Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

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

Original poster

Help! Doing really badly in AQA English Language GCSE

81 replies

filchards · 15/04/2023 14:56

7 weeks to put things right. Son is doing badly and is overwhelmed / discouraged / bewildered. Repeatedly failed by school. We now have a private tutor which I hope can make a difference but need to look at other ways for him to learn and practice skills. Paper 2 is particularly difficult - he's never learned how to do Question 5. He can't do any of it within the time limits. He has ADHD and has trouble focussing. The more stressed he is, the worse his focus. (He gets 25% extra time but it's not enough)

I have some official AQA books but could do with some short exercises to practice the necessary skills, so that he can do daily short bursts alongside the longer exercises. I feel this is the only way he can build up the skills he's missing.

OP posts:
Original poster
filchards · 18/05/2023 06:55

@MrsHamlet sitting for 45 mins and writing nothing is also dangerous!

OP posts:
onanotherday · 18/05/2023 06:57

I feel for you and ds. My DD is ASD & ADHD...very bright, well read and can debate......but just can not get GCSE English. She struggles with inference and nuance..so much so she won't attempt writing. There is no ND friendly English syllabus.

MrsHamlet · 18/05/2023 06:58

@filchards not getting 40 marks is less of a problem than being disqualified.
I made some suggestions upthread.

Original poster
filchards · 18/05/2023 06:59

@MrsHamlet also it's not a game. It's my poor child's gateway to his future education. He has needs which have been overlooked by teachers and I'm DESPERATE to get him through this. But he is already overloaded. He's already failed, basically.

OP posts:
Original poster
filchards · 18/05/2023 06:59

@onanotherday so very true.

OP posts:
MrsHamlet · 18/05/2023 07:06

@filchards of course you are. But I have made suggestions which I know work for all kinds of students because I teach all kinds of students.
Finding a story to learn and regurgitate is not a good idea.

HereBeFuckery · 18/05/2023 07:23

filchards · 18/05/2023 06:20

@HereBeFuckery - ah. Gosh. I wonder if he realises that. I don't know which of those options for q5 he'd generally go for.

Get him to choose the picture! The narrative prompt (eg 'write a story about loneliness) is way harder to achieve top marks in.
If he prepares his descriptions in advance - not learning them off pat, but working on them so they go from 'there's an old man' to 'as he sat despondently on the bench, his weathered skin telling the tale of his heartache' - he will do better.
How is his overall vocabulary knowledge? Can he come up with synonyms?

I really feel for you (and him) - it's so horrible to feel this helpless and the school should have done more.

Itstoday · 18/05/2023 07:26

I don’t think teachers and people not affected really understand the barrier that the way questions are asked are to ND pupils.

@onanotherday has it right and it is infuriating and so, so stressful for parents and pupils.

Original poster
filchards · 18/05/2023 07:35

@HereBeFuckery - thank you. I'll talk to him and find out his thinking. Top marks in any part of the paper are not an issue but its what will scrape him a 5. And what he can actually get started with.

@Itstoday - I agree.

OP posts:
clary · 18/05/2023 07:49

So sorry op i was thjnkjng of Eng lit ndxt week.

Yes there are examples on line, but as MrsHamlet says (she marks Eng GCSE) it would be easy to spot.

There are some great ideas on here to get him started. Suggest he starts with the picture rather than the narrative prompt- it's meant to be a descriptive piece inspired by the image. Get him to work on some descriptive phrases he can learn. And get him to learn two or three starting sentences so he can pick the best one kn the day and start from there.

IamSlave · 18/05/2023 07:52

Blank page paralysis. He's attaching a remembered response to the blank page.

Can you help him to pyscologically break that association.
What I would do is get lots of papers exams.

Set small targets for each one.
First paper get ££ or treat or whatever motivates him if he writes a small amount. Allow him to have the cues to help him.

Next paper, again reward if he can write x and use z technique. 10 mins or so.

Each time increase the challenge if he has successfully done it.

Try and break that mental association.

HairyKitty · 18/05/2023 08:03

@filchards i think you will find that whatever you say he will never ever be able to do a plan. I would stop asking for that.

Next, you are absolutely right, bombarding an adhd brain with lots of unnecessary information (ie above his grade), I don’t know how to properly explain it, but he literally cannot distinguish the importance of one word over an other.

The story/descriptive writing advice above is very good.

If I get a min I will look for an exemplar for you.

HereBeFuckery · 18/05/2023 08:15

filchards · 18/05/2023 07:35

@HereBeFuckery - thank you. I'll talk to him and find out his thinking. Top marks in any part of the paper are not an issue but its what will scrape him a 5. And what he can actually get started with.

@Itstoday - I agree.

No worries. He doesn't have to plan - planning gives him structure, and he can get a 5 without a strong structure to his writing. If he can link each paragraph to the last by mentioning something from the last paragraph that will be more than enough.

Totally agree about having three starting sentences planned out so he can write one down without over thinking and then he's started. It's hardest to start!

If I get time I'll dig out an exemplar as well, so you have a couple to work from. You're doing all the right things to help him!

BobBobBobbing · 18/05/2023 08:23

@HereBeFuckery's advice is what we are doing. So basically he's written scenes with a couple of "fill in the blank here" bits that he can use to tailor to the picture. He's practiced adapting these to pics that you wouldn't think would match. His big barrier is actually getting something on the page- he has actually come out of a mock before having not written a single thing. Once he starts writing, he can get good marks for a small paragraph- he's got good knowledge and vocabulary. Spelling is a bit more iffy! By taking the overwhelm out of the blank page and getting him to focus on on filling in the blanks he'll actually start to put additions in.

