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

Stress!!!

53 replies

Hpsauce27 · 15/05/2023 17:31

Looking for some advice as completely freaking out. Last year I booked the family a holiday abroad. My dsd has been loving with us for 3 years and came from a terrible home life. As soon as she moved in, lockdown happened. So I booked this holiday to go a couple of days before end of term (first time I have done this) to save a few pennies. Dsd is in year 10. The school have pulled her English lit exam forward and she now has to sit a paper on the day we fly out. At first it was ok as we have an afternoon flight. Now they have made the exam later in the day. Year 11 are sitting the same exam first thing. She has never been on holiday and it's cost a tidy 5000 and a year of slogging to pay for it. Of course I would have never booked the holiday if I knew last year that she would be sitting gcses in year 10. I have no idea what to do. People are telling me I will be fined if she doesn't sit the exam. Does anyone think the school would be understanding and let her sit the first exam with the year 11s??

OP posts:
whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 17:39

Bit confused- is it a really GCSE or a mock? How can it be a couple of days before the end of term- GCSEs finish in June?
They wouldn't have different year groups sitting the real
GCSEs at different times on the same day unless it was a genuine clash of subjects.

Original poster
Hpsauce27 · 15/05/2023 18:02

It's is a real GCSE. They are doing the English lit now and language in year 11 to lighten the load. Year 11 are sitting it first thing and year 10 at 11.30. Sorry the holiday is booked a couple of days before half term. We are going on the 24th May and they break on the 26th.

OP posts:
whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 18:05

I'd just ask to sit the earlier session then. I'm surprised they're allowed to have 2 sittings to be honest. Seems extremely dodgy!

titchy · 15/05/2023 18:08

It can't be the real thing if they're sitting it at 11. Exams start at either 9 or 2. There's no flex.

Chickoletta · 15/05/2023 18:12

English teacher here - this makes no sense to me at all. Are you in England? Which paper is it? Are you sure this isn’t an internal exam? As PPs have said, this doesn’t sound possible.

TeenDivided · 15/05/2023 18:12

titchy · 15/05/2023 18:08

It can't be the real thing if they're sitting it at 11. Exams start at either 9 or 2. There's no flex.

There is a bit of flex, but it is something like they have to start within an hour of the published start time (Students aren't allowed to leave an exam in the first hour so that stops any overlap).

They would have to keep all of y10 incommunicado in case they hear about the exam from y11 or anyone else at a different school.

whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 18:13

titchy · 15/05/2023 18:08

It can't be the real thing if they're sitting it at 11. Exams start at either 9 or 2. There's no flex.

There's a bit of flex- DS's start at 8.45 and 1.15 for example, but all sort of paperwork kicks in if a pupil salary's an hour later than everyone else ( if late etc). If there's a known clash there is also all sort of protocols so it seems very odd what the school are doing.

whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 18:14

Starts not salary!

And cross post with poster above!

TeenDivided · 15/05/2023 18:15

I guess the school doesn't have space for 2 whole year groups to sit it simultaneously

redrobin75 · 15/05/2023 18:19

Ask the exams officer if she can sit the paper with year 11 which is the time the exam has been timetabled by the exam board.

TeenDivided · 15/05/2023 18:21

So the school told you they were sitting the GCSE in y10 after you had booked the holiday? That must be highly exasperating!

whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 18:25

There's no reason why she can't sit the exam with Y11 so I'd just ask. Presumably she will be known to the pastoral team at school and you can stress the importance of the holiday etc. I'd get in touch with them straight away.

HotPenguin · 15/05/2023 18:25

The school can't do this. Everyone has to sit the GCSE at the same time. I would just ask for her to sit it at the earlier time and explain you have already booked the holiday.

whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 18:40

I've just read the rules (sad!) and they can do it if the cohort is too big but they all have to be under clash supervision, no electronics, continually supervised etc. sounds like a logistical nightmare!
But OP- definitely ok for your DsD to sit the earlier one.

clary · 15/05/2023 19:17

Agree with everyone else, am amazed the school can do this. They will have to keep 200 (or 100 even if a small school) children in a hall for 2.5 hours without tech or TV or anything. Sounds like a nightmare to me.

Anyway OP Yy I would ask for her to sit the paper with the year 11s. As others say, this is more than reasonable given her history.

Just a bit :O at the idea of doing the GCSE Eng lit work in a year!

