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Secondary education

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Original poster

MFL cockup

43 replies

JumpingJoey · 18/07/2017 20:49

NC as this may out the school my child goes to.
Dd is more of a scientist but is a good all rounder and goes to the local comp. She is in the top set for Maths and Spanish (the only ones that are set). She has done Spanish since Year 5 so it makes sense that she takes Spanish as her compulsory GCSE language option and she enjoys it, being one of the top ones in the year. This year, Year 8, the brighter ones had to take another language. She didn't want to take French nor German but she decided on German as she was less likely to get it mixed up with Spanish.
At parents' evening they said as she was getting good grades they wanted her to take 2 languages in Year 9 in the same time slot others take one language in. She said she probably just wanted to do Spanish (bit awkward as German teacher there) but they said we'll keep you on the list because you can change your mind. We then got a letter saying congratulations Dd has been invited to do two languages as she is doing so well. We sent the letter back to say that she just wanted to do Spanish.
We got a letter yesterday to say that she couldn't do her first choice so she will be doing her second choice only. German. For the whole of Year 9. To make matters worse they justified it by saying that the new harder GCSE means it is better to use the time just to do one language. So no Spanish for a whole year.
I have emailed the school (with the above info) but they said they pulled names from a hat to decide who did what as everyone couldn't get their first choice.
They may be a slim chance she could do Spanish and German but as it is it's German only.
Argh. Has anyone else had this problem.

OP posts:
Leeds2 · 18/07/2017 21:00

Sorry, no, I haven't. But I would be livid, and hope you manage to sort something out.

clary · 18/07/2017 21:01

That's really tough but maybe you could keep up the Spanish at home of she has done it since yr 5 and then still be adept enough at it to choose it for GCSE? Maybe get a tutor, look at duolingo/memrise for vocab etc. Also ask the school if she would still be able to take Spanish for GCSE?

BubblesBuddy · 18/07/2017 21:16

Schools are utterly bizarre aren't they? I would have gone for the two MFL though.

Original poster
JumpingJoey · 18/07/2017 22:18

I am so fed up. German was never her 'second choice'. She never wanted to do it in the first place. Bizarrely if she hadn't been so good at Spanish she wouldn't have had to do German so could only have done Spanish next year!

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BubblesBuddy · 19/07/2017 00:06

DD did triple science and two MFL. It wouldn't be a bad solution.

converseandjeans · 19/07/2017 00:12

German is harder than Spanish so they probably selected more able students. It is also less popular. I reckon if she misses year 9 Spanish she could pick it up again. Unless they are planning to start GCSE in year 9. In terms of CV later on German does look better. She could try doing both and see how she finds it? The school obviously think she is capable.

Nzou1050 · 19/07/2017 00:21

Are they saying there's a chance she could do Spanish if she opts to do both but if she only wants to do one language it will be German. If so I'd think she should do both. German will be at beginners level so not too bad. I'd worry that if she doesn't do Spanish in Year 9 it might be a barrier to her doing it at GCSE (not ability wise but they may use that as a reason for her not getting her first choice again IYSWIM)

Interested to know why a PP mentioned German would look better on a CV?

converseandjeans · 19/07/2017 01:04

German is way more useful in the job market. We trade lots with the Germans. Academically more challenging too.

Blanketdog · 19/07/2017 06:38

You won't be doing much trading with a GCSE! I really don't think GCSEs matter except for getting into the next step of your career or education - after that they are forgotten. If she fancies doing languages after GCSEs then maybe 2 might be useful but otherwise that's a load of pressure and extra work to squeeze two into a slot for one - does she cope well with a heavy work load - the new GCSE is much more challenging. I would phone the school. We had a similar thing with triple science being squeezed into a combined slot. Ds is very good at science but doesn't love it, I gave the school a very comprehensive list of reasons why he didn't want to do it, including the effect it would have on the rest of his subjects, his extra curricular activities, his stress levels - work-life balance is important for kids too and we finally agreed to combined.

grufallosfriend · 19/07/2017 08:09

If she can take up Spanish again in year 10 and do a gcse in it, then I don't see the problem with a bright girl doing a year of German. She may eve like it and take both gcses.

Cakescakescakes · 19/07/2017 08:11

German is much much harder than Spanish or French (I did all three to a high level). If she isnt interested in it then it'll be a bit of a slog. Is she starting from scratch with German?

