What is the argument for children doing their GCSEs a year or two early?

[Mintyy]

I can't think of any.

[SoupDragon]

I find it interesting that DSs independent, academically selective school does not do early entry for GCESs. Which says to me that there is no benefit at all.

[wordfactory]

I think the reasons for early GCSEs must be child and not school focussed.

Schools who get pupils to sit early to play the system are cynical and actually hurt pupils' education. Thankfully, this is being stopped.

The only pupils who should sit early are those who are so ready it is just daft for them to carry on with the GCSE curriculum.

Colyton, I believe, has all its pupils sit their GCSEs en masse in year 10. This is a superselctive school which beleives its pupils will become highly bored if forced to continue the syllabus for another year.

DS school is also superselective. There, decisions are made on an ad hoc basis. Teachers and boys decide between them if early sitting is approriate and whatw ill take its place. Thus DS took a handful of GCSEs in year 9 and could thus free up more time in his timetable for another two new subjects.

[friday16]

I find it interesting that DSs independent, academically selective school does not do early entry for GCESs

Quite. The only early entry most super-selective do is maths, in order to do FSMQ additional maths in Y11, but some of these schools don't do that and it's a matter for some debate as to what's the right way.

And yet schools flirting with the floor standard measures, and without the advantage of only dealing with the top 2% of the cohort, enter pupils a year early for a wide range of subjects.

It's all most puzzling. One would have thought that schools with brighter children, taught in smaller classes, with a much narrower ability range, and (for practical purposes) zero SEN, would be more likely to be able to take exams a year earlier than other schools. And yet they don't. I wonder why now?

[motherinferior]

DD1 appears to want do art a year early. She is less keen on doing Latin a year early but I don't think they have an option

[MaddAddam]

MI, perhaps we can put Latin in the "non-essential fun subjects" box with Art?

Ancient dead languages all very interesting etc but you don't need them....

[motherinferior]

Yep .

[bigTillyMint]

MI, don't they all do maths a year early at your DD's school?

I agree there is absolutely no point in sitting GCSE's early unless it benefits/is appropriate for the individual child. It is all very confusing.

[motherinferior]

Hmm. Not sure. Nobody's told me yet

[Mintyy]

Not that I'm aware of Tilly!

That would be a bit strange wouldn't it

[bigTillyMint]

Well, last time we chatted about it, a friend's DD in Y11 sat it last year and a friend's DD in Y10 is sitting it this year. But it may have all changed since we chatted/only be some girls that do it early

[grovel]

Etonians all do French and Latin a year earlier than their other GCSEs.

[motherinferior]

It's probably the top set maths (where there are some really scary mathematicians)* doing it.

*This is does not include my PFB, I should point out lest it be seen as stealth boast.

[bigTillyMint]

MI, you are probably right - I think this is what happens at the DC's school, though it won't be DD either

[IShallWearMidnight]

LOL at Latin - when DD1 was picking her GCSEs, I suggested that she have one easy subject and one fun subject. Her easy one was Maths, her fun one was Latin . And so it turned out over the two years of the courses. She is a maths geek though, and generally odd like that

[bigTillyMint]

LaQ, she's doing that too! I am hoping that it will be a good choice with the English which she should may do at A'level.

I am just amazed/proud at how good she is at all this stuff. Anyone who says GCSE's are easy needs to take a look at what they are being asked to do and what they are producing.

[bigTillyMint]

That's good!

[Mintyy]

Yes Tilly, in some ways I think gcses are harder than the O levels we used to do (I will not comment on the marking/grading) but that is because I look at it all from the perspective of someone who didn't mind exams but was quite lazy for the rest of the year. You certainly can't get away with that nowadays.

Not sure why it is relevant to discuss what we had to do for our art and drama exams ... it was bloomin yonks ago. I don't imagine my children's courses and exams will bear the slightest resemblance to what I did back in the late 70s .

[bigTillyMint]

Yes, I was an exam crammer - did all my O'level revision the night before!

And as I dropped art in favour of cookery (which I thought would be an easy option - how wrong could I be?!) and drama (which I hated), I have nothing to compare with anyway!