Don't want dd to do btec

sorry sea

I was going to say to OP that, whatever they do, the important thing is to make sure that they are doing enough to get them on to the next stage. Sounds like you have that covered.

god this website can make you feel shit sometimes

i didn't know you could do a btec at senior school

but ( flame away) thee is a higherarchy about these things

dd was threatening to do a B-tech last year when she was thinking about college - and i think i started a thread on it where people were telling me how great it is and what a 'proper' qualifiction it is

but we all know it just isn't. its the qualification they pass you of with when you the the sted of proper qualification

er so is ds (5 gcses), shall i tell him that he's ready for the scrap heap already

I hear what you are saying sea. My DD did a BTEC. But she did 9 GCSEs and a BTEC, which is a bit different to 5GCSEs and a BTEC which is what OP's DD is being offered.

Rather than phrase it as "we don't want XXX", try to phrase it more positively as "we do want YYY". Have you discussed with her which subjects she would like to do, beyond the core?

Can you speak to other parents, do they have any more info about what is going on.

Go in all guns blazing but make sure that you have your facts right before you do.

er ds(16) is doing a BTEC in business, he is in the top set and isn't stupid

he's going on to do a levels.

please don't think all children doing them are 'stupid' fgs

BTECs don't suit every child! They're pretty heavy on coursework and so require sustained effort all the way through - the sooner schools realise this and stop targeting them at 'less academically able' children the better. TBH I'd have failed one.

Why the hell shouldn't she do 5 core GCSEs (Eng x2, maths, double science?) and some subjects which interest her like history, geography, a foreign language or art?! A BTEC is nothing like the breadth of knowledge you can gain from doing 3 GCSEs. In any case a top London girls school, top 10 in the country, insist their pupils only need 8 good GCSEs to do well in life. That's only 3 more subjects for your daughter to do and then she can really focus on them.

That's quite apart from the high handed manner in which they've just informed you she's doing a BTEC. Have they deigned to tell you which one they've already picked?

Yes- I really think you need to go in all guns blazing asap, tbh. I just feel very sorry for children whose parents unwittingly accept this sort of academic write-off at 14. It's really quite usual for kids to faff about in the 1st few years of secondary and then pull their socks up bigtime when it counts, ime. (Not saying this is what your daughter has done at all at all, of course- sounds even worse in her case as they are apparently basing it on exam results she achieved at her first school when she was only 11 !). I think only a minority of children should be allowed to drop 3 GCSEs and it should be only those who know that they definitely want to do something that will be enhanced by a vocational course or those who genuinely need to focus on fewer subjects in order to pass. And it should always be done in partnership with the child and his/her parents. Just telling a child they are doing btec is disgraceful!

I really do think it's shocking, toast- sounds like piss poor communication and low expectations of perfectly able children is going on here. When I were a lass we had a meeting with a senior member of the teaching staff to discuss GCSE options. It worked well as everyone had a chance to thrash out the issues, if any. Any chance you could request such, if it isn't a standard feature at your daughter's school?

When I say ridiculous I mean the school for basing their recommendation on results from 3 full years ago when your dd wasn't even at their school, just to clarify. So sorry your dd is upset. Just reassure her that you will support her to sort it out. Is this a common phenomenon in her school? I'm sure BTEC can be great for some but it seems a big decision to drop the full complement of GSCEs without consultation with parents/children and an explanation of the rationale plus reassurance that it doesn't stymie options for proceeding to further education etc. I would be furious with the school, frankly.

Sounds a bit like my DDs school where they are put into one of four pathways with different cores
I was shocked to find out what else was considered as well as the childs current ability. See my ' thinking ahead...' thread.

Ridiculous. Go in there and raise merry hell if it's not right for your daughter.

Surely these are called "options" for a reason. You and your DD must have a say in what she does. I would be horrified if I was told that my DCs could only do what the school thought.
I would go and see the teacher and dig further. Her latest performance at school should be considered, not where she was in year 6!

Go and ask questions and get what your DD wants.