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 sounds highly unlikely to be honest. And likely to result in longer term problems. Contextual schemes usually require a combination of factors.

I understand, the fee is ~£150 per exam with some centers charging more and some charging less.

So that’s your answer. You just need to make sure the child has studied the right syllabus for the exams.

You haven't really addressed some of the points here. Unless your child takes a very narrow range of subjects there is stuff to do before the exams so they would need at least one year to 18 months doing the course. Unless they do igcses. State schools don't take igcses, they aren't permitted to.

I though they could but can’t include them in their reporting, so obviously don’t as it then affects their results?

English Language has a speaking and listening component done in advance.
Science has practicals that the school need to sign off as having been done (doesn't it?).
MFL speaking exams can happen outside of the main exam timeframe, as does food tech practicals, drama.
Geography has a paper on a field trip (or something).

For too long things like internships have been about who you know and whether you can afford to work for no pay. I'm not sure I entirely agree with the 'state school only' approach but it certainly balances out the years where private school pupils have been disproportionately able to access them.

This ^^

And the right topics within each syllabus.

@SuratNuJaman You are under the misapprehension that all year 11s take the exact same exams.

We have different exam boards covering different topics, the main ones being AQA, OCR, WJEC, CCEA and Edexel. The syllabi may be similar but not exactly the same. Then there are different topics within each syllabus. Then a choice of different topics within each exam board, especially for humanities subjects.

I lifted the following from an AI explanation which explins it very well:

It's crucial to know your specific exam board so you can access the correct revision materials and past papers. Using papers from the wrong board can lead to confusion and poor preparation.

The phrasing of questions and the specific way content is assessed can differ significantly between boards.

Knowing your board helps you understand the specific format and style of questions you can expect in your exams.

So you want to go on roll, do the GCSEs but not turn up to school except to do the exams?
This will trigger all sorts or attendance alerts. Also working as in invigilator I am not sure the exams office/head of years will be happy having an ‘unknown’ student just turn up on the day. It’s not a pick and mix service.

Hinestly though, I’m not at all sure they do have this knowledge. This is why I would like to know what it is they wish to apply for, because I would be very sceptical indeed that sitting the exam at a state school without having been educated there would even work, while the child’s results will undoubtedly be worse than they would otherwise get because of not having studied for the correct syllabus, quite apart from any Coursework or practicals. I would be willing to bet they would need a reference from the school for a start.

EG the Sutton Trust Pathways to Professions specifies that the child must have ON!Y attended state schools their entire education.

Absolutely. To counter the chuntering about the state school only internships for the civil service, my own corner of the public sector used to give paid internships to friends of the boss’ children, who attended a specific public school. We’re on a journey and I’m very pleased to see it.

I really do feel sorry for "the kid" unless of course they are also a robot like the adults in their life. The adults appear to be under the misapprehension that "the kid" will shine again every other applicant. Let me assure you, they won't.

Jobs for the Boys. A global phenomenon.

And one that is being very slowly dismantled in the UK. It will never disappear but things can and will be better. The fewer mediocre posh men at the top the better for us all.

Yes agree strongly with @TeenToTwenties and @HarrietBond – even if we go down the route of "these opportunities will only go to xxx students" where xxx indicates some level of disadvantage (and yes I know it will be a blunt instrument) then that must be a positive thing in terms of addressing the years of inequity of opportunity.

I’m also in favour of positive discrimination to try to address the appalling gender pay gap in some sectors (the NHS for example). But that's another thread.

OP you don’t seem to be fully understanding what people are saying here as you politely thank them for telling you that this is a Very Bad Idea. Please try to dissuade the parents from this as it will not benefit “the kid” in the end.

And yy, tho there is not much coursework in GCSEs now, there is some; MFL speaking exams are often done in April, practical CW is done in advance as well.

Agree with most of this. Schools will do different exam boards, different syllabus, different topics. English language has a spoken language requirement that some schools will do in year 10. Sciences have a practical element that needs to be signed off. Languages have a speaking exam that is before the main exam season and not all schools offer the same languages. Subjects like PE and music have non examined assessments. Geography has fieldwork, case studies and pre release resources. History has literally hundreds of topic combination possibilities. Maths probably ok.

Without knowing which school the child will go to then how will the child be prepared even if a school accepts them and puts in the extra time to get them through? If the parents have such intimate knowledge of the requirements of this mystery career then they should have moved the child before year 10 to maximise their chances of doing well in their exams. There are some excellent state schools in England where top students get multiple grade 9s.

I'm curious who this child is @SuratNuJaman who you state is not your own child yet you are wildly overinvested in their career?

OP, what they want is not possible. Even if the child is allowed to sit the exams at a state school, they will not be classed as a state educated student. The liklihood of a school agreeing to enter them AND that school entering them for the same syllabi as they have previously studied is minimal. You might just about get away with it in maths and possibly English Literature if the set texts align but English Language requires a speaking test taken a lot earlier in the year and as others have said science practicals etc.

Schools are judged on how many young people on roll pass 8 or more GCSE's. Therefore 8 subjects is usually the minimum number of subjects to be taken which needs to include maths, English, all three sciences (combined or single) and a humanities subject (history/geography/computer science).

In my local area if a child appeared in the spring of Year 11 the education authority would find them a place at a local college via something called Alternative Provision that offers a 14-19 route. They would be placed on a 1 year GCSE pathway aimed at young people who have either been home educated or come from abroad with the aim to take enough subjects to then progress onto A levels/Level 3 btecs.

Harrow council say for their in year admissions that consider a student for a year 11 place they have to have a very strong, valid reason for changing school at this stage of their education.

Are you going to say what this programme is at all? Because I can virtually guarantee you there is no such algorithm.

I assume whatever it is doesn't allow for iGCSEs and there is a filter that means no CV/transcript including them will go through. But I agree that it seems highly unlikely that this is the end of any selection.

I do feel sorry for this (fictional?) kid though, having his career already mapped out at 15, by parents and others who think they have insider information, but do not.

@SuratNuJaman what GCSE subjects are they planning to take? As already said by others, it’s hard to see how this won’t impact on the grades due to syllabus being different to what they have studied, and also be very stressful for them.

That would be a good thing! Maybe then some of us would still be speaking our own language 😒

There's a better chance of obtaining a Y11 place if the parents apply now.

The deadline for funding is Thursday 2nd October.

If "the kid" can be enrolled somewhere on or before that date at least the school will obtain funding for them. After that date they won't get any money, and GCSE exams are expensive.

Depends on the subject, Igcse math isn't much different from gcse math. Even if it is different they could catch up since they have already finished studying the Igcse.