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GCSE options dilemma. Higher tier vesus lower tier?

Supercrumpet

My 13 year old Son has Aspergers and ADHD and is in mainstream school. He has to pick his options this month and the dilemma we face is that he excels in Science (level 7) and is good at Math (level 6a) and he really wants to do the triple Science award. His Science teacher is all for it and said he should sail through, but, he has been allocated the lower tier GCSE band and that means he cannot do triple science.

We have spoken to all of his teachers and they feel that he would cope in higher tier, his German teacher was the exception, he said that although he was top of the class at the moment (my Son is in set 3 of 6 sets in his year 9) he didnt feel he would cope at GCSE level. We went to the Deputy Head to discuss whether he could do higher tier so that he could do triple science but the Dep Head was just awful, so patronising and had no real interest in helping. He told our Son that it would involve extra work after school and that he wouldn't cope.The new English Baccalaureate is also being introduced so the school have told us that higher tier pupils MUST take a language and a humanity

We've worked hard to make sure our Son has the same chances as the other kids, we're just heartbroken to fall at the GCSE hurdle. We appreciate that our child may not achieve as well in all of his subjects as he will in Science and Maths but I'm at a loss as to how to challenge the schools belief that he shouldn't even be given the chance to shine at the subjects he is genuinely good at.

Has anyone else had this problem? Does he have to take the full set of GCSE's or can he drop some? I feel that fewer good exam results would be better than a higher number but with weaker results.

Parents

  • Another point that perhaps needs to be made here.

    What do you hope your son will be able to do at the end of a succession through GCSE, A Level, University?  There's an assumption high achievement will solve things.

    Yes, it may in many cases be an important way forward. But it is less easy to get cloistered work conditions that avoid the social difficulties these days. So the downsides of AS may well undermine the opportunities to apply the academic achievement.

    There are graduates out there with AS not getting jobs. There are undergraduates failing first or second year at university because they are too focussed on certain aspects to perform evenly across the modules and module content they are required to complete each year.

    I'm not trying to be too negative here. My strategy in lecture rooms where the cohort made fun of students with disabilities was to stress the importance of different thinking. At the rate of science advancement and limitations to human endeavour, we increasingly need diverse and original thinkers. We need to get people with AS through University and into jobs where they can usefully contribute.

    That doesn't mean there aren't problems and limitations for many. There hasn't been enough reflection and research yet on the benefits of pushing young people with AS through University.

    In fact I think there's a grave lack of understanding of this, and of the issues holding back people with AS in the workplace. So it is important to give some thought to the benefits of high GCSE scores against the difficulties created by having AS in the first place.

Reply

  • Another point that perhaps needs to be made here.

    What do you hope your son will be able to do at the end of a succession through GCSE, A Level, University?  There's an assumption high achievement will solve things.

    Yes, it may in many cases be an important way forward. But it is less easy to get cloistered work conditions that avoid the social difficulties these days. So the downsides of AS may well undermine the opportunities to apply the academic achievement.

    There are graduates out there with AS not getting jobs. There are undergraduates failing first or second year at university because they are too focussed on certain aspects to perform evenly across the modules and module content they are required to complete each year.

    I'm not trying to be too negative here. My strategy in lecture rooms where the cohort made fun of students with disabilities was to stress the importance of different thinking. At the rate of science advancement and limitations to human endeavour, we increasingly need diverse and original thinkers. We need to get people with AS through University and into jobs where they can usefully contribute.

    That doesn't mean there aren't problems and limitations for many. There hasn't been enough reflection and research yet on the benefits of pushing young people with AS through University.

    In fact I think there's a grave lack of understanding of this, and of the issues holding back people with AS in the workplace. So it is important to give some thought to the benefits of high GCSE scores against the difficulties created by having AS in the first place.

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