GCSE options and very low academic attainers

[Rattrapjudy]

DS needs to select GCSE options in the next month. He has very low academic attainment (dyslexia, ADHD), low reading age, bottom stream in subjects, that are streamed. Struggles with all aspects of writing. He has support via EHCP and we put in place the obvious - laptop, talking stories/videos etc but he struggles to retain information he’s not interested in.

We are looking at functional options/entry level options at school. Its likely some of these woud sit alongside less academic GCSEs of his choosing.

Anyone have similar experience of low academic achievers taking GCSE’s and if so, which ones? I know people say to go for subjects of interest - that’s basically sports science which DS will choose (although still looks very theory based). Beyond this DS has no areas of specific interest, struggles with art as same poor fine motor skills for writing affect him in art.

School seems to have lots of advice re high achievers in terms of courses. What do the low academic achievers do? If you’ve experienced this, can they take less GCSEs to accomodate interventions such as reading/literacy etc even into KS4.

Do you have the option to take any BTECs instead of GCSEs?

You need to be reasonably academic to get the top grades, but there are no exams, so it works well for kids with working memory issues, dyslexia etc as it's mainly course work based.

Unfortunately the UK system isn't designed for the non-academic until after Y11 unless you want to do home education.

My advice would be to massively cut the number of subjects he takes, Prioritise Maths and English (do Foundation Level for Maths) and use the time freed up to focus on those. You do not need more than 5 GCSEs incl English and Maths.

At my dc’s comprehensive there is a pathway that includes options like childcare, healthcare/social care which are very practical and lead to a certificate not a GCSE.

Most GCSE’s are primarily academic so it is better to focus on a small number. I agree with pp - 5 GCSE’s is plenty.

To fill in timetable space, dc school has a special study area where kids on this non academic pathway can decompress - they might learn to sew pr crochet or get help writing a cv, or watch a documentary together or just play board games.

Are you wanting to stay at the same school or you consider moving?

How much support does he get with his ECHP?

Don’t choose History as the Humanities option - tons of writing and essay format. If he has to do one choose Geography which is question based.

What options does he actually have? Any vocational subjects available?

My DS1 was not academic and he was put on a specific pathway in school where one of his option blocks was spent on extra work on maths and English and things like CV, life skills. So he took eight GCSEs (double not triple science) where my other two DC at the same school took 10.

He took one GCSE as a short course (half the GCSE) but I don’t think that's offered now.

He took catering which he did well at (good at the practical and had an amazing teacher who really supported him), geography which at the time had a foundation paper (not no more sadly) and Spanish (that was the short course). He got 2 x C (inc maths) 3 x D and 3 x E which we were very pleased with, He ended up retaking English and then taking and passing functional skills L2 at college. I wish he could have sat that at school instead of GCSE but schools pretty much have to enter them.

Sadly now English GCSE is not tiered (grrr) so IMHO it is very inaccessible to a weaker student.

I would suggest your DS takes any Btecs that are offered (some school offer them) – the school I worked in offered health and social care and animal care – as these are much less exam-based. Is sports science a Btec or a GCSE?

Does he enjoy any practical subjects like DT or food tech? IMHO a language if of interest is not a terrible idea as there is a F tier and it can be approached in a very pragmatic and structured way (I can advise further if of interest as this is my subject) tho obvs not if he isn't keen.

What exactly has the school offered or suggested in terms of numbers of GSCEs? He may find that the support of a reader, scribe, separate room will really help (I am sure that is howDS got a C in maths tbh).

Speak to SENCO about the alternative curriculum they offer and whether there are any options for dual entry with college or anything to do vocational courses.

In my sons' school there are two pathways - GCSEs and Level 2 Vocational Qualifications. So you could do engineering GCSE or engineering VQ. I think the other VQ courses are construction, health, sport and creative media. Does your DS's school offer anything like this?

Thanks for comments so far. We are aiming to keep at same school as he has friends, which hasn’t always been the case. We have a meeting with SENCO to look at options, I’m posting to get ideas of other people’s experiences.

his EHCP contains TA support in class with reading/writing/planning etc.

