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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Failing or not taking GCSEs

22 replies

tumpymummy · 04/02/2020 18:35

Hi! Does anyone know if it is better to take and probably fail a GCSE or to drop it altogether? DD is keen to drop a subject (year 11) and concentrate on her other subjects but school are not keen. She did badly in it (got a 1) in her mocks so she is unlikely to pass it.

OP posts:

sleepismysuperpower1 · 04/02/2020 18:58

how many GCSEs will she be taking if she drops it? I would say drop it as if she looks to apply for another 6th form, they usually ask for a grade average and that will bring the whole average down

LIZS · 04/02/2020 19:04

If she enters and gets a low grade, or does not show up, it still appears on the certificate. So better not to enter.

Wolfiefan · 04/02/2020 19:05

Why don’t school want her to drop it? Where would she go during the times she should be in that lesson?
How is she doing in other subjects and what feedback has she had about why she got that level?

historygeek · 04/02/2020 19:09

School won't be keen as students not entered still count towards the Progress 8 score, so results wise it would be as if she got a U, even though she didn't sit the exam. It is better for the school that she is entered and gets a 1 than is not and gets the equivalent of a U. Doesn't mean that's the best thing for your DD though unfortunately.

TeenPlusTwenties · 04/02/2020 19:21

history Only if the subject is needed for one of the 'buckets'.

Sunshineand · 04/02/2020 19:23

What's the subject?

FAQs · 04/02/2020 19:27

I’m currently in discussions with my dds school to drop French, her mental health is poor, she suffered a panic attack yesterday and couldn’t breath and collapsed, her friends were also scared, it’s her first one.

Apparently it is still possible if they haven’t yet been entered, I should find out Thursday if she can, I can update if interested.

RedskyAtnight · 04/02/2020 20:43

My DS's school are reluctant to let him drop subjects as well. he's taking 11, and the ones he'd drop are "other" subjects for progress 8, so I'm genuinely not sure why the reluctance (they cite not knowing what to do for him for timetabled lessons and setting a precedent, but think these are poor excuses!).

He has mocks in a couple of weeks but if he's not doing substantially better, and school still won't let him drop them, I'm quite tempted to tell him just not to revise! Can't see how a bad mark looks better than no mark for him or the school.

Wolfiefan · 04/02/2020 21:56

Poor excuses? What would you like the school to do when he’s supposed to be in lessons for subjects he would like to give up?
Tell him not to revise? It’s not the school his poor results will look bad for.

RedskyAtnight · 04/02/2020 22:08

What would you like the school to do when he’s supposed to be in lessons for subjects he would like to give up?

work independently, in the same way he'll be expected to do in a few months time when he is in sixth form. For some reason he can't be trusted to do this now but can be trusted in sixth form.

I want him to drop subjects because he is floundering under 11 subjects. If school won't let him drop them, I'd rather he did ok at 9 than dreadfully at 11, hence the not revising comment.

Wolfiefan · 05/02/2020 07:03

6th form isn’t the same as Y11. They are responsible for Y11 in a way they aren’t for students opting to stay on to do A levels.
They would need staff to supervise and a suitable space.

sandgrown · 05/02/2020 07:12

My son did not complete the practical part of a DT GCSE so had no hope of passing but school still made him do the written exam . He got a U . Not sure why they insisted.

Inforthelonghaul · 05/02/2020 07:13

Dd dropped a GCSE with the schools approval because they agreed that it wasn’t worth the impact on her mental health and she’d be more likely to actually sit her other exams and do well if she wasn’t panicking and stressing about it. She did and she passed everything and it’s made absolutely no difference subsequently. She sat in the hub during the lessons and revised and she was definitely not the only one.

Porcupineinwaiting · 05/02/2020 17:39

11 GCSEs! If he's struggling then dropping one would be perfectly sensible.

FAQs · 05/02/2020 20:23

@Inforthelonghaul that’s good to hear my daughters school confirmed she could drop a subject today which is a huge relief.

woodlands01 · 06/02/2020 21:41

The problem with students dropping a GCSE is what do they do in the free time? This tends to be a logistics problem for schools which is why it is discouraged.

Porcupineinwaiting · 06/02/2020 22:23

Surely they'd go to the library/resource centre and study independently.

Vinobianco · 06/02/2020 23:04

Our school have suggested ds drops German as got a 2 in mocks (bit higher paper) I suggested he did resist on foundation they’ve said if he doesn’t get a 5 (the top he could score in that) then he can’t take it. Then he’d only be sitting 8 which I feel isn’t great on Cv. School says better to age less than one bad grade big surely getting 8 only looks less favourable ?

TeenPlusTwenties · 07/02/2020 10:26

Porcupine Broadly at secondary the pupils have to be 'supervised', so they can't necessarily just 'go to the library'. They have to be somewhere where someone is expecting them who is able to 'supervise'. Each school will have its own system, but they don't want loads just being 'not in lessons, working independently'.

FAQs · 07/02/2020 21:31

My daughter will be sitting in a classroom with the head of Year and a couple of others in the same situation and they have set work from other subjects. She still has 10 GCSEs to take.

Punxsutawney · 08/02/2020 17:12

Ds is year 11 and dropped a gcse in year 10, he was going through an autism assessment at the time. In year 10 he was allowed to go to learning support and in year 11 he does maths and English intervention in his free lessons. He is at a state grammar and there is a small group that have dropped a subject and one child who has dropped down to six subjects.

Ds is still taking 10 gcses and that means that he will be sitting 26 exams this summer.

cologne4711 · 09/02/2020 18:05

Then he’d only be sitting 8 which I feel isn’t great on Cv

Nothing wrong with "only" doing 8. 8 or 9 is the enorm in the state sector now.

Back in the day I did 8 and was at a state grammar. Some people did 9 but they did Maths a year early.

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