Can a grammar school pupil be forced to leave school due to ‘poor’ AS level results?

[Sunshine786]

Hi

I would appreciate any advice on guidance on an issue which is causing great anxiety and distress to my son and consequently the family.

Key questions:

• Can a grammar school exclude a pupil on the grounds of 'poor' results at AS level (Year 12) exams ?
• Does the pupil have a right to be allowed to repeat Year 12 in the same school with some different subjects?

Background:
My son achieved decent grades in his 10 GCSEs (2xA*(Physics and History), 1xA (Chemistry), 4xB (including Maths and English), 1xC & 2xD) in June 2011 and has been pursuing his A Levels at a LEA maintained grammar school. Based on his performance during the year, he was predicted 2 B's & 2 D's in his AS levels in June 2012 and was distressed to receive 2 D and 2 U grades when the results came out on 16 Aug.

Unfortunately the grammar school is now not allowing him to continue to stay there ? they state that as per their policy, pupils are required to obtain a minimum of 2 D and 2 E grades to continue to Year 13. They are also not allowing him to repeat Year 12 with a different set of subjects. My son is aware of another pupil at this school who had obtained 4 E grades in his first attempt at Year 12 and was allowed to repeat Year 12 with different subjects.

Whilst not statemented, my son has special needs - he has mild Aspergers and dyspraxia and was allowed extra time & use of a computer in his exams, following assessment & recommendation by an educational psychologist. To date, he does not have any behaviour or disciplinary issues at school.

My son is comfortable with his existing school and is very keen to continue there and be allowed a chance to repeat Year 12. He would like to repeat the two subjects he obtained a D grade (with a view to obtaining a better grade) and take two different (relatively easier) subjects instead of those he got U grades.

He is extremely distressed that the school is now forcing him to go elsewhere and if required to do so, given his Aspergers, I believe this will have a continuing greater adverse impact on his mental health and also his academic performance going forward.

I would be very grateful for advice on the following questions:

1. Can the school exclude him on the grounds of 'poor' results in Year 12 and force him to seek admission elsewhere ?

I have been advised that per the DOE guidelines, academic performance cannot be used as a criteria for exclusion. Does this apply to all schools or are Grammar schools exempt from this guideline?

1. Does my son have a right to be allowed to repeat Year 12? (with some same and some different subjects)

1. What are suggested next steps I should take to help achieve the desired result i.e. he be allowed to repeat Year 12, at his existing school, with minimum disruption?

1. I have only been informed verbally in a meeting with the Head, a couple of weeks ago, that the school will not allow him to continue and since then I have not received anything in writing. Is it necessary that the exclusion be notified in writing? Is there a notice period required to be provided by the School before the exclusion can take effect?

1. If I appeal against the school decision to exclude him, should he be allowed to attend school pending the outcome of the appeal decision (so that he doesn't miss out on the classes) or does the exclusion take effect immediately?

The new academic year starts in a couple of days time and I am concerned that if the school refuses to allow him to continue, and I go down the appeal route, it would be some weeks/months before the appeal process is completed and even if I win, he would then have lost considerable academic time.

1. Other local schools/colleges do not offer the combination of subjects offered by the grammar school, he would now like to take , so starting elsewhere, pending the appeal outcome, does not seem appropriate. If say he did start elsewhere with some different AS level subjects at another local school/college, will he would be allowed to return if I win the appeal? (i.e. having started at another school will not preclude him from returning back?)

My apologies for the length - just wanted to make sure I covered all the details. Happy to provide any additional information.

This issue is causing a great deal of anxiety and distress to my son which is having a negative impact on the whole family which includes two younger siblings.

Many thanks in advance for any advice and guidance.

Sunshine

Is the other pupil your ds mentioned as being allowed to repeat yr12 from the same year or a previous one? If previous, I would agree with other posters that it was likely that they happened to have relaxed their own rules because they had spaces but that this year they do not.

At the grammar school I work, our entry criteria to yr 13 is indeed slightly higher than your ds's - 4 grade Ds - because AS level is easier than A2. Many students failed to gain this level this year - about half have negotiated to be allowed to move into yr13, a quarter are being allowed to repeat yr12 and a quarter have been asked to leave the school. It is not exclusion.

Having a ds with ASD myself, I feel sorry for your ds's situatio, but agree with others, I would not be fighting a battle to keep him where it seems either they are not prepared to make a exception or don't believe he would succeed in yr 13.

Good luck.

So sorry, OP, cross-posted with your update. Good luck with this all.

