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Secondary education

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Original poster

significance of school entering DC privately for A2

31 replies

violetqueen · 11/03/2010 18:23

DC has done badly in Chemistry mock - got a U.
He got a D for Physics and a C for Biology.
He resat a Chem module and has managed to improve his AS grade from an E to a D .
He got a C for an A2 Bio module that they took early.
His Chem teacher has told him today that because he failed one of his mocks he will have to pay to be entered privately for his 3 A2 levels in the summer.
He was also told that he would be allowed to carry on coming to lessons and wouldn't be " kicked off the course " as they are threatening other kids . ( isn't that the same as being excluded ,can you be excluded for failing a mock ? )

I just wondered if anyone could tell me if this is common practice .
Does being entered " privately " mean that your results don't appear in the school results ?
I realise ,btw ,that DC grades not good ,but think even an E at A2 is something ,better than just an AS .
Also feel a bit miffed that nothing said to parents about any of this - first I've heard.
DC says subject teacher says it's the schools policy and that she thinks it's" a bit mean ".

OP posts:
MmeBlueberry · 11/03/2010 18:55

I don't think this means the same as being a private candidate.

AFAIK, if you are a private candidate, your results are still attributed to your main school, if you have one.

I think they are just asking you to pay for the entries, as presumably he is outside the school policy having failed his mock.

Sixth forms can be quite ruthless about candidates who don't play the game with things like attendance, homework, and expected achievement.

ABetaDad · 11/03/2010 19:28

I am pretty sure a 'private' entry does not get allocated to the school. I know some schools do this weeding out of candidates quite aggressively to make sure their league table position looks good. If a parent insists their child takes the exam many schools do say they will have to do the exam privately so it does not pull down the school average.

Some fee paying schools at the top of the league tables are pretty brazen about it.

ABetaDad · 11/03/2010 19:30

Oh ad in my expereince this policy is not something that is generally advertised to parents until after children have taken their mocks so they are left with no choice but to agree to enter them privately.

I think it is pretty shoddy.

Original poster
violetqueen · 11/03/2010 19:33

Thanks for that Mme B.
Dc's attendance and homework are exemplary -
"just " the achievment that's lacking

OP posts:
Original poster
violetqueen · 11/03/2010 19:37

Abdad - I do suspect this .
School has recently become an Academy ,anxious to improve exams and shocking lack of communication with parents .( so I wasn't surprised not to have heard of this policy )

OP posts:
Original poster
violetqueen · 11/03/2010 19:39

Regarding "exemplary " homework - should perhaps qualify to say in terms of doing it and giving it in on time etc.
Obviously standard can't be good.

OP posts:
TheFallenMadonna · 11/03/2010 19:47

We have just got our first module AS results in, and we have some hard deicsions to make with those who failed to pass. For a couple of students, we recommend that they drop the course. If they really want to continue, despite our recommendation, they enter privately. They can continue to come to lessons, and I will mark their work, but they enter privately. However, this is done on a subject-by-subject basis, not across the board.

MmeBlueberry · 11/03/2010 20:02

It is very harsh to not allow a student to continue with the course (or pay for it, if that is what the school normally does). We are only one the second year of the new specification A-levels and they are still all over the place in terms of teaching and assessment.

It is not always the student's fault if they get a U.

MmeBlueberry · 11/03/2010 20:04

The other thing is that if your DS did Science/Additional Science for his GCSEs, these are turning out not to be great preparation for A-levels, especially trying to get them up to speed for January modules.

Again, not the student's fault. The progression from Additional Science to A-levels is very flawed.

TheFallenMadonna · 11/03/2010 20:08

No I agree, and we are not asking every student who got a U to drop the course. But we can tell by now who is not up to A level and will not get there despite our and their best efforts.

OP's DS though is in year 13, and these judgements should have been made by now.

Original poster
violetqueen · 11/03/2010 21:18

I just don't quite get the private bit.
Can they not be entered in usual way but cost of entering be met by student?

OP posts:
TheFallenMadonna · 11/03/2010 21:41

Would that make a difference to your son?

aig · 12/03/2010 07:15

I think you are describing the school charging for repeated modules e.g. modules which are taken to get the marks up. The school my DCs attended did this - it cost ~£12 a module. The school don't have the budget to pay for repeated attempts so it seemed (and seems) OK to me.

nickschick · 12/03/2010 07:23

My son got his As January results yesterday and they were told any resits were £15(if booked before neat Tuesday) rising to nearly £45 depending on how late they pay.

Its harsh but not unreasonable.

MmeBlueberry · 12/03/2010 07:33

We got DS's A2 module results yesterday and told that they were automatically re-entered for them in June, unless they got 100%.

The cost is added to our bill.

Original poster
violetqueen · 12/03/2010 08:17

The charge is not for resitting modules ,it is for taking the A2 exams ( first sitting ) in the summer.
I agree about charging for resits being reasonable.
I suppose I have 2 concerns - I don't understand the private entry thing .
I don't know what the implications are - will I have to do the entry ?
Will it mean that DC's results won't be reflected in school results ?
My other concern is for parents who may actually not be able to afford for their DC to finish an A level course that they've almost completed and that they might manage to pass,albeit not with reasonable grades.

