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.

I don’t know what the school are going to do, we’ve heard nothing from them and it’s now the Easter holidays so don’t expect to hear from them until after Easter. I am going to write to the Head and OfQual too, not sure that it will make any difference though. 😟

Rosieposy4

The problem is not only to keep fresh in their heads what they have learnt so far to sit exam in a month's time, but that alongside that they would need to study two new GCSE courses in a year. They can of course just leave whatever they have learnt and come back to it next April to revise, but for the language subject this will not work at all, for example.

@barbosska I'm not sure what DD's school is going to do. We had a letter on Friday afternoon about it saying that Ofqual hasn't made a final decision yet, that it may be possible to take the exam in the autumn and that they'd keep us informed.

Ultimately, no-one needs eleven GCSEs so if DD doesn't get a grade for this one, it's unlikely to reduce her life chances.

voddiekeepsmesane , do not worry about my priorities.

"they may have to do what a majority have to do and have exams at the end of year 11!"

majority in Y 11 do not do a GCSE in a year, they do it for two years

@ voddiekeepsmesane

Nice . My priorities are straight, I’m concerned about my son as well as all the other kids affected at the mo. Not entirely sure why you feel the need to be so unnecessarily aggressive.

SpringUnsprung

Of course writing to both will make a difference. The more of affected people write the better the chances of the authorities hearing these people

SE13Mummy

Our school wrote to us yesterday that they are writing to Ofqual. Of course the life chance are not less with 10 GCSEs, but when a child worked hard, it deserves a recognition

@ barbosska

Let’s hope so.

Your idea of aggressive and mine are obviously two different things. My DS has just spent the last two years working very hard and needs to know what his grades will be by mid August to move on to the next stage in his schooling as do year 13s. Year 9s and 10s have time another whole year before they NEED to know what their grades are for 6th form/college/apprenticeships/university

voddiekeepsmesane

Believe it or not, but Y9 and 10 students worked as hard as your son to prepare for these exams. The only difference is that he will get his grade and they will not, if Ofqual current proposal goes ahead

@ voddiekeepsmesane

I get that your son has worked hard and needs to know in order to move on, like all Y11s and Y13s. The guidelines have said he will get allocated grades based on his work and will have the chance to resit if he is not happy with the grades. It’s crap and a difficult time for him and, no doubt, for you. However, that doesn’t mean that my son’s effort and work, and thousands like him, shouldn’t count. it is not mutually exclusive. Your son’s effort isn’t diminished by acknowledging my son’s effort.

Purposefully missing the point that they have a year in hand. I am not saying that they have not worked hard but they can wait year 11s and 13s can't or it would cause major upheaval for all

Haven’t missed the point at all. However, I think you have.

Ok 👌

I will write as well can’t hurt , my son not so bad as just one exam he was taking early but they have focussed more on this as English lit with the plan being more on language this year ( although have obviously studied both )so that’s why will be more awkward plus bearing in mind year 10’a are going to have huge catch up with time of school as it is. As for selecting gcse earlier and not having such a broad curriculum if they have this from primary to year 8 i don’t seem a problem and my son hated drama and music and art so wasted hours a week doing , yet he’s very sporty but ofsted don’t seem to account for sporty kids and lots of schools doing less sport/pe lessons etc but that’s a different subject . Hopefully op we will know soon as aporeciate year 11 etc lot more are affected and they need results ASAP for next level of learning

voddiekeepsmesane Sun 05-Apr-20 20:57:05
FFS the fact that year 11 and 13 are being dealt with as priority by Ofqual is seen as "unfair" on other years is beyond me. Get your priorities straight IMO. Year 9s and 10s have time, boo hoo they may have to do what a majority have to do and have exams at the end of year 11! What a nasty, unnecessary comment.

If there were 11 exams for 11 subjects, then it would have been OK, but when each exam has 2-4 separate modules, it is hard. And then for Art for example, the practical exam runs for ten hours ( five hours a day for two days), and then the student is expected to do Physics the following morning, for example.

Yes we all know it is hard. Most children get on with it and learn these important time management and how to deal with stress because these are needed at A level. If you did GCSEs in year 9 and 10 and therefore had a much less stressful time compared to the rest of the country, you ate not going to be nearly as prepared for A levels as other students.

Believe it or not, but Y9 and 10 students worked as hard as your son to prepare for these exams.

Well seeing as they haven't had to balance 10 other subjects at the same time, have they really worked as hard as the Y11 students??

I am watching this as a poster with a Yr11 DS who is sitting all his exams this year. I am finding the lack of empathy for kids who are being penalised through no fault of their own quite amazing. This isn’t a game of top trumps, there’s not a cake with only enough to go around the Yr11s and 13s. Anyone who has been hit by the consequences of exam cancellation has a right to feel as aggrieved as anyone else.

I’ve seen this board as a place of support and help and recommended it to others but this thread really doesn’t feel like a nice place to be. It’s not AIBU! OP I would recommend you start a new thread for people going through the same thing (because I suspect they will have been scared off by the comments through this thread) and perhaps the posters who only have negative comments can leave you to it.

I have already said above, it’s not either/or. No one is suggesting that Y11s and Y13s shouldn’t be given the grades they need to move on and no one is suggesting they haven’t worked hard.

However, they are not the only ones who have worked hard and they are not the only ones who deserve recognition for that. All kids who have been affected need to be considered. Can you not see that? Can you honestly say that if your child were in that position and was going to be at a big disadvantage next year because of it, you would be OK with that? I very much doubt it.

Your school has tried to cheat the system and it has back fired.

Whatever the school does, how is that my son’s fault?

Christ on a bike, give it a rest with the ‘cheating’ BS.

it’s not cheating if it was it wouldn’t be allowed. Op ignore some of the comments on here as they aren’t helpful and it doesn’t affect there child . I don’t have a year 11 child but I so feel for them and situation they have been out in as well as any other child in same position with exams regardless of age / school year

JustHereWithMyPopcorn

thank you very much for your suggestion, this is exactly what I was thinking today and I will start a new post now for people affected by the situation and not others who have not got another place to vent their anger and negativity to young children in these difficult times.

By the way I have made some progress today, I will share it in my new thread.