Dropping a GCSE subject in year 11?

[TattiePants]

Are any secondary teachers or parents who have gone through this able to advise?

DS will be sitting his GCSEs in the summer and we’d like him to to drop German. He has dyspraxia and his slow processing combined with poor memory recall means he is really struggling. Having read around the subject, MFL does seem to be tricky for some kids with dyslexia, dyspraxia etc. In addition to his SEN, he is struggling with his mental health and having regular panic attacks at school and at home. The SENCO managed to get him a CAMHS referral within 2 months and he has his appointments in school so they are aware of how difficult he finds things at the minute.

In his November mocks he got grades 1-3 and he’s in the middle of his final mocks and is likely to get similar grades. We could spend hours doing extra work (we’ve done no German revision for either sets of mocks) but that would mean taking revision time from either core subjects like English or subjects that he wants to do for A Level.

Can anyone offer some advise?

The school should be able to help with this. I’m a MFL teacher and have had pupils drop the subject in Y11. They’ve spent the lesson time on extra maths, English and science, which has really helped them. Speak to your child’s Achievement Leader.

He had learning support

What is his plan 16+? You have mentioned getting grades 1-3 and also mentioned A levels which I wouldn't have thought of as an automatic path.

If the school won't let you drop German I would probably leave any revision/homework if he is not likely to pass, it's far better to spend his time on other subjects even if he still has to attend the classes in school.

@Foxyloxy1plus1 he's been accepted at his school's sixth form (subject to grades) to study Geography, Business Studies and either Environmental Science or Biology (Environmental Science is a new course so we're not 100% if it's going ahead hence the backup option). He's predicted 6-8 in maths, sciences, geography, business and english lit.

@Houseplantmad that's the approach we've been taking for mocks. He's already sat 3 German papers before half term so hopefully he'll get the marks back next week and we can take it from there.

@Nomorefuckstogive that would definitely be best case scenario if our school can accommodate it. From your experience as a MFL teacher, do you find that kids with dyspraxia, dyslexia etc struggle more?

I would contact the senco. It is a reasonable adjustment for his Sen to reduce the number of subjects taken and the school should be able to find a way to accommodate this.

@alrightfella grades 1-3 were what he got across the 4 German exams in his mocks last year. Hopefully he'll get a 5 in English language and Computer Science and then he's on track for 6-8 in his other subjects.

My dd struggled through her language gcse. She wasn't allowed to drop it unfortunately (dyslexic) I think it's incredibly unfair to have a blanket rule that all children need to do a language it's just not necessary for many. I bet if you asked my daughter to speak French today she wouldnt remember a bloody word.

My daughter dropped German when it was her only language GCSE. She was fine! Still got 11 all grades above C she went to uni and has been in a professional post for 2 years now!

The trouble for the school with this is two fold though
(i) The school is judged on Progress 8 and getting a grade 1 in German is much better than not doing it.
(ii) There seems to be little evidence that dropping 1 subject actually leads to improvements in other areas.

On top of that, there is lots of pressure on closing gaps between groups of pupils and him dropping German will likely hinder that.

My whole year group dropped a GCSE at the end of year 10. Did us all the world of good. I still got 9 GCSE’s which in my professional career are irrelevant.

I also dropped 1/4 AS Levels as it was too much. Ended up getting A* A B grades in the other.

I’m awaiting a diagnosis of ADHD. I can 100% recommend dropping a subject to ease the workload. It’s difficult enough and your son will be fine without it. It was GCSE Spanish I dropped.

Good luck with it, schools can lack perspective - I had a real battle to drop 1/4 A Levels but I’m here working professionally, and studying a masters.

Oh and dropping the one subject at GCSE and one at A Level definitely helped me overall - fewer exams to revise for, fewer lessons to attend, one less stressor. Quality over quantity.

@dootball I don't know what Progress 8 is but it sounds like it's a measure for the school rather than an individual child. DS has a tendency to focus on his weaknesses rather than his strengths and will often refer to himself as stupid. We know he got a grade 8 in Biology paper 1 last week but if he finds out next week he got a 1 or 2 in German, that's what he will focus on. Removing the one subject that he will not pass can prevent that.

Due to his SEN there is a limited amount of time where we can keep his attention to revise. If we spend hours on German, it has to be at the detriment of his other subjects.

