YR10 struggling with English

[ThePenOfMyAunt]

DS2 has always struggled a bit with English, despite good SATs (predicted a 9).He is very able at maths (MLG 9), his Science subjects going well (7-9), History and Geography lower but still around a 6.

On his recent English assessment (PPE) he got a 1 in English Language. He wasn't given laptop even though he was entitled to it. But even still i don't think that accounts for a 1. He says he didn't understand one of the questions and didn't have time to complete the last. His English Literature result was a 4, so better, but he'll probably still need higher if he wants to do A Levels.

I want to take action now, but not sure what the best thing to do is. I feel he needs some kind of assessment before engaging a tutor.

Would it need to be an educational psychologist assessment or to be blunt, is there a cheaper one that would do? His SPAG is fine, it's either a comprehension or confidence issue, possibly both?

[BlueChampagne]

Sorry to hear about that. I think the first thing to do would be to arrange a chat with his English teacher, or the head of English. You could also ask why he didn't get a laptop - it may have knocked his confidence in the exam, so he focussed too much on the question he didn't understand, instead of leaving it till last.

[lanthanum]

I'd get on and get a tutor while you worry about whether there's anything else at play. It would also be worth asking the school for a paper that he can attempt with a laptop, so that you have an idea of how much difference that makes. Beware being fobbed off with it being because of the lack of laptop. DD flunked her year 10 English exams (about a 4, target 8), and I think the teacher decided it was exam nerves (despite DD saying it was only English that was a problem), and so it wasn't until November mocks that the teacher really understood the scale of the problem.

Hopefully the laptop will make some difference, and then he needs to be taught how to jump through the right hoops to score better. Unfortunately the strong SPAG that gets them high scores in SATs doesn't get them very far at GCSE, and for the more logically-inclined, I think they need strategies for "how to get the marks", not just sharing ideas in lessons.

[Stradbroke]

My son struggles with English as well. In year 9 was assessed at a 1. We got him moved to a class with a better teacher (head of English) and she was really pleased with him and he engaged much more.
We got him a tutor who helped boost his confidence.
he has just sat his English exam this morning and had 25% extra time, a laptop and was in a seperate room with a prompter to keep him on track.
Even with all this he didn't manage to answer all questions. He struggles hugely with English, so I think it is a matter of getting him the support he needs.
The grade can be raised. My son should get a 4 and maybe a 5 on a good day.

[ThePenOfMyAunt]

DS2s English teacher is also Head of department and she's emailed me back with a plan. His mark has to stand but he didn't attempt the last question which was 50% as he'd ran out of time. So she's going to get him to sit it with a laptop and see what he gets.

Having talked it over with DS2 he did say there were questions he was unsure of how to answer. He knew 1 needed technical language and 1 that you mustn't but he couldn't remember which way around? I've no idea what he's talking about, but I'll feed that back and see what his teacher thinks.

The laptop I've been assured everything has now been sorted for future exams. It's his normal way of working, plus they have loads of professional reports and had him assessed themselves, but still he wasn't on the list to have one. DS2 didn't say anything and it was only because I asked I'd he found his exams easier that he told me.

[BlueChampagne]

Glad to hear there's a plan in place; that was pretty quick. I guess further steps depend on how the second sitting with the laptop goes.

[ThePenOfMyAunt]

He sat it this afternoon and he said it went really badly. It was creative writing, he struggled for an idea, got one, got distracted, realised he was distracted but couldn't snap out of it(!) and hardly wrote anything. He was really frustrated just talking about it, which is not like him at all.

He's 1 of 4 and DS1 and DS3 both ASD (DS3 also ADHD). Interestingly (to me) DS1 loves creative writing and hates maths. DS2 had the 4th highest maths grade in his year for the PPE.

[BlueChampagne]

Aww no. Can you make an appointment with the school SENCO?

[OnTheBenchOfDoom]

First thing is find out which exam board his school use for English language. Then find a past paper for that board online, print out the question booklet, the supporting document (usually an extract they have to get information from) and the mark scheme. That way you as a parent can see what they are given, what the questions are and what the exam board is looking for. If you can get the one he sat and got the 1 on that would be very helpful.

Most schools use AQA and if he does there are a million videos on YouTube walking you through the questions on each paper for both English language and English Literature. My son's school sadly uses a board that there is hardly any information on.

Narratives are something you don't come up with on the spot, you usually have some pre-thought out descriptors of weather, settings or characters that you can use. School usually get them to write a story and then say add Grandad into it to see if you can make your story fit a title. Generic ones are forests, playgrounds, parties, houses etc. Both my sons used this method. Ds1 got an 8 in English language.

If it helps, Ds2 struggles with English Lit, he is a 9 across the board except English and French, and the lovely Clary on here has helped us with French giving advice. Ds2 scraped a 5 in yr11 November mocks for English lit which was a shock to him and us. School provided me with a copy of the paper. We had specific targeted feedback from his teacher, by February mock he was a borderline 8, he just didn't really know what they were asking. You have far more time than that to help him.

[ThePenOfMyAunt]

@BlueChampagne the SENDCo situation is rather chaotic, even those with significant issues and have EHCPs etc cannot get a reply. I think the English teacher is probably going to be the most helpful.

@OnTheBenchOfDoom thank you for the ideas. DS2s exam board is AQA so I'll get on to it. It's really knocked DS2; academics has been his "thing" but he's now worried about falling everything. He was even in a tizz about maths!

I feel really awful it's got so bad, but hopefully we can turn things around.

Thanks everyone