options rug pulled by school - help!

[scaryteacher]

Got a message from the deputy head today, he can have History, Geography, Dutch, but not food and nutrition. The reserve options instead of food and nutrition are IT and Drama, neither of which he wants to do.

Can anyone tell me what possible advantage IGCSE has, as he can do most of the IT bits already?

I am teaching him GCSE RE at home, so wondered if asking for private study to use for coursework/homework would be an idea.

As it is an International school, there aren't that many students in the Year 10 group, as many will be leaving this summer, and given the bloody extortionate fees they charge, I would have thought they could have managed to timetable everyone in.

ooh i am teachign RE atm too
what are you doing course wise?
could send you stuff?

I'm teaching (and examining) the new Edexcel spec for Religion and Life and Religion and Society. Looking at it, most of the stuff I have from the old legacy spec still applies, but I am livid that they've taken out Wealth and Poverty, as that was the best bit to teach. I hate all this media crap that is now in.

Thanks for the offer though - I may shout if I need anything.

I am really pissed off with his school and the option blocks, two of which are full of things he does NOT want to do.

I feel for you as, from what you have said, you are paying for your sons education.

We are in the state system and waiting for our daughters option choices to be agreed or negiotiated at the moment. If my daughter has to move to reserves she will be gutted, as will I for her, but I'm not sure in the state sector there will be anything we can do other than ask why she didn't get the choices.

I can understand why its done - timetabling must be a nightmare - but to have to study something you don't want to is unlikely to achieve their best results from that study time.

Precisely, and as he doesn't want to do resistant materials or sewing, and isn't up to scratch for GCSE art, then cooking was the only one he wanted to do. I am not letting him do drama, as it gets to overload fitting performances in with all the academics, and the IT leaves him cold, as lots of it seems to be graphic design.

I've suggested moving the food and nutrition to another block, or running two classes to accommodate those who are now not able to do it; or giving him private study for one block to do his RE or coursework for a subject in school.

With the RE he'll still come out with 10 GCSEs, and for me the humanities and the second language are not negotiable. I can teach him to cook at home too.

You say you won't let him do Drama and in that I'd not be like you. The choices were my daughters because she has to do the work and start the process of thinking to her future and making her own decisions and standing on her own two feet.

It's very difficult when you pay, I think. You expect the choices to be there. I possibly would as well.

He doesn't want to do Drama, so there is no point setting yourself up for the workload and hassle out of school it entails if you are not committed to it.

As for him making his own choices - yes, he had some input, but the option blocks from which he could choose were humanities, second language, creative (music, drama, PE and art) and technological (Food and Nutrition, IT, resistant materials and textiles). He has 3 out of the 4 choices for the hums and language, but the only one he wants in the second blocks (creative and tech) was the Food and Nutrition.

So, is it worth spending two years doing IGCSE IT which he is very lukewarm about, or seeing if they'll give him private study for creative/tech block for research/English coursework?

If I was you, I'd ask the school for the private study - they might say no, if it would create a tricky precedent and have lots of others asking, but no harm in asking! My DS got one "column" out of his equivalent timetable for studying at home - it helped that he was using the time to work on an additional qualification and not just homework etc for the school subjects, so you might get a better reaction if he was working on his RE then, rather than a school subject.

yes we hate the media thing
( aqa)
we still do rich and poor

I only said it because you said

I am not letting him do drama, as it gets to overload fitting performances in with all the academics

If he doesn't want to do Drama, then I'd speak about being allowed private RE study time and, if not, then choose the least worst option which seems to be IT. He may find it covers work he can't do, although I appreciate children are quite IT savvy nowadays.