So...can a parent request that their child does not sit a GCSE???

[MrsForgetful]

I'm the parent...my son is currently scraping a U in art. (and ofcourse targeted C....)He is autistic (aspergers) and has a scribe to do his writing in other lessons as his hand/eye co-ord is terrible.

We both thought he was entered for 'graphic design'... and today got told he's got 3 weeks to catch up on all coursework- as he is NOT doing the graphic paper.

He is great on computers...but is useless at anything involving pen & pencils and though he has ideas in his head...he needs the computer to illustrate them

so...can i just state that i don't want him to continue taking this course? He could then focus on the subjects he is doing well in... rather than one where he will get a U.

he's so depressed and down about this- that anything else he is doing at school is being affected by this...so to withdraw from the subject would be a positive benefit to his other studies.

i'm 42... and at 16 i was allowed to stop taking drama GCE due to my struggle to take part in lessons-that was then ...this is now.

otherwise i suppose....i start to understand why children skive lessons...and don't turn up for exams....surely better to officially withdraw- than lie?

I cannot cope with what this is doing to my reltionship with my son...it is frustrating as he's never had the help at school that professionals have recommended he had...so really am so fed up.

I don't know but I'd guess that you can withdraw him from the exam but the school will still want him to attend lessons. Would your son be okay with that?

But it sounds as if the school entered him for the wrong exam - is that what happened? If so it's completely unacceptable, what if they had entered him for German instead of Spanish? They wouldn't tell him he had 3 weeks to catch up then, would they? Does he want to take graphic design, or is it that it's just bearable and art isn't?

the issue with dropping GCSE's at this point is that it is too late to start another and some school students have to do a "minimum" number of subjects
MY DS1 had a similar issue in Art (though is was hatred of pencil drawings and laziness not SEN) but was not allowed to drop it due to the reason I described above.

Best idea is to ring the school (does he have a particular mentor/SEN person of contact) of else the head of year and talk to them.

Best of luck xx

when he was choosing his yr10 subjects he was routed for 'route 1'...the top.

he was not choosing art then...but it turned out that the subjects he did choose clashed.

additionally- we found out that he'd get even less TA help in route 1...and could do all his preferred subjects (bar bus.studies) if he went down to route 2... so we chose route 2....

then it turned out he had to choose 1 more subject (selection of art, spanish and geography)....so he chose art...as the educational psychologist had agreed it would be theraputic.

so...if he'd stuck to route 1... he'd not be doing art now...but he'd also have been unable to do one of his sciences...

so wishing now he'd done route 1...as he's not had much TA help...and he could have done the science he missed in 6th form.
(theres a college course he wants to do- but we feel he's better waiting a year)(he's not reday to go to college yet)

sorry all this is so garbled...but my brain is whizzing round...and nothing is in any order!!!