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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

URGENT HELP PLEASE!!! Changing GCSE Course after a term

14 replies

ab6990 · 05/12/2011 19:23

My daughter, for many valid reasons, wants to switch from GCSE PE to GCSE Psychology. It would bea straight swap as they are at the same time in the timetable. She is no longer interested in doing PE partly because she feels that she was conned into doing it as the teachers said that they wouldn't do any PE as part of their core studies (not true).
I have spoken to the head of year who has given me the standard 'no' but is going to talk to the deputy head in charge of timetabling.
Any ideas on how I should approach the next step - parents evening on Wednesday - as I'm pretty sure i will have received another no before then!
All responses gratefully received!

OP posts:

Loshad · 05/12/2011 20:34

there is no way we would allow this at this stage - she will have missed far too much of the course - quite possibly as much as a 1/4 and there is no way she would be able to catch up. My year 10 gcse scientists for example have their first GCSE exam the week we return from the christmas holidays, it's worth 25% of the total and i will not revisit that work again

TheFallenMadonna · 05/12/2011 20:38

Rather than talking to the timetabling Deputy, they should be talking to the head of psychology to see whether this is in any way do-able - and I would be surprised if they were positive about it.

I teach a core subject (Science in fact - and my year 10s have their exam first week back too!) so we have to take anyone new to the school whenever they arrive, and it is a real problem.

Loshad · 05/12/2011 20:41

at least new kids to the school tend to have done some science fallen, unlike the op's daughter and psychology. TBH op why has she only decided now, surely she discovered first week in that they also had timetabled pe if that is her issue.

Original poster

ab6990 · 05/12/2011 20:58

We have checked the course and while some students will sit the first module next May 40% but the majority will take all three exams May 2013.
Re deciding now - she has mentioned it before but I didn't realise she was serious plus have had a lot on this year (husband ill with leukaemia from March and devastatingly terminally ill now). I will talk to head of Psychology ASAP. I would really like to support her on this one - I come from a family of teachers so I understand the issues re catching up but I also changed subject from one year to the next (chemistry to physics) and with the help of supportive teachers did fine.

OP posts:

TheFallenMadonna · 05/12/2011 21:02

Ours tend to be overseas students, so Science perhaps, but not GCSE, and not in English!

So sorry about your DH ab. Talk to Head of Psychology, and before Christmas.

cricketballs · 05/12/2011 21:50

sorry, but at every school I have worked in, this would be a NO this far in to the course.

I have had this discussion this weekend with my own ds and he was told the same thing by myself; basically, he had left it too late. If he had said something earlier, then it could have been sorted (AS subject) but leaving it 3 months into the course then tough, deal with it, learn from it but 'suck it up'

Umeboshi · 05/12/2011 22:03

ab -- worth bearing in mind that if DD is really interested in psychology, she can always do it for A level. At least it's not one of those subjects that she'd need to have a GCSE in.

Vicky2011 · 05/12/2011 22:39

Could she self-teach? Get the relevant text books and some study aids. If you pay for exam entrance fee, I would be surprised if the school refused, particularly if the syllabus does not have lots of continuous assessment. It's surprising what a motivated person can do to prove a point.

sashh · 08/12/2011 06:30

Does she actually want to do this or just not do PE? If the latter then something may (but won't be popular with school staff) be able to be aranged.

LornMowa · 08/12/2011 09:45

I changed from A Level Sociology to History at about this time in the academic year. I did some private study and easily caught up. That was in the days of a terminal exam though.

I would suggest getting some private tuition if you can afford it.

EvilTwins · 08/12/2011 18:24

I teach a GCSE option subject, and would definitely not let a student change at this point in the year. We have already covered a lot of ground, and students are well on the way to completing their first assessment.

If it were me, I would arrange one meeting with the Pyschology teacher, the PE teacher, and the head of year and see what they say. Take DD along, make sure that everyone has listened to her, and then let the school make the decision. I am Head of VI Form at the school I work in, and we run A Level Psychology but not GCSE - plenty of students take the A Level successfully. The teachers say that doing well in English is more important to that course than having a GCSE in Psychology, so if she's interested in anyway, could consider it as a KS5 option.

Original poster

ab6990 · 25/01/2012 11:56

Hello to all. Just wanted to update.
I was going to speak to the teachers at parents evening in early December but couldn't due to my husbands health deteriorating. He died on 10/12 (at home and peacefully).
So... I had to start up again in January. A friend (who is a teacher) helped write an email (ie wrote the whole thing) I hen spoke to Head of Year and Head of Psychology. Head of Psychology then spoke to my daughter and she changed at the beginning of week two. They have been supportive and her Psychology teacher is giving her catch up assignments and she may well sit exam in May.
It was fantastic and has helped her want to go to school. Wish her luck!

OP posts:

Summersoon · 25/01/2012 19:04

First of all, I would like to say how sorry I am about your husband passing away. Second, I think that it is great that you have helped your daughter during what must have been a traumatic and incredibly traumatic and sad time for you both. I am glad that the school was helpful. I don't know whether ours would have been (DD in yr 9 so no experience yet) but I would like to think that they would have leaned over backwards to help out a girl at such a time, perhaps making an exception for her.

I had read your thread when you first posted but didn't write because I had no constructive advice to offer but I am very glad that, in this small part of your lives at least, things have worked out for you.

outofbodyexperience · 25/01/2012 19:27

oh, ab. so sorry to hear about your husband, but glad that school are being supportive.

i changed my 'a' levels after a year and sat them on time - i was surprised that so many people saw this as impossible. a term is nothing.

sending strength and fortitude to you and dd x

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