Hi KitKatGirl1

The other pupil DS mentioned is from the previous year i.e. he was repeating Yr12 during 2011-12.

Don't know if anyone else has been allowed to repeat Yr12 for 2012-13. Any idea if I am I entitled to ask the school to reveal this info, and what grades those allowed to repeat had obtained, or if this is treated as confidential?

Thanks.

That sounds much more positive.

It does sound as ds would find change to another school or college challenging, but one aspect in its favour, if the school can't accommodate him, is that you will be close by to help and guide him, which might prepare him for when he goes off to university.

But it also sounds like the Head is persuadable, especially if presented with a supportive parent and a nice young man promising to do what it takes. The Head might have one eye on league tables and data (and low grades aren't obviously what ds would want either) but ds is also worth 5k to the school.

It is a really good idea to call for the papers so ds can see where he's gone wrong.

If he's saying wait and see if there are spaces, I wouldn't antagonise him by trying to squeeze ds through a technical loophole - as he will close the door, concerned other parents will try to exploit the same - especially when in fact what you are asking for is special treatment for ds. What he doesn't want to happen is for the message to get round that actually the school will take you even if you don't get the minimum grades

OP, I totally sympathies with you, wanting your DS to stay at the same school, but I think you now need to focus on finding him an alternative, appropriate school, and focus on him settling in there. DC with Aspergers do change schools and do somehow manage, even if it is harder for them than it would be for other DC. Yes, he may have to start Y12 again to get the best possible results, and I have no idea if that is possible in a state school, but suspect it would be in an independent.

You can ask and the school probably ought to tell you if anyone else is repeating Y12 but I would expect them to refuse to answer your question about grades on confidentiality grounds, particularly if only one or two pupils are repeating the year.

when i was in grammar school I got A B C U in my As levels and my head of year said she was dissapointed in me....

I find it astounding he got in with those GCSEs tbh!

Grammar schools often can be highly selective at 11+ and run a far less selective 6th form.

Someone in our family is is the same situation with a plain old comprehensive. School said grades not good enough to stay but that he is capable of good grades. He is now going to 6th form college and starting again with mix of same / new subjects. Interestingly the 6th form college said they also take same stance on poor grades (so flow of pupils both ways) as often a new start / different approach is best.

How did your DS do inthe January modules. D's and U's are quite low.

It might be once you start looking at actual options with him that he might feel more positive. You will need to be quick though. I would look at some Uni courses and have a good look at different entry requirements. Some Uni's except BTech, NVQ's etc. If he can see that he is still able to go to Uni maybe he will be able to feel more excited about changing school.

I hope it gets sorted one way or another and that you can get him to feel positive about whatever the outcome is.

My DD failed to make the grade after her AS levels at a sixth form college & chose to do a BTEC elsewhere. After another year she finally realised education was not her bag & has found a job instead. It's not her preferred job but it keeps her busy while she writes to companies to find that preferred role.

OP, I also dont wish to cause offence, but A levels are not for everyone & if your son has struggled in year 12, is it fair for him to struggle further in year 13? It may be that he comes into his own in a couple of years or even later in life. DH is 57 & retaking his GCSE English this year which is showing both DC that you are never to old to take on education.

Many schools do this, and as far as I am aware are within the law to do so.

Indeed our nearest highly achieving state 'comprehensive' declines to take many of its students past GCSE, freeing up many places for new students coming from grammar or the independent sector.

It then culls again after year 12.

Anyone looking to pick a grammar or highly selective school should really think about this.

The do not give a shit about the pastoral care of their pupils. They only care about churning out those grades.

Op any update on how your DS is getting on? I hope you are managing to sort out something that your DS is comfortable with

My son's 6th form states that minimum AS results have to be obtained for the pupil to be allowed entry to the second year of A levels. I think, as others have said, that this is standard. It is not even a grammar school, it's a comprehensive. I think that admission to the sixth form is selective, in the sense that they accept pupils who they judge to have the appropriate levels of ability, and then reassess them on the basis of AS results before granting the Year 13 place.

If he has plans for a specific degree, ring a few university admissions tutors and find out what they require. If there's a business BTEC then that might be something that could still get him to uni.

But really you (ideally him) need to be ringing local colleges now to see if they have any suitable places. He needs a plan for if the school didn't let him back in and to seriously consider whether the new subjects will be easier for him as well a get him where he wants to go. Some may have more of a soft reputation, but if your ds played to his strengths when choosing last time then anything he changes to he may well find harder. Especially as he hadn't studied it for a year...

starlady - I agree with others, I think it's the case that comps are equally selective as grammars when it comes to sixth form (either entry to yr12 or continuation into yr13).

