Dear Colleagues,

Time has marched forward well into 2017, but for those who I have not been in contact with personally, I would like to wish you all, your institutions, and students a Happy New Year! 

This month we bring you:

- News from the Exam Boards on the new A Level

- A PSA-New Statesman Guide on Politics options at university

- Slides from the Teachers' Talk on Liberalism at the National Assembly for Wales 

The PSA has been in touch with both AQA and Pearson/Edexcel throughout the period that OfQual has been reviewing qualification materials for the new Politics A Level. 

We have heard back from both exams boards this month that having now re-submitted material and that they are expecting to have accreditation from OfOqual confirmed by the end of February. 

The current draft material from AQA is available here. The current draft material from Pearson/Edexcel is available here. 

The PSA recently teamed up with The New Statesman, the weekly current affairs magazine, on their annual political studies guide. This lists options for students interested in studying Politics at university and informs students about the benefits of studying Politics in higher education. This can be accessed here. 

Pearson currently have exciting opportunities for qualified teachers to join their Assessment Associate Team, as Examiners for their GCE A Level Government and Politics qualification.

If you have any queries regarding the role, please contact the AA Recruitment team on aaresourcing@pearson.com. For more infromation about Examiner opportunities at Pearson please click here. 

The PSA's first teachers' event of 2017 took place at the National Assembly for Wales on 17 January. The title of the evening's event was: Is there a Future for the Centre Ground of Welsh/UK Politics?

Some 50 teachers and students attended the event, which was chaired by the Labour AM Hefin David. The speakers were PSA member Dr Peter Sloman from Churchill College, Cambridge and Eluned Parrott, the former Welsh Liberal Democrat AM for South Wales Central.

The talk took in the history of liberalism over the decades, the current decline in Liberal Democrat fortunes and the future of the centre ground in light of the Brexit vote. 

Peter's slides from the evening are available here. Eluned's slides can be viewed here. 

To mark the twentieth anniversary of the New Labour election victory of 1997, The School of Politics and International Relations at Nottingham University have set up a Twitter account live tweeting the election campaign as if it was 1997. 

This can be viewed @newdawn1997. Not only does this cover political news from newspaper reports, but also includes insights from diary entries, cartoons and letters. 

The Twitter feed is worth following for any students keen to understand the situation leading up to Blair's seismic victory or for those who just want to reminisce. 

The PSA Blog features contemporary content from academic members of the PSA in response to news or fresh research findings. 

Louise Thompson and Simon Usherwood (Surrey University) look at what is likely to happen when Article 50 is triggered in Article 50 hits parliament – here’s what to expect.

Eamonn O'Kane examines the current political crisis in Northern Ireland in: Northern Ireland’s crisis: déjà vu all over again?

Finally, Ben Worthy (Birkbeck) glances over the current state of the Conservative Party in May is in Office but the Hard Brexiters Are Now in Power. 

Follow the PSA on Twitter or search for the #PSAschools hashtag for real time updates on all our schools' activities, news and campaigns.

As a PSA Teacher Member you have full access to the Schools’ Area of the PSA website.  Here you can find all the latest information about the following initiatives we offer to schools:

•         Free Speakers Programmes for Schools sessions
•         Free professional development resources
•         Free subscriptions to leading publications, including Political Insight
•         Priority registration to PSA schools' events
•         Priority registration for student career workshops

Don't forget, members can access the Teachers' e-News archive online here.

We're always keen to hear from you, so please keep in touch or let the PSA know how we can serve you better. If you feel any colleagues would be interested in this e-Newsletter, please forward them a copy.

With very best wishes,

Josh Niderost

Programme Development and Outreach Officer

020 7321 2545
PSA Head Office, 113a Jermyn Street, London, SW1Y 6HJ.