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Marking Over

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth with tags , on June 9, 2025 by telescoper

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof…

I’ve just graded the last of my assignments for this (academic year). I had a bigger class than usual for Computational Physics this time round, so it took much longer than usual to mark the project component. It always takes a while because I not only have to read and grade the reports, but also look at the code they submit and run it to check that it works. I uploaded the final grades to our system just now and although I finished later than planned I was relieved to see that I’m not the last lecturer to do so!

What happens next is that all the marks from all the modules will be collated and cross-checked. Then we will have a meeting of the Departmental Examination Board (on Thursday morning) to go through the results in the presence of our External Examiner. Since this is the end of the academic year, we will also look at the final grades of those students who are completing their studies this year in order to consider the classification of their degrees. There may also be some who are not qualified to graduate and may have to repeat failed examinations or other assessments. Another (pleasant) duty of our Examination Board on Thursday will be to award prizes for the best performance, not just for finalists but for students at every stage, including the first year.

I was teaching a module for the Department of Engineering last Semester so I should attend their final Examination Board too. Many of our students at Maynooth take joint degrees, in which case their final degree classification depends on grades from two Departments. For that reason, there is an overall Examination Board at which the marks are combined. Fortunately, only the Head of Department (who is not me) has to attend that one.

If all goes to plan, students will receive their final marks on Friday 27th June. It’s a lengthy process so as to allow plenty of opportunities to check and validate the different stages. After that, on Tuesday 1st July, we have a consultation day at which students can ask for advice about repeat examinations, etc, and after that we have to make sure repeat examinations are available. The repeat examination period is Wednesday 6th August to Tuesday 19th August.

Between the end of this week and the repeat exams, perhaps I’ll get a bit of time to do some research…

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The 2025 Leaving Certificate Mathematics Papers

Posted in Education, mathematics with tags , , on June 7, 2025 by telescoper

As I mentioned a few days ago, examinations for the 2025 school Leaving Certificate are under way. One of the interesting things about the Irish system is that the examination papers are put up online immediately after the examinations. Students took their first paper in Mathematics (either Ordinary or Higher level) on Friday (yesterday), and there has been some reaction.

Anyway, I thought I’d share the papers here so you can see what you think. Paper 2 is on Monday 9th June, so I’ll add those papers then.

LC003GLP100EVDownload
LC003ALP100EVDownload

They look reasonable to me. The thing that strikes me about them is that they are much more structured than the A-level mathematics examinations I took way back in 1981.

Comments are welcome through the box below.

Update: As promised here are the Papers 2:

LC003GLP200EVDownload
LC003ALP200EVDownload

Reaction to Paper 2 of Higher Mathematics is that it was more challenging than Paper 1.

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The Leaving

Posted in Biographical, Education, mathematics, Maynooth with tags , , , , , on June 4, 2025 by telescoper

Today is not only a significant date for me (in more ways than one), but it’s important for many young people in Ireland because the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate examinations both start today, so the first thing I need to do is wish everyone starting their examinations the very best of luck!

Among other things, the results of the leaving certificate examinations are important for September’s university admissions. This year the grade inflation that occurred during the pandemic years will be reduced, though it is not yet clear how. Whatever happens is likely to have a big impact on student recruitment to third-level institutions.

In the system operating in England and Wales the standard qualification for entry is the GCE A-level. Most students take A-levels in three subjects, which gives them a relatively narrow focus although the range of subjects to choose from is rather large. In Ireland the standard qualification is the Leaving Certificate, which comprises a minimum of six subjects, with many students taking more than this. This gives students a broader range of knowledge at the sacrifice (perhaps) of a certain amount of depth; it has been decreed for entry into this system that an Irish Leaving Certificate subject counts as about 2/3 of an A-level subject for admissions purposes, so Irish students do the equivalent of at least four A-levels, and many do more than this. It’s also worth noting that all students have to take Mathematics at Leaving Certificate level.

