AIBU to be upset with school re:sixth form?

[Bustarold]

My DC is in y11 and in the middle of GCSEs. She wants to stay in her school for A levels. Recently her school has decided that students need 6 6s and above to be eligible to stay, including Maths and English. This is a comprehensive academy, not a grammar. DC has some SEN but is doing well, although she finds some subjects quite hard, and in line for a couple of 9s, and the rest 6s, 7s and maybe 8s. Science not great but not needed for humanities A levels. Maths probably a 5. What I am upset about is that DC asked head of year if they think she will be able to stay for 6th form, the reply was "will you get 6 6s and above?, lots of people will get 9s, you know?". No consideration for the fact that there is SEN (dyslexia and ADHD), and she's predicted 9s and 8s in the subjects she wants to do. No mention of the fact that DD is a model student and has never been in any kind of trouble. She might fall a bit short in maths, but I would expect a "well done for trying so hard, we know you find it difficult". I am quite disgusted that they put their own reputation and league table position before what should be duty of care. The pressure is enormous to get those high marks, lots of kids have given up. Many are going elsewhere for sixth form, but DD wants to stay as one of the subjects she wants to do is great there, and she loves the department. Are comprehensive schools allowed to select like this? All other 6th forms I know ask for 5s, and 6s in the subjects they want to do, which is so much more inclusive. The system is becoming increasingly heartless, I am not surprised that so many teenagers are stressed and depressed. Rant over.

In other European countries they are allowed to grow and develop and there are no exams until they are 18

I think that must vary massively across Europe. In those areas of Germany with a grammar school system, children are separated into groups at 10 and directed towards a grammar, technical or trade school. Those in the grammar schools are examined every year in every subject and those who do not reach the grade have to retake the year.
If they fail twice they are usually moved to a technical or trade school. There is no allowance made for non native speakers or SEN. At 6th form - abitur - they have to pass exams in seven or so subjects to get the school leaving certificate which allows them to enter university. Any child who is not good at eg maths or german will fail. That is why so many wealthy Germans move their DC to UK to take A levels.

The systems in France, Italy and Belgium are very similar.

Am with you on this, OP. School are feeling and therefore passing on this immense pressure and trotting our the line that if you don’t do well in your GCSE’s then your life is over. Well bollox to that. Teenagers take stuff quite personally and the upshot is immense anxiety all round.

dd1 has Dyslexia and struggles a lot with maths. She works hard and is thankfully very robust in terms of MH but even she is struggling. Her school have asked for grade 4s for sixth form. Most likely dd1 will got the BTEC route.

dd1 was told she could not drop full course P&E (for which she doesn’t have the essay writing skills and which she needed to drop to focus on everything else, was getting grade 2s&3s!) ‘because if we let you drop it we’ll have to let others drop it’. This is typical IME, decisions just all about the school and it’s own priorities. At my school, which is very inclusive, has lots of kids with SEN - dd1 isn’t even on their SEN list! She gets extra time but only after I asked for her to be assessed!

dd2 is diagnosed ASD and suffers massive anxiety about academic work. In a tripartite meeting with ‘head of pastoral’ my dd was basically told to have sympathy for the Head teacher and what pressure he is under from OFSTED. My jaw hit the floor.

Our schools are broken and I can’t wait for both my daughters to be out of it. It’s become toxic.

Best of luck to your dd, OP, with you as her mum I suspect she’ll be just fine.

Our schools are also such massive sausage factories. I wonder, when talking to HoY whether HoY even knew who your dd was..

Would also add this has been my experience since dd1 was in reception. So I think this toxic climate has been brewing for some time.

my dd was basically told to have sympathy for the Head teacher and what pressure he is under from OFSTED
Wow

Yep. So said the ‘head of pastoral’.

I was agog. What hope is there..

I am aware that the French system is really bad for SEN, Spanish is catching up, but here it is better. However, It is a shame that political decisions are allowed to have such a massive impact on children's lives (And on teachers)

I'm just going to put a word in here for the head of year.

If the HOY says anything other than the 6 x 6 then they are likely to be contacted by other parents demanding special treatment for their little darling or accusing them of favoritism.

Also people pick schools because of where they are in the league tables.

My son wasn’t allowed to join the sixth form. He went to college and did far better than he ever had at school. He took a further year, then got an unconditional place at university.

I suspect the head does not remember every students strengths and weaknesses and intended grades - plus not the strength of the feeling your daughter has for staying for A levels. Just make a 1-1 with the relevant teacher and get some clarity so she can plan.

Can I just add - while I get what others are saying about A levels being hard - if the school is interested in their league table results and your daughter does exceptionally well in these subjects than maybe they will make an exception. It does not hurt to ask.

@Blackforestgateau212 - I do not want to derail, but:
Having two special needs kids (AS / ADHS with dyscalculia) in the German school system:
It depends on the Bundesland wether they change into secondary at 10 or 12. There are lots of provisions for children with special needs in mainstream schools and even if you start out from a vocational school there are lots of ways that take you to university.
Children recieve a grade for their performance twice a year in every subject based on homework, classroom participation, tests and exes. Bad grades in one subject can be cancelled by good grades in another. Special needs are taken into account (more time, separate rooms, different balance btween oral and written performance etc.)
There are three increasingly centralized exams BBR (year 9/19), MSA (year 10/11) and Abitur (year 12/13), that is, exams in certain set subjects plus all grades achieved for the year.
DD finishes Abitur in two weeks and DS enters his Abitur years in autumn unless he decides differently.

Wow, that's really interesting prokup. It sounds flexible and if they are up to date with SEN support, even better. That's my point, a modern education system needs to take into account recent developments in neuroscience research, and it does not. Instead it looks to the past with an exam system based on recalling facts. So frustrating!

I hope the head of sixth form will reassure your daughter. The UK system is far from perfect but don't assume the grass is greener!!

I know you said you grew up somewhere else in Europe but I wouldn't assume things are better everywhere else. We have already heard from France and Germany. I would add Switzerland to that where approximately 60% of pupils go into vocational education around the age of 15 compared to the UK where this percentage is less than 40%. Before that, there are many children who fail to pass to the next year and must remain until they pass.

@Bustarold _
I agree - and it very much depends how things are handled on an individual level, too. With DS (AS) it was very clear that he was not ready to enter the Abi-years, so he repeated year ten to give him one more year to prepare, but instead of having to retake the exams, he did placements at an institution specializing in teens with autism.

@Prok
Don’t know where you are - as you say the Bundesländer vary- but all I can say is that our experience of the German school system has been VERY different - particularly for our older two who are both bright but spoke little or no German before we moved to Germany.

But I think we can both agree to disagree with OP’s statement that European school systems do not test students until they are 18. The German system tests regularly throughout the school career.

I think the problem here is how the school wishes to market itself. If other schools accept 6th formers with lower qualifications, then they are bums on seats. Ofsted do look at quality of 6th form provision and it’s highly likely these other schools offer BTecs. Yours doesn’t and has a minimum qualification to get in. That’s legal and you have a choice of other schools. Not every school is the same.

At our school you get an offer and if you don't make it - you can appeal to the dept on results day - if they feel you didn't do as well as they expected, you're a hard worker and the have the space they will bend the rules but it very much depends on the child. They don't publicise this to the kids because they want them to aim as high as possible.