IS IT OK 2 JOIN AN ENGLAND SCHOOL IN THE MIDDLE OF GCSE COURSE:i.eYR 11?

HELlo everone- i have a huge problem on my hands.I am from Ireland. and I have been unable 2 gather info frm other sources and there is no real support system 4 students like my son with unusual circumstances.

My son will be 15 in November- so he is still 14- but has finished his Junior Cert Exams in Ireland- which are equivalent 2 the GCSes in UK. Now, in ireland there r only 12 years od schooling as opposed 2 the 13 in the UK. The Jr Cert exama, which are considered equal 2 the GCSEs in Uk, are taken at the end of the 9th yr- followed by what is called a gap/transition yr- and then 2 years of Leaving Cert/A-level equivalent.
So, for all purposes he has done his GCSes already. We r now moving 2 wARWICKSHIRE, eNGLAND- AND THERE HAS BEEN A BIG PROBLEM RE: his year of Entry. He is too young for Sixth form, and he should really speaking, acc 2 his age , be going 2 Yr 11. But schools r reluctant as this will be the middle of the course, as he will be doing only 11th- the second yr of GCSe- and completely missing out on the yr 10/1st yr of GCSe. Schools wd prefer that he go 2 yr 10, and do GCSes all over again- which we think will be an unnecessary strain on him- 2 have 2 go undergo 2 yrs of training for an exam he has already done. But taking into consideration the fact that he is young, we r ready 2 send him 2 yr 11 if the school agrees. Now, only one school has agreed 2 take him in yr 11.

Now, my problem is: which the school couldnt satisfy me with their answers--

Is it possible 2 do reasonably well in GCSE exams- having missed on one full year?

How much weightage/impact do GCSe results have on uni admissions? Cos he will probably not do so well in GCSEs as he is capable of due 2 missing out of 1 yr?

In case he does not do so well in GCSes in this case, will universities consider his Junior Cert results from Ireland instead of the GCSes?

There will be no problem for schools 2 take him 2 sixth form next year- but-After all- there is just the question of him doing something this yr in school- I cant keep him home.

SO i have 2 choose between staying back in Ireland and seek admission 2 sixth form next year- which is not very practical-
or
To let him enter yr 11 and appear for GCSes at the end of the coming academic year.
or
the rare possbility of admitting him 2 Sixth form straight as he has already done his GCSes(one school has agreed 2 dop that if he he does well in his Jr Cert exams)
or Put him back 2 yrs-in yr 10- schools r soooo willing 2 do that so that he can do the full GCSE course- but we in the family r reluctant.

I am at my wits' end. I have made hundreds of phone calls and approached the county councils ands schools-- but I've had no satisfactory explanation/advice/response.
I can only hope u can give me some advice. He is a ggod student- not extremely intelligent- but we predictat least 4/5 As in his GCses.

Elles- if u r reading this - or whoever willing 2 help- Please do reply. I know its a big headcahe - for someone else who does not know me 2 think for me -first by trying 2 grasp the exact situation- but I'm sure bcos u r so familiar 2 the system there- u will be able 2 advice. I shall be ver so gr8ful 2 u. I wd value ur opinion.
Thanks and regards

Reply 20

generalebriety

16

mhsc

Anyway I am sure you could convince a school to take him on to 6th form. You will have to realise he's entering into a some what more adult community than he's used to, and ideally you would have to treat him as such. He may be younger than the people he becomes friends with in the 6th form but he will need to be able to mingle with them socially to "survive" 6th form with some sanity.

Could a 14-year-old do this? I know 18-year-olds who shouldn't be in sixth form.

Reply 21

amie

14

I agree with Generalebriety, personally I'd stick with doing Yr 11 and then going into sixth form after that. Apart from what generalebriety already said, there are a couple of other really important factors that I think you need to consider.

1. If this boy is leaving his home to move somewhere else, it's going to take him a while to settle. Moving to a new country and jumping straight into courses aimed at those at least 2 years older than himself might be too much to handle. It'll be important to make new friends and 2 years is a long time when you're a teenager - it'd be hard enough for someone that much younger to make friends with 16/17 year olds even if they hadn't just moved here. There's no harm academically in taking Yr 11 and there's much to gain socially.

2. If he does start sixth form at 14, he'd potentially be 16 when applying to university. Is it really realistic to expect a 16 year old boy to know exactly what he wants to study and do with his life? I think that's quite unfair. Obviously there's the option of a gap year (or years) but it's still something to think about. He does have some ideas now but the fact that they're so wide ranging tends to imply that he doesn't really know what he's totally passionate about, which is to be expected when you're that young. Two years will make a difference, but again people change so much between the ages of 16, 17 and 18 that I really think it'd be wise to give him the extra time to grow up a bit more.

Plus if he did go to university straight from school, he'd still be 16 when he started! Some universities might not allow him to go at that age or might not let him live in halls etc. And (not that important I guess, but worth thinking about) he'd not be able to do all the student socialising, clubbing things until he was a month or two in second year!

Just my thoughts :smile:

Reply 22

mhsc

17

generalebriety

Could a 14-year-old do this? I know 18-year-olds who shouldn't be in sixth form.

I certainly could of done, but then it depends on the boy himself.

As for being 16 and knowing what to do, personally I knew by the end of year 8.

It all depends on the person, doesn't it? :wink:

Reply 23

generalebriety

16

mhsc

I certainly could of done, but then it depends on the boy himself.

As for being 16 and knowing what to do, personally I knew by the end of year 8.

It all depends on the person, doesn't it? :wink:

Well... yes. But having said that, it's not just about a 14-year-old being able to adjust to sixth form, it's about the sixth formers being able to adjust to the 14-year-old. Face it, the poor guy would have no friends except the odd person in years 10 and 11...