The school’s GCSE offer includes things like Hospitality, Media, Sport, DT, along with more academic subjects. He already dropped languages, to accomodate literacy options.

Thanks for the info re Geoography bring the better humanity due to level of writing in History. Tips on choices are much appreciated.

My son had severe dyslexia and adhd. His reading age at 13 was only 7 1/2. He moved schools, but still independent. He took English ( at last minute moved to functional skills, dont leave it late for that), maths ( school left it too late to move to func skills), double science foundation, btec business, geog, 1/× Re ( due to teacher leaving), English lang ( finally persuaded school to drop lit), d&t. He passed them all which was extraordinary, but Covid lockdown teaching helped him. Agree with others reduce the number. What support is he getting? Mine, no ehcp, had reader, extra time, and a scribe if needed.

The good bit of the BTEC is the coursework spreads out the work instead of relying on just the exam (at the same time as loads of other exams). (Looks like we are lucky though, they can mix and match BTEc with academic GCSEs at DDs school instead of picking one pathway or the other... shes doing one alongside 8 of the full on GCSEs (including an extra one!).

What would be be like at cooking? My DD is doing GCSE food & nutrition which is mostly practical (final cooking exam), coursework and a small percentage as a written exam but seems it’s mainly going to be simple question and answer format

DS2 is capable of achieving high grade GCSE’s his adhd means he could just as easily completely fail them all so I don’t know how useful my post will be, but one day he can do a higher maths paper and score 80%, be next day he could just as easily get 20%

so he is only doing 8 subjects, the gap in his timetable he goes to support classes for study skills and exam techniques, it’s helping.

we also looked at subjects with course work as a component so it isn’t all on the exam.

what will be will be, but we want to take the pressure off as much as possible.

Are you in England or Wales?

My son has a similar profile but no IDP. We’re in Wales so a different curriculum - went for Media, History and BTEC Sweet and these have turned out to be good choices

England.

Yes I’ve wondered about cooking. He does like the sense of achievement that comes from having an end result, and I like that it’s a life skill.

I would recommend maths and English Language functional skills if at all possible - these are enough to access Level 2 courses.
Humanities - geography would potentially be the best option if he has to take a humanities (absolutely not history) but I'd argue that a humanities subject may not be helpful for him.
PE/sport?
Food and nutrition?
Art and design/graphics?
Not media - my ds did it, lots of writing, 2 exams.

There aren't any less academic GCSEs these days.

My DD started Food & Nutrition - there was a lot of theory and some of the practical stuff was about investigating and surveys rather than learning how to cook stuff.

My (dyslexic, dyspraxic) DD2 started GCSEs then mid y10 Covid hit and she never went back.

Geography and History have a lot more content and revision guides seem less good. I'd attempt to swerve both of them if you can.
RE is less bad content wise, revision guides good, and quite a lot of thinking about your own opinions.
Drama is not bad and you can help a lot with discussions.

I would definitely go with BTECs if they are offered.
Otherwise think about interest and skills more than grades. If they would enjoy the content of something then maybe do it even if they are going to get a low grade.
Focus on next steps. Is there a college course that appeals? Are there minimum requirements for that?
At least with EHCP you have time, so he can start on a level 1 course and build up if needed.

Do they offer Btecs? My not very academic DS did well with these and as there is usually only 1 exam and it is sat right at the start of the exams it then frees up time to revise the other GCSEs.

Other than the TA support in class, what other provision is in the EHCP?

More bespoke timetables can be possible with EHCPs. For example, DS might do fewer GCSEs and spend the other time doing other qualifications e.g. AQA unit awards or have a session pre-teaching some of the new vocab or consolidating work and preparing revision material… Study skills support and tuition from a specialist dyslexia tutor can also be part of the EHCP.

How is the TA support worded? Is it 1:1 and for how many hours?

Be careful with food and nutrition (and sports studies) There can be a lot of coursework which can cause students to struggle

The school I worked at (non teaching) offered food tech and health and social care, as well as an actual GCSE in PE. Maybe ones to consider

Functional Skills also has entry and level1 so might those help build some confidence before attempting level2? Does the school have any links to colleges with age 14-16 provision where he could take more practical accredited courses or lifeskills?