Why would school want a Year 10 to sit GCSE this year?

[s4rah19]

Is there a reason why a school would want a year 10 to sit an English Lit GCSE this year? In my opinion he (nephew) hasn't revised enough, and the mark he's just got in a trial exam isn't anything to write home about. He said something like the teacher said if you get a 4 (+/-) they are going to put them in for this summer. Surely in a year's time he will have a better attitude to revision (hopefully) and a year is a long time in school terms. Why would they want him to sit an exam in 15 weeks or so, I could understand it if he was a level 7 above. It's with WJEC (no idea why an English school would use a welsh exam board - is that normal?), I'd never heard of it until I was looking at his school website. I'm confused about coursework, is a certain percentage of the GCSE still on coursework, will he have done it already or be expected to do the coursework before summer. When I was at school we didn't start until our last year.

My DSs have both done additional maths GCSE. At the same time in year eleven as the ordinary maths GCSE. There's simply no need to do it early and no benefit. The A* at GCSE is pretty much nailed on at the end of year eleven and they aren't bored because they have the additional content to do.

So, he sat the two papers last week, now we just have the long wait to find out how he's done. He said one girl was in tears before and during one of the exams . Does anyone know if year 10s get their results at the same time as year 11's will?

yr10 DD has 3 GCSEs to finish up in next 4 weeks. But not English, math or science. I think it's great DD will have practice of juggling the high stakes workload, otherwise, before end yr11.

GCSE results should all come out at the same time regardless of the age of who sat the

My English school did media studies WJEC when I was there 15 years ago... they had to remind us to make sure we were looking at the English side

At my school the top 1/3 of the year did GCSE statistics in year 10 then normal maths GCSE in year 11.

In the 15 years since it seems to have become the thing for pupils to sit GCSEs in year 10. I think it's good that they will have chance to resit in school the following year, but generally I think it would be better to wait til year 11. If a bright pupil gets the equivalent of a B in year 10 they probably won't bother resitting but they might've got an A or A* if they sat it in year 11.

Does anyone know if year 10s get their results at the same time as year 11's will?
Most schools post the results to Y10 pupils rather than expecting them to come into school. The school should tell you what to expect though.

My ds is in the 'accelerated' maths set and is taking his GCSE this year in y10. He is predicted a A* as are all of the other 14 boys in the set.

The school have not dropped below A* in this accelerated set in 6 years, so they are doing something right.

I think it's the right thing to do in certain circumstances. He'll be doing higher maths next year as he'll have his GCSE - it's a better fit for the brighter ones.

Must be iGCSE if he's getting A. New maths is harder with more content and no point doing it early. Add maths can be taught alongside in year 11 if extra needed and this is a great help to those doing A level as it's basically C1. Or was as new A level spec coming in this year.

The exams in English this summer are a real unknown quantity. In the school's defence, they may therefore have decided to enter the Year 10s as a way of gaining additional experience- either for the teachers, or the students.

But it is a bizarre decision. Students always mature enormously in English, and I have never come across an instance where I felt it would be beneficial to enter one of my students early (I'm a Head of English).

Eduquas are a well-respected exam board, and follow a roughly similar structure to AQA. They are much smaller, which is the only reason I didn't choose them (I wanted safety in numbers!). They have a reputation for being particularly supportive of teachers...which may also be why the school have chosen them.

Our DDs are at a grammar, and I really wish the school allowed some GCSEs to be taken at the end of Yr 10.

DD2 is top set for Maths, but instead of being allowed to take it a year early, and get it out of the way, instead the top set have to take it in Yr 11 with everyone else and also take a separate Further Maths GCSE, too.

It's daft, when the school know that the pupils are 99.9% guaranteed to get a Level 8 or 9 in Maths, if they take it in Yr 10.

No they are not MaQueen. No one is guaranteed anything this year as no one has any idea what each grade requires. Level 9 could be 200/240 or 230/240. It's a mystery. Anyone sitting maths or English early is bonkers this year.

True mums but DD2 wouldn't take it for another 2 years anyway. I feel for pupils taking them this year, as it's so up in the air

We're in Wales (so still on letter grades), but Yr 10 dd is sitting Welsh and English language exams this year. It seems absolutely standard here - have friends with dc in the two other local schools, and they do the same. They'll then do the two literature exams next year.

I figure it can't be that terrible given the super-academic--prides-itself-on-fabulous-results local school does just the same as dd's rather more middling one.

