A level 2015 Sciences: September 2014 Update

Accreditation status

As you will have gathered, none of our specifications received accreditation in August following first submission to Ofqual. This is fairly normal practice and, to date across all awarding bodies, only 1 specification in a science subject was accredited. However, we received some useful feedback from Ofqual, mostly regarding our SAMs (Sample Assessment Materials), with some comments on specification content too.

Over the late summer, we made amendments to the specifications and the SAMs to address the Ofqual's feedback, and then re-submitted the specifications for consideration for accreditation. Ofqual still have a number of specifications across science subjects to review, so we're not expecting to hear a decision on the re-submission until mid-October at the earliest. Of course, once we do hear, we'll let you know - especially if we're successful.

Launch events

Although we don't have accredited specifications, we're continuing our series of launch events over the next few weeks. Our free, half-day launch events will be running across the country this term. We're also running online twilight sessions, so you'll be able to find out more about our specifications wherever you are. If you came to a launch event in June/July, there is nothing new to add at the moment, so there's no need to attend again, unless you would like to.

Please visit our training page to view a full list of launch events that are scheduled. We are planning to visit:

• Manchester - 6 October
• London - 10 October
• Southampton - 13 October
• Cambridge - 16 October
• London - 20 October

There are also several online events starting at 4 p.m.

If you live in the south-west, there are some useful events, involving all the awarding bodies, in Abingdon, Truro, Exeter and Chippenham, organised through the Science Learning Centres. You can find out more about these events on the Science Learning Centres website - use RD829 as the search keyword.

We're always happy to consider attending an event at your school if you have a local network of schools that you can gather together. Just let us know if you want to explore this as an opportunity.

Keep an eye on the website

Do keep looking at A Level Sciences 2015 page - from time to time as new material is going up. We're working on a new podcast and a set of revised FAQs.

As you click through each page, there are videos, pdf downloads, information on support, and opportunities to download our specification and SAMs.

Best wishes,

Stephen