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Original poster

GCSE options nightmare for my 13 year old - advice very welcome

55 replies

HoneyKate · 15/02/2012 14:28

I would be so grateful for any help in this area. My daughter is in year 9 and her current Key Stage 3 grades are mainly in the 5's (mix of a,b and c). What Level GCSE would you expect her to study? The school (recently converted to Academy status) is insisting she study all subjects at Level 1 and they will only let her do 5 GCSEs and Btech Science, meaning that she won't be able to achieve higher than a Grade D at GCSE. This is despite her predicted levels (for end of year 9) being 6's in most subjects (bar maths and science where they are 5a). She is so distressed (as am I and her father)that they won't let her even try for a C grade in anything. Everything she wants to do in further education relies on her getting minimum Grade C and B's. Her teachers have told her how well she is doing and even her maths teacher told us 2 weeks ago at the parents evening that she could achieve a Grade C if she worked hard. She is in the second from top English class but second from bottom in Maths. She is a good student, never absent and never disruptive. She has never been in any trouble or even had a detention. I don't understand why they won't give her the chance to try for Grade C's. I am guessing this stems back to her CAT scores at primary which were quite low even though her SATS were mostly in the 6's. She would have been in band 2 were it not for the CATS which reduced her to a band 4 and in fact the dep head at the time told me he was initially thinking of putting her in band 5, the bottom band. She has since gone up to band 2 in English. Are there any teachers out there with any advice? My past experience in trying to reason with the school over various issues has rarely met with an success although I do intend to go into the school next week with all guns blazing. We only found this out at the end of school last Friday so have to stew on it all week. My poor daughter is distraught at the thought of never being allowed to try for a Grade C.

OP posts:
balia · 15/02/2012 16:44

Can you tell us what boards they are offering these 'level 1' GCSE's in? AFAIK there is no English GCSE that only offers D-G grades, foundation is C-G and Higher is A*-D.

titchy · 15/02/2012 16:43

I think the school are basically saying that they have split the year group into those they expect to get the Level 1 GCSE, and those they expect to get the Level 2 GCSE. This is normal!

Those that they expect to get Level 1 GCSE will do Foundation tier - this goes up to a C!!!!! And possibly a B in a few cases I believe.

The other group will also do the Higher Tier which will enable them to get grades up to A*.

Your dd has been identified as someone who isn't expected to get a B or higher, so they are playing safe and just allowing her to do the Foundation Tier. She is still able to get a grade C though.

You may be able to argue she should be given the chance to do the Higher tier for a couple of subjects - e.g. English, but I'd have thought this would be best discussed on a subject by subject basis, once you know her final KS3 results.

Don't worry about the EBacc - it's not a qualification in its own right.

I doubt the school's expectations of her achievements is based on her Year 6 SATS, or her Year 7 CATS....

SecretSquirrels · 15/02/2012 16:38

I have two DCs at secondary school and have never heard of level 1 GCSEs?
They are normally foundation and higher. The foundation allows up to a grade C.
It is outrageous that the school is effectively narrowing your child's options for further education in this way.

Original poster
HoneyKate · 15/02/2012 16:20

Thanks Kez100. For the first time her school has decided to approach GCSE's differently this year, I assume this is a change which has come about as a result of them recently becoming an Academy. They have segregated the GCSE pupils into two groups and offered up to 12 Level 2 GCSEs (A-C) to those kids consider to be "bright". To those they consider less able they have offered vocational courses (2 day release to local college) and, for those who don't want to go to college, they say they offer up to 8 GCSEs but only at Level 1, meaning they can only study in the grade D-G level. There is no option here to get a C. I found the different levels explained on the education section of the government website. I am appalled that the school decides at this point in time - before the students have even begun their GCSE courses - which level they should sit an exam in. In fact part of these "8 GCSE's" are Btec science which (thanks to Michael Gove) are not going to be worth any GCSE's by the time they have finished them. They are offering my daughter 1 X English, maths, and 3 "option" subjects (she wants to do drama, history and french) plus Btec science all at Level 1 (D-G). The "options pack" provided by the school makes no mention of "foundation papers" it is all based on studying at Level 1 or Level 2. (The school gets to decide on an individual basis whether to let the student take GCSE PE and RE. Obviously these last two are obligatory subjects but it's the school's choice whether they study on a core or GCSE level.) Why would they do this when her Autumn 2011 grades were mostly 5's and her predicted grades for end of Key Stage 3 mostly 6's? From info I have found on Mumsnet a 5 at Key Stage 3 can predict a C pass and a 6 a B pass. She was hoping to be able to try for the EBacc (a recent introduction at the school) but will be excluded from the opportunity.

OP posts:
Kez100 · 15/02/2012 15:32

I really empathise with you as my daughter is of similar ability and 5's should get a crack at a C (a long running thread of mine proves why!). However, regarding your question, I don't understand why she isn't being allowed to study for Grade C.

You say she is sitting 5 GCSEs - they may be at foundation paper, but foundation papers can gain a C grade. What did you mean by her being stopped from trying for a C?

BTEC Science seems to be the current thinking for the non-scientists. Grade C is very difficult for these children - my daughter (a very hard worker but non scientist) has really struggled to get where she is in year 9 - which is a solid D is additional science and a borderline C/D in core. I suspect she might have enjoyed science a bit more if she had done Btec but I can;t say I am not delighted she has had the chance to try the GCSEs (and if she nabs even one of them at a C it will have been worth it IMO)

What options are they actually letting her do : what subjects and what exam?