GCSE in year admission in Harrow

[SuratNuJaman]

For a kid starting their GCSE year, can he/she travel from Europe and join an English Government run school a month before GCSE exams. Does the Government/Council have a "duty of care" which requires them to place the kid in a school and get them to take thir GCSE exams?

Is there any cut off deadline that the kid must be in a school by say December, for them to take their GCSE exams?

Happy to read legislation myself. If someone here has Administrative experience in a Council with admissions, would love to hear from them. The council for the kid will be Harrow.

It's not skullduggery. Private school advantages were/are the skullduggery. This is just one small adjustment to try to even things up so (genuine) state pupils get a chance, but your skullduggery will confer many advantages yet, don't worry.

Why not start the child at school in Harrow now (year 11) as then there will definitely be time to enrol for the GCSEs and more time to catch up on any difference in syllabus?

If the computer programmers had not put a change in their code, we would not be discussing this here.

And I suspect such things happen a lot, hence my example "Person sends 300 job applications, receives 0 replies".

In simple terms, tech is the first hurdle to cross. And here the parents understand the first hurdle and have managed to get in depth access to the process.

Sensible advice, thank you. I have mentioned this to the parents and they are seriously considering this.

Honestly you're starting to sound quite paranoid, or at least ill-informed from afar and believing anecdotal conspiracies, fed by your political prejudices. The idea this 'skullduggery' unfairly disadvantages 'the kid', or your notional job applicant, is as nutty as the idea of moving to state for exams in order to game some 'algo'. If your DC is so capable, take a step back and let them find their way in the world instead of trying to control every move with your money and legals.

Edited to add - not even your DC I now realise. So even less reason to get involved to this degree.

Maybe the parents should whistle-blow the process if they have any evidence of skullduggery.

The short answer is no. It’s nothing to do with whether the parents are taxpayers.

There are home schooled kids whose parents are trying to do what you have suggested so they don’t need to pay for the GCSEs exams. There is no such “duty of care”. In fact legally there is no obligation to sit GCSEs all, only that children are taught a “broad and balanced curriculum” ie at a private school or homeschooling.

I think if you want the child to sit GCSEs the latest would be start of year 11, and even then you’d need to demonstrate they’d covered year 10 material.

With use of the word skulduggery, is it your contention, @SuratNuJaman , that the IT team introduced a selection criteria that the managers of the programme/course/whatever are not aware of and did not intend?

If so, surely best to make the managers aware, so that other children who apply from private sector/home ed/whatever are all on an equal playing field?

If it is the FS (or any other public sector grad scheme) there is no algorithm that gives extra points to state school applicants. Just a heap of tests to pass.

No. It isn't sensible to change for year 11. Very few state schools accept in year admissions for year 11. The syllabus and order topics are studied in are different in every school.

It’ll be quite tough. Can they start a little earlier? A family member had to move counties and they found it incredibly difficult to find a place for their DC. No school wanted to take them on because it could impact their results. Luckily grammar schools were a little more accommodating and they were finally able to get their DC in after passing the entrance exam. However this was for start at the beginning of the school year. I think it will be tough in April.

I work in school admissions but not for Harrow. When you apply for an in year place the council send it to the school to consider and the school is supposed to respond in 14 days.
So you'd have to factor in that timing - miminum 3 weeks to get a response. As the school wouldn't get any funding for having you on roll at that time of year I can tell you, you wouldn't be anywhere near the highest priority on the huge to do lists they have. If it's an academy they can just say no more admissions.
It's a crazy plan.

If you have a bright capable and hard working child then you do not need to tie yourselves in this many knots to secure their future.

How bizarre and desperate

This is a very weird thread. I don't know OP if you know many kids who have taken GCSES?
If they are reasonably high achieving they will take between 9 and 11 GCSEs. It is a real marathon with around 25-30 exams. Some subjects have three papers. Some just have two. Some of them require a little coursework like somebody mentioned up thread with drama and music. Subjects like geography require a field work project which is then examined as part of the exam series.

I think it would be incredibly unfair for a child to have to take exams in an unfamiliar environment, not necessarily with the same exam board. Better grades from whatever school they have been learning in will be a much better investment than any perceived advantages for attending a state school.

I think skulduggery applies to something other than the widening participation/access scheme involved here!

It's highly unlikely the only way into a career is via one specific route like this.

I’m not sure if ‘the kid’ is still at school abroad but either way uk unis are desperate for cash. So an overseas student who pays higher fees will get a place - whatever school they went to abroad. As long as they have the right qualifications.

The private school botheration doesn’t seem to apply to children that went to private school abroad. Can’t think why..

I thought most applications used the mock results for applying so they would need to be in school already also you need to factor in some schools split the exams where some do paper one in Yr 10. Also which exam board they use from r the subjects. Never mind the disruption to moving school at that time could add on extra stress. When you enter the school you attended they have a start and end date so would be easily spotted they moved just to sit the exams.

@PicaK Thank you. Have taken your advice on board. I learnt from you that it is for the School to reject, and that they have the power, not the Council.

it's very sad that the op thought it normal to come onto a predominantly uk based forum and ask how to game the system to benefit a family members child.
either this child is not living in the uk or is in a different county either way they are not in a place to take the gcse's.
the child is not moving due to unfortunate circumstances, which occasionally happens. so many young adults are struggling to find jobs in a country they have lived their entire lives, yet the op thinks it's okay to swan in from elsewhere and attempt to obtain a workplace placement ahead of other children with longer term ties to the country/county or community.

take note she is not asking how to contact the agency to fix the computer glitch (which btw i don't believe truly exists).
really immoral behavior.

This is probably the article the OP thinks is disadvantaging "the kid". Poor thing.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ez3v9v8jqo

Agree, but you just know they'll defend it saying they pay their taxes blah blah, as if that was some righteous choice rather than a careful decision made with professional advice to benefit themselves and game any loopholes like this that might exist. Thankfully this one doesn't, which will be much to their chagrin.

@Dearover Except that program is for university graduates.

But they seem to be worried that they might be disadvantaged by their privileged education, letting those pesky state school pupils get school leaver apprenticeships and internships at university. Makes a change from the annual debates about private school pupils not being given the Oxbridge places they deserve.

You can apply now, beginning of year 11,and if no one accept you you need to contact your local authority and they have to find your child a place.
Or you can give the exam privately, just go to an exam centre that offers Gcses and choose those rather than iGCSEs

If they're actually in the country. No obligation to offer a place to somebody who isn't here unless they're a Service Child where the parents have a new posting confirmed and new address to boot.