Repeating a year - usually a No, but ...

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Under what circumstances if any might it be permitted?

I know people coming in from abroad can be placed out of year so it's not like it's impossible to be out of age group.

What happens if someone has major health problems during y10 causing them to miss a term or more? Is that ever considered as grounds to repeat, or is it 'drop GCSEs or struggle on'?

Can we also rehearse all the reasons why it might be a rubbish idea anyway?

• not being with friends
• feeling like a failure
• getting bored with repeated work
• being older than all peers (but in this case not more mature or bigger)
• impact on ability to do 3 years in 6th form?

So better to do 7 GCSEs and use time free to catch up? (Only need 5 for college). What if illness continues to y11 though?

When my dc were in primary school I lived in a country where you could decide to send them at school or hold them back. You didn't need permission or professional advice or anything.

At first I thought it was a great idea. How relaxed and how trusting to let the parents make their own choices.

I soon realised there were numerous drawbacks. The guilt from either having sent them in the first place at the 'correct time' and the the child was struggling was a big one. "Maybe you should have held him back".

Similarly bright children hanging around colouring in a ladybird when they should have been writing paragraphs. Always at the top of the class for the next decade but not actually cleverer than his peers, just a year older.

A bit issue if over-anxious parents choosing to hold them back just to keep them at home.

The biggest issue for me was my dd in a mixed year group with dc two years older than her. There is a huge difference between a five and a seven year old or between a 12 and a 14 year old.

that only counts if people are actually decent parents.

I think it's much more of a problem (socially and psychologically) to drop down a year in the same school than it is to join the wrong year group on arriving in the country.

As you say, doing fewer GCSEs might be a better option, especially if illness might recur. A bad run of health in year 12 might be a stronger argument for repeating the year (and I know people who have done that), but if you've done it once already in year 10 then you'll be getting to 20 before A-levels.

There's a tendency to think that the number of GCSEs and the grades are the only thing that will determine your future (and schools like to give that impression to their KS4 students). If you can get enough to get onto A-level courses/similar, then they really aren't. Sure, universities may look at them, but you have a personal statement where you can mention the reasons, and even make something of them (eg developing independent learning skills whilst off school/catching up).

College won't be A levels and not heading to uni at the moment. 'Only' needs Eng Lang, Maths, Double Science + 1 other to get onto L3 course, and was already considering possibly starting at L2 anyway.

I think it depends on the school policy and the circumstances to be honest.
Suspect that most schools would reduce the number of subjects to concentrate on the core ones rather than doing the repeat a year strategy. This may mean extra lessons in the core subjects to help pupils catch up.
If a GCSE course has been started in Y9 rather than Y10 missing part of Y10 could be less of a problem. Some subjects that are very content heavy e.g. History /Geography would be harder to catch up on missed work than others so it would depend on the GCSE options chosen.
I would say that for many pupils doing an alternative Level 2 in Y12 may better for self-esteem than repeating Y11. GCSEs don't suit everyone and there would be likely to be more choices available post-16 in a college setting than in a school.
It may depend on

Personally I think it would be very good at this point in time to look very carefully at relaxing the approach to not repeating years across the board. My feeling is that there are small numbers who might benefit from repeating this year over and above the rest of their cohort, since schools will need to teach next year from where the classes are at. But if there was a well thought out system for allowing students to repeat after next year then those most impacted by time lost this year could get that chance to consolidate and catch up.

I'm not certain what such a system would look like though. ( And our family wouldn't need it, yr 10 and 12 doing well. My nieces - suffice to say, the youngest in year 4 has apparently been working through her year 6 sister's maths work very happily.)

A child did it in my son's school. He repeated year 10.

I don't know the exact details as he was in the other side of the year to Ds but he thinks it was either a language thing or an illness thing. He won an award post GCSE at the school and they said something about overcoming adversity.

How would your child cope with being in a class with new people and handling the drop down? It is understandable for pupils who have suffered from an illness to better their chances by repeating year 10 especially considering this lockdown.

I would contact the school now to see if it is at all possible re class sizes, option choices etc.

How would your child cope with being in a class with new people and handling the drop down?

I think this is possibly the crunch. She's a bit of an outsider already, but does have a small group of good friends in her current year. Plus her current teachers understand her. Moving year groups could remove all of that.
otoh, if she isn't better by September...

