GCSE options due today help!

Let him do the subjects he wants. It’s good to have subjects he can succeed in. Most schools will let them drop an option if it becomes obvious they need to focus on English and Math.

This could be the last chance he has to take those subjects - all of which open career doors

As a teaching assistant who works in a college doing support for post 18 students, I'd say take the 3 with the English and Maths support. I know that might be very very tough for him now, but later on he'll need the English and Maths far more than he'll need anything else, unless he goes into a very specific career. I have students with aspirations across the spectrum of careers - nursing, midwifery, TA or teaching, hospitality, to name a few, who can't move forward with their studies because they are missing maths or English or both. Most things he'll want to do, he can work round other missing GCSEs.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl
When you say options for the group of students not getting 4s in English and maths are reducing, what do you mean?

So a few points here as a secondary school teacher:

In terms of being with friends, even if he picks the same options, he may not be in classes with his close friends. I appreciate he doesn't want to feel like the odd one out but he may end up in different groups for some options and different sets, friendships may also change after picking options.

You have said you assume he can drop french and switch to the support group but that may not be possible if that group fills up or eg new students join the school. As a previous poster said, I would ensure you get this in writing or it may not be an option later on?

Do the school guarantee everyone their first choice options? I do wonder if the French class could end up being "full" and your son pushed down the support route anyway.

Is he at risk of not getting 4s in English and maths? This will seriously limit his choices post 16 - and options for students in this group are currently reducing. Personally I would do everything I could to get him over that hurdle.

Firstly, get it in writing that he can opt into the extra support and drop French at a later date! The last thing you'd want is for him to have his choice to do this removed because the school has put another child in that slot and it stops being an option. I know you've said the teacher has said, but get that in an email so you can refer back to it.

If you feel really strongly that he needs extra support, do him a deal along the lines of 'you can take your four choices, but you need extra support, so you'll also have a tutor after school one night a week if you don't want the school extra support'. To be honest, this 1:1 will probably be more effective than small group work in school anyway, especially if they're able to adapt to his learning style. Alternatively, if you feel it's best, you could do a deal with him about keeping his grades at a certain level to be allowed to continue as is, and if they fall below that then he takes the additional support the school is offering. I'd recommend the tutor approach if he needs to more than this, but I know some kids for whom that would work well.
I'd also recommend checking that all his options are GCSEs - lots of school will offer some BTECs to students who struggle academically, and he may well be better off with less exams at the end. Once you've established that, find out which exam boards they're using, and help him to find syllabuses online (print them off if possible), and check he's interested in what he'll actually be learning about - for some exam boards there's a huge difference in topics, so that might help him in terms of his choices. Also get stuff like a study area, filing system for notes for each subject, and a study system set up early to help him - stuff like summarising each bullet point on the syllabus on a notecards, once it's been covered in class is a little and often approach, that means he's got a set of notes to start revising from, and serves as a recap too, and shouldn't take more than ten minutes! He may need more adult support with study skills, so aim to put that into place from the point he starts GCSE work, not the point where he needs to start revising!

It's true at my DC's school that students who require extra English support don't study a language in KS3. I very much doubt that they are the only school in the country to find that MFL timetable slots are "easy" to use when you need to find extra slots for support sessions.

Some of the students requiring extra support will be those who have recently moved to the UK and for whom English is a second language.

May not be true at your school, but some other subject's timetabled slots instead will have been used for English support.

Id totally keep his choices if it keeps him engaged.
Who cares if he drops 1 later or fails some. Just let him know you're ok with him not getting amazing scores as long as he paces himself, tries, stays sensible about it all and enjoys it

Yeah, no worries your little shit is out and about! Your problem is our problem. I’ve no doubt your little shit has Shakespeare I hate you.

I would strongly advise against doing all three of PE, food tech, and DT given that he is already needing extra support for Maths & English. These 3 options are all very project heavy and I would only think it was ok to so all three if the pupil was already very secure in Maths & English. It's no disaster if taking project heavy options knocks a potential 7 in Maths or English down to a 6. It's a big problem if it knocks a potential 4 to a 3. I would suggest he picks 2 of those 3.

