Does the EBAC Matter? DS wants to give up French GCSE already

[spababe]

He is freaked out by the thought they will have an Oral exam around half term apparently which will count 20% towards final mark. He is thinking of changing to music but has never done formal grades in music - he just enjoys it and plays an instrument for fun. I have heard music is a lot of hard work but DS says he won't get a C in French. He refuses to discuss this with the French teacher. I know he is only taking French at the moment to fufill the EBAC requirements but is this for the benefit of the school or the pupil? he is in year 10 so only just starting GCSEs. Thanks for all advice.

My DD1 y11 is doing both Spanish and French, so I might be biased.

I don't think the Ebacc as such is important, the school is measured on it but that should not be a reason for your son to do it if it's not in his best interests.

However, learning a foreign language is a useful skill. I think it is more useful in later life for him to do French than Music. If he can learn to 'have a go' in a foreign language he will be better equipped for later life, if only for holidays abroad.

Check the % of the CA. For DD she has 2 spoken and 2 written, each worth 15% (so 60% in total). Check also the format. DD's spoken are not a conversation. They prepare something in advance, learn it off pat, go in and spout it, and then get one unprepared question to answer. A diligent child can do well even with not much natural ability.

My view is that if he's never done formal grades in music he may well struggle with that too. It's not just playing a bit of something, there is a lot to GCSE music. French is more useful long term, even if only a basic GCSE standard. Presumably he's done 3 years of it already, so he should have a good grounding.

I think French GCSE 'looks' better than Music, but then I'm old and old-fashioned.

If he won't talk to the French teacher then he needs to stick with it.

DS will not have EBAC as is sitting full RS and no History/Geography. I queried this with his school ( one of top London boys schools ) and they said EBAC wasn't at all important and to forget about it.

While I agree that learning a language is desirable, I wouldn't be worried about not passing the GCSE if he only needs it to fulfil the EBAC. Could he just stick with it and pick up some French?

From what you say this is more about your DS trying to avoid experience/s that he is dreading and is worried he won't be able to do. It seems to me that what he needs is a bit of a metaphorical hand on his elbow to guide him. It's not a good thing to get the idea that you can just avoid things because you don't want to do them.

We had a very similar situation with our DS, and yes there was a strop, but he felt much happier about the whole thing once he had talked it through with his teacher.

In your shoes I would insist that he talks to his French teacher (with or without you being present) before you agree to anything. They may well be able to reassure him and stop him worrying about the oral. A modern language is a very good thing to have, especially as they have declined to drastically in recent times.

Being scared of an oral exam is not a good reason to give up a language!

There may well be a performance element to his GCSE music too.

I would double check his claim about the exam. Most schools will do a number of oral exams over the two years and then choose the best two to enter. I think it is very unlikely that an exam before Xmas in y10 is going to be one of the final exams they will enter. It's much more likely to be a chance to get a feel for what it's like. (Although it could be entered if it does turnout to be one of tthe best in the end).

When my dd1 was choosing her options we were really sold to ensure an mfl is chosen and the ebac was explained as an extra qualification which could give your child the edge. She chose German as she found it easier and had a fab teacher. Years 10 and 11 she had an awful teacher, I know this because she was my teacher back in the day and I gave up German so I wouldn't have her. Anyway 2 years of struggle with a usually enthusiastic motivated girl which wasn't worth it. My dd2 hates languages and said she didn't want to carry on with them so with my experience have agreed and she was super happy.

I recommend you talk to the French teacher. Presumably you'd need to do that before withdrawing him from the course anyway.

DS1 is not strong at languages and was terrified at the idea of the oral exam. It turned out to be much more straight forward than expected and more of a memory test than a test of language (not that I'm saying that is ideal, just than it made things easier for DS). He knew what questions would be asked and memorised the answers.

If your DS does want to change subjects, doing it at the beginning of Year 10 seems a good time. I do think having the full ebacc subjects is of more obvious benefit to schools but as most schools do seem to now make that a requirement, I suppose something missing from that list of GCSEs might start to look obvious. Still better an absence than a poor grade though.

Regarding Music GCSE , I don't have any direct experience but DS's friends found it stressful unless they were also playing an instrument to a high grade. A couple of them got a significantly lower grade for Music than their other subjects.

I would chat through with French teacher what, exactly, is required for the GCSE. As others have said, a lot of the MFL exams seem to be done early (DD did Spanish, and she had completed 60% of the exam before the written exam season started) which many find an advantage, My DD dreaded the oral, but as others have said you do know in advance what will be asked and with a bit of work can learn the responses. Not ideal, but that is how it is (or was, for my DD).

It may also be that the school timetable won't be able to cope with him not doing a MFL.

MFL teacher here...

Frankly I don't know how important the Ebacc is. Things keep changing in education so who knows whether people will even remember what it is in 10 years. However I would strongly discourage a student from giving up on a French GCSE at this stage. Languages are a bit of a Marmite subject, some love it, some hate it, but I find they build character - it's a good lesson for anyone to spend two years working hard at something that isn't necessarily within their comfort zone. Had I only done subjects I loved while I was at school I'm not sure I would cope very well with the more boring aspects of my job now.

Also, as it has been said, the Speaking Controlled Assessments are very much a memory test (not ideal, but that's what the exam boards have decided) and a diligent student can do very well at them with some practice. Most schools will do more CAs than necessary and send in the best ones for marking. My school, for example, does 3 or 4 CAs over the two years of GCSE and we send in every student's two best ones, each of them counting for 15% of their final grade. This means that even if students mess up their first one (which often happens as they don't know what to expect), they still have a chance at a good grade.

If your son's school is anything like mine he will find it very difficult to give up a subject now, as timetables are very hard to organise and the school would want to avoid the lemming effect! Nothing would happen before the French teacher is consulted, anyway.

Ebacc totally unimportant unless you're a head teacher wanting it for your league table.

Thank you for the replies. He is going to carry on with the French.

Ebacc is not important. When DD was doing uni applications the only one that asked for a MFL was UCL.

Agree with lemon tart

If it is just the thought of the Oral in French that is swaying this decision, then he should seriously think again. As others have said, it is likely to be one of several taken, with the best 2 going forward towards the exam.
It really is just a memory test.

DD1 (yr13) took both French and Music (GCSE and AS). At GCSE Music was by far the higher workload and far harder than French. Performance is judged differently to grade exams - basically harsher. And there is a composition element that can catch quite a few out too. The written paper isn't exactly easy either, they study about 12 set works across many genres thoughout the course, and some of the analysis can be quite tricky if you are not that way inclined - definitely need good critical thinking skills.
DD is a natural musician, plays 3 instruments, at the start of the GCSE course was grade 6/7 standard on her first study. She is not a natural linguist, nor very good at English writing, but managed a high A in French quite easily. but even at her level, just scraped an A* in Music. For most more academic students taking music, it is often their lowest grade. Also, most schools tend to insist on music GCSE students playing an active part in the extra CA music activities, which if he isn't already doing will increase his workload.

I would not want to dissuade anyone from taking GCSE Music as it is a very worthwhile subject. Doing the Uni rounds for Music with DD1 has opened my eyes to how versatile and respected a good Music degree is. But I think your DS may be choosing it for the wrong reasons.
If the French really is just oral nerves, and other aspects are coming along well, then that will be a far better option for him.