Hi @TeenPlusTwenties, I hope you don't mind my commenting but I have read many really helpful and insightful posts from you on this forum over recent years. This most recent post strikes me as yet another example of how focused you are on helping your DD to find the best way forward/outcome for her and I just wanted to say how brilliant that is. I have no experience of Y10/11 yet (my DD is only in Y8) but I would probably suggest staying in year and just focusing on the five that matter for her to progress to next stage. As you say, she has good friends in current year and that is so important. Good luck with whichever route though, I am quite sure you will make the best decision.

Thanks winter for the encouragement, I need it.

I know you already know this but this isn't just about grades on a sheet of paper but mental health wellbeing and actively looking forward to going into school to be with your friends. Which is why I asked that question about dropping down.

Ds2 is quirky as hell, luckily he has managed to find a group of friends all as weird as him. I could not imagine if he were to attend school without those friends.

Could you afford a tutor for your daughter to help her through her exams? I have read a lot of your posts on here so know that you are already informed on exam success stuff and resources.

My sister was horrifically ill through her A levels and bombed them, she was academically an A grade student so she took a year to resit. Then went to uni but hated the one she was at and came home in her first year, then went to a uni much closer to home and was incredibly happy there. Got a part time job whilst at uni and then went full time there after graduation, never using her degree as a career move. She has been there a very long time and is incredibly happy.

So although at each stage it seemed that she was failing to achieve her potential she got there eventually.

I can completely understand your worry for your daughter, hopefully she will be much better when September rolls round.

It's mental health that's the problem sadly.

Writing all this here has helped me think it through. If she is well enough to work / return to school in September she should stay in her own year group. If for any reason she isn't we'll have to consider a range of options.

but I would probably suggest staying in year and just focusing on the five that matter for her to progress to next stage

I'm probably going to do similar with DD, unless the school up their game and start providing more support to Yr10 over the coming weeks. So concentrate on the 3 core subjects (mentally ditching science if need be) and the two options that she wants to study at A level.

The somewhat frustrating thing is that school are providing good quality work, we have the relevant guides, and I can help in pretty much everything except Eng Lang for which we have a tutor. Just DD is a total wreck and unable to do anything.

I'm having to learn to chill. It's hard. It's not what I do.

I'm having to learn to chill. It's hard. It's not what I do

Same here

My DN dropped back a year coming from abroad though not entirely (as had spent a couple of years previously in school in the UK).
It was in Scotland with a pre-Christmas birthday when normally the oldest in the year is a January birthday; middle of secondary so it prevented having to go into an options group before having actually done any of the work.
But that was with no existing friendship groups and nobody really noticed the age gap except possibly for the slightly early birthday. It has gone very well, there were also some MH issues but as I say no existing friendship group.

Teen ds is year 11 now but has had a pretty awful year 10 and 11, he has additional needs and is summer born. He dropped a subject at the start of year 10 which allowed him a bit of free time in learning support during the school week. He got an official diagnosis of autism at the start of year 11 and Dh and I met with the school and told them that as far as we were concerned his mental health came first and exam results second. He's at a state selective so we had to make it clear that we did not want him pushed or pressured too much. I said to Dh he would be better in the year below but I don't think Ds would have moved. He has no friends but has been bullied so that would have worsened I think.

It took us time to feel calm and accept the situation. Ds is very bright and should be a high achiever but with the situation the way it was he was never going to reach his full potential and we had accepted that. I can't lie the run up to the (now cancelled) gcses was fraught. Ds can't study at home so there was zero revision happening and school were not supportive but we were try to muddle through. This whole experience has changed my perspective on secondary education and exams, I realise now a child's mental health is far more important.

Good luck and try and take each day as it comes.

Afew years ago we had a child repeat year 9 because they were a none attender for the whole year. The problem was that we couldn't legally force them to attend once they were 16 so they left and didn't come back. Might be different now education is compulsory until 18.

Hi Chunkyriverfish,
I saw your comment regarding repeating the year at school. Would you be able to give me your son's school name and town.
My daughter had major health problems starting summer term in year 8 and whole year 9. I am asking school to aloud her to repeat year 9. They don't want and as argument giving me not relevant American research. I am trying to find UK evidence to challenge them. Thank you for your help.

@Wilku When was your daughter born? If April-August than you could've deferred her start to reception and can request for her to repeat the year. My DD is about to repeat Y10 for a similar reason but she is also moving school. I think it would be very difficult to repeat in the same school. Not just convincing the school, but also for your DD.

Some schools offer a version of what my school called Option Support, so they drop a GCSE subject and use the three lessons to work on the other subjects. In my opinion, a student needs to be sufficiently motivated to want to catch up and refine their work in other subjects. That isn’t always the case, but might be so for OP’s daughter. It really depends on whether the school offers it or can accommodate it.