Switching GCSE Topics

[ShimD]

My daughter is in year 9, and really not enjoying one of her classes. She feels she's made a wrong choice of subject. I've contacted the school about looking into swapping, feeling it's only the second term of year 9, but they say the option is now closed.

Has anyone else been through this? Any advice gratefully accepted.

I haven't experienced it myself, but it does seem rather a rigid and not very helpful attitude for a school to take. Obviously, they would not want everyone swapping for no valid reason, but at all ages and in all walks of life people make decisions that seem OK at the time, but then change their mind later.

Does she have a valid reason for wanting to swap? It's not just that she doesn't care for the teacher, or her friends are in the other group; I can understand that school might not be impressed with reasons like that.

If you agree with her new choice, and she can make a convincing case for it, may be have another go at persuading school to agree. May be DD could write her reasons for wanting to change, and that might help.

"The option is closed" could be read several different ways - some which are valid reasons and some not.

They may be saying it because the particular course your daughter wishes to swap onto isn't actually taught at the same time as the subject she wants to drop (they may be in different option blocks).

They may be saying it because the course she wants to move onto is running at the same time but is "full" - for example due to health & safety issues; not enough equipment (eg. computers, desks etc.)

They may be saying it because they are trying to discourage her (and others) from changing for what they perceive as the wrong reasons - they feel she should tough it out and it will come good in the end.

It could just be that they don't want to open the floodgates of other students switching.

The key is to find out which of these it is - some are solvable; others not.

And if they really are being stubborn about this, consider changing schools. Parents voting with their feet is not what any school wants.

In many schools you don't choose options until Y9 and start the course in Y10 so changing schools could be the solution.