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Secondary education

Edexcel GCSE English Language - not the right spec

7 replies

GCSEChaos · 25/01/2013 13:07

GCSE English worries - can anyone help please?

DD has heard from her old school that the GCSE English Language exam which she took last academic year does not meet the DofE specification for English if English Lit is not taken as well.

This now opens up a whole lot of worries:

  • will this affect university applications?
  • does DD actually have a GCSE English qualification?
  • does this mean that DD has not qualified for Ebacc?

    I posted about this last night but then had my thread withdrawn as I was worried that I had been too specific with the details (too angry to think straight). If you did reply to that thread then I would be very grateful if you would post again.

    Many thanks
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roisin · 25/01/2013 19:00

Yes, dd has an English qualification.
Yes, she has Ebacc (I think - not 100% certain on that one). But Ebacc is currently only a performance indicator, not a qualification.
But her English grade does not count for the school in league tables unless English Lit was also studied.

If you want to know more I can explain the rationale behind this.

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roisin · 25/01/2013 19:01

In what way did she hear from her old school?

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GCSEChaos · 25/01/2013 20:19

Hi Roisin thank you for that. I understand for the school league tables that the English specification was not met by Edexcel English Language alone. If I understand correctly what should have happened was that Edexcel English Language was taken in year 10 and the English Lit in year 11.

This did not happen.

I am happy so long as DD has an English GCSE which will satisfy any university admissions process without having to jump through hoops or worse still have to sit GCSE English Lit while she is trying to concentrate on A levels.

We heard about this because the school managed a monumental collapse in the 5 A*-C category. This made local news. The HT made a statement on the school website.

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notnowImreading · 25/01/2013 20:42

The English Language GCSE alone doesn't count towards the school's results for 5A*-C including English an Maths. However, it still counts for your daughter. It is a proper GCSE.

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IAmLouisWalsh · 25/01/2013 20:49

Ok.

Your daughter definitely has a GCSE.

The head at your daughter's school (I know exactly the one you mean) has made a massive balls up and is desperately trying to cover his arse. But the balls up affects the school league tables, not your daughter's GCSE.

Without outing myself - I know a hell of a lot about this although I have nothing to do with your daughter's school. She will be fine for university admissions - unless she wants to do Eng Lit. Is she doing any English A levels?

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roisin · 25/01/2013 20:55

The buck probably stops with the Head of English, as the exam boards were clear about this when the new spec was launched.

Eng lit doesn't have to be passed for this course to count, but it does need to be studied.

Schools can do Lang in yr10, then Lit in yr11.
Or they can study both concurrently over 2 yrs.
OR they can study for a different qualification called "English", which has a different spec and different Controlled Assessments (and DOES count for the league tables).

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GCSEChaos · 25/01/2013 22:35

Thank you, Louie. I didnt think it would be too difficult to spot the school. I dont know what the outcome of this will be for the school. Can academies go into Special Measures? This school has been in and out a couple of times in the time we have had connection with the school. This is not the first failure of management. The last year 11 was failed not once but many times and in many subjects. This seems to be the final insult to that year.

It is very sad.

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