Staffroom Catch Up: Vicky Craig, Philips High School
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We have been catching up with teachers across the UK to find out how teaching with Eduqas is working for them and their learners. Vicky Craig, Head of Art and Professional Mentor at Philips High School, part of Oak Learning Partnership in Whitefield, North Manchester, shares her experience of teaching Art and Photography with Eduqas.
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Can you tell us a little about your role and department?
My name is Vicky Craig, and I am Head of Art and Professional Mentor at Philips High School, part of Oak Learning Partnership in Whitefield, North Manchester.
There are two teachers in our department. At KS3, we teach approximately 600 learners, and at KS4, roughly 40 Art & Design and 50 Photography learners. We have been teaching with Eduqas since 2019.
What made you choose Eduqas as your exam board?
Previously, we had been working with another exam board and, other than the annual standardisation meeting, we weren’t able to easily access any support or guidance outside of my own experience and the local art collaborative. We were delivering a different qualification that was not suitable for our pupils and we needed to do something different quickly if they were going to be successful.
In looking for alternatives, I received an email from Eduqas that was helpful, clear and seemed to be more accessible than what we were working with at that time.
I explored the website and syllabus and, whilst not wildly different in content, the support, exemplars and guidance looked to be exactly what we were lacking.
I am a member of social media art groups, so I asked there and was surprised to find that others were also looking for something different and those that had already made the change were raving about Eduqas. I joined the dedicated social media group and found that one of the advisers was an active member who gave great advice.
I approached my Head Teacher and discussed it, and immediately switched my Year 11s across. We provided a drop-down day to work on alterations to their portfolio component and then prepared for the Externally Set Assignment. The results, whilst not outstanding at that point, were significantly better than what they would have achieved if we had stayed with the previous exam board.
On the back of this, we swapped everyone across to Eduqas and the journey since has been amazing. Since doing this, our Music department and Design & Technology have followed suit.
How do your learners respond to the Eduqas specification?
Pupils respond to the practical nature of the specification. They are engaged by the variety of different materials and the fact that it is not prescriptive. They can explore artists, craftspeople and designers that interest them and develop their own unique outcomes.
The separate creative statement allows those who are not natural annotators to write about their work and intentions, and ultimately their learning journey throughout the course.
They use the information on GCSE Bitesize to help them outside of school, and more of them access the Eduqas website to find information.
What has been the best thing about teaching with Eduqas so far?
The responsive support available, the accessibility of information on the website, Lightroom resources and just the entire vibe of the exam board. It reminds me of how things used to be when I first started teaching.
How have you found the level of support provided by Eduqas?
Eduqas is the most supportive exam board that I have worked with, and over my career I have worked with three other exam boards.
Emails to the Art team are always responded to quickly and with expert advice.
What Eduqas resources have you found most useful in the classroom?
Using the exemplar materials with my KS4 classes has been helpful, as have the walk-through PowerPoints for the Externally Set Assignment.
Pupils access these independently and have commented on how useful they are outside of the classroom.
Have you taken part in Eduqas CPD or Professional Learning sessions?
I have attended a standards meeting online and in person. Both were well delivered and valuable for ensuring that we were marking in line with the benchmarks.
I also applied to be a moderator and have attended the conference annually since. This is amazing CPD and a great chance to meet other people delivering the course and network ideas.
I love visiting other centres and seeing the amazing variety of work produced by the students. It refreshes my own practice and I take those ideas back to brainstorm with my own department.
What would you say to other centres considering switching to Eduqas?
Absolutely the best decision I ever made. I’m so grateful for that chance email, things might have been very different otherwise.
If you’ve been working with other exam boards, it can be easy to stay in your comfort zone. Making the change can be daunting, particularly whilst current workload is crazy. Check it out yourself, ask some questions and you’ll see for yourself that the grass can be greener.
What impact has switching to Eduqas had on your department?
I’m just so happy that I changed from the previous qualification. Our results have skyrocketed since and pupil uptake of the subject has increased year on year. I just hope we can maintain them!