A discussion began in the staffroom yesterday about the BTEC
and its place within the National Curriculum. It was interesting to hear the
views of experienced teachers and get their take on it. The conversation began
after a member of staff made a comment about how low ability students were
taking a science BTEC rather than a GCSE despite the level of the BTEC being
equivalent to an A*/A at GCSE – a level completely unachievable for these
students. Teachers from other departments said they were finding this too and
that they have to teach BTEC rather than GCSE ultimately so that the grades
will not affect the schools league table results. This links into the government’s
introduction of Progress 8.
It seems that the BTEC demands a lot more from the pupil
than the GCSE in terms of research and coursework and in a way the skillset is
more similar to that of university level and it is very wrong to demand that
from a low ability student. This also makes it very difficult for them to get a
distinction.
My own opinion (and like I said before - very biased opinion) is that the subjects of
dance and drama are just as important as the ‘compulsory’ subjects which
students have to study on the English Baccalaureate route. However because they
are considered to have a ‘lower status’, less and less students are choosing
them and it seems that schools are becoming somewhat reluctant to promote them
as qualifications gained are not.