Anxious yr 11 Dd, mixed moxk results and conflicting views from school

Tutor for maths English ASAP. Talk to school about dropping RE and Sports science. Get an Ed Psych privately asap

What was the outcome of the GP visit.

The school has applied for and been granted access arrangements for your daughter, which presumably will include taking exams somewhere other than the hall, with the majority. The access arrangements you describe are quite comprehensive, so what else would you like put in place?

I would agree that she should focus on those subjects that she is successful at, except that English is a requirement at GCSE. Unfortunately, schools are constrained by rules and may not be able to release her from the exams. I don’t see why attendance at assembly is such an issue, providing there is somewhere for her to go at that time.

It might be worth taking DD to see GP and getting their help for the anxiety and panic attacks. Having a letter from the GP may also get your school to be a bit more flexible. Has the school completed the syllabus for most of her subjects? If the answer is yes, perhaps the school will allow your DD to start study leave early. Regardless of whether the school plays ball, I would consider 'informally' dropping some of the subjects she is having real issues with. With regards to her future A-levels, maybe think about an online school or a home education group.

Good luck to both of you

Cross posts with lotterywin - is this something worth exploring OP?

Have only just seen this OP, am so sorry to hear about the tough time your DD is having - and of course the impact on you..

if things are getting worse and you're concerned about how the next few months will pan out... is it possible to just take 1/2 of her GCSEs now and perhaps the others next year. Would she this as more manageable or a punishment?

My DD is in year 11 too so I sympathise and I'm not experiencing the levels of stress you must all be under

I wouldn't necessarily say this to her just yet but something for you to consider is could she possibly re-do her English GCSE at college if it doesn't work out this time? I had a friend who did chemistry GCSE alongside A levels.

If it were my DD I wouldn't want to sacrifice her good grades in her strong subjects for the sake of stress over the weak ones

So, English is not her thing. She is dyslexic but excels in other areas. I would go to the local colleges and look at suitable courses for next year. I managed to get my dyslexic dd on a level 3 business course without a pass in English. The college agreed that level 2 would be too easy for her. She carried on with English alongside the rest.
If you're chose 2 or 3 a levels to do, she would prob calm down. Schools do tend to relentlessy push the idea that unless you get high grades there is a big black hole you will fall into

Cauliflower - in my experience a large number of rooms are used for exams. It is highly likely that one of the other rooms is starting the exam a little later, and these were Mocks not public exams! (To be honest if there were major road disruption in public exam season then the exam is likely to start a little later anyway.)

In my experience of assemblies - they can be very good - but are never crucial for everyone! And a lot of the time are plain boring for my DC.
They are used to promote "key values" which my DC tend to find banal. Or to provide information such as "how we expect you to behave in exams" or "dealing with friendship issues", which may be more efficiently passed on on a year group basis but could be done in other ways.
They are certainly never worth increasing stress levels in the already anxious. The normal MN argument is that it is too much hassle to arrange separate supervision for a few pupils - but actually that can easily be covered, as is far preferable than either school refusal or a heightened anxiety that will damage learning/behaviour for the rest of the day.

Assemblies are not critical to a girl who is high on anxiety and needing a reduced timetable. Twisted priorities and pedantic to think otherwise. Mental health has to come first

Assemblies are not crucial for an anxious Y11 pupil who is struggling to attend lessons due to mental health difficulties. Allowing the pupil to miss assemblies and then passing on any important info would be a reasonable adjustment.

Well it is up to the centre whether or not they allow late candidates to enter the examination hall once the exam is in progress, according to JCQ guidelines. They can refuse entry if they wish. I think we can all agree how incredibly disruptive it would be to all the other candidates if students were advised to come in at any point within the first hour.

Re: assemblies - it’s pretty disappointing you must have seen such a huge number of really crap assemblies to think that. I think for the 20 mins or so once a week that they are of huge importance and wouldn’t want to exclude anyone from them.

To be fair as long as a student arrives within the first hour of the official start time there are absolutely no problems with them sitting the exam (and getting the full time allowance).