Hoppinggreen · 19/07/2017 08:19

My DH is German and neither of us can understand why German is still offered as a mfl ( or even French to be honest)
Where do they speak German? Germany and Austria mainly
Where do they speak French? Mostly France
Spanish opens up the whole of South America and of course there's Mandarin they could do instead
In your position I wouldn't do a language at school at all if German is the only option ( if thats possible) and do Spanish GCSE privately

Original poster
JumpingJoey · 19/07/2017 08:58

Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify: she had to do 1 year of German this Year (year 8). She hates it, never wanted to do it but it was compulsory. She has done Spanish since Year 5. She is good at it and in the top 10 of 120 pupils. She put down Spanish as her option in Year 9 despite repeatedly being asked by the MFL department to do 2 languages in 1 time slot.
They have told us she is doing German only.
After several emails there may be a chance of her doing German and Spanish in one time slot. Obviously she won't get as much done as if she was just doing Spanish. And she will resent the German lessons/homework.
We holiday in Spain and her sister did Spanish (top set) and said everyone in the top set had come from 'single' language in Year 9 as they got through much more.
Ironically, if she hadn't been good at Spanish she wouldn't have had to do German this year so could only have done Spanish next.
She definately wants to do Spanish for GCSE and no other language.

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ginnystonic · 19/07/2017 09:15

This is crazy, and also happens in my DC school.

I would request a meeting with the head of languages / head of year / form tutor etc. I would not let this go if I were you. It is crazy logic, and will end up impacting her GCSE result (either in Spanish which she will have missed out on for a year) or if she may end up having to take German as a gcse because she has 'dropped' Spanish.

You are well within your rights to continue complaining until this is resolved.

Original poster
JumpingJoey · 19/07/2017 09:22

Thank you Ginny. It beggars belief doesn't it!? The pupils doing Spanish only were chosen by drawing names out of a hat. (!)

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Blanketdog · 19/07/2017 09:23

I agree with Ginny - way to inspire a dc by making them do a subject they hate...for why? I would have my argument well prepared and just keep repeating it. If she needs to keep her Spanish going at a higher level there's lots available online - not just duolingo and memrise.

corythatwas · 19/07/2017 09:53

Hoppinggreen, lots of trade with German speaking countries, lots of technical manuals published in German, lots of scholarship published in German.

Yes, more people speak Mandarin but a) we still do not trade as much with China b) a GCSE or A-level isn't going to give you the level of Chinese you need to do a trade deal, probably not even to read a basic instructions manual. German otoh is a language you can learn to a decent standard in a relatively short time if you are reasonably talented and put the work in.

My generation were all fed the line that you must learn Spanish because look at all the Spanish speakers in the world. I don't know of anyone among my friends who actually uses their Spanish professionally (except for Spanish teachers obviously). But we have all used German and French at one point or another. I use it every week though there is nothing specifically German-related in the work I do; it's just that so much good stuff has been written in German.

I don't regret learning Spanish: I enjoyed it and in my world anything you enjoy is worth while. But I am very grateful to my parents who insisted that I should learn German as an extra.

Original poster
JumpingJoey · 19/07/2017 10:03

Cory - I would be absolutely fine with her doing German if she wanted to do it and was as good at it as Spanish. Especially with Brexit it could be useful. However she has never wanted to do it and she will only have 'space' for one compulsory language option. Spoken to Head of Year and Head of Languages. There's nothing more I can go except take it to the Head about how ludicrous a situation this is.

OP posts:
Original poster
JumpingJoey · 19/07/2017 10:05

....one GCSE space for a language that is.

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ginnystonic · 19/07/2017 10:14

She should be given the opportunity to take the language she is passionate about and performs best at as a GCSE subject.

I believe the school are shoehorning into German because they believe she is good at languages and will do well in any language. Possibly not enough children opting for German to fill a class. They are overlooking her individual needs completely.

I would imagine the entire Spanish class will opt for Spanish at gcse so there won't be any place for her then either?

Hoppinggreen · 19/07/2017 10:21

I'm sure we do trade with German speaking countries, of which there are only really 2 but as someone with a German DH who has worked in Germany most trade happens in English anyway. We regularly go to Germany and although obviously DH is fluent and I speak some German if we spoke NONE at all it wouldn't be an issue
I feel like German is taught in schools just because historically it was the case rather than a deliberate rational decision and it should be reviewed
Anyway, sorry OP not really the point of your thread I know

RiverTam · 19/07/2017 10:32

Hopping um, there are 29 countries in the world with French as their official language, including large swathes of Africa, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland. 434 million people, according to Wikepedia.

So, not just 'France, mainly'. Really quite an important language, globally speaking.

ginnystonic · 19/07/2017 10:35

I think arguing the importance and value of certain languages over others is irrelevant to this thread.

The OP's daughter thrives at Spanish and is being robbed of the opportunity to take it because her name was not pulled out of a hat.

Original poster
JumpingJoey · 19/07/2017 10:43

Ginny- I think you are right. There will be not enough pupils doing German so they will be trying to fill a class. They set Spanish at GCSE so there would be room for her.

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Original poster
JumpingJoey · 19/07/2017 10:45

Ginny - will be using your fantastic last sentence in my next correspondence!

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