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Original poster

GCSE options - the school wants DS to take 8 instead of 10 -very upset

32 replies

HisMum4now · 12/01/2012 19:30

I am a bit upset after the meeting at school, so sorry if maybe I am not thinking straight.

DS is in Y9 at a grammar school and working mostly at levels7-8, except for level 6 in English and history, his weakest subjects. The school GCSE options include compulsory double English, maths, triple science, MFL, history or geography. DS thrives on science and maths. He is very good with languages, so he rightly wants to take both German and French. So basically this takes care of the 9 GCSE subjects out of 10. As optional choice DS wanted to take ICT or graphic design -for fun as these are his preferred subjects.

Now DS has SEN and the school told us that to accommodate the SEN provisions and the special exam arrangements they need to free two subjects in the time table. They say that controlled assessments in one subject would be overrunning into another and it will be a mess which will impact on DS. So they say, it is better to do 8 GCSEs instead of 10 and not to take history (which is compulsory for other pupils).

We have a bit of a history of disagreement about SEN with the school and I don't believe the reason they are giving. They simply don't want to bother with SEN provisions.

I am very upset about this. It doesn't feel right that the school is taken away opportunities and experiences away from him for the reason of their own convenience.
How will it look to the universities? Will he be considered at all by the likes of Oxbridge?

Is having 8 GCSEs with A grades better than having 10 GCSEs A grades and couple of B grades?

DS is not going to study English or history at A levels, but this is why it would be nice to balance his profile with some humanities and a creative subject, even if not all of them will come out with A*.
What about English Baccalaureate?
What if English doesn't come out with an A - how will it look then?

He is so looking forward to his ICT that I don't know what to tell him.

I know there are a few people here knowledgeable about admissions, so could give me an idea of his chances of getting into good universities if we accept 8?

OP posts:
Original poster
HisMum4now · 12/01/2012 21:36

Thanks for the comments. It is reassuring

OP posts:
LabradorFan · 12/01/2012 21:20

Ignore the EBacc, it has nothing to do with children, it is an artificial means to measure school performance. It has nothing to do with the 'whole' individual, quite the reverse in fact, it is an archaic means of defining academic learning - one which employers are criticising heavily (and the Education Select Committeee). The EBacc has no impact on Higher Education.

Your final comment worries me. "I am just feeling that they ask me to choose whether to..." etc. Ask me? This is your child's decision, not yours. It is his future and you must respect that. To do otherwise is to potentially seed resentment if 'your' choices turn out to be the wrong ones. Options represents the start of making adult decisions. Believe me, after years of experience on this topic, do not allow yourself to try to control this. Let him make up his mind - he knows his learning better than you. It is his future.

Original poster
HisMum4now · 12/01/2012 20:37

But what about the English Baccalaureate - Mr. Gove's idea that you must have a humanity to be a "whole" individual and to be eligible to a good uni?

I agree ICT is not adding real value, maybe just pleasure - they were going to design a computer game :)
But history would broaden and balance his skill set -develop some debating skills?

I am just feeling that they ask me to choose whether to chop the head or the arm off.

OP posts:
LabradorFan · 12/01/2012 20:12

You might also like to know that just today Michael Gove has announced a whole-scale review of the ICT curriculum because it is "harmful, boring and irrelevant". This is going to affect GCSE courses which will have to reflect whatever comes out of that review. IT organisations nationally are highly critical of the current accreditation. Your DS might find (as so many have done in my school) that a GCSE computer science qualification is not going to deliver what they think it should. Many business organisations in Britain agree.

ptiger · 12/01/2012 20:08

I had this query with my son, so when my daughter was applying to Uni, I took the opportunity to ask the admissions officer at Bristol Univeristy if he would be penalised for doing fewer GCSEs. His sister did 12, I was told that its not about how many but which ones. They look at GCSEs for English,maths if they don't take them at ALevel.

He will need 5 good passes, a B in English is not the end of the world my daughter got that and is studying for a Chemistry degree.

mumblechum1 · 12/01/2012 20:06

Universities only look at GCSEs if you apply to med school.

LabradorFan · 12/01/2012 19:58

You really don't need to worry. 8 or 10 GCSE grades makes no difference whatsoever to universities. They will only look at his A Level results.
The school is being reasonable in recognising that the extra time needed to support your child through the exams. This is not their fault but rather the fact exam boards now compress exams so tightly together, it is like a conveyor belt. This impacts upon candidates with varied learning needs but exam boards will not let this bother them, they delegate it to the school to deal with the implications. So don't blame the school.
But don't turn this into a big deal with your DS that this is a bad deal. It isn't. Many schools across the country are (rightly) saying 'less is more', and 'quality rather than quantity'. In the end at 18, 10 GCSE grades are just letters on a piece of paper.