It is now 12 years since the Alternative Syllabus in Chemistry was first introduced into Scottish schools. This syllabus was radically different from its predecessor in its approach to the role of practical work. The "new" syllabus stressed the importance of having the pupils involved in learning by discovery and exploration. This research is concerned with an appraisal of the practical work in the "new" syllabus. The aims of the research were to carry out a survey to establish how many experiments were being done and by what methods, to investigate the objectives which teachers had in mind when setting experimental work, and to see whether these objectives were being achieved by the pupils. Finally, an attempt was made to devise a method of assessing practical work without the need for a "practical examination". These aims were restricted to the practical work being done in Scottish schools as part of the O-grade chemistry course. The general survey of practical work was done by questionnaire; a similar method was used to look at teachers' and pupils' opinions of the objectives and their achievement. Assessment was attempted by the use of a specially designed objective test