They're also doing 1 paper from each of the three sciences (but AFAIK that isn't a choice on the part of the school - they don't get the GCSE from it, they'll have a number more papers to do next year).

I was really dubious about it but I have to say it's worked wonders for DD's level of motivation / work input. She's also I think really benefitted from seeing that actually it isn't that scary (she's done the welsh language papers already, english after h/t)

I did also ask on the HE board here about the issue of GCSEs being spread out, and got very reassuring answers from Russell group admissions people. The view on there seemed to be that doing a couple of exams early wasn't the issue, it was more if you got HE'd kids for example who had done some here, some there, and never more than a few in any given year then they might (and the might was stressed) not have demonstrated that they'd cope with the pressure of a fuller load.

In Wales too, as well as Welsh, Enlgish Lang and three science my DS is also sitting his 2 maths gcses this year. It seems rather alot to me but we are going with the flow.

Our DDs are at a grammar, and I really wish the school allowed some GCSEs to be taken at the end of Yr 10.

At our DS's school, they used to let the top sets in some subjects take their GCSE's at the end of year 10 (those expected to get A or A*), but this is the first year they've stopped doing it, but it doesn't seem to have been planned as the kids started their GCSE courses in year 9 for Maths, English and sciences.

So they now have students who've actually finished their GCSE courses, but won't be taking the exams until next May, and don't really seem to know what to do with them. In Maths, they're moving on to Further Maths this week, and in the sciences, they're going to move on to A level work in areas that will "enrich" their GCSE knowledge/ability. (Not easy seeing as they'll have to "unlearn" some things for A level and then remember to re-learn them in a years' time for their GCSEs).

They just seem to have too much time now that they're doing GCSEs in year 11 rather than 10. From speaking to a few teachers, it seems they reduced the number of GCSEs from 12 down to 10, to allow for the recent changes (i.e. removal of coursework and the new 9-1 gradings), but are probably going to increase it back to 12 again for the top groups. (Though heaven knows how they'll sort the timetable for having 12 subjects for top groups but only 10 for the others).

Bad it just doesn't make any sense to me, keeping back the top sets when they could get a few GCSEs under their belt in Yr 10. From what I understand the girls in the maths top set at DD's grammar all got Level 6s for their SATs, so trying to drag out Maths GCSE into Yr 11 for them is a bit belt & braces.

I don't suppose the top set will get that bored, because alongside the Maths GCSE they will do the Further Maths GCSE too. And, that's another thing, why can't the top set just do the Further Maths GCSE, and do away with the regular one?

As it is, DD2 will take both, which will bring her total of GCSEs up to 12. Why does anyone need 2 maths GCSEs? If she didn't have to take the standard one, she could take GCSE Art, which she'd love to do, but can't squeeze it in.

DD is Year 10 and sat AQA English Literature last month. The entire year were underprepared and all but 6 failed the mock. God only knows what went on in the schools head when this decision was taken. DD wanted to take EL for A-Level but has had to rethink her choices because she will never get a level 6 being so underprepared (also age 14, summer baby).

There is an opportunity to resit in Year 11 but full independent study, no lessons. It's an absolute joke.

Jus I do think English Literature is a different kettle of fish to English Language. I think all students really benefit from that extra year, through Yr 11, to give a more mature/rounded appreciation of the texts.

I think that's true about lit needing a certain level of maturity. The argument at dd's school re. taking language early is that they then focus intensively on literature for yr 11. They say it works better concentrating the study on the key texts, whereas if it's spread over two years the students become a bit stale.
In Welsh they only take Lit if they've got a good result in Language, otherwise they get peeled off into a separate group and re-take Language in yr 11. (I think in English only the higher sets take Language early, the bottom set just takes the Language GCSE.)

Bad it just doesn't make any sense to me, keeping back the top sets when they could get a few GCSEs under their belt in Yr 10.

I think the whole system is crazy. Why on earth should 16 years old be the time to take GCSEs and 18 for A levels? It's time they made it more flexible so that the higher achievers can be accelerated to do both GCSEs and A levels earlier (or take more subjects) and those who are behind for whatever reason can delay and benefit from an extra year or two to get better grades. It definitely needs to be more flexible for everyone. One size doesn't fit all!

I don't think it's right either, one year less study, madness as a PP (a teacher) said, why won't they listen to the teachers!