What the difference between GCSE exam boards?

[berette]

DS is in Year 11 and school use mostly AQA for exams. However, it's looking likely that for health reasons we're going to have to withdraw him from school, and just enter him as a private candidate for core subjects next summer.

However, the only exam centre around here offers EdExcel, and a few OCR. Is there any difference? Surely maths is maths, Romeo and Juliet doesn't have different versions etc etc?

Maths: should be OK. Get him to practise past papers from the new exam board.

Science: should be OK, just get him to check the new exam board's spec to make sure he has covered all the topics, and then practise past papers.

English language: tests the same skills but the structure of the papers and questions will be different, so he should look at some past papers.

English literature: check carefully that the new exam board has questions on the set texts he has done. He will probably have to learn at least some new poems, if not a whole new novel/play too. The structure of the papers and questions will be different and may have a different focus, e.g. context or comparing two texts.

Is the LEA offering any support with his education while he is ill (e.g. a tutor?) If so, they could help.

Thank you, that's really useful.

I've spoken to the LA, they've opened a file but can't speak to us until school refer him. He's been off for just over 3 weeks and they haven't yet..,

What the school and lea is doing is illegal. He should be provided with at home provision 5 days after his 1st day of absence but latest at the 2 week mark. So the lea have until the 14th day of this absence to arrange something for him. He needs to stay on the school roll and the lea needs to provide him with tutors. The school will then have to let him sit his exams but may not publish his results. He will basically be home schooled.

I can DM you the law clauses you can use when complaining to the lea if you like. But this is really bad and lots of leas get away with this. His school is also crap for letting him miss so much.

You shouldn't have to withdraw him from school for health reasons.
I don't know enough about the legal intricasies but they are on very dodgy ground to say the least.

At our school we provide work for students with medical issues, work with the LA and the EOTAS unit (education other than at school) which includes referral unit, provision for teen parents, education for kids with significant mental health issues, hospital education and home tutoring.

Don't allow school to push you into off rolling.

I know it's more health than SEND but you might find some posters on the SEND boards would be willing to share their hive mind wisdom with you. There's a lot of posters who really know their stuff.

Thank you - he went back to school for half a day in that time but was too ill to go back again, does that make a difference, does the clock restart, could that be why?

It shouldn't matter. They have a duty to educate and if they are pushing off rolling on the hush then they are letting him down.

Whilst on roll there's things school can do, EOTAS can get involved, there's home tuition from the local authority etc. You lose access to some of those when you choose to home ed.

I have a horrible feeling they're trying to push you to home ed so it's easier for them and he won't 'mess' their figures up.

Definitely put a post on the SEND boards. There's some really excellent posters on there who offer sage advice.

Thank you. I think I'll chase up school and the LEA tomorrow and see where we get to.

If you have medical confirmation that your child is unable to be in school for medical reasons, then the LA must provide the equivalent of full time education under section 19 Education Act 1996. This might not be the equivalent to school hours since 1:1 tuition is more intensive than classroom education. However, education might also be provided via something like online learning. The Department for Education's official guidance on this is at www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-for-children-with-health-needs-who-cannot-attend-school

It's unlikely your son would be able to do AQA English language because of the speaking and listening element. Most private candidates opt for the IGCSE for language for this reason. This may be why local exam centres don't offer AQA.

Science is also a problem, would have to be IGCSE as private candidates usually can't do the practicals.
Might be worth joining a couple of home Ed exam forums as they have lots of useful info on exams as private candidates.

Surely the best thing would be to sit them at his current school?
Is that really not possible?

Ds is doing AQA English and dd did Edexel English. They are both doing the same set texts but the format of the papers are different, especially for English Language so the questions are looking for differnet things (Maisy will be the expert but its thing like evaluation, comparison etc)

Ds' s school has just switched to OCR maths becuase the content is the same but the questions are less wordy. The same for science.

I forgot, the poetry anthologies will be different for English Lit.

Does your LEA have something like this? - children with medical needs.
hull.mylocaloffer.org/s4s/WhereILive/Council?pageId=3843

My DA did edexcel maths gcse at school. He didn't achieve a level 5 unfortunately. He's retaking it at college where they do aQa. He much prefers it.