The majority of universities will ask for a PASS at offer stage for STEM subjects and this will be made clear in their Entry Criteria for a specific course. Admissions requirements are under the control of universities, and vary by course and institution. The universities will take on students at their own discretion and hence this should not be a deterrent to students when applying. Can a student choose not to do the Practical Endorsement? The Practical Endorsement is still a required component of the qualification and all students will be entered for it, although the grade for the Practical Endorsement is reported separately from the written exam grade on the A-level certificate. A student’s student cannot choose not to enter the Practical Endorsement nor can they waive the requirement to complete this component. If my school does not have the facilities to offer the Practical Endorsement, can we still enter private candidates for the qualification? It is a regulatory requirement that centres entering candidates for science A-level qualifications make reasonable provision for their candidates to access the Practical Endorsement. could be carrying out practical work at your centre, ‘Reasonable provision’ or having an established agreement with another centre where students can carry out the practical work necessary to obtain the Practical Endorsement. Centres which do not make reasonable provision for their students to access the Practical Endorsement cannot enter them for the qualification. If they do so, they will be in maladministration. This will result in penalties for the centre, with consequences including being barred from making any GCE entries until the centre is compliant with the regulatory requirements. Candidates cannot their right to access the Practical Endorsement, and ‘waive’ subsequently there are no circumstances under which a centre can avoid making reasonable provision for candidates to access the Practical Endorsement. Lead Teacher Training What does the Lead Teacher do? Centres are required to have a Lead Teacher for each A Level science (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Geology and Physics) that they offer. The Lead Teacher is required to complete the mandatory exam board Lead Teacher training and to cascade this down to the other teachers of that science to ensure that all teachers of that science are applying the national standard in the Practical Endorsement. In the preparation for and during a monitoring visit the Lead Teacher is the main point of contact at the school. Should the Lead Teacher be a senior member of staff?
The majority of universities will ask for a PASS at offer stage for STEM subjects and this will be made clear in their Entry Criteria for a specific course. Admissions requirements are under the control of universities, and vary by course and institution. The universities will take on students at their own discretion and hence this should not be a deterrent to students when applying. Can a student choose not to do the Practical Endorsement? The Practical Endorsement is still a required component of the qualification and all students will be entered for it, although the grade for the Practical Endorsement is reported separately from the written exam grade on the student’s A-level certificate. A student cannot choose not to enter the Practical Endorsement nor can they waive the requirement to complete this component. If my school does not have the facilities to offer the Practical Endorsement, can we still enter private candidates for the qualification? It is a regulatory requirement that centres entering candidates for science A-level qualifications make reasonable provision for their candidates to access the Practical Endorsement. ‘Reasonable provision’ could be carrying out practical work at your centre, or having an established agreement with another centre where students can carry out the practical work necessary to obtain the Practical Endorsement. Centres which do not make reasonable provision for their students to access the Practical Endorsement cannot enter them for the qualification. If they do so, they will be in maladministration. This will result in penalties for the centre, with consequences including being barred from making any GCE entries until the centre is compliant with the regulatory requirements. Candidates cannot ‘waive’ their right to access the Practical Endorsement, and subsequently there are no circumstances under which a centre can avoid making reasonable provision for candidates to access the Practical Endorsement. Lead Teacher Training What does the Lead Teacher do? Centres are required to have a Lead Teacher for each A Level science (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Geology and Physics) that they offer. The Lead Teacher is required to complete the mandatory exam board Lead Teacher training and to cascade this down to the other teachers of that science to ensure that all teachers of that science are applying the national standard in the Practical Endorsement. In the preparation for and during a monitoring visit the Lead Teacher is the main point of contact at the school. Should the Lead Teacher be a senior member of staff?
Practical%20Endorsement%20FAQs%2026-03-2018.docx