School Cancelling a GCSE in Year 11

[GiraffesEatStingingNettles]

Any advice on this would be very welcome. My DD's school took the decision post-covid to make RPE GCSE compulsory for her entire cohort. We were told that they didn't necessarily have to sit the exam at the end of the two years, but they were all sitting the course. Various reasons were given, and it caused a lot of upset at the time as it used up an option and restricted what they could choose. Normally the school offers 4 options. My DD only got to choose 3.

The school has had TERRIBLE staff retention problems. RPE is one of the subjects worst affected, and there has been a lot of substitute teaching. Nonetheless, when they did have a teacher in place she was predicting an 8 or 9 for my DD.

Fast forward to now. A new RPE teacher is in place, and has chosen to start teaching a religion that the cohort haven't yet looked at. The new RPE teacher only takes about half the cohort. The remaining pupils are being taught by substitutes. The school have yet to contact parents, but the children have been told that they are very far behind. So far behind that anyone wanting to do the GCSE is going to have to do additional lessons after school.

Despite my DD always making clear that she wanted to sit the exam, she (and several others in the same position) are not even in the class with the dedicated RPE teacher. From what I can tell, they are not even being presented with the syllabus for the new religion.

The additional lessons are on a Friday afternoon after school. We live some distance from the school, and pay for transport. There is no transport provision for pupils who stay after regular school hours. I work full time, and simply can't collect her. A taxi is £18. DD is already attending additional lessons after school on a Monday for Further Maths, for which we are paying for a taxi.

I am reeling really. So so cross with the school. What on earth do I do? Obviously contact them and find out exactly what is going on. But beyond that, if what my DD says is true there isn't really any fixing it?!

Really long - sorry!

There’s a teacher crisis.

Some children will be impacted.

I am certain of there was a solution the school would’ve found it.

I think £18 for effective additional tutoring is quite a bargain.

Ask yourself, does she really need this GCSE?

She needs 5 to do A Levels - so does it matter?

Check what board and what the syllabus is.
Get a revision guide for the course.
Work out what still needs to be covered.
I think this may be doable by self study to make up the gaps.

Oh and stop being angry ‘at the school’

Start being angry with ‘the government’

in this case I think the school bear some responsibility. They took a deliberate decision to force an entire year group to study a subject that they have been unable to provide adequate teaching for.

Government-wise there is always plenty to be angry about.

My DDs RE had 25% christianity beliefs and practices, 25% Muslim belief and practices, and 12.5% × 4 topics such as family, war, crime&punishment - the 4 topics were picked from a choice of 6 or 8. Christianity was compulsory and school picked Islam from the other major religions.

£18 isn't that bad when you frame it like that, but I don't have any guarantee that it will be effective tutoring. It is also £18 to fix a mess that really isn't of mine or my DDs making.

I can't believe that a school has scheduled lessons related to religion for late on Friday afternoons. Have they thought at all how this is anti-Semitic, since Jews will not be able to attend?

RE is one you could learn at home. The questions all follow a very set format. Teaching in this subject is often very poor.

I honestly think they have chosen Fridays to discourage participation. Make a show of offering a fix, but if no-one takes it up 'ah well' iyswim. We are not Jewish ourselves, so definitely can't use that as a stick to beat them with. School is very rural, with nearly 100% white British demographic. (one of their arguments for the need to study RPE, in fact)

Since she's predicted an 8/9 it means she's quite capable. If so, could she study it herself? I know it's quite difficult to study a subject on your own but she might be able to do it honestly. There should be free resources on the internet. And she could study with friends during lunch times.

This isn't ideal because it's got essays (I think, my DD did her GCSEs back when they were A*-E and DD2 is not at the age yet) so she might need a teacher to look over them and give her feedback etc but maybe she can just make do with samples on the internet/examiner's reports? Again, I know it isn't a great situation to be in but just a thought.

There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis. It really is a crisis. There are no teachers. This sort of situation is on the way to becoming the norm. Teachers have been striking but no-one has been listening. It's going to get really bad.

It is reassuring that more than one person thinks this GCSE is doable from here with independent study.

We will probably take that route. I don't want to force DD to do the after school classes, as she has always been super hardworking and that feels like a punishment. (The taxi cost is also an issue, not sure we can even afford it)

Hopefully the school will relent and allow her to sit the GCSE at least. At the moment the children have been told they won't be allowed if they don't attend after school.

What is the exam board and spec? Using Seneca and a text book, loads an loads online, you could attack it that way. Is judaism the 50 minute two unit paper? Only a quarter of the overall mark?

DD thinks AQA is the exam board. New teacher has selected Islam as the extra main religion. I will check with the school to clarify, so that we know what materials we are going to need to invest in.

one of their arguments for the need to study RPE, in fact

it is a statutory subject in England. You have to cover RE. Schools dont need to offer the gcse but they have to do some form of core RE.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z4v7gwx

'it is a statutory subject in England. You have to cover RE. Schools dont need to offer the gcse but they have to do some form of core RE.'

the difference here is that they have extended the lesson time devoted to it by sacrificing another GCSE lesson. Not sitting the GCSE means this cohort have fewer subjects overall.

I taught RE to GCSE. You don't need lessons. 😀
Go online, get the syllabus and past papers (check details thoroughly with the school) then either buy notes or make your own, and have your dd read them and then make up and plan sample questions and answers.

😂

Can your DD be switched to the class with the proper teacher?

this is something I need to address with the school, as a bit of a priority.

Religious studies is a popular one to self study amongst home educators. What specification is it?

I'm sure she could study it herself with revision guides.

It's more likely that they've chosen Fridays because a lot of the kids involved do Further Maths on Mondays, there are staff meetings Tuesday and Wednesday, the teacher is part-time and doesn't work Thursday, so Friday is what's left. Or something like that.

Switching class may be tricky - the other class may be in a different options block, or they may do RPE in their English sets, so switching would also mean switching English group. Not to mention that there may not be space, especially if several ask for the move.

Might the school consider offering help with transport? Ours had a late bus to enable pupils to attend after-school lessons.

One of DD's subjects was in an option block with fewer lessons than it really needed - they had to commit to one after-school lesson per fortnight, but in the end they ran that as an online lesson - powerpoint etc that they worked through at home. However if they don't get ANY time with the specialist teacher, that might work less well.

AQA has a short-course GCSE - is that what they were doing, or might they be able to do it instead? (Of course sod's law says that what they've covered is probably the bits that aren't in the short course.)

You may well be right about the timetabling restrictions. The school isn't large, so has little flexibility.

As far as I know transport is never provided outside the regular school pick-up and drop-off, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth asking. The biggest stumbling block there would be how many pupils and in what direction they need to go. Only a handful and in multiple directions would be very difficult for them to cater for.

I am not sure about the short-course aspect. I have emailed for clarification of the school's plans, to ask that DD be in the class with the dedicated teacher, and for details of the course they are studying so that we can source materials ourselves. I haven't heard anything yet, but it was only yesterday that I sent the message. I will have to see what comes back.