English teachers - higher or foundation?

[freerangeeggs]

I'm teaching GCSE for the first time this year, having trained in Scotland, and have inherited a year 11 class from a previous teacher. Obviously it's coming to that time now and I have to put my kids forward for higher or foundation in English/literature.

A couple of teachers have recommended that I only put kids forward for higher if they are capable of achieving a B. Others, however, have suggested that it's actually easier to get a C grade on the higher paper.

I have a lot of borderline kids and I really, really want them to do well - they are utterly lovely and desperate to achieve! Some of them are gutted at the thought of sitting foundation, even though I've explained to themthat a C is a C, whatever exam you sit.

So, English teachers - what do you recommend? There seem to be so many opinions on this and I want to do right by the pupils in my class.

Thanks for reading this far! All replies are very much appreciated.

Well...

I think you have to judge each student separately. General wisdom is that if they are borderline and aiming for a C it is easier to get the C on the Foundation paper, and I think there is some truth in that, even if it is just that some kids feel safer on the Foundation (those bullet points make it look easier even if they're not very helpful!). But on the other hand, as you say, others are gutted at the thought of doing Foundation and find it demotivating.

For me, if there's any chance of them 'dropping off' the Higher I wouldn't take the risk. Unless they're capable of a B I do agree that there's not much point doing Higher. It's a difficult one because that C in English is so bloody important.

It's only Paper 1 where the questions are significantly different for Higher and Foundation - is this the paper your class are most likely to fall down on? If so, go with Foundation.

I'm rambling a bit but you're right, it's important to get this right. If you're giving it this much thought your class are lucky to have you!

Just a thought - you might get more responses to this on the TES. Its not as lovely as MN of course though!

I would always go for Higher Tier unless you think they are going to be lucky to scrape a D.

Is there any chance the borderline ones could sit both or would the rules/finances not allow that?

Nope, they can't sit both. They can do different tiers for English and English Literature though if they are stronger in one than the other.

They can't sit both because the Higher and foundation papers are timetabled concurrently.
Personally I'd go for Foundation Tier because it tends to have less reading matter in it and be slightly less daunting to look at. If they are good candidates they will get the C they deserve on Foundation, believe me. I'm not just saying this because I mark Foundation Tier either. If they are keen to have a go at Higher Tier they can sit that in November and try for a better grade that way. Nothing to lose. Good luck btw.

Thanks so much for your replies. You've been very helpful.

It does seem to be paper 1 that they're stumbling over - their mocks last term were bloody abysmal. I've made up a massive revision pack for language and presentation analysis though and they seem to be improving a lot in that area.

They're at a disadvantage because the last teacher didn't seem to keep on top of things - I've had to redo all their speaking and listening grades (they only had one and tbh I think he made them up) and their coursework was a shambles at the start of the year. Plus the fact that, though lovely, they're some of the laziest kids I've ever met in my life!!

I've decided to put three of them in for foundation. I hope I don't regret it!

Thanks again and if anyone else wants to chip in, feel free :)

You have to know the kids really well, how they are likely to perform in exam conditions, whether they are likely to freak out or not if the material looks tricky. You don't want to end up with lots of exam scores that would have meant they'd have got B's on the Higher - but of course you don't want to enter for Higher and find they have got a D when the same score would have got them a C on Foundation. (Grade boundaries are different). A whole grade is a lot of overlap, though, so you can probably call it accurately for most kids.

You should be talking this through with your HoD.

The stakes are high for a C grade in English; both for the students and the school. If you have any sense that the student won't achieve a B then they should do foundation - that's our policy, but your HOD should be giving you guidance on this as TheFallenMadonna says.

If they're struggling with Paper 1A then the Foundation paper is definitely preferable.

I have talked to my HOD about this - No offence ladies but I'd ask her before I came on Mumsnet! :)

I just wanted to see what other people's opinions were. it seemed odd that I was being given such conflicting advice. In Scotland the kids all sit two papers at different levels so we don't have this problem.

I think I've made the right decisions. I've done a lot of extra work with them so I think I know them pretty well by now. It's just been difficult for me because I have lots of coursework from last year to mark, as well as preparing the course for the first(and unfortunately last) time, and sorting out their speaking and listening.

Getting there though.

Again, thanks for the replies. They've been really interesting and helpful.