My DS is in Year 11 and has ASD. He’s much happier now he’s dropped French. I told the school it was happening as he’d plummeted from being at a grade 5 at the start of the pandemic to a U. He’d lost all confidence in the subject.

In fact over 20% of the kids in his year have dropped a subject. Usually one of the languages or history. DS is much happier he’s dropped French. The school use the extra lessons for extra English/Maths/Science revision.

Dropping subjects is discouraged because 1) what do we do with them in those lessons and 2) it sets off a crowd of kids and parents wanting the same. Schools vary in their approach. With my own children, we definitely prioritised English, Maths and Science plus an option subject that was going to be important post 16 for one of them.

You have nothing to lose by asking.

(i) The school is judged on Progress 8 and getting a grade 1 in German is much better than not doing it.

I was curious about what Progress 8 is ... that doesn't necessarily seem to be the case. If by dropping German he can improve his English result then because it's double weighted that may be as good or better for the school. But it really shouldn't need pointing out that schools are there to serve the needs of pupils, not the other way round.

Although Progress 8 encourages students to take eight qualifications, this is not compulsory. If a student has fewer than eight qualifications or the qualifications they do sit are not on the list of subjects which count towards Progress 8, they will score 0 points for the unfilled slots.
The Progress 8 score will always be determined by dividing the points total by 10 (the eight qualifications with English and mathematics counting double), regardless of how many qualifications the student sits or in which subjects.
It can be of more benefit to less-able students to strive for good grades (and hence score more points) in fewer subjects, with the emphasis on doing well in English and mathematics, than to take more subjects but achieve lower grades overall.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/285990/P88_factsheet.pdf

It does often seem very straightforward that a student should drop something they aren’t successful at, to focus on subjects they will be more successful at. The reality can be very different and I speak as a former secondary school SENCo and assistant head, who had to juggle the requirements of students whose needs were additional to, or different from, others.

As Cynderella says, it’s what you do with them in the lessons they drop. It sounds reasonable to say that they should go to the learning support base and revise or study more of the ‘good’ subjects, but it may be that there is no one to supervise or aid that study. TAs supporting students in class, SENCo teaching, running ARs, at meetings etc. In a cohort of 210, there might be 10 who are in a similar position, but whose subjects are timetabled against each other, so having to find several slots isn’t as simple as it might first seem.

That’s not to say it’s impossible, but it can be more complex.

But it really shouldn't need pointing out that schools are there to serve the needs of pupils, not the other way round.

In an ideal world, however schools ultimately get judged on progress measures, not the tweaks they made to Xs timetable.

If dropping German leaves his open basket empty (unsure based on OPs info), then school will be keen for him to take it. A 1 is 'worth' a lot more in progress 8 than a U.

@Hercisback

OPs son is still doing a language and 8 subjects so can be part of the progress 8 stats.

But fundamentally the school should do what’s best for the individual child, and I’m glad to say where I work does

I’m assuming the 8 in Progress 8 refers to the minimum number of subjects he needs to take at GCSE? At the moment he is doing 10 GCSEs (or equivalent) and already passed an 11th in year 10.

Mum to dyslexic and dyspraxic DD - I would absolutely drop German. My DD is not doing a second language at all, instead she goes to library and does homework. Better to do fewer well I think.

Could he pause as it were and resume the German next year?

@balalake I don’t think that would help him even if he could do a gcse alongside his A levels. I think his slow processing speed, memory recall and his lack of self confidence mean he’ll always really struggle.

@TattiePants it's more complicated than just doing 8 subject though - there are certain 'buckets' that you need to fill, and dropping a language may leave one slot empty even if he has sat 'extra' GCSEs.

@OnceuponaRainbow18
I agree schools should prioritise the child, however I can understand why they would say no to dropping a GCSE. We do, because we have no alternative supervision.

If he's doing 10 GCSEs it's likely he will be OK for progress 8 without German although no one can be sure without knowing the subjects.

DS2 current Y11 has just dropped French. He has extra English and Maths support during the time instead.

It was arranged with discussions with the SENCO and his HOY. I know they have / do it with other children and indeed have done it in other years (DS1s friend had the same arrangements which is why I knew it could be done). I don't think they advertise it though and it has to be agreed by the governors technically as its a compulsory subject.

It's certainly doable though so definitely ask :)