My son doesn't want to do core science

As a mum of a ds (16) who missed practically the last 4 months of year 11 - add, anxiety etc I would say you and your school need to tread carefully here. You don't want him to totally disengage here - I'd see it as a positive that he is happy to attend the other core subjects. What level science is he doing? My ds went from Triple award higher to triple award foundation to double award foundation which is the lowest now available. A d he got 2 level 5s so I'd class that as a win. 🙂 That finished the syllabus earlier so more chance to revisit and revise. (Had he been there) The least pressure.

What I ended up with was aiming for the best possible outcome under the circs. I believed if he felt pushed too hard and the school was too rigid he'd end up with NOTHING. A huge possibly. As it was he got 4 (graded 4 or 5) and is re-doing his English this year.

We did move schools to a more supportive one at beginning of year 10 as prev school incredibly inflexible. We did even discuss him 'unofficially dropping' subjects as in going in, participating but not doing other work - hopefully with the school's backing as I would have made them aware so he wouldn't get shit for not progressing. At the new school however they were able and happy to reduce his timetable as much as possible to get the best possible outcome which I believed we did.

What I reminded him and myself was that this is HIS education. The school provides a service to enable him to achieve but at the end of the day it can be our decision how much of it he chose to take advantage of.

Have you tried relating it to your own life, list the things you wouldn't do if you didn't have to? So for me that would be never doing any laundry ever again, but I have to do it. Mine will be for the rest of my life, your son will be doing science for 2 years.

It is a means to an end, a stepping stone he has to do to get into college and do a trade. Although with his attitude and things he doesn't want to do I am not sure how long he will last on any course where he refuses to do elements he doesn't want.

What grades does his chosen course need for him to get on it? What is he doing himself to show that this is important to him?

If he doesn't attend school on the days he has science how will he pass maths and English GCSE? Or does he just think that he will resit them at college.

Even with your update you don’t seem to know why . My own Ds has Adhd so do understand some of the challenges of school but for me it is about getting him to where he needs to be .
I work under the basis when he goes to college/ job he is going to stand next to everyone else and he has to be the best there to get the job / place.

Presumably you’re in very close contact with the school? What do they think the best approach is?

If he doesn't like his science teacher try to find out why and suggest strategies for him to deal with it.

Get to the bottom of why he hates it. Speak to the school about his school refusal/reluctance - the sooner you get them on board with this the better.

Teachable moment too, sometimes in life we have to do things we don’t ‘like’ but are necessary. He needs to understand basic science, even if he won’t have a career in it. And having a qualification in it will open doors in the future - show him how a broad and rounded education gives you choices for the future. It’s hard for teenagers to consider the bigger picture, but I’ve taught too many students who realise the importance too late - and then have to go through the costly, time consuming route of gaining qualifications after compulsory education is finished.

He's gotta do it.
Talk to head of year and see if he can change classes.
He really has to though

I think you need to get to the bottom of why this is such a big deal for him. Most students have done subjects they don't like and wish they didn't have to take but it doesn't lead to them refusing school entirely. Do you think he's very anxious about it? Is there an issue with the teacher or other students on that particular class? Or is he just throwing a tantrum?

I think in most schools it'd be very difficult for him to not do core science from a practical sense due to timetabling, aside from any other reasons.

Being able to think scientifically is hugely beneficial in many areas of adult life, I think it is just as essential as maths or English. I also believe that teenagers should not be cut off from accessing a broad curriculum from the age of 14. Of course, there would also be timetabling issues if every student could just pick any subjects they wanted, there needs to be some restriction for logistical reasons.

There are are many, many things in life that we have to do even though we don't want to.

I don't think you siding with your son against the school on this one is going to do him any favours in the long run. Why does he (or you for that matter) think that the National Curriculum doesn't apply to him? Without an EHCP, it is statutory.

Does your son have SNs? My son is only Y7 but he has ASD/ ADHD and very squeamish. I can see him doing something like this thinking all science is biology!
DD3 has ASD and is Y9. She hated chemistry after a teacher gave her class an OTT safety talk. She's convinced she's going to dissolve her arm or something will blow up because she makes a mistake.
I think GCSE science might be tough for her too although she's academically able.

It's such a shame they stopped the single award, at least it was only worth one GCSE and a lot less work.
I don't understand why they did this, not everyone wants to take it at A level, the argument for it's discontinue.

Given the number of science lessons in a week, the school is unlikely to be able to offer your son any other subjects during that time. You then hit the issue of what he does during that class time- someone would have to supervise him, and the school will not have appropriate facilities for this. He's also unlikely to fill his progress 8 "buckets" without science.

It is very, very unlikely the school will allow him to drop science at this stage. Therefore, you need to think about other solutions. Can you have an honest chat about what the issue with science is? As others have said, he must have had some form of science lessons from Y7 onwards. If you can find out the issue, perhaps there is a solution that isn't just "drop science".

I think the fact that sometimes we just have to get on with doing things we'd prefer not to is an important lesson in life and you need to support the school and get him attending or find him a school that doesn't require him to do science.

You should be spending your energy finding out why he hates it, not thinking of ways for him to get out of it.

It could well be that he doesn't understand it. Have you talked about getting him a tutor?

Tough. He's got to grow up and do it. We can't do everything we like when we like.

What are you doing about school refusal

It seems you need to resolve the issue with what’s wrong with science and how to make it work.

My DD is taking combined science (which I presume is what OP's DS is taking?) and she has 9 hours of science (3 for each one) a fortnight. So the volume of lessons seems correct.

I'm a bit confused as to why this is suddenly an issue. Presumably DS had science lessons in Y7-Y9? Why is it now suddenly a problem?

Is he in too high or too low a set? Does he struggle with the maths element? Has he got behind and is worried about catching up? Does he hate wearing protective clothing? Does he not like the teachers? Just thinking about the possible non subject reasons he might hate it.

They have to do it even if you are 99% sure they'll fail it, it's ridiculous.
I can understand maths and English as you need these for a job and to progress.