Dropping a GCSE in Year 11?

[tumpymummy]

DD wants to drop GCSE History, this would leave her with 8 other GCSEs including Geography. I am undecided whether she should drop the subject or take the exam without revising? In her mocks recently she only got a 1 so my inclination is that it would be better to drop since the chances of getting a good grade 'out of the blue' are unlikely. She is predicted 4,5s or 6s in all her other subjects so her reasoning is that her time would be better spent concentrating on the subjects she should get better grades in. Her plan is to go on to do A levels (not History!) if she gets good enough grades. If not a Btec at a local college. Neither of which require History. She has from time to time struggled with anxiety too, so I think this would put less pressure on her. However school are saying that she is capable of getting a decent grade. (Although they are saying at the end of the day it is our decision). Any advice please?

[ksb76]

If I were you / her, I would go ahead and drop History. My DS is doing it and it is a huge course to learn for the exams. Unless she needs it, better to have 8 good GCSEs than 9 potentially lower grades.

[insancerre]

Dd did this
She dropped history so she could concentrate on the others to secure a place at college
She went on to do a btec in photography then she did a degree also in photography

[Liam436]

Yes, you should let her drop History. I dropped cookery at GCSE when I was at school.

[cricketballs3]

A lot of schools do not allow 'dropping' there are several reasons including supervision when she should be in History, if one person drops a subject then we get a snowball effect of others demanding dropping subjects which enhances greatly the above point. It is also worth noting that Ofsted are on the lookout for 'gaming the system' which is making schools very nervous so whilst she will still have 8 GCSEs it could look like they were playing to ensure a lower than predicted grade is not recorded.

So whilst it might be a good idea for your DD don't be surprised if the school says no

[RedskyAtnight]

We wanted DS to drop a GCSE (or even 2) and school said "no" (for reasons such as cricketballs).

I am waiting for his 2nd set of mocks (at end of Feb) but am then going to go back and ask again. I am seriously thinking that I will tell DS just to focus on a limited number of subjects, even if school says he has to take them and just accept he fails the subject. However DS is taking 11. Dropping down to 8 means your DD can't afford to "have a bad day" in any of them, as 8 seems to be the minimum benchmark looked for.

[BottleOfJameson]

I'd also drop history as long as she commits to spending the extra time on her other subjects. She'll still have a humanity so she should be fine for anything she plans to do in the future.

[girlofthenorth]

I'd let her drop it . My DD has ASD and was allowed to drop RS , it's made a difference to her anxiety levels and she revises or works in the slots for those lessons .

[ProggyMat]

@tumpymummy
Are you saying that your DD initially started with 9 GCSEs on time tabled lessons?
Was 9 the maximum they could opt for or did DD choose 9 with a study period (or however the free time was described at her school)?
@RedskyAtnight
11 GCSEs - are they all on time table or are some extra curricular?

[TeenPlusTwenties]

I'm following this with interest as I am thinking I might want DD2 (y10) to drop Geography. She has some SpLD, is only just coping at school and is a grade 4/5 person at most. However I am well aware if she drops Geography she will have an empty slot in her Progress 8 buckets, so school might not be keen...

[clary]

Op have school agreed to her dropping history? If not, they may not be keen, for the reasons cricketballs mentions.

If they will allow it, find out what she will be doing in those 2-3 lessons - extra work on English or maths? If it sounds as if it will be productive, I would go for it.

Eight GCSEs is fine, I know plenty of schools where those doing double science only do eight anyway.

[clary]

Proggymat nine GCSEs us not at all unusual these days, fewer and fewer schools are doing 12-13. Wisely so.

I can't think of a single school (and I know several well) where anyone does more than 10, and many do nine if they do double not triple science.

[caulkheaded]

Check the school allow this - I work in a secondary and we don’t (although some students may do double art/drama but that is agreed in yr10). We wouldn’t have anywhere for the student to go and like others have said it would create larger problems.

[Inforthelonghaul]

DD dropped a GCSE with the school’s permission. She was so stressed about it that it was affecting her school attendance and we all agreed that it wasn’t worth it and she was highly unlikely to do well in her other exams if she continued. It made a huge difference and she passed everything else so I’d say go for it.

[tumpymummy]

@proggymat yes DD started with 9 GCSEs as she is doing combined not triple science. If she drops History she would study in the school library (concentrating instead on her other subjects). School have already set a precedent by allowing another girl in the class drop it already. Thank you for your helpful replies. You have confirmed my inclination that it would be better to drop it but hubby wants to first meet with the History teacher to try and find out what went wrong.

[girlofthenorth]

@TeenPlusTwenties if your DD has LD they need to make reasonable adjustments by law so would have to accommodate her somewhere. My DD couldn't cope with rowdy SN classroom she was sent to do I asked for quiet space for her and was granted.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

girl I think there would be somewhere for her to go, when DD1 dropped a subject in y11 (late diagnosis of dyspraxia) she went to the 'inclusion unit'.

Because of 'progress 8' I am forseeing more issues with attempting to drop Geography than say Drama. But Drama doesn't have the exam and revision load that Geography has, so benefits would be less. The other issue is that Geography is DD2's favourite subject at the moment... We shall see where we stand after y10 exams end April I think.

[ProggyMat]

tumpymummy at DD's school students take between 8-10 subjects on time table. As with your DD's school there is study time (in the library) factored in those that are not in subject lessons, which is why I asked.
Clary Some schools offer extra curriclar subjects as enrichment which can be taken as GCSE if so wished.Therefore, some DC can and do sit more than 10