Dd doing ALL last years school work again this year.

[Schoolknocks]

Have name changed as this is outing.

Dd joined a new school last year following bullying. They take from year 9 to year 11. It was the only place we could find with a space suitable. Dd was out of school at the time and I was panicking about options choices and such.

When she started we realised that there were only a handful of year nines and they were being taught with year tens which was the main entry point.

I queried this and was told that year nines would either go into a year 10/11 group the year after if academically sound or they would be taught in a separate class to the new year tens (normal entry point) so they could solidify what they had struggled in but not to repeat work.

I was a bit wary of this but socially dd was doing amazing for the first time and happy and that was more important.

In July we were told that we would have the choice which of the above we wanted.
What actually happened was an email in the holidays with the second option.

Fast forward two weeks into term and dd is being taught with the new year tens rather than a in separate group for those who started in year 9. This means she is is doing exactly the same work she did last year lesson by lesson. She's come home and cried as she is so frustrated. She was on target for a B in history had she took her gcse a year early and was doing good in most other things and so did not need to repeat it. She's beyond bored and is horrified at a whole year of the same work day in day out.

There's no option of her going up into the year 10/11 group as it didn't happen.

Help wwyd!

[Schoolknocks]

Sorry it's ridiculously complicated.
LAST year dd was of the correct age for 9 so 13/14 but ended up being taught in a year 9/year 10 class. Due to very low numbers of year 9s they basically taught them the year ten curriculum. I. E. She has done a year of year 10 btech and the related officially externally marked year ten exam that goes with it, a year of year ten work etc.

She is now the correct age for year ten so 14/15 and we were told that those children who had started in year 9 rather than the normal entry point would move to a year 10/11 class if suitable or they would be taught in a kind of year ten PLUS class separately from the new ones so they didn't have to repeat the work completely but cover more in depth and at a higher level.

What's actually happened is they have just been put with the new year tens. The work so far is exactly the same lessons. She's currently doing the same homework sheet word for word as last September, reading the same book as last year in English etc.

[Schoolknocks]

It is.
They haven't had as many new year tens start as they thought and therefore they took away the choice for last year's year 9s to move up with the now year elevens.

I just wondered whether people would be happy in that situation really with their child doing a year of work again.

[LouHotel]

Surely this is a positive? An extra year studying the same material means she should be boosting her grade material rather than effectively sitting her gcse's a year early.

[WhyamIBoredathome]

Complain complain complain.
This is utterly unacceptable - work should be differentiated for those who have covered the material already. I would suggest getting together with other parents in the same situation and lobby the school as a group. Your poor kids will be bored stupid by the end of the year otherwise. There is a a chance that senior management don't know they are completing the exact same work as last year.

[Schoolknocks]

That was my thought Lou.
I thought she would benefit from another year of the curriculum obviously in more depth.

I'm just a bit worried now as dd is now completely despondent about the work!

[Etymology23]

Gee, this would have sent me crazy as a pupil. Seems like a recipe for truancy and disruptive behaviour. Can they let her teach herself? Or put them into some sort of sub class supervised by a TA? Anything would be better than a year doing the same stuff again.

Agree totally with Whyam - this cannot be acceptable.