I absolutely think this is the right choice! Speaking as a parent of now two children who suffer with emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), who are both autistic, the most important thing for children to learn is that they are happy!
I was very academic and passed all my GCSEs well with very little effort, however my children struggle far more academically. My son is still at primary school, but he is very unlikely to be able to pass his English and Maths GCSEs as he is already so far behind, despite lots of support. He excels at other subjects and is clearly never going to choose a career that involves a lot of writing/calculations. He can read and can write using electronic devices that help with spell checking.
I remember being at school and whenever anyone mentioned a calculator the teacher would say"well you won't always have a calculator on you!" and now look at us - we are nearly all walking around with calculators, dictionaries etc in our pockets!
Whatever options your son eventually chooses, please remind him that nearly any test that means anything can be retaken at a later date if needs be.

If that's a reply to my post about % GBs yes for sure I am aware of that.

In fact (I have looked over the years) if we ignore years affected by Covid (2020/21/22) they don't move that much. French is around 200 marks (out of 240) for a 9 for 2018/19/2023 as well as 2024. Which is as it should be since the exams are moderated to be of equal challenge across the years.

Anyway apols @nextchapterplease that's a bit off topic. Hopefully your DS will get the support he needs (and accept it!)

The boundaries will move slightly year on year depending on how hard or easy the cohort found the exam. It’s not the case that it’s marked differently, it’ll be that students on the whole found the exam easier so the boundary will be higher because they don’t want too many grade 9s.

This is simply not true. Everyone studies a language at KS3. Learning a language strengthens literacy skills and improves knowledge of English too.

I have heard it said before on MN that MFL is marked more harshly than other subjects at GCSE. I just looked at AQA and referenced a few different subjects. A grade 9 in French in 2024 required 85%, compared to 73%ish for history, indeed; but maths required 91%, Eng lit 85%, drama 84% and those less academically challenging subjects PE and food, 82% and 84% respectively. DT was almost 90% for a 9.

So I am not convinced that French is marked so much more harshly that all other subjects, if by that people mean that the GBs are higher. If they are talking about the mark scheme, yes there are a lot of questions where only one answer is correct, but there are still open marks to be won in speaking and writing.

And I would definitely dispute that food and PE and DT are academically less challenging. For me, PE GCSE would have been a total non-starter. As would DT. French tho was straightforward. It’s all about playing to your strengths, as far as you can.

Anyway @nextchapterplease I agree that the chance for extra support with Eng and maths is surely worth taking. Even if that means he has to drop French (sorry my earlier posts assumed he could drop any subject).

ETA: sorry OP I cross posted with your last message. That sounds like a workable way forward. All the best to your DS.

May vary from council to council, but my understanding is the dyslexia screening in school isn't the same as a formal diagnosis. It is mainly a computer based assessment. If your council is one that funds a full diagnosis then stick out the process.

If you think he may be dyslexic, But the council won't fund full diagnosis then look on the dyslexia association website for an approved assessor.

We were given a contact name by the primary school. The person used to work for the council when they still did diagnosis themselves. They ( or one of the team) also went into local schools. The assessment took about 3 hours, but was split into two sessions. The report also made recommendations for support. The primary school were used to seeing reports from the same person. DD had one of her team of tutors for a 1-2-1 session for about 40 mins each week. Worth every penny for the progress that was made. Dd went from hating having to read, to being a book worm. Results in school improved massively in primary.

The school should be able to request exam access arrangements such as more time if it can be demonstrated that it is required. This can be regardless of diagnosis, and will often need an assessment being done in school, to meet the requirements of the exam board.

Year 8 seems early to choose, to start options in year 9. I know of other schools that do the same, because they spend time in year 9 learning subjects they are taking exams in, instead of subjects they won't continue with. This may be beneficial to your son- it could mean they can take a bit longer on topics and get a better understanding.

