Angry, upset and annoyed or over reacting rant

74jax

My daughter is taking Maths in Nov too. I asked for her to be pulled out and the Head explained if she does well she can try and improve next time or take the higher paper. If she doesn't do well she has the experience of a maths ect under exam conditions (she did do english and science last year).

My daughter wanted to do it november as they are doing mock papers now, might as well do it for an exam.

She hasn't covered a lot of the paper, and at first I was thinking how can you send someone into a gcse underprepared, now I see it as preparing for the future exams.

I think from announcements last weekend, and results from Nov get counted to a school's statistics and the re-sit DOESN'T. Therefore my daughters school knows if they pulled everyone in Nov their results would look better from the next exams, but they want to give children 2 shots at their Maths grade.

susancs

OP in my daughter's school they cover solving quatratic equations using intercepts in pre GCSE earlier years, so when my eldest daughter did her Maths GCSE first unit in year 10 it was just revision, rather than requiring a full lesson on it. I wonder if your son has covered it, but got forgotten it? There are a lot of videos on youtube you can use to go over it with him.

FBaby

The issue is whether this is the only lesson not taught. Could there be more than this graph thing? If it was my DD, I would get a book and go over each areas with son and see what was taught and what wasn't, and then get a tutor to go over all those missed. Not a lot of time, and a clear failure on the school part, but need must.

I have to say that the attitude that kids should get a B grade so are ready to take shocking. My DD is very set to go to medical school. A B grade wouldn't do it. It isn't right that kids and parents are left to prepare adequately in line with their aspirations because the teachers are only bothered with the school results rather than individual pupils.

I get the feeling that this might be the attitude of DD school, so am keeping a close eye on what is taught for the purpose of exams.

susancs

74jax wrote: »

My daughter is taking Maths in Nov too. I asked for her to be pulled out and the Head explained if she does well she can try and improve next time or take the higher paper. If she doesn't do well she has the experience of a maths ect under exam conditions (she did do english and science last year).

My daughter wanted to do it november as they are doing mock papers now, might as well do it for an exam.

She hasn't covered a lot of the paper, and at first I was thinking how can you send someone into a gcse underprepared, now I see it as preparing for the future exams.

I think from announcements last weekend, and results from Nov get counted to a school's statistics and the re-sit DOESN'T. Therefore my daughters school knows if they pulled everyone in Nov their results would look better from the next exams, but they want to give children 2 shots at their Maths grade.

My eldest daughter took a number of GCSE exam modules in year 10 and the beginning of year 11. We were told like you that it gave them exam experience and took the pressure off sitting a lot of exams at one time. If they resat the module exam they had nothing to loose pints wise as their highest grade or points would count. As they got results as they went along the school monitored points achieved (and any weak areas on papers) and if they could get a higher overall grade by retaking a unit they were advised to pay to resit even if it upped an A grade to A* grade. I understand this is stopping with my younger year 8 daughter and she will have to take exams at the end of the GCSE courses in year 11.

Counting_Pennies_2

This whole doing the exams early really frustrates me.

In my childrens school, the top third of year 6 are coached over a term in order to take GCSE maths before they leave primary school.

They are then given a treat on the day they took it.

The rest of the year group the remaining two thirds are left without any coaching in a subject to enable them to improve and not given a treat.

That to me is absolutely shocking, but to the school totally acceptable.

FBaby

In my childrens school, the top third of year 6 are coached over a term in order to take GCSE maths before they leave primary school.

GCSEs maths in primary school? What's that all about? My son's school is providing extra tutoring for the most able children to see if they can reach a level 6 at their end of year SATs, is that what you mean? In his case, it is in addition to normal school hours. They have a tutor that comes early one morning and another that come after school for English.

I am personally pleased with that as my son finally gets a lesson where he feels challenged and therefore really enjoy it. I am pleased too because he finally gets homework that takes him longer to complete than the usual 5 minutes.

My only concern is that I know he will have to go through all of it again when he starts at secondary school. The school doesn't even have kids in sets the first year. My DD couldn't sit level 6 papers in year 6, even though her teacher said she was definitely at that level, and she was very bored all year 7, her teacher struggling to give her additional work at each lesson. That's the problem with the disparity in teaching between primary and secondary schools.

pollypenny

EmmaBridgewater wrote: »

I see, maybe if its imperative your son could ask the teacher to go over it briefly in lunch or after school? Or even self teach a little.

Why should a teacher teach at lunchtime or after school?

I know we do it all the the time, but the assumption of availability is annoying.


Re not completing the syllabus, I remember doing A level History without finishing the syllabus.

Lunar_Eclipse

Totally agree with you and if this was my child, I wouldn't allow them to sit the paper early, regardless of whether they cover this material or not.

Unless teachers are confident pupils will get an A*, they should give them the maximum time available to strengthen the grade as much as possible.

Also, C grade students would be far better spending the additional 6 months improving that to a B, than doing statistics. Maths and English grades are so important.

All this cannot be to the child's benefit.

Tenyearstogo

My sons school puts a lot of year 10 pupils in for Maths GCSE. If they get an A or A * they do further maths and statistics GCSEs in year 11. If they get B or below, they resit.

I don't see the problem with sitting exams earlier if they have covered syllabus. Why have an arbitrary date each year to do exams? Do them when they children are ready.

My son got an A* before he was 15. He welcomed the chance to get extra GCSEs rather than sit in a classroom going over things he knew again and again.

The OPs issue is that the children are not ready as they have not been taught the whole syllabus. That needs addressing with the head of subject.

Lunar_Eclipse

squibbs25 wrote: »

The bright kids are fast tracked.

Which is great, but where I have a different opinion to some schools.

Fast tracking is for A* pupils, to prevent boredom, not for C grade or above (which should be a good/major portion of the year group.) There is a world of ability difference between an A* and a C grade.