One can choose to do Leaving Certificate subjects at Ordinary or Higher level and there’s quite a big difference between the two, especially in Mathematics (of which more below).

Overall I prefer the Leaving Certificate over the UK system of A-levels, as the former gives the students a broader range of subjects than the latter (as does the International Baccalaureate). I would have liked to have been allowed to take at least one arts subject past O-level, for example.

For University admissions points are awarded for each paper according to the marks obtained and then aggregated into a total CAO points, CAO being the Central Applications Office, the equivalent of the UK’s UCAS. This means, for example, that our main Science pathway at Maynooth allows students to study Physics without having done it at Leaving Certificate level. This obviously means that the first year has to be taught at a fairly elementary level, but it has the enormous benefit of allowing us to recruit students whose schools do not offer Physics.

There is however a big problem with Mathematics. It was decided some years ago that students would get 25 extra CAO points if they got a mark of at least 40% in Higher Mathematics. This has led to more students taking the subject, which is good, but there are signs that this may have led to a decline in standards. If, for example, the marking is such that a fixed proportion of students get the top grade but more weaker students take the examination, that means that standards fall at the top end. For more discussion, see here.

Anyway, our Theoretical Physics & Mathematics course requires a good result in Higher Mathematics for entry. Will changes to the marking of Higher Mathematics this year make it harder for students to make the grade? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Moreover, since the pandemic struck, students have been able to choose to answer questions from a limited range of sections on the mathematics examination papers. That means that students can get very high grades despite knowing nothing about a big chunk of the syllabus. That matters most for subjects that require students to have certain skills and knowledge for entry into University, such as Physics. I taught part of our first year Mathematical Physics course in Maynooth for about 5 years. It was noticeable how the fraction that were comfortable with basic differentiation and integration was falling. Will this trend accelerate? Again, we’ll just have to wait and see…

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End Unnecessary Redundancies at Newcastle University!

Posted in Education, Politics with tags , , on May 26, 2025 by telescoper

A petition is being circulated to halt a programme of redundancies at Newcastle University. Academic staff positions are being cut while the University, like so many others, suffers Death by a Thousand Managers. I understand that staff in Physics are directly threatened by the plans.

Here is the description of the issue you can find on the petition:

Newcastle University staff are in dispute with their senior management over the threat of ill-considered and unnecessary redundances that are imperilling the future of our institution. We call on the University Executive Board (UEB) to abandon this destructive policy.

On Thursday 8th May 2025, 153 academic colleagues were summoned at short notice to meetings with UEB where they were told they have been placed in ‘redundancy pools’ with 38 of them to be laid off. In an unpleasant twist, they will be forced to compete against each other in an academic equivalent of ‘The Hunger Games.’ 

To add insult to injury, on the day staff were threatened with redundancy they were also invited to a ‘Doodling for Wellbeing’ session. ‘Let your pen dance across the page,’ they were told, as ‘a perfect escape from the everyday hustle and bustle.’ 

Such crassness is emblematic of the disregard for genuine staff wellbeing that has dogged this unhappy episode. For example, for migrant staff members recruited only months previously, after paying for skilled worker visas, the NHS surcharge, and moving young families from abroad, dismissal threatens the loss of all that, and even deportation. 

For many more, these redundancies will be career-ending. But even for those not immediately at risk, the climate of uncertainty and fear unleashed by UEB is demoralising. As one academic put it, this ‘callous’ policy shows ‘no thought to people as people; we are just figures on a spreadsheet.’

We recognise that this is a tough financial environment for universities. But Newcastle has a relatively strong cash and borrowing position. Through voluntary redundancies and other cost-cutting measures, we have achieved £15.8m of savings against a target of £20m. Nevertheless, UEB is pressing ahead with compulsory redundancies, even though other institutions have stepped back. 

There are other options. Debts could be renegotiated and the pace of cuts slowed. Recently announced capital expenditure projects – including a £274m student accommodation block replete with luxuries like a cinema and gym, and even plans for a campus in India – should be reviewed or delayed. 