Original poster
Hpsauce27 · 15/05/2023 19:25

Thank you for all of your replies as have been pulling my hair out. I have never known year 10s to sit GCSEs and she is so stressed with it. I will go into the school tomorrow as I am not getting any response when asking for contact via email. The first is 9-11.30 and the next is 11.30-2. No idea how they think they will swing it. I am in England. Portsmouth. As you can tell I am not happy with just going as this is her future and would rather she sit the exam. Watch this space.
Also, the poster who said about doing the whole English lit in a year, how right you are. It's a ridiculous amount of work and everything else falls by the wayside. She has to revise so much that she then gets demerits for missing other subject deadlines!

OP posts:
Original poster
Hpsauce27 · 15/05/2023 19:38

TeenDivided · 15/05/2023 18:21

So the school told you they were sitting the GCSE in y10 after you had booked the holiday? That must be highly exasperating!

Yes I booked the holiday last June and we found out a couple of months the ago. As I said, we thought I would be first thing in the school day so all would still be well.

OP posts:
Pieceofpurplesky · 15/05/2023 19:50

She will also have one earlier in the week if she is sitting GCSE. They are the 17 and 24 May

whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 20:02

Were the kids only told a couple of months ago as well? How have they covered everything??
At a local school they all sit RS in year 10 but they've always done it like that. Seems madness to suddenly decide.

AnyOldThings · 15/05/2023 20:04

Ex exams officer here. There is no way they can split the time like that so this can’t be a real exam.

English Lit paper 1 is on 17 May this year.
Paper 2 is on 24 May.

They are both morning exams so can start at 9:30 at latest.

Schools are not allowed to split the session for multiple years as once 10:30 comes around the paper is considered as being out in the open from a security point of view.

They would have had to isolate all pupils in session 2 AND get permission from exam board which is very unlikely to be approved as year 10 sitting the paper is not essential since they could just do it in year 11.

The school may be getting them to sit a mock based off the real paper but that is extremely dodgy as most exam officers wouldn’t let the teachers have a copy of the exam paper until 24 hours had passed. That’s not a rule now but it is good practice.

It sounds like a mock to me with bad communication.

whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 20:14

AnyOldThings · 15/05/2023 20:04

Ex exams officer here. There is no way they can split the time like that so this can’t be a real exam.

English Lit paper 1 is on 17 May this year.
Paper 2 is on 24 May.

They are both morning exams so can start at 9:30 at latest.

Schools are not allowed to split the session for multiple years as once 10:30 comes around the paper is considered as being out in the open from a security point of view.

They would have had to isolate all pupils in session 2 AND get permission from exam board which is very unlikely to be approved as year 10 sitting the paper is not essential since they could just do it in year 11.

The school may be getting them to sit a mock based off the real paper but that is extremely dodgy as most exam officers wouldn’t let the teachers have a copy of the exam paper until 24 hours had passed. That’s not a rule now but it is good practice.

It sounds like a mock to me with bad communication.

I think it is allowed- rule 7.2 ...

7.2 In exceptional circumstances, where the size of the cohort means that it is not possible for all candidates to sit the examination(s) at the same time, the centre may split the cohort into two groups. One group of candidates will sit the examination earlier than or later than the awarding body’s published starting time.
The security of the examination(s) must always be maintained. Candidates must always be supervised in line with paragraph 7.5. There is no need to complete any paperwork and prior permission from an awarding body is not required.
7.3

whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 20:16

They've probably just decided to lump in y11 and y10 as one cohort.

Original poster
Hpsauce27 · 15/05/2023 20:29

Pieceofpurplesky · 15/05/2023 19:50

She will also have one earlier in the week if she is sitting GCSE. They are the 17 and 24 May

Yes first paper is the 17th.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hpsauce27 · 15/05/2023 20:33

AnyOldThings · 15/05/2023 20:04

Ex exams officer here. There is no way they can split the time like that so this can’t be a real exam.

English Lit paper 1 is on 17 May this year.
Paper 2 is on 24 May.

They are both morning exams so can start at 9:30 at latest.

Schools are not allowed to split the session for multiple years as once 10:30 comes around the paper is considered as being out in the open from a security point of view.

They would have had to isolate all pupils in session 2 AND get permission from exam board which is very unlikely to be approved as year 10 sitting the paper is not essential since they could just do it in year 11.

The school may be getting them to sit a mock based off the real paper but that is extremely dodgy as most exam officers wouldn’t let the teachers have a copy of the exam paper until 24 hours had passed. That’s not a rule now but it is good practice.

It sounds like a mock to me with bad communication.

She has been told if she doesn't sit it, we will be fined and if she walks out the whole yer group faces failure. Are they just trying to scare her? We have been told it is her actual gcse as year 11 will just be English language.

OP posts:
whathaveyoudonelately · 15/05/2023 20:40

The whole year group would not face failure- that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Lots of kids simply don't turn up or are ill.
They sound like loons!

Swipe left for the next trending thread