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Original poster

Changing a GCSE after a year…any experience?

29 replies

Hyvsvaar · 15/07/2022 12:06

Hi have had end of year report for ds in yr10 and he’s doing pretty well from his end of year exams 7/8s however his art has come back as a 3 😳. I was surprised when he picked this as he is doing triple science and will be going down that route.

he is consistently getting low marks in this subject

the art work is pretty time consuming and he seems to enjoy it but does not have the flair expected and I think he will really struggle next year when prepping for his exams..
I have contacted the school to ask but don’t expect to hear back before end of term
pic is to show his style
does it matter what I think? It would be a shame if he got a 3 though for his GCSES
thanks

Changing a GCSE after a year…any experience?
OP posts:
SkiingIsHeaven · 15/07/2022 12:40

My DS wanted to drop a subject and take music after a year. The school said that he had to teach himself the first year over the summer holidays and that they would give him an exam before he came back in September. If he passed he could take it.

The idea was that if he really wanted to do it he would sacrifice his summer holiday to learn what he needed to.

He passed and got an 8 in his GCSE. He is now doing it at A Level.

It is possible to change in theory but it will depend on the school.

We were lucky in that the school videotaped all lessons the year that he missed due to covid. The idea was that anyone off sick wouldn't miss any lessons.

To be fair, they still do this in case any kids get covid.

I suppose it would depend on what subject he wanted to take. I can't imagine teaching myself chemistry as a 15 year old.

Good luck.

Original poster
Hyvsvaar · 15/07/2022 12:27

Thanks for your reply, I’ve no idea, he doesn’t seem clear what is the issue and from the very short online parents evenings we haven’t gleaned any more information
I was hoping that he would be able to pick up history as the alternative subject even though it’s huge he is able to absorb and retain a lot of information
i haven’t spoken to him about what he thinks yet

OP posts:
TheWayoftheLeaf · 15/07/2022 12:27

I doubt it will matter if he gets one 3 in Art and lots of 7/8 in the core subjects and those he wants to take further...

It won't stop him getting into A levels or a degree not relevant to Art.

TeenDivided · 15/07/2022 12:20

Is it the art work, or the pulling together the narrative on how he got there? He needs to clarify the issue.
I would think it highly unlikely he could swap to a new subject as there would be far too much to catch up on.
So his options may be to drop or improve (or accept low grade). Also I suspect unlikely to let him drop so early without effort being put in to pull the grade up. Schools don't like gaps in timetables unless sen is coming into play.