Horrible phone call with school😭

Your daughter's health is important and arrangements can surely be made for her to repeat the year or whatever when her health improves.

Yes of course... but that didn't seem to be what the thread is about? The OP seems angry at the school for checking that her daughter is definitely too unwell to come in! Obviously, as she is clearly too unwell to attend, a sensible option is to retake the exam - which I an sure will be arranged.

The school was very good and they will use the predicted grades and evidence to give her the grades.

Erm.... what? Schools do not have the option to give her a grade in this way!! Wbere did you get this idea from?!

School should know what the exam board will do as it’s their job to know
Yes, of course schools know the procedure. But they can't guarantee that special consideration will be applied (likely will be though in this case) and certainly can't comment on what her outcome will be as a result! Schools have no control over this- it's just paperwork that is sent in.

I haven't read through all the responses but the few I have seem completely lacking in understanding of your daughter's or your situation. In fact the responses I've read must be quite upsetting for you when you're dealing with a very unwell girl. I sympathise because my 16 year old granddaughter who was predicted to do brilliantly in her GCSEs has been very unwell with stress post lockdown, has had to drop out of mainstream education and not sitting GCSEs this year. Your daughter's health is important and arrangements can surely be made for her to repeat the year or whatever when her health improves.

School should know what the exam board will do as it’s their job to know. If a student who is fully prepared for a component misses the exam for ‘acceptable reasons’ then they will calculate a grade based on the component/s she did complete. I had a student miss Paper 2 for GCSE English Language once because she was giving birth (definitely an ‘acceptable reason’) and she got Grade 9 based on her Paper 1 performance. JCQ guidelines are here: www.jcq.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/A-guide-to-the-special-consideration-process-202122-–-General-and-Vocational-qualifications-Updated-8-April-2022.pdf

You are seriously overreacting. The school is just doing their best to ensure that any child that CAN attend an exam does. Obviously they have no control over what the exam board does about the grade so they want to make sure that if there is any way your daughter can sit the exam that she does. I don't think that there is any guilt-tripping at all - they're doing their job and showing they care!

I feel for your daughter, Migraines are terrible and there is no way you can sit an exam when you have a migraine - at times it is impossible to get out of bed. I don't think you are being unreasonable and surely there must be something in place for situations like this. Your daughter health and well-being is much more important. I also think the school are being really unsympathetic. I have a friend whos child had a bad accident and broke a bone just before the exams and was not able to sit them. The school was very good and they will use the predicted grades and evidence to give her the grades. Thanks to Covid schools are now keeping evidence through the year just in case. Sending best wishes to you and your daughter.

I think you are being unfair. Her teachers have put a considerable amount of effort over several years to get her to this point. There is little they can do to assist if she doesn’t take her exams. It will be you v the exam board. I can totally understand why they were trying everything to get her to take it.

Have you heard of the Curable app? It’s SO worth the cost! Also check out Alan Gordon, Howard Schubiner, Nicole Sachs etc on chronic pain and stress related conditions.

I suffered with migraines growing up, let me tell those saying to take her in there’s no chance I’d even sit 10 mins if it if I had a migraine. I would vomit constantly, have to blu tac my curtains to the wall as any light was awful. Clearly never had a migraine if you think someone could sit an exam with a full on migraine. There’s measures in place for this kind of thing. Same as there is for covid

Call back. Ask to speak to someone on senior management who is responsible for exams and make sure they apply for the special consideration by the exam board when marking her papers -for the migraines and anxiety. I work in a secondary school and we’ve been asked to look out for this and pass it on.
It sounds like the person you spoke went through the usual comments to try and get students in to school. The exam team knows exactly what to do if children miss exams. I wouldn’t be upset about that. GDPR means personal information is only shared on a need to know basis.

They are being unreasonable to ask her to come in given the backstory but not unreasonable to ask for a doctor's note. I once had a student get diagnosed with chrone's about 2 months before gcses and she had a bad flare up the day of an exam and the exam board refused to consider it and she got a U for that exam. And this was someone who also had tests and paperwork and actually ended up sitting loads of exams in hospital. So no, the school absolutely can't make promises.

I used to get migraines in my teens. There is absolutely no way that I would have been able to take an exam.
Did grow out of them if that's any consolation.
Your daughter has my sympathy; they can be vert debilitating.

For gods sakes, all school are thinking of are their results, but at your daughters expense.
she can resit next year, it not the end of the world, send in by email, your proof, along with email stating how unsupported you and daughter feel, and that you feel bullied
I had same with our daughter, she only sat 2 but sat more the following year and just finished A Levals
At the moment in my opinion get her stronger x

I hope your DD is feeling better today OP and that you've had some more information about what can be done to resolve this.

Age 6-9 my DS had debilitating migraines.

Aged 9 he was diagnosed with ADHD and put on ritalin. Within 2 months all migraines went. He's been off his preventive treatment for a year now and has had only 1 migraine in that time. A real miracle

Anyone who thinks she can do an exam with this has never had a migraine, I suffer with them an they completely wipe you out an knock you sick an you can not focus for the pain, I think op is right to keep her daughter of.

You are overreacting. They will of course want her to come in. If she certainly can't, they are probably right that the exam board will want a GP note.
This isn't about believing or not believing. These are public exams. The rules are very strict. The board perhaps won't make an allowance on your say so or letters that you have written about her migraines.

What exactly do you want them to do. The rules are strict or do you want them to allow someone else to take your child’s exam. Unfortunately, bad results/ missed exams are something you’ll have to deal with

I understand, @ArseInTheCoOpWindow.
My mum had blinding migraines. She was a teacher & would get them at school. Sometimes she’d make it through the day and sometimes she wouldn’t, but every single time she’d drive herself to the GP (we lived a few doors down) where he’d give her an injection and then she’d come home and lie in a pitch-black room until the next day.
Migraines aren’t something you can overlook. I hope this isn’t something your daughter is stuck with for life. It’s a miserable, horrible way to live.

I have had seizures during secondary school and university exams and no allowances ever given.

The school exam officer explained this was actually a better option than special consideration as the death of a parent only warrants a 5% leeway so injury/illness is hardly anything

Agree with this totally, better off missing it than struggling in.
DS went through all of his A Levels in 2015 with me having just come out of High Dep after life-saving surgery and continuing in hospital for the next five weeks, at the same time as DH was recovering from a brain haemorrhage (and couldn’t see properly at that stage).

DS got 3% allowance.
3 pissing percent for not knowing if either parent was going to be alive by the end of his exams.

They just want her to sit her exam. They weren't guilt tripping you.