Led by the Committee of Heads of Environmental Science (CHES), the education committee of the IES, the Institution has submitted a response to a recent government consultation on the planned A Level in Environmental Science.
The Department of Education, in collaboration with Ofqual, has been consulting on draft subject content for the new A Level, which is to be introduced in 2017. This is an exciting development for the discipline and the IES has been keen to work with government and the regulator to ensure the syllabus offered is of the highest possible standard and best reflects both the requirements for further study post-18 and the complex nature of the environmental challenges society now faces.
This response makes recommendations about how to better align the syllabus with undergraduate environmental science courses, and also makes a case for the celebration of the inherent interdisciplinarity of environmental study and research in the course content. This submission also highlights subject areas in which the Institution feels this consultation document is lacking, and how these sections can be strengthened.
We look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Education, Ofqual, and the exam boards in the run up to the introduction of the A Level in 2017.
