Staffroom Catch-up: Mark Bellworthy, Harlow College
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We've been catching up with teachers at schools and colleges around the UK to find out how teaching with Eduqas is working for them and their learners. Mark Bellworthy, Head of Department for Maths at Harlow College, shares his experience: |
"At Harlow, we've got 1,100 students for GCSE Maths, around 120 per teacher. We’ve been teaching with Eduqas for nearly four years now, since 2021.
We were with AQA before for a long time, then we attended a CPD event and another college got talking to us and recommended Eduqas. We gave it a go because of the appeal of two exams rather than three.
The two-exam system has improved attendance, definitely. In the past we had a lot students not turning up for the third exam. With three exams, if one of the first two didn’t go very well, the student would feel disheartened and be less likely to turn up. Now, with just two exams, even if the first doesn’t go as well they can still get 50% of the marks on that second paper, so they’re a lot easier to persuade to attend.
After moving to Eduqas there was an immediate improvement in outcomes, and our attendance rose to 92%, the highest it’s ever been, compared to often being in the 80s before.
Our students have responded well to the specification. Before we switched, we had some students try out the papers to see how they compared to AQA, and a lot of them found the Eduqas papers really accessible. Initially they questioned the length of the exams, but our lessons are actually longer, and we also conduct mock exams to help them get used to it, so they’ve adapted quickly.
Overall I wouldn’t say delivery has changed massively since moving to Eduqas. We just make sure students are familiar with the exam papers and exposed to how the format is different as we approach exam time.
The support from Eduqas has been very good. I’ve met with Rhys the Eduqas Maths rep more frequently than the reps from any awarding organisation we’ve used in the past. The communication has been better than any other exam board. Some of our staff have attended their summer CPD events, and we’re definitely looking to take advantage of more of those professional learning opportunities as a team.
For schools considering a switch to Eduqas, I’d recommend they do their research, speak to other teachers and decide what's best for them and their students.”