We were told to think about what they enjoyed, what they were good at, and what would help future job routes ( if they know what they want to do).

The school said not to pick based on teacher or friendship groups, because those could change.

If he is definite he wants to take the extra one, instead of the extra school support in maths and English, I think I would let him. The teacher being supportive may help. If the situation changes he could look to drop one, but can't add one back in. We were told by teachers that because words aren't learned phonetically in the same way as English, dyslexia doesn't always cause impact on leaning a language. May vary from person to person though.

If you can afford a tutor it may be worth going down that route instead. Paying for one means you can try and find one that your son builds up a good relationship with- he may enjoy and get more from session that way than being forced to do it with a school teacher.

We let dd choose. French was one she considered, because she enjoyed it, but it didn't make the pick. She chose other subjects that she both enjoys, is good at and are relevant to the work area she is thinking of. All the options chosen have a high coursework content, which takes some pressure of the exams themselves, but may create pressures elsewhere.

We are in Wales, where Welsh is compulsory, so still taking a language.

if you can afford private dyslexia assessments that is really worth doing.

French is tough! My son was in top set in year 8 but by Christmas year 10 wanted to go down from set 2 to set 3 so as not to do the higher paper. And it's still a hard slog! Wish he could drop it. Its great the school are so flexible.

Secondary head of department here with 20 years experience. If school are recommending additional English and Maths you’d be absolutely mad to ignore it. They can’t facilitate this for many and will prioritise those who genuinely need it. If he passes nothing else he needs English Language and Maths. I get that he’s worried about being different, but there are no guarantees he’ll be in the same class as friends anyway. I honestly think you need to step in here and direct him towards the additional English and Maths and have a very grown up conversation about what happens if he doesn’t pass them. If he doesn’t get these his choices at college will be much more limited and he’ll end up re-sitting. This isn’t about fitting in, as difficult as that is. It’s about making the most sensible choice for the future. The other advantage is of course one fewer GCSE to be working for/revising for. Now that many GCSEs are 100% exam the exam season is more gruelling than ever. If he struggles anyway, one fewer GCSE will boost his chances in all of them because he won’t be spreading himself too thinly.

PE has a lot of theory in it, I know a few who have really struggled with it. My daughter did really enjoy the theory side though! It’s not an easy ride at all.

I’m a French teacher and examiner, and the subject is marked more harshly than many GCSE option choices. If he loves it, then he should carry on with it, and just accept that he might not get the best grade, but he’ll enjoy it. Food tech, DT and PE sound like good choices; they’re practical snd useful skills, and less academically challenging.

But he has to resit anyway, despite the extra provision?
How does he imagine he’d have done better without it and taken two extra subjects?!

I know he’s not keen but I’d be likely to encourage the additional support. Maths and English GCSEs are key for any future education or courses he’s going to want to do. If the school is recommending this I’d be inclined to try this route. However know how difficult it can be to persuade teenagers when their friends are doing something different.

Honestly as a SEN parent who has gone through options twice with another to come next year, I would say speak to the school with regards to course content. My Son has taken DT, Food and PE this year and has had very little written theory work. My friends son is at a different school and in DT and PE has had a very heavily written theory based experience. Both schools are using different exam boards and ours is more of a btec style whereas the other schools courses are more like GCSEs.
Everything else would be down to you, your son and school to decide because only you know your son.
But honestly if it was me again with mine I'd prefer my child was happy at school rather than forcing them to do something that they don't want to do.

Also my eldest did extra English and Maths rather than getting the full options choice and he hated it! It was just him from his friendship group and he really didn't get anything out of it because he resented the lessons so much.

He's resitting them this year at college and he's much happier, but still resents the fact that he wasn't given his choice of lessons - because at college now he's not only resitting his English and maths GCSE but also studying the 2 GCSEs he was forced to drop and says he's wasted the last 2 years of his life!