Indeed, a friend's ds couldn't go into his comprehensive school sixth form with 9 grade Bs at GCSE whereas most of the grammars ask for just Bs in the subjects you wish to study at A level.

My daughter's bf couldn't get into their comprehensive school's sixth form & they are now at a sixth form grammar & am sure it must work the other way too.

Any update OP?

"The do not give a shit about the pastoral care of their pupils. They only care about churning out those grades. "

Umm...is it good pastoral care to encourage a student to continue to A2 if they appear unable to pass AS? (excepting cases where there is a clear reason that has affected performance such as serious illness or family breakup).

And how about the other students? It's detrimental to their education to let other students continue onto A2 if they aren't up to the required standard.

Doesn't teaching come into this at any point? It's frustrating to see pupils with good enough GCSE levels coming unstuck and being turfed out at this stage.

I understand A levels is about independent learning, preparation for higher education etc etc ... However it's a big leap from GCSE level in terms of what is wanted, and I wonder why more schools don't explicitly teach what is required from pupils essays, analyses or whatever. Teenagers are somehow expected to automatically adjust and know what to do. I really dislike the way pupils are working for the "glory" of the school league tables instead of schools working for their pupils.

Rant over.

A change of school and restarting isn't the end of the world and maybe the best thing. My DD struggled with A levels and probably didn't make the best choice of subjects. A rethink and restart may have been a good idea in hindsight. However she passed sufficiently well to do the course she wanted at uni. (Don't worry not Oxbridge!) Persistance pays!

Hi All

Many thanks for all your helpful responses. Much appreciated. Its been a hectic & stressful couple of weeks so apologies for the delay in updating.

To summarise:
*DS obtained DDUU in AS Geography,Economics,Biology & Chemistry respectively at a Grammar school.

*DS would like to repeat Year 12 with Geography, Economics, Business Studies & ICT (Now keen to do a degree in a Business/Management related field). Grammar school offers these subjects but will not allow him to repeat.

*In the process of lodging a formal appeal with Grammar school. (Appreciate time is ticking so will try and expedite this as much as I can.)

*DS has started Year 12 at another school.
Subjects taken, based on the choice available, is not ideally what he was looking for: Economics, Psychology, Sociology (all 3 at AS) and ICT (at BTech). Looked around at a number of schools/colleges and this choice seemed the best on offer.

Details:
Had another couple of meetings with the Head and have been advised that they believe that DS should pursue 3 AS Levels at another school/college to reduce his workload. As this Grammar school has a requirement of a minimum of 4 AS subjects they will not allow him to repeat there.

As DS wants to repeat AS with relatively easier subjects (Business Studies & ICT rather than Biology & Chemistry) he is confident he can cope with four. (i.e. repeating Economics & Geography and starting with Business Studies and ICT).

DS is aware of another pupil being allowed to repeat Year 12 during 2011-12 and the Head confirmed that another pupil with similar grades to DS
has been allowed to repeat Year 12 during 2012-13, due to different personal circumstances.

When I asked for a copy of the school policy for allowing repeats, I was advised today (after waiting for 2 weeks for a response!) there is no written policy. Repeats are allowed based on individual circumstances and also on the GCSE grades obtained vis a vis those of the current Year 12 entry.

One aspect which I am trying to unravel (remark & recall request in process) is the large disparity in the AS grades in the two papers each in Economics & Geography.
In Economics he obtained a b in one paper and a u in the other (overall a D)
In Geography he obtained a b in one paper and an e in the other (overall a D)

Also plan to see an educational psychologist to obtain his views & recommendations as to whether he believes DS can cope with planned subjects and any specific areas where he would benefit from extra help and support.

Would welcome any additional comments or suggestions.

Cheers.

The thing that sticks out to me from your last post is that your DS is now repeating Year 12 with an almost completely new set of AS levels, he has only retained one of his original choices and only has two of the new set which he decided would be better (also one of those two is a BTech, not an A Level). He has also changed his mind about what kind of degree path he would like to follow.

Have these decisions been made logically? Or have you simply cobbled together the best set of choices from a bad lot? Do you genuinely believe that your son can significantly improve his results with this new set of subjects? Have you taken advice from someone knowledgeable e.g. a university admissions officer, about whether this subject combination (combined with him repeating Yr 12) is likely to get him onto a business degree course? I should have prefaced all those questions by saying that I know nothing about A levels or university courses as my eldest is only starting GCSEs so I may be talking through my hat, but those questions seemed to jump out from your post.