Dd entered externally for gcse by own school

[Jm69]

Dd has missed a term of year 11 due to mental health issues. She’s at a top london girls school. She remained on the school role and we paid reduced fees during this period. She had limited access to education whilst in hospital but did some work although did miss her Mock exams. She went back to school at end of Feb and has reduced her GCSEs from 10 to 6 subjects.

Today she (and we) found out that she has been entered by her own school, where she has been since year 7, as an external candidate for her exams. I can only assume they fear that her results wil damage theirs. Is this allowed? Has this happened to anyone else? What should we do? Tia

[Pengggwn]

ScrubTheDecks

If you don't buy in to the idea of an exam factory, don't send your child to one. The OP chose a school with a particular reputation - why?

[cogar]

Until parents stop choosing one school ahead of another because of exam results this will happen. We have created a market economy for our schools and this is the outcome. It's been happening for years.

[Teenmum60]

Pengggwn - Maybe the illness was brought on by the school - therefore yes there should be more transparency so that parents can think twice about their children attending the school... It has made a difference to the DC because she has decided not sit so many exams and just sit English and Maths due to their actions (being entered externally) how to destroy confidence when a child is just recovering - despicable.

[Pengggwn]

Teenmum60

Sorry, I just do not agree. The school is a business. Don't send your child to be educated in thy context if you object to money being a consideration in how the school makes decisions. Sheer hypocrisy.

[Clavinova]

If the poor girl missed a term of school, missed all her mock exams, didn't go back until the end of Feb, had another 3.5 weeks holiday at Easter (private school hols) - she can't have had more than 6 weeks worth of lessons at the school in 6/7/8 months surely? Have the school been unsupportive in other ways? Did they not suggest her dropping down a year?

[ScrubTheDecks]

Pengggwyn: LOL, my kids go to a comprehensive which makes many private school parents shudder . But I know how to read the fine print in the DoE tables, which back up the fact that it is an excellent school, so no, I really don’t buy into exam factories.

Which is a long way from looking at the OP’s school and coming to the conclusion that including a bright child doing really well under the circumstances in their exam results is ‘unfair’.

Somewhat unfair on parents who believed the stuff in the glossy brochure about ‘school community ‘ or ‘whole child’ or ‘nurturing ‘ or whatever guff they inevitably put out.

But I do wish parents, when you see them on MN comparing results and ‘reputation’ and wanting ‘best’ and ‘top’ would think about how they get there.

OP: I hope your Dd gets stronger and stronger, and realises that her determination and hard work make her a better person than her shallow school Head.

[Clavinova]

I can only assume they fear that her results wil damage theirs. Is this allowed?

Mum suggesting this to their child would be enough to knock anyone's confidence.

[Pengggwn]

ScrubTheDecks

Sorry, we are simply in disagreement. I don't think a school that is actually a private business is obligated to take responsibility for the results of a student with under 50% attendance.

Categorically not the child's fault, but in all honesty, I don't even understand why she knows she has been entered externally. How would she know this?

[Teenmum60]

There should be transparency about mental health issues in any school so that parents can clearly see and make an informed decision about whether a child should attend the school...it may also not have been due to academic reasons but maybe bullying within the school - which is clearly down to how a school manages pastoral care ...all should be transparent so parents can clearly decide whether they want to buy into this business. If its all swept under the carpet, how can parents make an informed decision?

[Pengggwn]

Teenmum60

No, I obviously believe the parents should have been informed, but at that point the choice about telling the child is theirs to make. If this affects her mental health, that is on them. I wouldn't tell my DD something that made no practical difference for her.

[ScrubTheDecks]

Pengggwyn, I bet the school has charitable status.

But actually I suspect we agree on one level.

My argument is with how they present themselves.

I am not actually surprised at what they have done, I think they do operate as businesses and want to justify high fees.

I have no respect for these schools.

[Jm69]

Thanks for your comments.

We haven’t told my daughter how she has been entered. the school didn’t tell us before they entered her externally. We found out because DD came home from school and said all the other kids were given their exam timetables and candidate numbers at school and she wasn’t. Hers arrived in the post. That was when we realised what had happened. We have told her it’s because the school entered her later than the others as it was when she was in hospital. She may have worked it out but don’t think so.

I don’t like how it’s been handled and that it’s even possible to do it. Maybe I’m naive. We chose the school for many reasons not just the academics results. We were under the impression that pastoral care was good when she started. But the truth is that when your 10 year old sits entrance exams from a local state primary you just don’t know what’s going to happen with your child 6 years later and where the best place is for them. Not easy being a parent, as we all know. You just want the best for your child at the end of the day.

[Anasnake]

This happens a lot, especially in private schools. It's how they maintain their excellent pass rates. I'm amazed people don't realise this goes on, it's been going on for years.

[Clavinova]

Not sure which other policy it would be in. DD now only taking maths and english this year. Lost all confidence to take the rest. She will resit elsewhere next year

If she hasn't been told that she's been entered as an external candidate, why has she lost all confidence to take the exams? How many weeks of lessons has she had at the school since September?

[ScrubTheDecks]

Jm69: of course you wanted to do the best by her. In criticising the school and the trucks they get up to I am not blaming or criticising you.

The more awareness of how all schools manipulate results (some of the state Academy chains are notorious) the better. It’s always a gamble, and none of us can see into the future from Yr 7 , but sharing knowledge amongst parents is important.

Good luck to your Dd.

[WhakaMole]

Why don't parents not name and shame? Not obviously this OP who has a daughter going through hell right now and doesn't need the publicity. (I hope she soon recovers).
But parents a few years on.. Why don't they speak up?
I have kids and need to look for the right schools for each. I'd be horrified if the "Top London school" I applied for treated children like this but how would I know?

[W00t]

That's why you should speak to current and past pupils about the schools you're interested in-depth they're far less guarded than the parents or staff!
We found out an astonishing amount of information by querying them, on tours of schools, and privately with children we already knew.
We didn't send DD to the school that is regularly top of every table because it wasn't the right place for her- current pupils knew full well how those results were attained.