Costs could also be cut by pruning management salaries and structures. Since tuition-fee rises in 2012, the number of staff drawing six-figure pay-cheques has mushroomed. 

Worried about their own futures and the future of the university, hard-working frontline staff are taking industrial action. As a result of the turmoil unleashed by what the UEB euphemistically calls ‘Workforce Resizing,’ many academics are looking for jobs elsewhere and students are seeking to transfer to other universities. Reputational damage will make future staff and student recruitment harder. Current redundancy plans risk forcing our great university into a death cycle. 

We urge the University Executive Board to abandon these cuts and work with all their colleagues to secure the future of Newcastle University.

Please sign the petition here.

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Premiership Final Results and Classification of Honours

Posted in Education, Football with tags , on May 25, 2025 by telescoper

Now all the final results are in and validated, the Board can now proceed to the classification of Honours for the 2024/25 English Premier League.

There were 20 candidates, no absences, and no extenuating circumstances recorded.

As Chair, I will remind you of the regulations as we go through. Fortunately, as was the case last year, matters are relatively straightforward.

Looking at the last column we can see straight away that the top three all get first-class honours, the same as last year although the performance of the top candidates was not as impressive. Liverpool finished top of the class, followed by Arsenal and Manchester City. Chelsea finish with the top 2.1, the External Examiner having decided not to recommend they be rounded up. They may however still win a prize if they pass a special test next week in the form of the Europa Conference Legue final. Despite a disappointing last paper, Newcastle United finish in 5th place. They also collected a prize in the form of the Caribou Cabibbo Calabi-Yau League Cup. The top five all go on to further study in the UEFA Champions League next year.

I must draw your attention to the peculiar case of Tottenham Hotspur, who finished in 17th place, on 38. This is technically a fail, but the rules allow a pass by compensation in such a situation. Moreover, after their success in the Europa Conference League final over Manchester United, Tottenham also qualify for the Champions League next year.

Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Actually also get upper second-class honours. Villa go into the Europa Cup along with Crystal Palace who only got a 2.2 (lower-second, with 53%) but go through by virtue of winning the FA Cup. Nottingham Forest, in 7th place, have to go into the Europa Conference League playoffs.

Bournemouth, Brentford and Fulham are also in the range for a 2.2 but failed to secure places in Europe for next season.

Everton, West Ham, Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers all get third-class degrees.

The bottom three (Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton) all fail outright and must take at least a year out before trying again.

(I think may have been spending too long recently marking examinations…)

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Physics & Theoretical Physics Undergraduate Final Examinations from 1985

Posted in Biographical, Education with tags , , on May 22, 2025 by telescoper

It is May 22nd 2025, so it’s 40 years to the day since started my final examinations in Physics and Theoretical Physics in the Natural Sciences Tripos at Cambridge University. These examinations concluded what was called Part II, the third and last year of a course which started out with four subjects (Part IA), then three (Part IB) I did double-physics and mathematics for IB.

The first paper of Part II was actually Paper Zero, an essay paper which I have already posted here. The five other papers are below; all six (including Paper Zero) were of three hours’ duration. You will see that Paper 4 is a very big one, because it contains questions pertaining to many options but each student did only a few. Unlike most of the theoretical physics students in my year I offered a theoretical project in lieu of part of Paper V, which means I was spared another three-hour paper. My project, incidentally, was on the computer simulation of a laser. My “prepared essay” was also on lasers Kilohertz and picoseconds in laser physics.

Looking at the papers I find a few things are different from what we do nowadays.

One is that Paper I was a general paper, with questions about random bits of physics. Most university physics courses these days do not have such papers (although I know of at least one that does…).

Another is that the course was not really modular. Each paper covered several different topics: Paper 2 for example covers Solid State Physics, Statistical and Thermal Physics and Electromagnetism; Paper 3 is Quantum Physics, Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics. In most modern university courses each of these would have a separate examination.

