GCSE query: Is this legal?
- Thread starter Mrs Magpie
- Start date
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
I still have difficulty remembering not to call them O levels.
_angel_
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LilMissHissyFit said:My husband was in the first year to take GCSE's
That was 19 years ago
I was reading on the beeb about the acute shortage of maths and science teachers. They reckoned around 25% of maths teachers arent spcialised in maths ( definition given was either having a degree in or doing maths as a subjects in their initial teacher training year)
Great, I could probably teach GCSE psychology, social history, sociology etc I cant do maths at all yet if I were a teacher i could be asked to teach a maths class
Way back in the fog of time when my mum and dad trained to be (Maths) teachers they didn't actually do degree level subjects but 'just' education for four years and yet they're still perfectly good Maths teachers.
They both went and did OU Maths degrees a few years back however..... for fun
Yes I come from a strange family.
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
nogoodboyo said:
I did.
Our class (or our year, not sure) were the guinea pigs for it. It didn't actually come in 'til years later.The way they said it was going to work was that there would be an A, B, C and D paper, A being the hardest, D being the easiest.
Everyone was supposed to get the C paper, then depending on their ability, they would also get one of the others. Being the maths dunce of the class then, I should have been given the C and D, but everyone was given the C and A paper.
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
Maddalene said:
I've explained in another post
_angel_
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Minnie_the_Minx said:I did.
The way they said it was going to work was that there would be an A, B, C and D paper, A being the hardest, D being the easiest.
Everyone was supposed to get the C paper, then depending on their ability, they would also get one of the others. Being the maths dunce of the class then, I should have been given the C and D, but everyone was given the C and A paper.
They changed since then when we were doing it. ('Just' three to choose from). Also they seem to have changed it again since when we did it you could only get a grade 'C' at intermediate level, now you can get a 'B'. Does this mean it's got easier??
Also they all seem to take about 15 GCSE's these days and our school only offered 7 (8 if you were top set English). Does this mean there's less content/ work?
Maidmarian
Stubborn Socialist
Donna Ferentes said:
Yes, you can pay to take ALL exams as an "external" student (FE Colleges do this quite a lot). It can be difficult to get the info on which Board/Paper/Subject Code/Options Code to do though, so you`d need some help & it`s also expensive.
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
Maddalene said:
I have no idea. Like I said, I was the dunce of the class
Think I only took about 5 CSEs and a couple of O Levels (and I was in top class of school). Don't think anyone in my class did A levels. We were a pretty thick lot I suspect
Minnie_the_Minx
someinenhhanding menbag and me ah bollox
Maddalene said:
Oh, and the fact that you seem to "choose" (not sure I understand how that works), but when I was at school everyone had the same paper regardless of their ability.
There was a test done years and years ago where they got some guy who left school in the late 70s/early 80s and someone going to school today and they gave them both tests from decades before.
The youngster who was currently going to school definitely thought the tests from a few decades before were harder than today's tests
This is a very common practice and has been going on for years, It happenend to me when i did my O Levels (old git natch 
) but back then it was "only" a tenner for the exam charges that my mum had to pay for.
And I passed the exam with a C that the school refused to fund.
) but back then it was "only" a tenner for the exam charges that my mum had to pay for.And I passed the exam with a C that the school refused to fund.
LilMissHissyFit
Disturbed in a pink bra
from the same brand as my brother who is doing musical appreciation so he can get enough credits to take quantum mathsMaddalene said:Way back in the fog of time when my mum and dad trained to be (Maths) teachers they didn't actually do degree level subjects but 'just' education for four years and yet they're still perfectly good Maths teachers.
They both went and did OU Maths degrees a few years back however..... for fun
for fun!!!
Sir Belchalot
arenicola marina
Mrs Magpie said:
Same here
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
Have you tried contacting the school governors at all mrs magpie? Only my dad used to be one for my school (you wouldn't believe the stuff he told me after I'd left - god knows how he kept me and my brothers there with half of it going on) and the governors would seriously kick arse over stuff like this, especially if the headmaster was weaselling his way out of stuff.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
It's not usual, but it does happen - and it is because schools, or departments within schools - are being put under pressure from ofsted, or HMI, or the governors to climb up the league tables.
In all the schools i've worked in, kids are only withdrawn if they haven't done the coursework. Is your son up to date? Most subjects will have had xmas as the coursework deadline.
If the coursework isn't submitted through the exam centre sort of now-ish, he won't be able to sit the exams elsewhere either, so you need to find out the state of play.
I'm amazed at this being the school's policy though. 60% of students nationwide get A*-C for english. I can't believe the school could get away with not entering 40% of its year 11s for a core subject.
In all the schools i've worked in, kids are only withdrawn if they haven't done the coursework. Is your son up to date? Most subjects will have had xmas as the coursework deadline.
If the coursework isn't submitted through the exam centre sort of now-ish, he won't be able to sit the exams elsewhere either, so you need to find out the state of play.
I'm amazed at this being the school's policy though. 60% of students nationwide get A*-C for english. I can't believe the school could get away with not entering 40% of its year 11s for a core subject.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
I'm going to ask one of the governors what's going on...the grief is coming from the IT and Maths people...
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