I really don't understand how an examiner can tell the difference between something he's done at home and memorised and something that he's written on the spot. It's not plagiarism as he's not using someone else's work- it's a tactic that's being used to overcome a significant barrier due to a disability. His tutor is an examiner and she's the one who devised this approach. And like the OP, we are shit out of options given the barriers our kids face and the fact that so much rests on english. Has we been given the option of dropping Lit we absolutely would have done. And a functional skills qualification at this stage rather than forcing someone down a route they are not suited for and making them feel like a failure would be great. If these are acceptable option for those that fail GCSE, why can't they be an option at gcse rather than set kids up to fail?

@filchards those are the a-levels DS wants to do too. 6th form have said they'll take him even if he fails both English Lit and Lang as he's predicted good grades, but he'll have to resit one of them which he doesn't want to do as 1)it takes him away from his a levels and 2)he hates them.

My particular form of adhd means I thrive under pressure- exams were the pressure I needed to be able to access my knowledge and skills. So all my tactics aren't suitable for ds1.

IamSlave · 18/05/2023 08:52

@BobBobBobbing

He's also doing what he shouldn't have too because the exam should fit him not him having to deal with barriers to show what he can do

IamSlave · 18/05/2023 08:53

@BobBobBobbing and anyone else on here needs to be write to exam board and mp.

IamSlave · 18/05/2023 08:55

What I find interesting on mumsnet is how often actual teachers are so out of whack with what the students are doing who have needs.

However many don't even read the ehcp so it's not surprising.

Original poster
filchards · 18/05/2023 09:17

@IamSlave - oh teachers can be the worst. Including SEN staff. It comes down to the parents every time!

Even this nice tutor we've found is still trying to stick a square peg in a round hole.

I get the theory of planning being important but no point having a plan and no product! I'm obvs no expert but I think it'd be easier if he were impulsive and imaginative. Can't manufacture that either but he needs to find that jumping off point!

BLANK PAGE PARALYSIS - yes! I've been suggesting to school for the past year that he be given smaller, easier exercises to build skills and confidence. Totally ignored. Have said this to son, and found resources but he won't hear it from me.

OP posts:
Original poster
filchards · 18/05/2023 09:19

Breaking the mental association - yes, absolutely

OP posts:
BobBobBobbing · 18/05/2023 09:23

I agree @IamSlave . The teachers have been very nice but there's been no concerted effort to unpick ds1's particular challenges which is why we paid for a tutor. We are lucky we can afford this- many can't. He got good marks in his sats, so his target is stil a 6 despite the fact he's on a 3 for lang and 1 for lit. I'm not blaming individual teachers- they are overworked, underpaid and working with systems that don't seem to take account of individual needs.

His recent report says he is a hardworking pupil who seems to struggle to get his ideas down in assessments. During class he comments with accuracy and insight but takes too long to start a written task. His exam marks do not reflect the knowledge and understanding he demonstrates in lessons and he is unable to transfer this to his written response. The suggestion was more practice papers to get him used to exam conditions

To me what the teacher describes screams out there is a barrier impacting on his performance but there's no help available to understand what that is or how to address it.

Original poster
filchards · 18/05/2023 09:26

@BobBobBobbing - DS is having to move schools because its IB only at his current school and - guess what - compulsory English for 2 more years. No way!

He's got offers from 3 other Grammar school 6th forms but they all want 5 in English. They're v oversubscribed so no reason to lower the offer for a kid they don't know although of course I will try, and the current school deputy head will be supportive, I know.

He also has offers from non-grammars but even they want 5 in English. I feel they'd be easier to bargain with but he doesn't want to go to them.

I feel so sorry for him. And so angry.

OP posts:
bingobluey78 · 18/05/2023 09:30

I totally sympathise. For some kids this exercise incredibly difficult. My DD sounds similar to your DS. She's bright and not without imagination but it can't be forced. She used to stare blankly at these pictures and not write a thing. Every time she came home with one for homework, she could spend up to two hours getting upset about it. I'm trying to really think how we made a breakthrough because now she can do it. I'll ask her later as that might be better than me guessing/assuming what eventually worked

BobBobBobbing · 18/05/2023 09:37

I wonder if there's any Disability discrimination route you could explore? If he's got good marks in the subjects he wants to study, is insisting on a particular grade in a non-related area putting him at a disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person?

I work with the Equality Advisory and Support Service in a different area and I think they cover discrimination in education. Might be worth asking them for advice on whether there's anything you can do to negotiate a different approach/lower grade as a reasonable adjustment.

HairyKitty · 18/05/2023 11:27

@filchards for the freezing blank page, with adhd he literally need to write the first thing that pops into his mind that’s relevant to the prompt. It can be very very basic, it’s just to get started

HereBeFuckery · 18/05/2023 11:27

Focus on one sentence. Write it really simply 'the man sat under the tree'. Brainstorm better synonyms for 'Sat', 'man' and 'tree'. Add an adjective to tree or man. Add an adverb to sat.
Can you compare the man to something to show how he sits or is feeling? Can you add in a clause about the weather?

Do it a tiny step at a time, it's so much easier than the guff they get told about planning the whole thing in advance and extended metaphor etc!