Sitting GCSE's Early?

[joencaitlinsmum]

Can anyone explain the benefit to schools of children sitting some GCSE's in year 10 a year early? I thought that schools could only use the first attempt grade in their league tables so why would they encourage children to sit it early and risk a lower grade?

Apparently 2 of our local schools are doing this for English this year but my children's school isn't so puzzled as to why two local schools would differ in option!

TIA

Have no idea why they would unless they are going to let the pupils have two goes anyway and just ignore league tables?

My school does this. The idea is that we care more about what grades the kids get to leave with rather than how the league table looks. There are definite advantages and disadvantages.

Even now Esker? After all he changes? We did but this year is the first year that we haven't.

We won't be able to next year as the new spec English exam won't be available to be sat until 2017, but I imagine once it is fully established we will put some kids through early.

One of the main benefits in my mind is that it makes the kids more focused in year 9/10 rather than some of the more lazy ones treating it as a 'fallow' year. Alooming exam increases accountability on their part!

It's to break Lit / Lang into separate years. This is arguably easier for pupils as there's less to revise for each year.

No idea - I've never been able to get a sensible answer, despite both ds and dd1 being made to do this, in two sep. schools

I was subjected to this as a teenager. I' was 14 when I took my maths due to being one of the youngest in the year. The coursework was crammed in. I was stressed and it impacted on my other coursework deadlines too. I got a B grade three marks from an A.

It was done to back the schools application for specialist status in maths and ict.

No I am totally with you Esker and this is the first cohort not to have two entries. Funny though with the results out today how different some school figures are!

One of the main benefits in my mind is that it makes the kids more focused in year 9/10 rather than some of the more lazy ones treating it as a 'fallow' year. Alooming exam increases accountability on their part!

I agree to a certain degree on this comment however I have it on good authority that the children in the top set in English of this particular school mainly expected a* pupils have just sat a English lit mock exam and have all failed and panic has set in! So has blown that theory out of the window