Has anyone moved school at start of year 11 and how difficult is it for teaching staff to get a new pupil at this stage?

[Mumofrage]

If you moved your child was it very difficult for your child to adjust.

A friends Dc did this. It took a lot of hard work. Some boards were the same but had been taught differently eg. her previous school had done a bit of each science subject all year whereas the new school taught all the biology, all the chemistry then all the physics (! god knows why!) so they were ahead in some and behind in others. A good science tutor sorted that out.

Luckily the English was the same board and taught similarly, her textiles was completely different and her year 10 portfolio counted for nothing and she worked incredibly hard through holidays etc to get her new syllabus done in a year.

So with hard work, parental support and private tutors to fill some gaps at home they did get a batch of A*s and As but took 8 instead of 10 she had originally planned.

However it was worth it to be away from the bullying little madams at her previous school.

Most schools will have taught well over half the content of GCSE as exams start in May and they need to allow revision time. Even if they were teaching the same exam board they maybe teaching different units.

Am I correct in remembering your DD has LDs?

It is possible to go back a year into Year 10, though it would be hard to achieve; not impossible though. I sit on appeals panels and have seen several cases where schools have accepted that a child can go into a younger year, due to exceptional circumstances. I would have thought this was your best option, but you need to start enquiries with the school now.

Yes there are LD involved.
Thank you. This is another avenue to explore.

If it’s for the good of your child’s mental health then I would do it they can always re-take GCSE’s at a 6th form college. There may not be quite as much choice (my local college offers Maths, English, Double Science, French, Art, Media & Psychology for example alongside a couple of Btec 1st diplomas) but what price your child’s well being.

You’d really have to check out the college option though - a student in my town would have no access to a post-16 gcse course other than maths, English or science anywhere within travelling distance. They would have to do a level 2 course instead (which might be a good option for a student with LD depending on the student, but it’s not GCSEs).

Given the current situation it may be the best option. Your dc will have to sacrifice several subjects to concentrate on Maths, English, Science and maybe one or two others, but if the new school can accommodate them in their 'nurture' classes, or whatever they call the classes for low ability kids not able to access a full range of subjects, plus a tutor, you may get an outcome which enables them to continue to sixth form.

We have taken kids into y10 when they should have transferred into y11 ( state comp) so that is definitely possible and would probably be your best bet.
I have had the odd transfer into y11 and it is hard work for all the reasons given above.