Year 9 and Year 10 GCSE students - unfairly treated by Ofqual?

[barbosska]

Students in our school sit GCSE exams in Years 9,10,11. Each of these year groups has lessons in Math, English, Science plus 2-3 GCSE courses of their choice. Each GCSE course runs for a year instead of two, and students from Year 9,10 and 11 all sit together in the same lessons and then sit GCSEs together. They do not study any other subjects except for the above.

Yesterday's Ofqual indicated that Year 9 and 10 students will not be awarded the GCSE grades because they can do these exams in Year 11. This would however put them in a highly disadvantageous position next Year, as not only they would need to do remaining GCSEs in one year instead of two, but also to keep on top of the subjects they have learnt this year and for which they were ready to sit exams.

There are not many schools in the country who organise GCSEs this way and I would very much appreciate to hear from people in the same situation as us: what are you and your schools planning to do?

All these children have sat in one class listening to the same teacher, did the same job, had the same teacher and now Year 11 will get the grades and the rest of students will not - how is that fair? Ofqual should have at least left to the discretion of the schools whether to , but not just pull them all out from the exam registers. Ofqual said they will run a consultation soon, but who are they going to consult - just their internal departments? The fact they they have come up with the proposition already indicates that they have no idea how some schools structure their courses.

[Easilyanxious]

I was told by our school they hadn't made a decision yet as my year 10 was doing just one exam a year early and they have studied for this the same as year 11. I actually like the idea and reasons why the school have done it for this one exam but it will mess it all up if they have to take it next year . I'm hoping they maybe able to take it sooner but my understanding is a decision hasn't been made as yet

[barbosska]

MrsElijahMikaelson1

the school is being checked by Ofsted on a regular basis and if they have not forced the school to change the system then I suppose this is a workable model in the country.

I am sorry you are flummoxed that I cannot see why 9 in Y11 is more valuable than 9 in Y9. It is like saying that it is better to cook, clean, read, speak on the phone and watch TV at the same time and do it all perfectly than to do them perfectly one after another.

[barbosska]

ProggyMat

Y 9: Latin, Spanish (the students chose what they liked)
Y 10: Eng Language (compulsory), History, French (both he chose)
Y11: Math, English Lit, 3 Sciences and One other subject of choice

[barbosska]

Easilyanxious

Has you child studied RE for 1 year so far, if they had to sit it this summer?

You are right, even with one GCSE moved to the next summer creates a mess, and with three its even worse.

[StampMc]

Current year 9s can start y10 and do their GCSEs at the end of year 11 like a normal school.
Current y10s could either sit the ones they’ve done in November or sit them together with their new subjects in the summer. You can’t argue that getting a 9 in y9 (or y10) is better than getting it in y11 if the exact same student is incapable of actually getting it in y11. It’s a shame your school is bonkers but the point of giving grades to y11s is so they can move on to the next stage, which isn’t necessary for Y10 and y9.

[StampMc]

Why is your school being checked by ofsted on a “regular basis” if it’s top 3%? Our school isn’t anywhere near that and ofsted have been strangers since 2011.

[MrsElijahMikaelson1]

Because studying 11 multiple subjects at GCSE level, to be sat at the same time requires a much more in-depth ability to study/prioritise and revise than sitting two at a time and you equating that to titting about on your phone at the same time as cooking a meal is very disingenuous and I think you know that... otherwise you wouldn’t have said how your daughter struggled when she had to do it.

Your school is gaming the system and lost the game this time around. Your DC has another two years to study for their GCSE’s so is not disadvantaged at all-it will actually just put them back in the same playing field as everyone else.

[TheFallenMadonna]

Ofsted can't force a change of curriculum. They can only report on the quality of education. Do you mean you have regular monitoring visits?

[MrsElijahMikaelson1]

But maybe you don’t think they can mane that🤷‍♀️

[MrsElijahMikaelson1]

Manage

[barbosska]

StampMc
The school is checked at standard intervals, this is what I have meant regularly.

According to Ofqual document, exams in September are only for those who is unhappy with the grade. If Y 10 is not awarded grades, they cannot sit exams in September.

[drumblebumble]

Our school does Short Course GCSE RE in y10. They're not gaming the system - the results don't even count in the league tables. They do it for experience of an external exam a year ahead of the real deal, and as it's just a short course (worth half a GCSE) it fits easily into the year. There is no RE timetabled for y11, so if they can't get a grade this summer, I hope they'll be able to sit the exam in the Autumn. If not, then they probably won't sit it at all as they'll be concentrating on their other subjects.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

The school is checked at standard intervals, this is what I have meant regularly.

If the school is outstanding then those standard intervals are not very regular. Has it been inspected in the last couple of years?

[Pumpkintopf]

Is your school fee paying op? Otherwise I think Ofsted would be very critical of your curriculum choices.

[greathat]

What a fucking stupid thing for the school
to do, and I believe some universities really don't like it when it comes to admissions too. Sorry OP not ofquals fault. The school are doing what they've been told not to

[ineedaholidaynow]

Surely it’s much harder to sit 8-10 subjects in one go than it is to spread them over 3 sittings.

Also I thought some colleges/universities only look at exams sat in one sitting.

[greathat]

Yup courses like medicine look at gcse results but will only accept ones at the end of year 11

[MrsElijahMikaelson1]

And I think you will find that many “outstanding” schools are not checked that regularly at all-one local high school to me was last done in 2007 but is still classed as outstanding...

[BlessYourCottonSocks]

I teach A level History and yes..to a certain extent the curriculum is the same in that we do Weimar and Nazi Germany at both GCSE and A level. So 40% of their exam is on a Unit they did at GCSE. This was planned deliberately because it is the Depth study and therefore the previous two years work gives them a good grounding. I don't care if a pupil got a Grade 9 in Y9...I would be reluctant to take them for A level I'd they hadn't done any History for the past two years. I'm sure @noblegiraffe would feel the same for Maths. Skills grow rusty if you don't use them. Can you imagine not touching the piano for almost 2 1\2 years - because that's effectively how long it would be - and then wanting to take Music A level?

[Letseatgrandma]

What a bizarre way to teach. Hopefully this will make the school think about their organisation and maybe try to plan more like other schools in future.

[GreenTulips]

How will that work if the school has paid for the exam entry?

They were finalized in January/February

Will they refund?

What difference will it make which year they are in?

Also, the year 10’s here start there GSCE in year 9 from May onwards as the year 11’s leave, so an early start, they will have missed 3 months at least of the year plus more disruption on returning as and when they do.

They will be a lot worse off.

[AlmostThereKeepMoving]

It used to be perfectly normal to sit 10, 11, 12 GCSEs in one sitting.

[barbosska]

MrsElijahMikaelson1

My child has 1 year to study, not 2. If he had two I would not be asking the question at first place

[MarchingFrogs]

BTW, no, my DC's school(s) (none of the four state secondary schools that they have attended between them) don't teach to.this bizarre pattern. I've only come across it / something remarkably similar once in my dealings with secondary schools and that was at a school in Harlow, so I was curious as to whether that was where your DC was.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

OP Surely your school's solution would be to:
a) Park the current set of GCSE subjects immediately
b) Start on the 'new' subjects immediately (coping as everyone else is having to with the remote teaching)
c) Get through the 'new' subjects as fast as possible, eg in 2.5 terms by Feb half term.
d) After Feb half term put in a sensible timetable to get all subjects up to speed.
It might be a timetabling nightmare for them, but needs must.

It seems to me you school's method is a way to get high results, but not a way to learn to manage workload properly, or to allow late bloomers to mature, or as good prep for A level.