Industry News
Private school invests in science
Posted on 21st January 2008
An independent school in Durham has backed up its commitment to science teaching by spending £1.5 million on new facilities for physics and information technology lessons.
The new building at Barnard Castle School contains three physics rooms and a 70-terminal computer suite, reports the Northern Echo.
Governors made the decision to construct the facility in order to help cope with demand from pupils for science lessons in the wake of the decision to continue offering biology, chemistry and physics as separate subjects.
Many schools now offer combined science GCSEs but staff at Barnard Castle believe single subject tuition helps to prepare pupils better for A-level and degree courses.
Headteacher David Ewart told the newspaper the school has an excellent track record in science teaching and exam attainment.
"Nearly a third of all the A-Levels taken at the school are in maths, biology, chemistry and physics and 78 per cent of all the grades in those subjects were at A and B last year," explained Mr Ewart.
Figures compiled by the Independent Schools Council show that more than 80 per cent of applications from pupils at its member schools for places on science, maths and technology degree courses at Russell Group universities in 2007 were successful.