expected to attend school after GCSE exams...?????

[Bea]

we've had a letter from dd's secondary school stating that although the last gcse exam will be June 16th... pupils are still expected to attend school for a further two weeks??? is this normal??? the whole thing about gcse's is that you finish early isn't it??? good luck to the school if they expect pupils to attend? i'm quite flabbergasted about this?

has anyone else experienced this???

btw i don't remember this being the case for dd1 when she finished her gcse's at the same school???

I guess it depends on whether this is a state or private school?

If it's a private school and I'd paid for the entire term then tbh I'd blummin' well want my money's worth 😅

Are you sure you have read it correctly - gcse exams can move and they can move up to the 28 th June so all our schools’s year 11 have been told that they must not book anything or assume no exams until after 29 the June this came from Ofqual.

They are probably turning the focus to life skills for the couple of weeks after the exams - interview skills, cv writing, careers workshop etc.

Do they have a 6th form? Are they doing A level transition?

There is an contingency exam date at the end of June, maybe they want to be clear that kids shouldn't be on holiday until after then?

They’re usually doing taster days for A levels and things, plus organising fun activities/leavers parties etc for the kids. I’ve just googled it out of interest, and it says on a government website that if the school requires them to be in, then they legally can’t leave until the 30th of June. I would otherwise say don’t send them in if it’s unnecessary, but from the sounds of it you may end up getting fines.

Yes ours had compulsory work experience and then preparing for sixth form or college. I think they finished on 8th July and their prom was 9th July.

The statutory leaving age of school is June 30th of Year 11 so yes they can insist they attend.
Although if they aren't returning to the school for 6th Form I can't really see what punishments they could dish out for not turning up.
Has the school got a specific plan - like 2 weeks of fun activities, team building, interview skills, making sure everyone has a Post 16 plan etc?

thanks for all the replies....
state school... won't be returning for sixth form... in fact we're moving house!

the letter says there will be "in house workshops" & "online courses!"...

it's feels very mean....😏

@Nailsandthesea might have it, I know a family last year who booked a holiday immediately after GCSEs were finished and intended to skip the final two weeks of school, and had to cancel because one of their DD's exams had to be rescheduled in those two weeks.

They have to schedule something for those two weeks though, so life skills and A-level transition workshops seems sensible if you have to have a contingency week or so at the end.

Indeed, if you dc has an exam
Moved to 28th June you will have to come back anyway. I'm sure the school has explained contingency day to you.

Possible. For work experience , life skills workshops, sports days, opportunity to help out with events for younger years, tasters of courses, prom. Technically they can "leave" at end June if 16.

In Scotland you would have changed timetable, everyone moves up a year and you start next year's course after the exams.

DD was in the GCSE cohort where they sat more quasi-exams because they didn’t sit ‘official’ exams. She left school at the end of May! Never went back. It was a loooooong summer. She did however do a ‘transition week’ in July. This was to prepare them for the jump from GCSE to A level and also facilitate integration of internal students and those joining.

A friend’s DS who was borderline Maths and English GCSE was invited back for classes after exams and it turns out to be useful for him as he failed his first GCSE but due to momentum after the exam he did pass the November retake.

This time round for A levels DD finishes her A level exams mid June but a friend’s daughter who is sitting the IB finishes much earlier and not going back. Some of the sixth formers have the option of helping out at transition days etc.