GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Discussion and advice on GCSEs

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Cosmos
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:03 pm

GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by Cosmos »

Dear expert parents/teachers,

DS goes to a local comprehensive, he is in Y9 and the school is saying me that he'll be taking GCES's this year which I strongly disagree as he's too young, not fully prepare and I don't really want to go for the re take route if he doesn't achieve good grades.

So my queries are: Is there a new Goverment law that formally says that kids have to take GCES's in Year 9 or this is something that is up to the school, is there any way to avoid it?
I have already spoken to the Council and AQA and they simply have no answer to this.
Can anyone shed any lights please?
Y
Posts: 463
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:49 pm

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by Y »

Is this all his GCSEs? Some of them? It's unfortunately quite common to have an 'accelerated curriculum', and (from experience only) it appears to be up to the school when the child is entered for the GCSE. If your child doesn't take the exams in the same year as everyone else, then you can end up with timetabling issues.
magwich2
Posts: 866
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:33 pm

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by magwich2 »

there is absolutely no point whatsoever in taking gcses early unless you have a realistic chance of getting an A*.
ourmaminhavana
Posts: 966
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:14 am

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by ourmaminhavana »

I actually think it's quite immoral that schools do this when it may well be detrimental to the students. As an example, the mother of one of my DS's class from primary school was telling me with delight how wonderful it was that her, rather weak, DD was being entered for her Maths GCSE, I think in Year 9, by her very poor achieving comprehensive school. She was astonished to learn that my DS (who had won a medal in the National PMC) wouldn't be taking it until the end of Year 11!
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by Amber »

Totally agree with the previous 2 posters, though what you can do about it as a parent is another matter. Firstly, I would want some very clear information from the school as to exactly what is being planned. I am assuming he can't do all his GCSEs in Year 9 as there would be little point then in going to school at all for the next 2 years. If the proposal is to do some early and some later, then I would be looking to challenge that on the grounds that there is a growing feeling that higher education institutions like to see exams done 'in one sitting' rather than spread out over several. Try the Chair of governors as well as the Head if this is the case; ask exactly what will be happening and why. The Government has now decreed that all exams must be done over 2 years, and examined terminally, so I am not sure how this fits with what you are hearing.

I have heard of several schools doing variations on this, and I think the general idea is always to make the school look better in league tables, rather than serve the needs of individual children, though there might be instances where the 2 coincide. Unless parents are prepared to question and challenge school management (please don't blame the teachers, it is unlikely to have come from them in the first instance) then the needs of the customers can easily be shifted away from centre stage.

Good luck.
daveg
Posts: 247
Joined: Thu May 10, 2012 9:30 am

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by daveg »

Amber wrote:growing feeling that higher education institutions like to see exams done 'in one sitting' rather than spread out over several.
And a B is a B, whenever you took it.
Fran17
Posts: 1440
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:16 pm

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by Fran17 »

I completely agree with previous posters. It is a disgrace to make children sit exams early unless they are capable of achieving an A*.
bondgirl
Posts: 802
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:30 am

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by bondgirl »

I'm glad this has been raised as I've been wondering about it too. DD's school (also a comp) have an accelerated programme aswell that DD is on. From what I understand, she'll start triple science in Y9 and English (and possibly more?). DD thinks she has already started GCSE English x 2 but she has only just gone into Y8 so I'm assuming she's mistaken. I am trying to understand the purpose of taking so many exams (apart form reflecting well on the school's results). Some girls last year ended up with 15-18 GCSEs :shock: Why??

I was planning to raise it at the Y8 Parents Evening but would also welcome any thoughts in advance.
Looking for help
Posts: 3767
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by Looking for help »

My son is doing fast track RE GCSE and also statistics. He is year 10, and will sit RE and stats at the end of this year. I'm not sure what I think of this and will relate back at the end of the year when the results come in. The idea apparently is that esp with the RE they will have the GCSE this year, the AS in y11 and the A2 in y12, apparently a bonus when it comes to applying to university.
We shall see, although he is y10, it's not that early, and he will be doing another 10 all in one sitting at the end of year 11.

Having had 3 others apply with no problem to university with no a levels yet, I'm not sure that having the A2 by the end of year 12 is all that much of a bonus, however he is happy to have been chosen to do this, so I feel unable to object.
Last edited by Looking for help on Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: GCES's Who decides when to take them?!

Post by Guest55 »

This is the one thing I agree with Mr Gove about :lol:

All the research says early entry is not a good idea - unless you can get an A* you are restricting the Universities you will be able to apply to.
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