OP posts:
brimfull · 12/03/2010 08:24

def smacks of the school trying to hide the results

how much is it to do it privately?

Original poster
violetqueen · 12/03/2010 08:43

I believe - info from Dc - it's £20 a paper.
I must say I'm thinking that DC may have interpreted " You'll have to pay for all your exams " from subject teacher as literally that .
Wheras I'm begining to think she meant that subject's exams only.
Will have to check - tho as school deter email contact by refusing to publish email addreses ( bug bear of mine ,sorry ) it means guessing email ,trying to get hold of someone on the phone,waiting for them to ring you back ,pips going and them shooting off when you do get through ." sigh "

OP posts:
llareggub · 12/03/2010 08:52

This sort of thing has been going on for years. I remember a friend of mine being refused entry to GCSE English at school because she was predicted an E. Her father paid for a tutor and entered her privately and she took great pleasure in getting an A and sticking 2 fingers up at the school and toddling elsewhere for A Level.

lazymumofteenagesons · 12/03/2010 09:19

Also if you are talking about sciences, it is not so easy doing it privately. There are practicals/coursework which are marked by the teachers and done using school facilities. Not sure how this would be done if your DD didn't do it through school.

IMO a child who is trying but struggling should be given extra help and encouragement in order o do the best they can, not told they can't do it.

Original poster
violetqueen · 12/03/2010 09:43

Well ,they've not told my DC he can't do it - just that we have to pay for exams .
We can pay - i'll borrow from my mum ,but others might be put off.
Also girl in Dc's class has flunked 2 mocks and Dc thinks she has been told she won't be entered at all.
It's hard at this level - parents very much on their own and at mercy of school's policies ,which seem to be drip fed via the kids ,rather than set out anywhere.
And ,going back to Dc's case ,I admit he doesn't plan his work /revision in the best way - but seems to me that he concentrated his efforts more on his Chem coursework and on revising for his module resits ( which he did well in getting C's ,so an achievement for him - understand seen as poor by most people ).
I did warn him about this ,but I can see how it happened.It's not that he's not working ,doesn't care.

OP posts:
webwiz · 12/03/2010 10:47

It seems bizarre for the school to have such a strong reaction to doing badly in mock exams (I thought that was the point of mocks - to show you that you need to work) and understandably your son has concentrated on his "real thing" exams and coursework.

I would get the school to clarify their policy (which is purely for league table benefits) and I would be asking what help there is for your son. He has shown he has the potential to achieve a bit higher so surely the school should be supporting that rather than adding distractions at this late stage.

Module results day was a bit traumatic at DD2's school yesterday (she's year 12) with very mixed results for the scientists. There was a combination of "you must work harder" which was probably valid but as well the school will now be putting on extra classes to help cover some of the problems that they had.

Original poster
violetqueen · 12/03/2010 15:00

Mmm ,well that's my query .
What is the significance of requiring someone who ( admittedly a marginal grade student ) has failed a mock to be entered " privately ",with us paying ?
I just don't understand the " privately " bit.
It's not going to do anything to help Dc get a better grade ,so I suppose it must be to massage the league table .
Or am I being paranoid ?
It's interesting to read comments ,my first reaction was guilt and shame ( DC a failure )
and that we must accept our " punishment ".
But then I thought ,no ...

OP posts:
webwiz · 12/03/2010 15:47

I did read an article about the increase in private entries for A level (sorry can't find the link) over the last few years and yes it was just for league tables. Its incredibly dishonest and as a parent I know I have looked at the individual grades pupils have achieved in order to make a judgment about the standard of teaching on offer. A spread of grades wouldn't put me off but if they were all at the bottom end I would be more cautious. Obviously if there are no lower grades because the school are forcing kids to make private entries I would get a completely false picture.

League tables are a bit of a nonsense at this level since the amount of private tutoring that goes isn't counted. My friend's DD was ill and had some Maths A level tutoring to catch up it turned out that the tutor was also teaching 10 other kids in her class in the highly successful, super duper results sixth form that she was at. Anyway I digress Does your son need particular grades Violetqueen?

Mimiso · 12/03/2010 22:28

HI

I am a lecturer in a college and unfortunately there are some students who have not entered for the June exam at all due to a combination of factors such as non-attendance and of course failing the mocks. In our case it's not just about a student failing the mock, its the whole package. Put it this way if a student does badly in the mock and they are a hardworking student we always enter them for the exam. IF the opposite is true and they have just been messing about all year then we dont enter then for the exam and in some cases actually ask them to leave the college.

I do not usually agree for external students to sit my papers privately because when the results come out then if they have done badly then that reflects on my results. Unfortunately yes the colleges are very results driven as we have to justify our retention rates and results to senior management or face the risk of having your subject axed.

Sorry your DC has had to go through this but bear in mind also the politics behind education and funding

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