Can school compel a child to choose EBacc GCSE subjects?

[TwigTheWonderKid]

If they can accommodate a child's preferred GCSE options within the existing timetable and the child is adamant they do not wish to study a MFL can the school make them simply because their policy is for as many students as possible to be entered for the EBacc?

Our (private) school you had to do a foreign language at GCSE. It isn’t compulsory so if it’s a state school doubt it. But some universities require it.

Schools can dictate what they want in terms of your child's GCSEs (subject to it following the national curriculum).

I would imagine they won't let your child not take an MFL because it will open a floodgate of others who don't want to, and then it might cause a timetabling problem.
However, if there is a genuine reason (not - I don't like it) I'd hope the school would be open to discussion.

My ds is a pupil at a language academy but hasn't been forced to take a language at GCSE. Different schools have different policies, but it feels wrong to force a pupil to take a subject that they don't want to study & probably wont do well in, instead of something they would potentially get a better grade in. Not all pupils do EBAC.

I hate all this time tabling stuff, it can really change the future for some kids.
My dc (private) school can choose what they like but has to be a GCSE, there are some wonderful choices this year, lots of languages that individuals are taking like Japanese, Russian. Science, like Astronomy.
It doesn't matter if only one child is taking it, others include Sociology, Physchology, Italian.

Ultimately a school can timetable whatever they want, so yes they can 'compel'.

But if they really can accommodate a child's preferred GCSE options within the existing timetable then I think you have a stronger argument. So you are saying there is an option happening at the same time as the MFL that your DC would rather do?

(Our school reckons their data shows that students doing an MFL do better across the board than those that don't, irrespective of their academic level. Though I don't know if that is cause and effect or just correlation.)

Yes they can. Whether they should or not is a different matter.

When my children were choosing their GCSE's they had a priority list as follows:

1. X & Y subjects are non negotiable. If I am not allowed to take those subjects I leave the school and find one where I can.
2. I want to do Z subject but if it doesn't work out in the option blocks then I can live with it.

Chov State schools don't have the luxury of funding for that. They tend to need a bare minimum of 8 or more to get a class to run.

My son wasn't able to drop a MFL. He really didn't want to do one and neither did a number of his friends. The school argued that he needed to have an EBacc as Russell Group universities would look favourably on students with one and wouldn't accept the counter argument that the universities he was interested in weren't part of the RG.

Dd got mostly 8's and 9's in her GCSE's with a 7 in one of her sciences & a 6 in her language.

She really regrets taking the language and wishes she'd taken geography instead as she thinks she could have obtained grade 7/8 minimum in that rather than struggling with French.

To my knowledge there is only one university (UCL) that requires a langauge and even then they accept students without as long as they do a course on entry.

Teen

I know, it just isn't right though that some state schools don't allow children to drop subjects they aren't particularly good at or they won't pass.
I've posted the wrong response, please excuse. It's one of those days.

One of my dc were terrible at mfl and it was a wasted GCSE because they didn't pass it.
I do understand the funding issues, but not the time tabling as a default excuse.
Fair enough if nothing can be done to change the subject, but in some cases it is possible.

My son was encouraged to go via the Ebacc route but when he applied to various universities, he said it was never even really an issue! He took French GCSE but didn't take a language at A-level.
My daughter is in state school too and just about to start her GCSEs and the children who opted for French have had to re-choose because there wasn't enough children interested in taking it 🤷🏻‍♀️

At our school the expectation is that the dc take a language unless there's a compelling reason not to. eg dd2 is dyslexic so will probably get the option to drop Spanish GCSE.

But some universities require it.

NO THEY DON'T!!!!

The school we were given absolutely requires EBacc subjects which was one of the many reasons we went to appeal for a different school. There was no other option unless she had an EHCP which she didn't then.

Until the government stops judging schools on this, they will keep insisting on a language. Personally I believe that’s okay and everyone should study a second language, but it’s not my call. It is, however, theirs.

The E Bacc is not compulsory. It is not a qualification. It is not an actual 'thing'. It's just something that schools are measured by.

DC2, in y10, is not doing a language. Their school is smart enough to realise that pupils do better in subjects that they want to study rather than in ones they're forced to do.

If an alternative subject can be timetabled, then it should be available.

At my DCs school a MFL is 'compulsory'.

However the small number of children, who have no chance of passing one, don't do it and are given extra Maths/Eng support.

All children who can do a language does and no one has the choice to drop it and pick a different subject. Which I think is as it should be.

Universities do not require MFL

Having just had one DC ready to go to University this Sept and looking for University for other DC there has been no requirement.

Yes of course they can, and many do.

Whether it is a good idea is another matter. Ime (and I was an MFL teacher) it is counter productive to have a class of students who don't want to do the subject and would rather be in business/drama /tech.

OP it must be worth at least discussing it with the school, they may be open to a compromise.

But if they really can accommodate a child's preferred GCSE options within the existing timetable then I think you have a stronger argument. So you are saying there is an option happening at the same time as the MFL that your DC would rather do?

Yes, @TeenTimesTwo that's correct. They have sent me the option blocks (for another reason) and that is when it became apparent that the selection of subjects he wanted to study were possible within the timetable.

All children who can do a language does and no one has the choice to drop it and pick a different subject. Which I think is as it should be.

Why do you think that @newstart1337 ? Why is a MFL more valid than History?

Sadly @clary at the moment they are sticking to their guns.

This is really sad.

The school could continue with this insistence and your DC get a poor grade or your DC do what they want and enjoy and do really well. Which would look better for the school ?

My D.C. follow the Bacc and with DC2 I was prepared for a fight with them as D.C. was adamant about not doing a MFL but wanted to do geography and history. School were fine -I suppose they saw that D.C. was setting on those subjects and not on MFL.

I hope it works out for you.

*setting = better