If your DC is sitting 12 or more GCSEs this summer...

[FirstDaysOfSpring]

Did they choose to do this or is it school policy?

Could they opt out at this stage if they wanted to?

You need to get over the 'tick an EBacc box' thing. I'm sorry that MFL doesn't suit your child but schools are incentivised to offer MFL to KS4 because it's objectively a good thing to have a decent chunk of the population leave school with a basic understanding of another language. It's no more a test of memory than most other subjects, including triple science. I'd argue that English Lit GCSE in its current form is the most significant test of memory at the moment.

I think that learning a MFL is a good thing. DC has benefited. I don’t think sitting 12 GCSEs in one go is a good thing. At this stage, DC is being asked to memorise the responses to the oral higher exam questions (which I understand is a good strategy for passing exams) and it’s too much alongside 11 other GCSEs- especially when most of England take 9. My question about ticking boxes was should DC feel obliged to take 12 GCSEs which would allow the school to demonstrate their input to offering everyone at the school the EBacc. I know schools have to be measured. But DC seems to have found themselves in an unusual position and I am trying to understand it. It’s been really helpful to hear different points of view.

memorise the responses to the oral higher exam questions (which I understand is a good strategy for passing exams)

Actually learning responses to speaking exam questions even for GCSE is not ideal. I understand that teachers often ask students to do this, and I see why, but more useful is learning phrases that you can use and adapt (opinions, reasons, conjugated verbs). A good deal of the GCSE speaking exam is unknown until the day so if a student is relying heavily on pre-learned responses, it will be apparent if they struggle with the spontaneous elements. The exam spec specifically discourages huge tracts of learned responses.

I see why students do it of course and it gives them a feeling of security; but there is no way you can learn the answers to the questions in MFL GCSE. You don't know which topics will come up for photocard and for role play, or for the written exams.

My DS did 12 plus short course RE which was a result of both school policy and his choice. Top set students sat separate sciences, further maths and statistics as well as maths, both English subjects and their 4 options. I believe he could have opted out of RE and further maths if he had wanted to.

I would have said rare until I realised you are inciuding further maths in which case DD and a lot of her cohort are doing 11.5 add in the language and it could be 12.5

Your DC is relatively unusual because of the further maths and Stats. If you approach the school to discuss their workload these will be the two that they insist are dropped.