Other than that, some of the content (e.g. electromagnetism) is close to what you would find nowadays but in some areas (particle physics, for example) the 1985 paper is extremely dated.

As for the level difficulty, I can’t really comment. Take a look a the papers and decide for yourself!

(There is supposed to be a PDF preview, but it seems not to work on many web browsers, so You may hev to download the paper to view it.)

Paper_1_1985Download
Paper_2_1985Download
Paper_3_1985Download
Paper_4_1985Download
Paper_5_1985Download

Comments are welcome through the box below.

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Operation Marking Garden

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth with tags , , on May 21, 2025 by telescoper

Posts will be a little thin for the next ten days or so here as I am preoccupied with correcting examinations and other assessments. I am spending most of the time doing that at home to avoid interruptions. I’ve also taken the opportunity afforded by this fine spell to do some laundry which I can peg out to dry outdoors. I think this is called multi-tasking. Fortunately (barring yesterday’s thunderstorms), the weather has been nice enough to do the marking outside, in my little garden.

Yesterday evening’s thunderstorms

A few years ago I posted an item about red valerian which grows in profusion around here on verges and embankments. Red valerian (aka spur valerian, kiss-me-quick, fox’s brush, devil’s beard & Jupiter’s beard among other names) is not to be confused with True Valerian, which has white (or very pale pink flowers). I mentioned in that post It’s red valerian (aka spur valerian, kiss-me-quick, fox’s brush, devil’s beard & Jupiter’s beard among other names). I mentioned in that post that I’d like to have some in my garden. Well, it seems that the seeds I planted have grown, perhaps spurred on by the rain yesterday evening:

red valerian

It’s not exactly a profusion, but it’s a start.

UPDATE: 31/05/25 On my way into Dublin by train I saw Red Valerian and True Valerian together by the railway tracks.

Anyway, I spent this morning marking until I remembered a couple of things I had to do on campus. That’s only 20 minutes’ walk for me so I went there at lunchtime, getting a haircut on the way. I stayed for lunch in Pugin Hall and then came back to continue with my correcting duties.

When I took a break for tea I suddenly remembered (for some reason) that the debit card on my UK bank account was about to expire and I hadn’t updated the address since I sold my house in Cardiff. Strangely, I couldn’t update my details online but instead had to use the telephone banking service. One can change to another address in the UK using the online banking app, but can’t do that if you’re moving abroad. Although it took longer to do than I had anticipated it might, the person I spoke to was very helpful. Fortunately they hadn’t yet despatched a replacement card and/or PIN so all was well.

So there you are. Another exciting day in the life of an academic has passed.

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After Lectures and before Examinations

Posted in Education, Maynooth, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , on May 15, 2025 by telescoper

This morning I did my last teaching session of the Academic Year 2024-5, a revision lecture/tutorial on Computational Physics. It was optional, as this is officially a study break, and was at 9am, but I had about 30% attendance which wasn’t bad in the circumstances. As is often the case with optional sessions, I think the students who came were the keenest and probably therefore those who least needed last-minute tips for the examination, but that’s always the way.

The Examination Period starts tomorrow morning, but most of the students who turned up this morning have their first examination on Monday 19th May which happens to be Computational Physics.

Anyway, now that my teaching is over I thought I’d take the opportunity to wish all students the best for their examinations:

You shouldn’t really be relying on luck of course, so here are some tips (especially for physics students, but applicable elsewhere).

  1. Try to get a good night’s sleep before the examination and arrive in plenty of time before the start. Spending all night cramming is unlikely to help you do well.
  2. Prepare well in advance so you’re relaxed when the time comes.
  3. Read the entire paper before starting to answer any questions. In particular, make sure you are aware of any supplementary information, formulae, etc, given in the rubric or at the end.
  4. Start off by tackling the question you are most confident about answering, even if it’s not Question 1. This will help settle any nerves. You’re under no obligation to answer the questions in the order they are asked.
  5. Don’t rush! Students often lose marks by making careless errors. In particular, check all your working out, including numerical results obtained your calculator, at least twice
  6. Please remember the units!
  7. Don’t panic! You’re not expected to answer everything perfectly. A first-class mark is anything over 70%, so don’t worry if there are bits you can’t do. If you get stuck on a part of a question, don’t waste too much time on it (especially if it’s just a few marks). Just leave it and move on. You can always come back to it later.

