Introduction

Comets and quasars, black holes and the big bang, pulsars and planets all feature in the media and excite people to find out more – astronomy might be described as the popular face of modern science. In the UK, recent changes in Advanced Level (A-level) physics courses mean that many students have the option of studying astrophysics to a depth beyond the merely descriptive. This option is proving popular with teachers and students, but presents particular challenges shared by few other areas of A-level physics courses.

Astrophysics within A-level physics

A-level courses are taken by students who choose to stay in education beyond the age of sixteen. Students typically study three subjects at A-level over the course of two years. A-level is approximately equivalent to 12th grade and the first year of a bachelors degree in the USA. Students are awarded grades for their A-level work which depend on their performance in external examinations and on evidence of experimental skills collected by their teachers. The examinations are set, and the grades awarded, by independent examination boards which specify the content on which students are to be examined and the skills for which teachers are required to provide evidence. For many students, A-levels are a preparation for more advanced study at university.

Fifty percent of the content of all A-level physics syllabuses is now defined nationally (School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 1994), whereas previously the examinations boards had a greater degree of autonomy. Current syllabuses have been discussed and summarized by Avison, 1994; most consist of a compulsory element, with a menu of optional topics of which students must study (and be examined on) a specified number.