News Article 14

Pass Mark raised for GCSE's this September

Pupils will have to score more highly to gain a "good pass" in their GCSEs, under changes to England's exams.

Candidates will have to obtain a Grade 5, equivalent to a low B or high C now, as grading switches to numbers nine to one in exams to be taken first in 2017.

The aim is to make standards comparable to top-performing countries such as Finland, Canada, and the Netherlands. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan says raising the bar on GCSE exams will help pupils achieve in life. The new grading system, which replaces the A to G system with a new nine-to-one numbered scale, comes as new "more rigorous" GCSEs are being introduced for first teaching this September.

The new grading system has been designed to reveal the differences between candidates at the top end. Currently, candidates are expected to achieve a C to attain a "good pass", although grades below this are still officially considered passes.

New GCSEs

• GCSEs to be graded from nine to one, replacing A*-to-G grades
• Grade 9 will be highest
• Grade 5 will be considered a good pass, equivalent to a current low B or high C. It will be linked to standards in high performing countries
• Grade 4 will be equivalent to current low C grade
• Grade 1 will be lowest
• Introduced for new-style GCSEs in English and maths to be taught from September 2015
• First of new exam grades awarded summer 2017

I do think this is a better more reliable way to understand which students are more ready and will strive more from going on to take A-Levels. However I also think that it'll make it a lot harder for more students to achieve the grades they are aiming for as they'll have to work so much harder to even get a 4 (C grade) therefore making it more difficult to get into colleges or 6th forms which will stop them from going onto further education such as university. They'll have a lot less opportunities in life if they do not get the grades.

A2 Coursework idea

Q: How far does the 1st person shooter genre affect the attitudes and behavior of young people?

Research:

• Crimes previously blamed on games of this genre
• Statistics on positive and negative effects this genre typically has on people
• Controversy surrounding violent games such as Call Of Duty and not games that have potential violence such as The Sims
• Does this genre of games encourage people to use weapons
• Questionnaire/interview results? 

Primary Research

This will mainly surround specific 1st person shooter games such as CoD and Battlefield and research on how they affect young people depending on how much they play the games. I will look into how the aim of all these games is too kill as many people as possible and how this aim may affect different people perhaps based on different personality traits.

Secondary research

I will look at a range of different texts that will help me in my research. I will do this to triangulate my sources and make my conclusion to the question more reliable. I may include the opinions of different people on this genre compared to other genre of games.

News Article 13

Georgia Flood: Animals from zoo escaped

Heavy flooding in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, has killed eight people and officials are warning residents to stay indoors to avoid animals that have escaped from a zoo as many dangerous animals are still loose.

The missing animals include tigers, lions, bears and wolves. It is believed that a zookeeper is among the dead. A hippopotamus was cornered in one of the city's main squares and subdued with a tranquiliser gun. However other animals have been killed in the flood. Rescue workers are searching submerged homes to check for trapped residents. Dozens of people have been left homeless after their houses were damaged or destroyed. 

10 people have been reported missing and Mayor Davit Narmania said the situation was "very grave". Other animals have been recaptured or killed though it is unclear how many are missing. Helicopters are now circling the city as part of a search and rescue operation. Tbilisi's vice-mayor, Irakly Lekvinadze, estimated the preliminary damage at $10m (£6.43m).

I hope that they find the rest of the animals quickly for the safety of both the animals and the people of Tbilisi and continue to search for those reported missing in the hope that they may have survived this terrible flood.