Dropping GCSE language advice

We usually don’t let students drop until around feb or y11, as it does tend to open the floodgates a bit and timetabling them to do something else is pretty challenging.
if there’s significant sen or similar, including semh then it might be a reasonable adjustment situation?

My daughter was really struggling in school, she has SEN and just couldn't keep up with the timetable and pressure.
Her school let her drop a GCSE and during those lessons she went to their pathway centre to concentrate on core subjects.
The relief I saw in her was pretty much instant. I don't understand why some people are so against dropping a subject, it can make the difference between managing the remaining classes and burning out and not being able to complete any.

Honestly, if DS has to take French my inclination is to get him a tutor and he'll pass or he won't, but really the effort needs to be in English which he needs to progress to A levels and has difficulty with.

I agree with those who say she would be better off focusing on her other subjects – and if that means she attends French lessons but makes no extra effort, well in a way that}s on the school if they have insisted that she takes it (I presume that is the case @Abracadabra399 ?)

If she wanted to do better there are various strategies (inc rote-learning of answers to likely questions or usable phrases) but if, as you say, she can barely even say the simplest sentence and be understood, there doesn't seem much point.

I'd like to think they would trust her to sit quietly in the library for a few periods a week this is not going to be OK tho @edwinbear – school cannot randomly have unsupervised students during lesson time. Or no school I know of would allow this anyway, for safeguarding reasons.

I would have a chat to your DD OP, look at a foundation paper together, see what she thinks. If you both agree that she is unlikely to get any kind of grade, then talk to the school again. Sometimes you need to really push to get what is right for your DC.

And you are actually fully at liberty to withdraw them from any subject they dislike or are doing badly at - except English and Maths.

I have never understood this idea that it is somehow good to keep struggling on at something you don't like or enjoy. Feels a bit Puritan.

Much better to focus on higher grades in other subjects and reduce the exam burden.

What on earth is the point in studying something you dislike or are going to do badly at to the detriment of the rest.

I don't think she isn't trying though... this is the argument I have with DH who says DS isn't trying, whereas I've seen a lot of evidence languages can be really hard for kids with ADHD. To, for example, say a single French sentence you have to remember all the words, all the genders of the nouns, how the case changes the verb and whether any words elide. That's an awful lot when you have poor working memory.

I don’t think it should be allowed. I’m sure many of us have kids that don’t enjoy a particular subject but have to try regardless.

You can’t teach them to pull the plug when they don’t want to even try something.

I think the main thing is they don't want to open the floodgates, and have to let scores of kids drop subjects.
There's a year to go she could easily improve a lot in that time. Lots of people get from zero to gcse in languages in a year. Don't you know any French speakers who would do conversation with her over the summer and boost her confidence

DD (Y11) has dropped a number of subjects due to SEN including languages.

School have been fine with it.

Instead of a language, she just does a double block of one of her other options, and extra PE in the 3rd session. There was also the option of using the SEN room to do self-study on core subjects.

Nobody will care (apart from the school) if she doesn't have a MFL GCSE unless she wants to study it for A level - which she won't.

In terms of the exams, if you do not turn up, or you turn up but do not answer a single question then it will not feature on your exam certificates, but will be an x on the report.

If you do any part of the exam then you will get a grade that you then have to declare. Less easy to do nothing with languages as there are oral exams.

For one of the subjects DD has dropped, she attended all the lessons, but was not expected to complete homework and did not sit the exams. The aim was that she might acquire the knowledge having completed the course, but we were massively reducing her exam burden.

School were very understanding, but it was nearly 6 months of discussion and multiple opportunities to change her mind.

You need 5 GCSEs including English and Maths. Obvs you may have specifics that you need for onward study, but you really don't need 9 or 10. Kids even get into Oxbridge with 6.

@Abracadabra399 - you have my sympathies. DS has ADHD, is at the end of Y9 and still can't remember things like the verb 'to go'. School does have an alternative to languages, a travel & tourism GCSE or maybe BTEC I think, but they only seem to offer it to kids they see as have lower general performance and they insist on DS going forward for French.

DS has started freezing up in school tests and I think a lot is to do with French stress.

In order to do well at a language at GCSE you need to want to do it. I used to tell parents not to force it if the kids weren't interested.

Schools that try to insist students do subjects that for ebacc for their own records - just ugh.

