Moving GCSE child's school

[Doimovehim]

Good afternoon.
My year 10 child is bright but not particularly motivated, and I do suspect some low level inattentive ADHD meaning a difficulty with concentration. He attends a school which is very deprived and due to a lack of resources, is not really supported there despite communication with head of year. He is on track to pass most exams with average grades, but a recent parents evening suggested that he would fail two, one of which is a core subject.
He has no idea about future career plans, has no interest in talking about school. He is supported at home as much as possible, but even in the case of doing homework, ends up forgetting a book, with no consequences at school.
I feel he is coasting, school aren't bothered, and neither is he, so it is all on us, but our efforts can only go so far.
In September I contacted a school with very good reputation, and today unexpectedly they offered him a place. Now, he mid way through Year 10, and I suspect will not want to move at all. He does have a very good friendship group, and is happy. However I do believe that academically it will be life changing for him to move, and that once he is aged 30, he will look at it as a good decision. I am scared if I don't, then he may fail some GCSEs, which will impact on the next stage of his life.
However, I don't want him to be unhappy either, and do believe in the view that being happy is the most important. He is social, popular, and I do think he would cope. I think the new school would support him and have higher expectations, but he won't be able to fit into a new friendship group the same way.
AIBU to move him?

Edit to add that places due to transfer in are like gold dust, and it won't be a possibility again. In September there was a long waiting list and I was told it would be highly unlikely.

Personally I wouldn't move him I have a year 10 son too,surely as long as he get ,s the grades to move onto the next stage of his education it's enough?

I think this is highly risky:

• he is halfway through y10 already
• he may not be able to do the same 'options' due to timetabling constraints
• some schools start some courses in y9
• teaching order may be different, eg in English Lit he may find himself studying a 20th century text twice and missing the shakespeare
• board/syllabus may be different so agin there may be more to catch up on
• he will be unsettled moving, making new friends, getting to know the new teachers (and them him), this will short term impact on his learning

What do you call 'average' grades?

You may be better off trying to talk about life after y11, what the options are, what grades he would need etc. Get him to have a goal to work towards.

I think you have to consider the risk that moving him might make the situation worse - away from his friends and you’ve already said he isn’t bothered about his work. What is it about the new school that you think will get him a good pass? He could resent the move and spiral downwards rather than up?

Are there any other options? You say he has a good friendship group, are they or one/two of them motivated? Could they spend time together revising? Is a tutor an option to boost him in the core subject you mentioned? Incentivise him to focus on that subject?

Also most high school pupils have had a horribly disruptive past couple of years , hopefully the next 18 months are going to be more settled .

Can they offer this option choices?

At this point he is nearly half way through the taught material. You won’t find a school which does the same combinations of subjects, exam boards and topics taught in the same order so if you did move him then you would need a plan of how how he will catch up on 50% of the courses.

Find out from the new school whether his options work and where they are on each if the syllabuses. You might find that it is a complete no no from there.

If it works then I might be tempted to go for it. After all a fail in maths or English is going to hamper him going forward.

Can you take him to the new school and see what he thinks / teachers think about where he is at?

I think moving a child half way through Year 10 would be massively disruptive. Any positive impact of the school would likely be outweighed by the negative impact it took him to settle.

That's assuming they can even offer the same options and syllabuses as he's currently doing.

The thing that jumped out of your post is that he is not bothered. That's the thing that really needs to change. And the best school in the world will not change it.

I'd suggest getting him a tutor for the core subject he's failing in, or supporting this yourself. He has some time to mature.

Thank you. I suppose I just thought-motivated encouraging school is a life opportunity.
But, his current school started GCSE subjects in year 9 so he has done 50%, and like you say the exam boards may be different. i'm aware that the language he studies now is not covered there, and it's too late to learn another.
The subjects are English and History, which he was predicted a 3 in. He is on target for 6 in Maths, Science, and his options.
If I could get him to have a plan going forward, and a post GCSE plan, and ensure he passes them all, that is enough.
I really regret sending him to this secondary school. It's truly rubbish, loads of behaviour problems so unless they're very high achievers or really struggling the staff just don't have the capacity to look at each pupil as an individual. It was just the way they told me 'oh he'll not pass', with no further suggestions, which panicked me.
I have the year head at the new school calling me later, about if it would be easy to transfer. But I suspect what you all say is true, and it's too late to move.
I feel I let him down by sending him where he is and really regret it