GCSE PE full/half course

[Charlotte67]

Hi all,

My DD (Y11) has come home from school and told me that she is going to be entered into half course PE not full course. She says that the teacher told them that no one checks whether it is half or full course...??!!

I have tried to find out more but am pretty clueless - it all seems to be shrouded in mystery.

She participates in 3 sports outside school. One to national level, plays a team sport and dances (grade 8 RAD ballet), yet she is being told to take half course PE and to choose 'fitness' as one of her 2 sports because she would get higher marks. This all seems quite bizarre!! It is not as though she is struggling in other subjects with excellent results in this year's science and RE exams.

I am not hugely concerned but wonder whther I should ask the school to clarify or should just ignore it as being unimportant. Is there a great deal of difference in the workload for full course PE? Is there a different/additional exam or is it 'just' a case of more coursework? Would additional coursework impact on other subjects and not really be worth it?

I am puzzled and any views would be appreciated. Thank you.

Charlotte

[Looking for help]

Presumably she is half way through the course already ? I would definitely ask the school to explain their motives. I would be fairly puzzled myself

Is PE something she wants to continue with or is it just a choice because it's something she likes doing, with no intention of carrying on into 6th form?

Sorry not much help, except to say do contact the school.

[Charlotte67]

Thank you LFH.

Apparently all girls start the course in Y10 and at the start of Y11 they decide who will be doing full and who half. I have no real idea of what this is based on but I have a suspicions that they only let those almost guaranteed an A* continue with full course. All girls do the same amount of PE in Ys 10 and 11 (2 x practical & 1 x classroom).

She has no plans to continue PE post GCSE. She is only taking it because it is compulsory at her school. Interestingly, my son's school do not offer PE within the normal GCSE choices; if they want to do it they can but as a 6-week extra during lunch times at the end of Y11!

I am not delighted that she is only seen as being good enough for a half course, but she is not concerned and perhaps neither should I be. I don't know whether it is worth making a fuss. Probably not!

[Looking for help]

Oh that's not so nice. I suppose if you're daughter's not concerned, it's fine. But it does make you wonder what they base these decision on. One of mine was told to do the foundation course in Food Tech at the same stage, and even though it really did not matter, I was so incensed I made a huge fuss....the upshot, she got a B which she wouldn't have done had she only been entered in the foundation course. I think sometimes we do know our own children best and what they are capable of and to be honest an A is pretty good, it really isn't fair to exclude those who might not get an A*

[moved]

A great many schools do not accept short course. So the teacher is not giving correct information. None of our local grammars accept short courses for entry into VI form; they do not even count the points gained. I cannot see the point of them.

[Minesatea]

I'm not sure of the difference regarding the written paper but practically I think short course candidates are only assessed in 2 sports whereas full course students need 4. Have they got a problem finding an assessor for some of her sports?

[Charlotte67]

Hi all. I have spoken with the PE department and I think I have got to the bottom of it. It seems my darling daughter is mainly to blame

You're right Minesatea; 1 exam. 2x sports for short course or 4 x sports for full course. It seems that the school would rather the girls get A*/A for short than B for full. All sports are assessed out of 10 (so they say) and to get a top grade you need at least a 7 for each sport. Currently my daughter has a 9/10 for her main sport and a 6 (!) for fitness so they are assuming that her other 2 sports will be weaker. However, I asked why she is doing fitness given that she is grade 8 ballet (which would give her another 9/10) and was told that she had said to her teacher that she 'can't be bothered' to do dance because it is outside of school so she would have to provide evidence (video) and do the choreography. ARGHH! What a child

I also aksed why she was a '6' for fitness and was told that she was assessed in her absence (she was away from school for several weeks recovering from major surgery). She goes to the gym 3 times per week for her main sport, which she does all weekend every weekend, she also dances and plays a team sport. She is as fit as a butcher's dog, very strong, agile, flexible and fast - how can she be a 6? Oh, for goodness sakes!

I also asked why she was not doing hockey and the teacher said that she never goes to hockey club and that she can't be assessed if she doesn't go (fair enough)... When questioned on this the dear girl said that hockey club is full of year sevens and very boring. She does play for a club outside of school but apparently this won't count because she can't be assessed.

I think I'm going to give up and let her sort it out. It is 'only' PE and she will not be continuing it after this year. I just wonder about points and university applications. Does it matter?

Thanks again. I shall just go and bash my head against the kitchen wall.

Char

[moved]

Given the range in numbers of GCSEs taken by pupils I wouldn't worry unless this is one of 8. Schools ask for points from the top 8 subjects for VIth form entry, these need to be full course. Most people seem concerned about the top 10 and 10A* is bandied about as being a stunning achievement.

Would PE leave her with fewer than 8/10 GCSEs? If not, I don't think I'd worry.

Most schools put their students in for an enormous number of extra GCSEs, which means that the odd slip here or there barely matters.

[Charlotte67]

Thank you moved - that is great info.

Her school do not do 100s of GCSEs (unlike my son's school) so she will not have loads but I think without the PE she should be looking at 9 so I shall relax about it. Art is likely to be a bit iffy for a high grade but the other 8 should be ok.

Thanks again.

Char

[tense]

My DD (also yr 11) is doing full course PE GCSE. I really didn't want her to do it as I was worried it would be considered too 'soft' later on so am relieved by the info in Moved's post!

Anyway, the theory side is a piece of cake for her & she has never got a mark below 98%. She is very good at English & biology &, basically, could probably manage PE theory without putting any PE-focused work in (although she does!). Charlotte67 - I'm sure your DD wouldn't find the 'full' theory side a problem at all so I would be very tempted to moan at the school about their unwillingness to assess her practical skills properly. She certainly can be assessed for an 'outside' sport - if the teachers can be bothered. It seems to me that your DD could easily get a full course A* & since she has to study PE anyway she might as well get the most out of it!