OCR Weekly Roundup 11 February 2022

Hi Colleague

With half term here for many of you, we hope you're able to enjoy a well-deserved rest. If you're continuing to work on through, or if half term isn't for another week, remember we're here to support you – please don't hesitate to get in touch.

As we approach summer 2022, please remind your colleagues to sign up to receive our email updates so we can keep you all up to date with our weekly roundup and subject-specific resources and support.

In this week's roundup:

a reminder that you can download advance information via our online finder tool for the majority of GCSEs, AS and A Levels, as well as Core Maths and FSMQ. To help with your questions, we'll be running free subject-specific Q&A webinars beginning next week
November 2021 GCSE results (for all subjects except Maths and English) will be issued on 23/24 February. For students who wish to resit in June 2022, we've extended the entry deadline to 21 March. We've updated the key dates on our website
if you're new to Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals or need a refresher, we're offering free Admin Essentials webinars
spotlight on...the Media and Film Subject Advisor team supporting you
today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. In a Cambridge University Press and Assessment article, we highlight some inspirational female scientists working in the field, and what we're doing to raise the profile of women in science
become a member of the Cambridge Assessment Network and enjoy exclusive networking opportunities and discounted CPD courses
some handy reminders:
- take a look at our 2021/22 adaptations for Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals, and our summer 2022 arrangements for AS, A Level and GCSE qualifications
- download the final exam timetables for the summer 2022 exams
- preparing for assessments and exams can be a daunting experience, especially if your students are stressed and struggling to focus. To help students, see our two infographics: how to manage your time and procrastination – how to beat it. Students can also check out our top tips webpages for successful revision and managing stress.

If you have any questions or need support at any time, remember to check out our dedicated supporting you pages, our range of FAQs, and don't hesitate to get in touch if you need more advice.

Finally, just a reminder we won't be sending the usual weekly roundup on Friday 18 February due to half term.

We hope you have a lovely weekend and enjoy the half term break.

Best wishes

Have you booked your place on our live Q&A webinars?

Beginning next week, we're looking forward to seeing many of you at our Q&A webinars to support you with advance information. These will include an overview of your subject's advance information and you'll be able to have your questions answered by our Subject Advisors. Don't worry if you can't join the live webinars due to half term or they're fully booked; we'll make the recordings available for you to watch on-demand. We'll also be publishing a series of subject-specific blogs based on your questions on our website after the webinars.

Our webinars are proving very popular but there's still space available for the following:

14/02/2022 – GCSE & A Level Drama
15/02/2022 – GCSE & A Level Design and Technology
15/02/2022 – A Level English
15/02/2022 – GCSE & A Level Media Studies
21/02/2022 – A Level Ancient History
21/02/2022 – GCSE English
21/02/2022 – GCSE & A Level Music
22/02/2022 – A Level Geography
23/02/2022 – GCSE & A Level Mathematics
24/02/2022 – GCSE & A Level Classical Greek

To book your place, search our professional development webpage by subject (look for 'Advance information for summer 2022 Q&A webinar').

You might like to take a look at some extra guidance about advance information to support you and your students:

in our teacher and student blog posts, Lead Subject Advisor Grant Robertson answers some of your questions on advance information
the DfE's blog discusses advance information as one of the measures helping students prepare for exams this summer
Ofqual's new guidance offers advice for students on coping with exam pressure and subject-by-subject support for GCSE, AS and A Level students
the JCQ has published new FAQs for students and teachers and a new student guide on their webpage.

In the article, our CEO, Jill Duffy, celebrates the increase in girls taking A Level Sciences, but recognises we need to keep encouraging girls to overcome stereotypes: "It’s great to see more girls taking A Level Sciences every year. I’m the parent of two daughters who are successful scientists and I’m committed to making studying science as accessible and relevant as possible for all young women."

As a reminder, you can download our Women in Science posters and desktop wallpapers here.

John Hibbert

"I've worked at OCR since April 2018 as Subject Advisor for Media and Film Studies. Prior to joining OCR, I taught a range of Media and Film studies qualifications in secondary schools, including 8 years as a head of department. Predictably, in my spare time, I'm a keen filmgoer. I also enjoy reading and listening to miserable indie music!"

To get in touch with John, email media@ocr.org.uk and follow us on Twitter.

Supporting our teachers

Our Subject Advisors offer a personal and specific point of contact for new and existing teachers to discuss qualification delivery and assessment queries or the support you'd like to receive in the future. We regularly share subject-specific blogs, newsletters, videos, guides and more. To find out how we're supporting you, visit our dedicated webpage.

To find any subject-specific advisor, or if you're considering switching to OCR and would like to know more about the support and guidance we can offer, please contact us.

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