DS set to fail the lot

[themoon66]

The school have just rung me to say he hasn't handed in 4 out of his 5 pieces of coursework for English GCSE. English is his favourite subject, so god only knows what the other subjects are going to be like.

I spoke to his head of year who told me all the teachers are worried about him, and have been for a month or more now. They say they talk to him, but it's like there is nothing behind his eyes or any clues that he is even listening.

He is one of the cleverest in the school... predicted A stars all the way. I'm breaking my heart over what to do... sat here crying as I type

What can have happened to my clever, bright, sparky DS? It's like he has given up.

He has been off school all week with 'tummy ache' which he is doubled up with. Am waiting for the GP to ring me back with results of blood tests done on Monday. I am thinking now that its psycho-somatic and he is skivving school because he knows the shit is going to hit the fan this week, with course work being handed in etc.

He missed his Art GCSE exam yesterday and has done no coursework at all for that... so that one's a fail straight off.

What can I do? DH wants to kick him up the arse, but I think he must have depression or something.

Just wanted to type it all out on MN really to get my thoughts in order and try to raise some ideas of what to do next.

Sorry it's long.

He sounds like the classic bright kid! GCSEs are a bore for bright kids - especially the coursework. It does get better at A level (and then university) where they increasingly are doing only the subjects they are interested in. As long as he gets reasonably good grades in the subjects he wants to take at A level he will be fine. Even if he got no GCSEs he would be fine - there are other routes to a degree (e.g. the Open University) - the alternative routes are not the easy way but they do exist. Good luck - it sounds like he is getting back on track with your help.

I wouldnt worry about the exams, as others have said they can always be retaken and employers dont really look at GCSE's anymore anyway, they're pretty worthless once you get to employment stage. I would see what is bothering him first.

Well... he has now been booked into Easter School for revision and catch up sessions. He has one more piece of orginal writing to do and English will be up to date.

He is behind in electronics.... has loads of weird welding of circuits and stuff to do. Not sure if I can actually help him.

I was going to ground him till it was all done, but his one and only friend wanted to come stay this weekend, so I said yes. It has turned out well, as this friend really boosted him up and motivated him to catch up. There is a good chance they can both be do A-levels at the same school if DS gets the grades (he needs 6 Bs at least). His friend made it clear he is determined to do it, so they can be together for A-levles.

Fingers crossed we may salvage the situation.

In my school, the final cutoff date for GCSE c/work is the 1st day back after Easter,traditionally a training day so staff can moderate the c/work. C/work marks are due in to the exam boards about a week later. So he does have a little bit of time left.
If I were in this situ, I'd concentrate on getting c/work done for eng, science, maths and one other academic subject (history?geog?). This would set him up for 6 passes. Then get him revising as much as he is able (and he does sound down about it all, so may not be able to do much)so that he can acquit himself reasonably in the exams.
And remember that c/work is usually not the majority of the grade - in the English course I taught c/work was 30% of LIt grade and written c/work was only 20% of English grade (other 20% oral c/work; 60% exam). So all is BY NO MEANS lost!

Good luck.

His history is up to date. English needs the original writing piece (he cannot even think of a subject). Electronics needs circuit boards soldering. Physics, chemistry and biology... i have no clue what is missing. ICT.. I don't no about. Maths will be finished off in Easter school next week. RE im not sure about.

He has already failed Art because he didn't turn up to the exam last week and has done nothing in the way of course work.

themoon..... my friend's son did exactly the same. They were so disappointed but decided to stand back and ask him what he wanted to do. He spent a year doing nothing (though they made him get a job and pay his way). He's now in his final year at Uni having worked his butt off to get the grades that he needed to get himself there.

Sometimes they just stop and give themselves a break. Don't know why and I'm sure it must be heartbreaking for you, but he can still come good.

Sorry, only read the OP so I don't know if there's more to it than that. Just thought I'd let you know my friend's situation and the fact that it worked out.

I'd be furious that you're only just being told but to the matter in hand- coursework-

English original writing-

Sense of place- describe your favourite place using your 5 senses. Do this at 2 different times of year/day.

Short story

Autobiography-

First chapter of a novel

I said 'first chapter of a novel too'

He is such a perfectionist really. I think he has this sort of mental block whereby it's better not to try at all than try half-heartedly. Does that make sense?

Well done themoon66, sounds like you handled this really well. Like other teachers, I'm shocked the school left it so long, and I would actually complain tbh (maybe check first that they didn't send a note home with your son!)

I'm an English teacher, and the original writing piece can be on absolutely anything. The best pieces I've marked tend to be from/based on real life rather than imaginary. Off the top of my head (I'm not in school mode cos it's the holidays!)

First day in school - looking back at starting school

A day in the life of...(either himself, a celeb or a fictional character)

Pick up on a theme from a play novel (you mentioned he did a good piece on R&J) and develop it in a different setting or style.

Reflecting on an important event, anything from football match to death of a family member.

For the other subjects if you know what exam board he's doing you could try checking their websites to find the coursework requirements. Do this with your son and he should know what he has/hasn't done. Some of the practical things obviously can't be done at home, but he may be able to prepare for them.

According to the exam timetable, the English Board is AQA... not sure what that is.

