Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

Original poster

Are school being unreasonable?

18 replies

MrsPatrickDempsey · 07/03/2018 11:03

DD wants to drop a gcse (humanity subject). She is yr 11 and has no plans to study the subject in yr 12. She feels that she needs to make up a bit of ground and the time spent studying for this subject would detract from getting better grades in the subjects she wants to study next year. She will (hopefully) end up with 10 GCSEs if she drops this one. The only reason School is giving is that it’s too late in the day to give up now and that university will look unfavourably on any application if she doesn’t have a humanity at gcse. She will have psychology which is sometimes considered a humanity. For clarity the school is a selective grammar and I do feel she is being used as a statistic for them to have more GCSEs but she argues (and I am inclined to agree) that surely fewer subjects at a higher grade would be preferable.
I am meeting head of year tomorrow and want to be prepared. She is quite stressed about it all. Surely they are being unreasonable?

OP posts:

upsideup · 07/03/2018 11:07

This is probably bad advice but if she just keeps doing the homework bad and socring low on tests then they will probably kick her off the course so she doesnt bring their results down.
My dsd did that when the school made everybody take a language for GCSE.

AlexanderHamilton · 07/03/2018 11:08

11 GCSE’ is a lot!

The best private schools have a much wider view of what counts as a humanity. The one Ds just left counted RS or Latin. They seem to have no problem getting kids into good universities.

My own Dd is taking 9 GCSES & is doing RS instead of history/geography.

AlexanderHamilton · 07/03/2018 11:10

And Yes, I agree. The best regarded schools go for quality over quantity (9/10 GCSE’s at higher grades not 11/12

frasier · 07/03/2018 11:12

Nooooo don’t suggest she fails on purpose.

The choice is ultimately up to her/you. I think you are right, they are thinking of themselves, not of your daughter.

I suggest you read read read today about what universities do want, at GCSE as that is their (weak) argument, in the uni subjects ds is interested in. Ring a couple. Ask the unis about it.

UrgentScurryfunge · 07/03/2018 11:12

History and geography are part of the progress 8 data that schools are rated by.

When chosing options, students are being shoehorned into this narrow band of subjects because the schools need the numbers of students completing them to satisfy OFSTED targets.

On a more practical note, there maybe a safeguarding issue in providing her with an accountable safe space to study in when this lesson is timetabled. Most schools won't have provision for study periods at GCSE or below. Gone are the days where you could just be trusted get on with it in the school library.

Original poster

MrsPatrickDempsey · 07/03/2018 11:12

Thank you. I forgot RS. She took that last year.

OP posts:

OpalTree · 07/03/2018 11:12

In my 80s grammar RS counted as a humanity, don't know if it still does.

Scribblegirl · 07/03/2018 11:13

Yes. I was made to do Art GCSE despite not being in the slightest artistic, for reasons that are beyond me. My parents asked the school if I could drop it, school said no. I have a string of A*s, Bs in science and D in art. I don't even declare the art grade, but wish I'd been able to drop it to bring up my science grades.

Scribblegirl · 07/03/2018 11:14

Sorry, 'string of A*s' sounds stupid ^^^

What is she planning on studying further on?

TroubledLichen · 07/03/2018 11:15

Psychology definitely isn’t as well thought of as say History. But a bad grade is far worse than no grade at all. Is it a timetabling thing? As in the school wouldn’t know where to put her if she didn’t have a lesson in that slot? As if she’s genuinely failing that will look worse in the schools results tables than if she’d never taken the subject so I don’t see what their motivation for pushing her to continue would be.

Otherwise, I’m not normally a fan of dropping out when things get tough but she’d be better placed for uni applications without a poor grade on there. So I would definitely be pushing for her to drop it.

Glumglowworm · 07/03/2018 11:19

If she drops the subject where will she go during the lessons she was in it? Do year 11s normally have free lessons? If not then this may well be a barrier, but if so the school should be clearer about the reason.

My school (I did GCSEs in 2001) was at the time on a “more is better” kick, I did 12 GCSEs. They also wanted us to do one module of a business studies NVQ which was utterly pointless as it wasn’t even a full qualification. Me and one other girl who were both high achievers refused and they did allow us to drop it, but we still had to go to the lessons and pissed about in them did homework for other subjects in them.

Year 11s will all be doing many subjects that they won’t continue after GCSEs. I don’t think that in itself is much of an argument. Is she struggling in this subject or others especially core subjects like maths and English? If she is then that’s a much more compelling reason to reduce the number of subjects.

Lacking a humanity at GCSE I don’t think is a huge deal, depending what she wants to do at sixth form and uni/whatever post 16 thing she wants to do.

TeenTimesTwo · 07/03/2018 11:19

Is she expecting to fail it or 'just' get a 7 instead of an 8 or 9?

My DD1 was allowed to drop a subject after mocks but she had completely bombed out in both the subject and English and had recently had a diagnosis of a SpLD. She had to go to the 'inclusion unit' for those lessons so she was supervised.

Schools generally don't like pupils dropping subjects unless there are very strong extenuating circumstances as it opens the floodgates to more requests.

MrsCharlesBrandon · 07/03/2018 11:38

If she drops her humanities subject she will not qualify for the EBacc. As a PP said, the EBacc is a way to boost the school's Progress 8 and it looks good for OFSTED if a large percentage of pupils achieve it.

RS and Psychology are not included in this, and there is talk of the EBacc being something that universities will look more favourably on in the future. No idea if that's true btw!

Original poster

MrsPatrickDempsey · 07/03/2018 11:41

The progress 8 info is useful. Thanks. Others have been allowed to drop subjects in yr 11 so timetables and supervision isn’t an issue. She got a 6 in her mock; is predicted an 8 but wants to secure 8s and 9s in the subjects she wants to do at a level (chem, bio and psy).

OP posts:

helpmum2003 · 07/03/2018 11:45

If she drops it surely she can sit in the same lesson and just do private study?

TeenTimesTwo · 07/03/2018 11:48

If I were the school I don't think I would be happy with her dropping it in those circumstances.

AlexanderHamilton · 07/03/2018 12:09

You don’t need a humanity for progress 8 & ebac is a pointless qualification.

scotchpie · 07/03/2018 12:15

They will have probably registered her by now - I had to sign a document in January stating DD will be sitting.

If that's the case then they don't want lower grades to pull the overall school down.

Personally with all the pressure the kids have now I'd would be telling them she isn't doing it rather than asking.

Good luck

Flip