Catseye wrote:
kenyancowgirl wrote:
No - universities are only interested in the top 8 GCSEs.
Why would any 14- 16 year old want to do more than 9 GCSEs is beyond me especially as it confers no advantage in uni applications and there so many other things to do when are only 15 like skipping , hanging out with friends and generally just growing up.
....one whispered word... with another one in brackets...(mainly) parents?! And school's try and please parents because they want them to choose the school. And early GCSEs are another factor that please parents because they see it as identifying that their child is "bright" - look at him/her - he took a GCSE when he was merely in Y10 and got an A*...not realising that actually it can mark them with universities as a child that cannot cope with a whole clutch all in one go (it's a hangover from the days when numbers of GCSEs were lauded by government stats, as well as grades, I believe - adn a time when the curriculums were, it has to be said, easier so bulk numbers were more important than actual grades).
I am not sure I buy that many kids "want" to do more, more, more academic qualifications - I don't think they wake up and say it completely un-persuaded, explicitly or implicitly, by parents. I think parents talk about high grades and lots of qualifications and children want to please. In the same way, taking it to my sphere of Careers Advice, when you get a parent who says "my child has wanted to be a ...(usually doctor)...since they were two..." well, yes, most children express some kind of interest be it doctor, nurse, teacher or even fire engine (far more normal in my household!)...but if the parent then embraces that, again, explicitly or implicitly, and nurtures the belief that this is
a good thing then it is no surprise the child holds on to that belief, is it? Far more real is those children who come in saying they haven't a clue, or they thought they wanted to be but....