I’ve been to many many assemblies in my time and have seen nothing which was of critical importance (and not communicated in many other ways). Yes they are good for creating a cohesive community but if it’s a choice between a student becoming ill / school refuser and withdrawing them from assemblies it’s a no brainier!

That’s awful your daughter has such severe anxiety but I can understand the school making it very clear to students the importance of being on time for their exams, because if they are late for a gcse the chances are they are not allowed in and they fail. I hope your daughter managed to sit her mock at another time.

Yes in my opinion assemblies are crucial. Assemblies shouldn’t be used for tellings off except perhaps once in a year.

Assemblies are not crucial yes ethos is supported then and major themes covered. But my DD's form Tutor has been told to keep her out depending on the theme - because when it is an assembly which is basically a "telling off" or "nagging" my DD because of her ASD takes the themes personally and becomes very stressed. She doesn't need to be told to revise harder or whatever - that purely stresses her.
She was late to one of her mocks and was so stressed because of the "nagging" they had received beforehand that she had a panic attack and couldn't leave the car.

OP your DD's school seem pretty rigid, and not to understand your DD (my DD's school is high achieving and strict but has always tempered justice with mercy, and understands my DD).
Getting a tutor to explain technique for English to your DD could massively turn things around. In my area the NAS runs coffee mornings for the parents of Girls, you don't need a diagnosis and the other parents have a lot of useful local tips. (I got a recommendation of a psychologist last time I went.)

Just inform the school that’s she’s not doing PE or RE to ease her anxiety as she isn’t coping at all. They are entitled to grant her a reduced timetable.

It’s the school’s decision - you could request but not inform them. The main problem will not be attainment 8 etc but 1 - who would supervise her during this time? There are so few support staff available. And 2 - it sets a precedent for others to say they also would like to drop out.

Assemblies are critical in school - all the ethos is developed, the year group is managed, messages are passed on. It would be really not good for her to miss that - she would be even more out of touch.

A reduced timetable might be negotiable if it is short term and she can go home for a couple of afternoons a week for example.

Good luck!

What does your dd want to happen re school and exams? Can she give her different lessons a rating out of 10 for how anxious they make her feel / how much she enjoys them? It may help when you speak to school.

What does she feel went wrong with English? Conversely what does she feel went right with Geography?

In case you don’t have a copy this is the relevant part of JCQ regulations.

www.jcq.org.uk/Download/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-and-guidance/access-arrangements-and-reasonable-adjustments-booklet

In the JCQ table I linked above the first column is on use of computer reader the 2nd in use of a human reader - Eng Lit does not assess reading and only some of Eng Lang does. She should use the computer reader for Eng Lang Reading (is it Read Write Gold? If so it’s not bad) - I only know AQA English but the 19th century text is very dense and inaccessible to someone who’s dyslexic.

Her behaviour at home sounds like it is exacerbated by the stress of school and the pressures of confirming to rules, enforced sociability etc. I would pursue an ASD assessment as she sounds very like several girls I’ve worked with.

to you and your dd it sounds very stressful and must be hard for her older siblings too.

Re Maths do the school still supply her with the reader / scribe? As in are they physically sitting next to her? If they aren’t then they are not meeting her access arrangements.

Forgot attachment!

She’s only not allowed the reader in the reading section of English Language- is she getting it for the other papers / components? She can have a reader for all of Lit. I’ve attached the relevant bit from JCQ regulations.

Maths she should use her reader and I would push her to (although of course the reader can’t read any symbols ( x % etc) only point to them.

Seriously I would push for removing from assemblies. Also I would suggest calling any local ASD support groups - she sounds so like girls I have worked with. I know many ASD students who are highly sociable and socially competent. Girls also mask better leading to the self harming coping strategies.

How is her behaviour at home?

I would suggest deciding what you want and then telling school - the risk of not acting is her mental health deteriorating further / her becoming a school refuser.

Does she have access to a school counsellor?