School says we have to pay to receive GCSE certificates - surely this isn't allowed?

[everythingcrossed]

My child attends a state secondary school in London - he has just finished his GCSEs and is staying on for sixth form there. We have just had a letter saying that in order to receive the GCSE certificate with his results - he will receive the actual results in August but this is the official certificate once everyone has had their grades appealed etc - he will have to pay £10. I know it's not a lot of money but I think it's a huge cheek - he will be at the school, all he has to do is walk to the office, at an arranged time if they choose, and collect it. I feel the school is often high-handed and grabby, but I'm really furious about this, they seem to be holding his certificate to ransom

Firstly I say just don't get it then. What do you need it for?

My ds had to upload his GCSE certificates to two different universities as part of their conditional offers - this was just as part of the offer process (he was applying in yr 13). He didn’t accept the offers from either of these but the one he is going to asked for the gcse certs after place confirmed on a level results day.

They may well need them. I sat O levels in 1979 and 1980 and was given certificates. I didn’t need them for years then decided about 15 years ago to retrain as a teacher. I needed to produce both English and Maths O level certs, despite having a PhD.

OP, have you simply queried why you’re being asked to pay? I’d have thought all you need to do is ask and say you understood provision of external exam certificates was provided as part of state education and that parents were not required to pay.

I suspect if you raise this, you will be given them.

I think that was what the OP was checking by this thread.

Yes, but it’s the school who are the people who will have the certificates to hand over for free or a price…not us. In the end, querying it with the school is the only way to clarify and challenge being asked to pay.

The school has been totally crackhanded by not explaining why it thinks postal is better, what the provision is for families for whom £10 is unaffordable (starting with, what about those on FSM?) and what the provision is for people for whom in-person was better than postal.

This change could be purely about raising money, in which case the school should have explained that with all the above caveats. But I can’t agree that schools are ‘grabby’. It’s schools funds that they will be trying to raise.

Surely, everyone does realise how massively stretched schools have been under the Tories? I’m quite sure none of the people complaining vote Tory, do they? And that they do all give their time to hold PTA fundraising events for their secondary schools? And that they do donate money to the school if they possibly can? And they will be writing to their local MP about this to demand more funding from central government for schools?

The school could have not changed anything and not charged parents anything and just said, if you want to make a donation to the school of £10 to help out when you collect GCSE certificates, here’s our account details. That way, those who could afford it might have done so. Beyond that though, I really can’t blame any state school for trying find ways to save money or to raise money, because schools have been made absolutely desperate.

Certificates are provided free by exam boards as part of entry fee.
Posting out of certificates (special card backed envelope plus signed for service) is usually charged for as it’s an optional extra on the family’s part.

And really, if the kids have managed to get to school every day for the past 5 years, there will be almost no one who can’t get someone into school to pick up certificates.

Seriously just pay it. Its £10. You have already basically said you can afford it. Your child has had 5 years of free secondary schooling. The school is probably on its arse financially and trying to recoup some if its huge admin spend. Exam board fees are huge.