Science students 'need more practical work'

June 17 2010

Pupils studying science need to get more hands-on practice in order to benefit from the subject.

This is according to Michael Reiss, professor of science education at the Institute of Education, who said it is an important area of the curriculum.

He suggested that students should to be given more practical work that requires them to think and understand what they are doing.

"At present GCSE science makes too modest a set of mathematical demands on students," Mr Reiss commented.

He noted that teachers need fewer changes to the curriculum so they have the time and energy to prepare high quality lessons that reward their pupils.

Ofqual revealed earlier this week that proposed replacement science GCSEs have been rejected due to concerns over standards.

The qualifications body claimed last year that papers from 2007 and 2008 contained too many multiple choice questions and were not challenging enough.

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