My dyslexic son was allowed to give up French when he just couldn't get it. He was allowed to go to the learning support office and do homework or extra work on his English during the newly freed up periods.

Had the same problem with my dyslexic ds. I'm a former MFL teacher so I don't dismiss languages, but he just couldn't do it. They wouldn't let him drop it. He got a 1 at gcse.

This is ridiculous. My DD is in Year 12 at one of the top state schools in London. When choosing GCSE subjects, the head said they didn’t need a language and should choose the subjects they enjoy.

DS is Y11, currently in the midst of GCSE's, he dropped Spanish last year. He's a 7/8 student but got a 4 in Spanish in Y10 end of year exams. I felt if he didn't have the necessary vocab by the end of Y10, there was no chance of him getting himself up to standard by GCSE's. School completely agreed with me and there were no issues with him dropping it and focusing on his other subjects which has been really positive. He's at a private school which might make a difference but they run 'study skills' classes for DC sitting fewer GCSE's and he went to those instead, which ran revision sessions and some extra maths/English/Science lessons.

I would really try and push for her to drop it if you can find a solution for where she will actually go during lesson time - can she go to the library and study for example? She'll be Y11 next year so I'd like to think they would trust her to sit quietly in the library for a few periods a week - it's not like leaving a Y7 to their own devices.

That’s ridiculous of her school. Our DS (Year 9) has asked to drop French as it’s his least good subject, I think he’d prob get a 5 or thereabouts. But they’ve been allowed to drop one so that’s his choice. And as far as I can tell other than saying he won’t achieve the Ebac dropping a language is fine.

BBC Bitesize is also good for most subjects, if she does want to give it a go (I've looked at German mainly but most subjects are decent).

Hi @Abracadabra399 I feel for your DD on this. MFL is my subject and I love it of course, but not everyone can get on with it.

Firstly as others say, the school is keen for students to take MFL so they can get a good ebacc score. That makes no difference to your DD tho. Having the ebacc will not ever matter. Even the highest-ranking unis don’t ask for MFL at GCSE (unless taking MFL further obvs).

I would push the school for her to be allowed to drop – but be aware that they may say no simply because she has to be somewhere, supervised, for those lessons and there may not be a place she can go. (SEN hub maybe?) - plus they may say, what will she do in that time?

If they won't let her drop, these are your options:

• She continues in lessons and tries her best in the exam. She will be taking F paper - take a look at some and you and she may be surprised as it is aimed at lower ability. She might still get a 2/3 grade.
• She doesn't make any effort, focuses on her other subjects, attends lessons and gets a very low grade or a U.
• She continues in lessons as above but doesn't make any extra effort and doesn't go to the exams. In that case she will get an X on her grade certificates.

Look at what the school asks for for sixth form – some do look at average GCSE grades but many do not. Certainly friends of DS2 who were made to take Spanish and got a 2/3 grade still went to the sixth form.

If she does want to improve her French, duolingo (tho not GCSE targeted as such) is a very good app. There are also vocab websites such as memrise which may be worth a look. Maybe break it right down to basic year 7 level – hobbies, family, what I am like, what I look like – could she manage that?

They have the power to drop a GCse , they did for my son
Just stress she will use those extras hours on other subjects x

I'm dyslexic, I wasn't diagnosed until I went to uni in my 30s.

I was hopeless at French, it made no sense to me. I was fortunate that my Art teacher said I could attend the art room when I was supposed to be in French.

I'm old so in my case I could argue that, "An O level is better than CSE", I was in the CSE class for French but I could do art O Level.

Id it is making her ill then the school has a duty of care to her, if she is found to have ADHD then they have a legal duty to make a 'reasonable adjustment' for her.

BTW tell her from me, being crap at French doesn't mean you are crap at all languages.

Is there a support class for kids with additional needs? I managed to get DD2 moved into that class in Year 9 for French. They weren’t sitting the GCSE but instead they learnt about French culture and did mini quizzes. There was no homework or exams, so it was fine. That was
only for a year though. She was allowed to drop in year 10.

My dd really wanted to drop French and in year 10 struggled like your dc op, but she scrapped a c in the end, combination of a trip to France in the summer between year 10&11, her elder sister helping a bit (was doing a level French) and her babysitting French French’ kids though the latter may not have been that useful as they hated speaking French anyway and taught her swear words!