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Marking Time

Posted in Biographical, Education, Maynooth with tags , , , on May 12, 2025 by telescoper

So here we are, then, with only a few days before examinations start (next Friday, 16th May). The examinations for my two modules take place on Monday 19th and Tuesday 27th May, and after that I’ll be busy with marking for a while.

 

Marking doesn’t just mean written examinations. I have been teaching a module on Computational Physics to 3rd Year students here in Maynooth, and 40% of the assessment for that is a mini-project (usually done in groups of two or three). Early on the term, I put up a list of  16  projects and asked them to pick first second and third choices so I could form groups in such a way that most students get to work on a project they have actively chosen.

Anyway, the deadline for projects to be handed in passed last week so I’ve got a stack of those to mark which, you will realise, why I am indulging in a displacement activity by writing this blog post. My plan is to mark these during this week so that they’re done before the written examinations come in, which means by next Monday (19th). This year we have had a bigger class than usual, so this I have quite a lot of marking to do.

Last week also saw the deadline for the last assignment in Particle Physics to be handed in. I want to mark those as soon as possible, but I’m not sure I’ll have time this week, but I should be able to do them before the exam on the 27th.

Incidentally, one of the submissions of the last assignment came with a note that this was the last assignment the student had done in Maynooth and that the first one he had done, when he was in his first year, was also set by me.

 

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Last Remarks

Posted in Biographical, Education, Euclid, Maynooth, The Universe and Stuff, Uncategorized with tags , , on May 11, 2025 by telescoper

On Friday (9th May), the last day of undergraduate teaching at Maynooth, I gave the last lecture in my module on Particle Physics. I actually finished the syllabus on Tuesday (6th) so the final one was more a revision class than a lecture. I used it to go through some past examination questions and (try to) answer some general points raised by the class.

What surprised me about this lecture was that, as has usually been the case, there was more-or-less a full attendance. Examinations in Maynooth start on Friday (May 16th), but the Particle Physics examination is not until May 27th, near the end of the examination period. I therefore expected that many students would be concentrating on their revision for their other modules, which have exams earlier in the season or finishing their projects (which are due in before the exams start). There were one or two absences, but most came anyway. In fact there was even an extra student, one of our MSc students. When I saw him at the back of the lecture hall I asked, jokingly, why he had come. He replied “I haven’t got anything better to do”. I wasn’t sure how to interpret that!

That lecture was at 11am. Later that day, at 3pm, I gave a Departmental colloquium (which had quite a big audience). The title was Euclid: The Story So Far and the abstract was

The European Space Agency’s Euclid satellite was launched on 1st July 2023 and, after instrument calibration and performance verification, the main cosmological survey is now well under way. In this talk I will explain the main science goals of Euclid, give a brief summary of progress so far, showcase some of the science results already obtained, and set out the time line for future developments, including the main data releases and cosmological analysis.

The audience for these talks is very mixed: experimental and theoretical physics staff, postgraduates and even some undergraduate students (including some who were in my lecture earlier) so it was quite a general talk rather than one I might give to an specialist astrophysics audience. If you’re interested you can find the slides here.

Having a quick cup of tea after the end of the talk and before I headed off to catch the train, I talked briefly with a student who is taking his final examinations at Maynooth this year. He told me that I had actually given the first lecture he attended when he had just started his first year and the colloquium was the last talk he would attend at Maynooth. That would be the case for quite a few students in the audience, I suppose, but it won’t be true for any in future: I am no longer teaching any modules taken by first year students, and I’ll be retired when the current first year students graduate…

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