Mumsnet Talk

My ds is 13, he is currently choosing his options for which two gcses he will take in the summer of 2013 when he will be 14.

Because of the need to have a modern foreign language, due to the stupid ebacc thing, he pretty much has to do French.

His teacher is not sure he is up to it and has told me he doesn't think he should take it, but this seems to mean that he has failed already at 13. As I'm told it's a bad idea for them to have a gap with languages as they forget everything.

He is a bright boy generally, it's heartbreaking for me to think that he will be seen to have not achieved a good standard of education, because of this one area.

Does anyone have any experience, advice, tips?

Why is he taking GCSEs a year early if he is going to fail? Why can't he take an MFL GCSE at the end of year 11 like most students?

I am not sure I understand, when is he meant to take the exam and what's the deal with the gap?

DS is currently sitting gcse modules for his 2 options and is in year 9. It's been a total disaster with loads of parents complaining and children being withdrawn from exams. A big complaint has been lack of maturity and, particularly with languages, lack of prior knowledge. Also DS will sit his Spanish gcse in year 9. If he wants to study it at A level he will have two years without studying it.

However, his is the first and last year to do gcses in a year. From September 2012 Gove has said all Gcses will be for 2 years and linear - taking exams at the end. Definite sighs of relief here although I feel DS and his fellow year 9s were part of an unsuccessful experiment.

DS1 is also in Year 9 & will not be doing the ebacc. He'll have all the other subjects & an extra humanity but no sodding french. He hates french & is bad at it - therefore will not be doing it as one of his options.

Right; at his school pupils take 2 GCSEs at the end of year nine, then one more at the end of year 10 and the rest at the end of year 11. God knows why? Is this not normal?

In year nine they study for their GCSE subjects every day and stop studying other subjects, (except the core ones maths, english, science and so on). So if they have a year or two off languages it's particularly hard to go back to.

I'm a bit stressey

Is he at a private school?
That sounds dreadful, so from y9 they basically get them through the exam and then they're free to forget all about it? (I did my GCSEs early but it wasn't like that)
EBacc is the new thing - is the general feeling that this is it? Is this taking over from 5A*-C inc E&M?

Why do schools do this? I thought they couldn't include early GCSEs in their stats so I don't know why it's important to them to get students to take them early. The current year 9s (including dd3) are the guinea pigs for the return to the 'old' way. Let's hope the teaching is up to it!

My ds is 13 and we had an options evening last night..Things have changed since I took them, but whilst they promote the English Bac. the kids do not have to take it. We were advised ds would not do well in French which was all he needed to meet the criteria for the EB with his other preferred options. So he is going for something totally different atm.

oh and to add I cannot get my head around the kids doing GCSE in year 9 ! we did them in year 11, 10 if it included coursework but it has all changed apparently

Oh popoozle ds is the same, he does not like it and isn't very good at it; they were supposed to study it at primary, but I think that mostly involved colouring pictures of stereotypical French people and eating Bread and cheese

Have I been brainwashed at the options assembly that the Ebacc is going to be needed just to work at asda in a few years time? I hope so. I failed GCSE French ( well a D) and it never bothered it me for a moment, no one cares. Now I'm being told if you can't do well in Maths, science, english, history, geography and French (or German, Spanish or whatever) then you are a failiure. WTF?

I would imagine it's going to be the main feature of the school league tables from now. Employers aren't really going to care - nothing is CHANGING, they're just lumping a load of the qualificatons together and giving them a fancy name.

Not private.

I do know they need at least a C in maths and english ( lit and language) for a half decent chance at any job but surely the others are relevant to what they want to do later ? I also got a D in french and that was pure luck imo...I did ok in the others though ! I am really surprised by how much it has all changed yet the subjects covered in the History GCSE are the same as I did many years ago !

I am a teacher and I think this sounds like a ludicrous system. I'd take it up with the school.
You should only take GCSEs early if you are able to get an A or A*, I really believe that schools are in the wrong doing such a thing. I really don't think that is giving the kids any favours.

GCSEs will not all be for 2 years - they will be linear but still able to take them in Y9, Y10...

Works for my school - we do Eng Lang in y10 then Lit in Y11

The Ebacc is not compulsory - entirely up to the school. It is meaningless and made up anyway.

And no college or employer gives a toss about Eng Lit unless they are trying to do Lit A Level.

The Ebacc means nothing and any secondary school who is confident in its own results will not take any notice of the league tables but concentrate on what is best for the individual.

however, there is a likelhood that the Ebacc will become a requirement for all university courses of worth. Not sure of the extent to which this will be the case but it is worth thinking about.

If his teacher says he's not ready for GCSE MFL, do they not offer an option of a non-GCSE MFL course for a year, then he could do the GCSE in yr10?

roisin that's what I have emailed his teacher to ask-I hope that they will, it would be the best option for him I think. There's no mention of it in the literature I've got though.

Otherwise we feeel we will have to concentrate a lot of effort on getting him through this course for the next year and a half!

The DfE do not recommend early entry for GCSE and in fact recommend against it as it produces worse results.

Email the school and ask them what the hell they are doing wrecking your DC's GCSE chances like this and then ask them to withdraw him from the MFL GCSE in Y9 as it is not in his best interests.

This early entry thing has snuck up since they abolished the external SATs in Y9 and thus left schools with no exam to prepare for in Y9. As an education without an exam to prepare for is unthinkable to some, they just had to pull GCSEs forward. It is appalling. Thankfully my school is against it.

I'm with you noblegiraffe.

My boys have very high targets and will sit virtually all their exams at the end of yr11, thus (IMO) giving them the best possible chance of the highest grades. At other schools they might have sat exams early, but it would be less likely they would achieve top grades in that approach.

I believe for most schools the early entry policies are to 'bank' the C-grades, then focus attention on the C/D borderline students. It's rarely in the interest of the students themselves, especially (potential) high achievers.

Having to do a GCSE two years early if you are not good at the subject is a completely bonkers idea, and will backfire on the school if the main aim is to get their Ebacc results/league table position up.

DS is also 13, in year9, and will be doing two GCSEs next summer when he is 14, but he is at a private school and their system is to get the top sets for Maths and French to do the GCSE one year early, but they only put them in for it if they are basically expected to get an A or A*.

What is the point in doing something early if you are more likely to fail? And stopping studying a subject for a year and then taking it up again for two more years is equally stupid. Has the school had this system for long?

They've been doing it for several years, I did not know about it before this week;
I suppose I should have made it my business to find out about such things, but it just did not occur to be that they could be running such a different system.

Now we're in it (and it would be much worse for him to change schools-he's such a shy boy.) I think we must work with it, maybe I'll suggest to him he just chooses subject that he enjoys and worry about the english bacc thing at 6th form.

DH went to DDs parents evening and stated categorically that she will need straight A* at GCSE for her chosen degree course and we would not tolerate the school using her as a vanity project on funny courses that will benefit them not her
so NO early exams unless A* is assured and nothing that she does not WANT to do.
Suddenly the whole process is becoming clearer.