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Discussion and advice on GCSEs

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medwaymum
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Location: Medway & Kent

Advanced Curriculum

Post by medwaymum »

My dd attends a school where they take their options in year 8 to begin in year 9 (a year earlier than traditionally). This seems to be quite a popular idea now with both gs and non-selectives taking this up.

DD is only a year 7, settled into school nicely, but I can't believe this time next year she will be choosing options. Can anybody tell me their own experiences of this?

MM :)
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Post by Guest55 »

The research on this is not good - in fact the Government have recently changed their advice!

They now say they do not expect children to start GCSEs in Y9 - only a few might if they have reached level 6 AND made two levels of progress from KS2! In a GS this would mean, probably, at level 7.
medwaymum
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Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:45 pm
Location: Medway & Kent

Post by medwaymum »

Oh really? At parents evening I asked several teachers about this but they did say 'well thats how it is at the moment, but things change all the time' so now I'm wondering if its been proven unsuccessful, maybe some schools' are thinking of changing back?
Guest55
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Post by Guest55 »

They have followed the children through and seen to be saying that results don't look as good as expected.
solimum
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Location: Solihull, West Midlands

Post by solimum »

I have posted somewhere else about my daughter's experience of fast-tracking (although this is not for every subject, just top groups) which can be summarised thus

Maths - fine, on track for A*
French - isn't working, whole group reverting to year 11 sitting to avoid embarassingly low results
Warks mum
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Location: Warwickshire

Post by Warks mum »

Intriguing - nearly 30 years ago (surely not that long...?!) our top set at GS did maths O' level early. We were also supposed to do French early, but just before the applications were due to go in we were each given a 'projected grade'. Most people were so horrified that it wasn't an 'A' that the whole group decided to do the O level at the normal time!

Some things don't seem to change...
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Post by Guest55 »

There was a letter to schools from Sue Hackman:

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/13211 ... n%2009.pdf


See annex 1
yoyo123
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Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

at Miss Yoyo's school top set were a year ahead with work, but sat GCSEs at normal time, idea was better to get A* in year 11 (which she did :D ) than a B or C a year early.

Looks better for the school too :wink:
asdguest
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Post by asdguest »

If you sit GCSE a year early and want to carry on the subject to A level, do you start the AS level curriculum a year earlier? Wouldn't that make it difficult to change school for Years 12/13 if there were reasons to want to do so (i.e. better choice of subjects, etc)? I'm sure one of my son's friends is facing this dilemma.
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