Themoon I don't know whether my experiences can help you but I did something similar when I was at University - was very bright, blah blah blah, huge pressures, bored and disillusioned with the academic stuff, had problems with depression, etc etc

I struggled on because of the immense pressure from my parents and because my life had always been geared towards this - University and then a great job - there was no other course of action that I could even begin to comprehend. I ended up completely dropping out, suffered from depression and was on the dole for several years, basically in a bit of a mess (drugs etc)

What I SHOULD have done was stopped studying altogether and gone and done something in the real world. I needed to work, to feel useful, to give myself a rest from the pressure, to work out who I was and what was actually important to me and all that crap. I did eventually stumble across the thing that made me happy - working with children - and it was my salvation really. I have found something in life that deeply satisfies me and it isn't the slightest bit intellectual. People were often openly shocked or critical to find me working as a nanny when I was obviously intelligent, highly literate, etc. But academia made me miserable and this work made me very happy - it still does (I run my own children's groups now).

I think if it were not for the awfulness of it at the end I probably would have gone back to study something in the long run. But I find it very hard to work according to someone else's strictures and am entirely self-taught in the field I now work in.

I don't know if any of this can shed light on your son's situation, but I think if you could take the pressure off him and allow him time and space to decide what it is he wants to do next (which could take a long time - he can get some job or other in the meantime if necessary) - then you would be giving him a huge gift.

Themoon it does all ring bells for me - if I think I am going to be mediocre at something I usually won't try at all!

The exam boards in England are AQA, Edexcel and OCR. QCA sets the standards and general requirements for each subject, and each exam board sets their own exams, couresework requirements etc.

Sounds like his English is OK (is he also doing English Lit though?) but if you wanted to check about other subjects, you mentioned ICT, Electronics and RE I think, the exam board websites might be helpful. It might be slightly complicated as for some subjects there are 2 versions of each subject, again your son should know.

Just read Franny's post which i think has some useful experiences in it, I've seen a number of kids struggle because they didn't have the freedom to say what they actually wanted to do, even if that involved making a few mistakes along the way. As others have said he's only 16.

On the other hand your son has expressed to you that he wants to give A levels a go, so I think your efforts to help him complete the coursework are a good step. It sounds like he is able to talk to you about this, so my only advice would be to keep talking to him and really encourage him when he gets each thing done.

I've also had a number of pupils (one girl really sticks in my mind from last year) who did very little work for about 18 months, got a sudden reality check and once we'd got past the negative attitude to school/study, worked their butts of and went on to get achieve really good results.

PercyPig... he is only 15, not 16 until the last day of August. Its never been a problem TBH.

I have given him the ideas mentioned on here as subjects for his orginal writing. He just goes 'argh - too much choice mum'.

If it's too much choice narrow it to 2. If that's still too much then tell him to do the one that you like the most (thereby guaranteeing he'll choose another lol)

In that case, be the mean parent and give him ten minutes to pick one or you pick one for him. In school we often pick the title for this piece of coursework. If he's bright he'll be able to do it anyway.

Just a thought though, the whole coursework folder is only meant to be about 2000-3000 words (for our exam board anyway) so emphasise to him that it doesn't have to be more than 500-800 words. If he's a prefectionist this will be difficult, but they have to write under time pressure in the exam, so doing this could be a bit of exam preparation too. Give him no more than 90 mins to write it (almost double what he'd have in the exam), you read it and then he could spend a bit of time redrafting if necessary. As he's handing it in so late, he'll probably not have a chance to redraft, so make sure spelling etc are perfect as it affects the marks.

Just quickly checked the AQA English spec, and although it doesn't give a word length, it does say that the original writing may be more concise than the other 3 pieces. Actually, shorter pieces are often better anyway...too much teenage waffle can be very tedious!

The sense of place one (using the senses to describe a place) has always been a good one and can be concise ish whilst still garnering a decent mark. The nature of the task needs a shortish piece- 500-800 of good writing could get a decent mark. Remember to use similies and metaphors etc though- tis the quality of the writing that counts with the creative writing.

Well. He is still sitting in front of the screen as he has been all day. He chose a title.... 'A Code for Existence'... but now changed his mind again.

Ah well... maybe give in for today and try again tomorrow.

Many many thanks to all you teachers who have taken the trouble to make suggestions and be soooo helpful. You have helped me keep my sanity these last few days.

Off to get wine. x

Don't know how muc emphasis you are placing on electronics. However it has a very high coursework content, worth 60% of total mark. Most of this is mark is based on finised item. So even if he hasn't done written work, he can pull his marks up high, by completing is welding stuff.

However all d&t coursework in my scool has been marked.

They did contact me.... on the last day of school before they broke up for Easter... the day of my first OP here. I have arranged to meet with head of year on 20th April... the first day back.

He is one of their brightest... head of year told me so. They are also, I feel, a little miffed that the grammar school are offering him a place for A-levels. They have made it clear they want to keep him for sixth form.

I don't really care which school he does the A-levels at, as long as he does what he wants to do. He is clear that he wants a life in academia, but fails to see the path includes the boring stuff like GCSEs.

I'm unclear of when the final handing in date for all course work is TBH. I have arranged to meet head of year on 20th April, so I guess we need to have it all ready by then.

He is off to their Easter holiday revision school next week, so I will catch the English teacher then and quiz her about dates.

I'm sure he knows the dates, and is keeping them from me

Bloody teenagers.

Off for more wine.