12 year old taking GCSE - advice opinions

[Rustygecko]

My child is exceptionally able, and wants to sit their GCSEs or at least some of them this summer. We went to see their school, (a grammar school) and to my surprise, not only were they aghast at such a thought, but they refused point blank to help.
(I have a sneaking feeling though that once they have got a handful of GCSEs aged 12 they will be at the front of the queue wanting to make publicity off their success).
Any opinions / advice.

Haha, nice try.

You must recall I am not dealing with a normal child of almost 12 (11 years and 10 months). To give you an idea they had the vocabulary of a 13 year old aged 4, and now has the vocabulary of a post-graduate student. I am not dealing with a normal child. They have opinions, which are as well thought out as any adult. There view is that access to top universities is no longer based on who is cleverest. In the best council areas in the country 43% of students gets 3 A* at A level. It is not like in the past where only a few of the brightest would get 3 grade A GCE A levels and the best of those would get into the best universities. Today you have to do something extraordinary to get a place at a top university. It is no longer possible to go to university if you are under 18 in the UK, which is why they accept that they will probably have to go to the USA when 15 or 16 to go to university. The first few they intend to do a couple of languages and a couple of subjects not done at school (eg law and food tech). They intend to do A level by 15. As for boredom - they have been completely bored at school all their life - almost from day 1, as they could read books well before their 3rd birthday.

Fucks sake, let the 12 year old be 12.
Plenty of time for GCSEs

Do you realise that most child prodigies reflect that allowing them to work so far ahead
of their peers is disastrous for well-being and social skills.

How are their social skills OP? What are their friends like?

Which LAs have 43% of students getting 3 A*’s at A level?

Massive scepticism. I'd let the twelve year old make their own decisions and negotiate with their school as it would be a walk in the park given their maturity and negotiating potential. Parent can take a relaxed approach and just chill.

If they've been bored their entire life that strongly suggests your approach of pushing academics has been wrong. How do they get on with their peers? I assume you as a family will move to the US as well? Why not move now, US schools may suit you all better.

Well a 15 year old got a place to do a PhD at Edinburgh not that long ago so not sure if the having to be 18 is a hard and fast rule

Also Law is a pointless A-level and even more pointless GCSE.

Being fluent in a language won't necessarily result in a top grade.

They need to show a range of skills that you'd never use in a normal situation in order to rack up the marks.

I'm a language teacher and also a GCSE examiner.

Plenty of native speakers don't score full marks in the oral exam - they can communicate effectively, but just don't tick the right boxes.

Some students from Scotland go to University age 16 to do undergraduate courses, as they have sat their highest at 16 so no requirement to be 18.

As others have said, what about life outside study - music, art, sport, those are the things that distinguishes university applicants. 4 A are 4A, but add in being grade 8 in 2 musical instruments and LAMDA exams, you start to differentiate between others and is more rounded than purely school subjects.

Not necessarily tbh, based on what OP has said, nothing but Oxbridge will be good enough for the child and they don't really give a monkeys about your extra curriculars.

No university gives a monkeys about your extra curriculars unless they are directly related to the subject you’re applying for. And loads of Uk kids start university at 17 due to the fact that the Scottish exam system is different.

let your child be a child for goodness sake.

My daughter had the vocabulary of a 13 year old at the age of 4 too. The reading age of 12 just a few months after learning to read. Do you know how many GCSEs she has? None. Her mental health suffered, she attempted suicide and had to drop out and be home-schooled under all the pressure.

She was then diagnosed with Autism and we were told this was a very common pattern for autistic girls, it was similar to what happened to me. I did scrape through with several GCSEs in a PRU. Whether your child is autistic or not, let them enjoy their childhood and not put unrealistic expectations on themself. Having the intelligence to pass GCSEs now does not mean you have the time to learn the content!

I'm not normally picky picky but

it's their not there

There view

does your child have friends her own age? Does she have hobbies? does she enjoy just hanging out and doing the things that most 11 year olds are doing?

and if not, why not? Doing only academic subjects is NOT a good route to long term happiness.

this is part of the story of Ruth Lawrence who went to Oxford at 13. She said she would not want the same for her child.
www.thefreelibrary.com/Interview%3A+Ruth+Lawrence+-+I+will+not+put+my+son+through+the+hothouse...-a062485928

Children need to be supported to see beyond the academic.

Ds1 is at Oxbridge, top grades at GCSE and A level from very bog standard state schools, never bored at school, they always found a way to extend and support him. He also has very poor social skills despite our best efforts and he does struggle with his mental health. There is so much more to success than exam results!

I just want both my dses to be happy and have healthy relationships, that feels much more important than exam success having seen my DS1 struggle.

The OU take exceptional students from under 18 in extraordinary circumstances. If the child is truly as bright as you say then let them choose a distance learning course to do at the OU part time although this will need funding, the first year is GCSE / A level difficulty ramping up as you move up the levels. Or FE level or degree level courses at Coursera - they are free to access the content unless you want accreditation for the course and coursework marked instead of automatically marked quizzes at the end of units.

Dougie Howser, MD?

What course would your child be pitching for at Uni, & where would they like to study?

It might be that posters can give helpful advice.

I teach a young man who atttained ridiculously high grades at gcse, & is now attending my IB class in a subject he isn't in love with (but he's working hard & smashing it).

He's got an impressive CV for a 16 year old, with 'internships' (his dad's mates) & 'charity work' (his mum's mates) coming out of his backside.

He'll be fine, & the gubbins his parents are, frankly, inventing, won't hurt, but they won't help either.

Taking a few gcse exams independently early is only ever going to be window dressing. Unis look for context.

If teachers think a 12 year old taking gcse is a bad idea, might they not have some expertise that you could benefit from?

Yep. OU courses would be a genuine challenge and considered highly by universities.

Doing GCSE early - only possible if you want to home school him. Probably not in his best interests. Unlikely to interest a university (especially as he's less likely to get top marks now than at 16, even if he's amazing).

Other options - maths Olympiad if he's into maths. Join Mensa. Learn more languages and link with first language speakers. Read widely and at a high level. Being able to discuss contemporary authors and have a critical opinion on their work will get someone to Oxbridge, if they so wish.

What is he interested in?

Pupils all the time in the UK go to uni before the age of 18.
Most medical schools won't take pupils under 18 due to dealing with dead bodies. However if you research some med schools will e.g. Brighton

Other posters have hit the nail on the head. Socially they will be an outcast. I can remember hitting uni, first time away from home, freedom, drinking etc like heck was I hanging out with the underage prodigy!