What are the implications? Members share their views. More
  • Leaders' surgery
    Healthy outlook provides food for thought & Early retirement calculations More
  • Old challenges for a new year...
    While the ongoing pension negotiations were high on the agenda of last Council, on 8-9 December, intelligent accountability was also a hot topic, with discussions in various committees on Ofsted, local authorities and the role of governors. More
  • Failing to plan...?
    The National Curriculum Review’s expert panel report, published in December, concurred with ASCL’s view that it is pointless to change the curriculum until we’ve agreed what purpose the curriculum is expected to serve. This debate has not happened, says Brian Lightman. More
  • Podium panic!
    Keeping the guest speaker sober and on-message while peppering your own presentation with song titles and wondering what some of the gongs are actually for – all concerns as prize-giving ceremonies loom large… More
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UCAS has proposed allowing students to apply to university after they receive their A level results, even though it means moving the A level teaching period and shortening the exam window. Is it the best way to improve the admissions system? What are the implications? Members share their views.

A level playing field?

Fewer distractions

As head of a maintained school which consistently has almost 200 students applying to UCAS, I would positively support application to university after results. This will reduce uncertainty for candidates and lead to a more efficient process without the clearing scramble. The change would also remove the distraction of personal statements and applications during the first half of the autumn term. Our director of sixth form and year 13 tutors would have the benefit of a more balanced workload. However the issue about shifting the A level teaching period and shortening the exam window places the emphasis on schools to cope. Why can’t the universities change their term dates?
H.S. Pattar
Head, The Heathland School, Middlesex

Shifting terms

A lot of schools would support a post-graduation application (PGA) process as a principle. What I am surprised about is that the bulk of the proposed changes seem to fall on year 13 studying their A levels at a time when there is immense pressure to finish courses as it is. OCR have just extended their A2 exams by 15 minutes in each of the two modules in biology as recognition of how much is in the exam. I am not advocating a reduced A2 specification but why can’t students start university later? Does it really matter if a course finishes a week or two later after a degree? It would be significantly less than the extra pressure on students and staff at secondary school.
Giles Scoble
Assistant head, Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe

Impact on T+Cs

The proposed changes would have some advantages for students in removing barriers to progression for those from institutions which consistently under predict results. But students would still have to do a fair bit of research beforehand and get much of the application written. So there is a danger that the process is considerably lengthened and that a degree of uncertainty is introduced for students and parents. The complexities of staffing the advice/ guidance post results are immense for large sixth forms and colleges and would entail changing teachers’ terms and conditions regarding summer holidays.
Mark Kent
Deputy principal, King Edward VI College, Stourbridge

Go for it

I cannot understand why it has taken so long for us to adopt the system used so successfully in Ireland whereby university places are allocated post-results. When I was head of sixth form years ago and UCCA and PCAS were amalgamating it was said at a conference that the post-results system could only be a couple of years away… Changing the system will free up so much time all round. Everyone will have to be realistic about the dreams of their students and offspring; predicted grades will no longer be a cause for fallout in the classroom. Bring it on!
Patricia McCarthy
Vice principal, The Ursuline Academy, Ilford

About time

This has been too long in coming. Following the increase in fees we have more students waiting until results and taking a gap year before applying to university. The pressure on students is significantly reduced with a post-results application and creates far less work with results ‘in the bag’. This review has been talked about so many times and always avoided. It has to change and the sooner the better.
Julia Upton
Deputy head, King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds

The real price?

I think a move at this stage by UCAS is unwise as it is not clear what the new student finance arrangements will mean in terms of uptake by students for university places. In 2011 the percentage of students considering university was down on the previous year and with the current economic climate I suspect that the figures this year will also be down.
Jo Waddingham
Director of studies, St Wilfrid’s Catholic School, Crawley

a level playing field?

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