25/08/05 GCSE results
CaSE today welcomed the increase in the number of students taking three separate sciences at GCSE. It is important that students should have the opportunty to be taught separate sciences by subject specialists. "Students are moving away from the double science course, with more taking single, triple or applied science GCSEs" said Rosemary Davies. "However, it is not clear whether increases in the numbers taking only a single science GCSE reflect those students' best interests or rather are intended to boost league table scores."

18/08/05 A-level results
CaSE today welcomed the fact that the number of students sitting A-levels in chemistry and biology has risen, but called for action to reverse the inexorable decline in youngsters taking physics A-level. "The fall in people taking physics has continued without interruption for over a decade, and we cannot allow it to continue if we want a thriving economy in the future," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE. "We need three kinds of action immediately. First, there are not enough physics teachers, so we need to pay them more to attract them into the profession. The market for physics graduates is fierce. Second, the careers services in schools need to be giving much, much better information about what the job opportunities available to people who study science. Third, within the existing budget, we need to channel a higher proportion of university funding into strategically important subjects like sciences, so that universities can discount the fees for these courses and make them more realistic opportunities for students from less well off backgrounds."

16/08/05 Exam system
CaSE today called for a clearer definition of the exam system, to avoid future rows about A-level grades. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, CaSE argues that because there is no consensus on what the exams are actually for, people cannot agree on what the grades mean.
The text of the letter is as follows:
The issue is not whether A-levels are getting easier, or if pupils are reaching as high a standard as in previous years, but are the exams doing the job they are intended to do?
The problem is that there is no clear view about what they are actually for. Are they to prepare young people for work, to give students guidance about their own aptitudes, to boost their confidence, or to inform the taxpayer about the value for money received from the education system?
Since more than 90% of people with two or more A-levels continue in some form of education, it seems reasonable to suppose that one of their purposes is to help educational establishments distinguish between different candidates. But as grades rise inexorably, the exams are clearly becoming less useful in this regard. Universities are bringing in their own entrance exams, and an official inquiry recommended the introduction of standard aptitude tests along the lines of those used in America.
Until we have a mature debate about what we want to achieve, the row about grades will remain as much a feature of the nation's summer calendar as disappointing weather and the debate about whether our cricket team is any good.

15/08/05 Peter Cotgreave and Caroline Holland met with Dr Sally Howes of the Society of British Aerospace Companies.

5/08/05 Peter Cotgreave met with Professor Keith Orford, Chair of the UK Deans of Science

4/08/05 Peter Cotgreave met with the R&D Group of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Company, including representatives of GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Pfizer.

01/08/05 University Departments
CaSE today called on the Higher Education Funding Council for England to reverse its decision to disadvantage science and engineering subjects in its funding formula. In an article in Laboratory News, CaSE argues that when HEFCE said recently that it would not 'intervene' to rescue struggline university departments, it was disingenuously ignoring the fact that it 'intervened' last year when it changed the funding ratios for science. The article concludes: "If HEFCE does not reverse its decision soon, university science will be in serious trouble".