Reply 24

mhsc

17

generalebriety

Well... yes. But having said that, it's not just about a 14-year-old being able to adjust to sixth form, it's about the sixth formers being able to adjust to the 14-year-old. Face it, the poor guy would have no friends except the odd person in years 10 and 11...

Hard as it is to disagree with you generalebriety :redface:

, there is actually a year 10 chinese girl in my 6th form. She has been here since about christmas and has various close friends within the 6th form.

So, perhaps I should state things a lil differently...

It depends on:
1) the boy - how mature he is, et cetera
2) how diverse the 6th form is - will he find friends there?
3) the head of 6th - is (s)he the supportive/helpful type, or someone thats just been given the badge of head of 6th out of desperation by the school?

(The head of 6th be important in the case of the girl in school with me because my head of 6th is a great guy and went through the effort of getting her mixing with the people he thought would like her personality and hobbies)

Reply 25

generalebriety

16

mhsc

Hard as it is to disagree with you generalebriety :redface:

, there is actually a year 10 chinese girl in my 6th form. She has been here since about christmas and has various close friends within the 6th form.

So, perhaps I should state things a lil differently...

It depends on:
1) the boy - how mature he is, et cetera
2) how diverse the 6th form is - will he find friends there?
3) the head of 6th - is (s)he the supportive/helpful type, or someone thats just been given the badge of head of 6th out of desperation by the school?

(The head of 6th be important in the case of the girl in school with me because my head of 6th is a great guy and went through the effort of getting her mixing with the people he thought would like her personality and hobbies)

Feel free to disagree with me, I'm just giving my perspective. :p:

My perspective is bound to be skewed, of course, as is yours. We've both only experienced one sixth form. Fair enough, let me put it another way; the chances are that a 14-year-old would have a much harder time integrating into sixth form than he would into year 11. Does that sound fair?

Besides, with the best will in the world, the head of sixth form can't force people to be friends with this boy, no matter how nice, mature and so on he is, if his peers don't want to be his friend. And peer pressure counts for a lot too (not many would want to be seen being friends with a 14-year-old). That's not to mention the huge gap in interests... his peers will either just be starting, or will have just started, going to pubs and driving, and he simply won't be able to join in. When he's leaving upper sixth, he'll be the same age as those leaving year 11 to join sixth form; that means he'll be at university before he's allowed to drive, and he'll have left school before he looks old enough to get into a pub. It's not so much a hit-and-miss "will he fit in?" scenario; no matter how nice he is and his peers are, the differences will be obvious and he simply won't be able to do a lot of stuff that his peers will inevitably do. :smile:

Does that sound more accurate to you?

Reply 26

mhsc

17

generalebriety

Feel free to disagree with me, I'm just giving my perspective. :p:

My perspective is bound to be skewed, of course, as is yours. We've both only experienced one sixth form. Fair enough, let me put it another way; the chances are that a 14-year-old would have a much harder time integrating into sixth form than he would into year 11. Does that sound fair?

Besides, with the best will in the world, the head of sixth form can't force people to be friends with this boy, no matter how nice, mature and so on he is, if his peers don't want to be his friend. And peer pressure counts for a lot too (not many would want to be seen being friends with a 14-year-old). That's not to mention the huge gap in interests... his peers will either just be starting, or will have just started, going to pubs and driving, and he simply won't be able to join in. When he's leaving upper sixth, he'll be the same age as those leaving year 11 to join sixth form; that means he'll be at university before he's allowed to drive, and he'll have left school before he looks old enough to get into a pub. It's not so much a hit-and-miss "will he fit in?" scenario; no matter how nice he is and his peers are, the differences will be obvious and he simply won't be able to do a lot of stuff that his peers will inevitably do. :smile:

Does that sound more accurate to you?

Sure

I still think its doable, and largely down to his personality. I am relatively good friends with a 14 year old, and not embarassed about it whatsoever, but I can understand some people think its "uncool" to be friends with people who are younger. As for fitting in with people, I agree once he heads to University it could be a real kick in the teeth (I can't bring in any of my own lifes experiences here because I've never been to University :wink:

! Not yet anyway)to try and fit in. But in year 12 and 13 I don't think its that different to being in year 11 other than you get more freedom within your education. Driving really is the only step up ... Because its not like anyone really obeys the law when it comes to drinking or smoking socially (not where I live, anyway...)

Personally I would of really loved it if I'd been able to go to University early...

One other thing by the way, if he *does* study from year 11 to do *more* GCSE-style papers (well, actual GCSEs in this case) then in effect I would reason he is wasting a year of his life. Perhaps consider at least getting him starting on some A level course that he is particularly good at (certainly at my school you can start A level courses in year 11 if you are particularly tallented, namely music)

Reply 27

generalebriety

16

mhsc

Driving really is the only step up ... Because its not like anyone really obeys the law when it comes to drinking or smoking socially (not where I live, anyway...)

No, but 17-year-olds can get into pubs, 14-year-olds can't. :wink:

mhsc

I would reason he is wasting a year of his life.

Huh? In that case, I can only conclude that everyone who studies under our education system is wasting two years of their lives, since most of our pupils come out of the other side of GCSEs at 16 years old... I think it'd be worthwhile spending that extra year adapting to our education system and his new culture and surroundings, not to mention making friends more his own age. I can't see it being a waste of time; starting sixth form at 14, starting university at 16, not being legally allowed to enter a pub till you're half way through your second year? That's insane. :p:

Reply 28

amie

14

mhsc

I certainly could of done, but then it depends on the boy himself.

As for being 16 and knowing what to do, personally I knew by the end of year 8.

It all depends on the person, doesn't it? :wink:

Obviously it all depends on the person. But in my experience, generally the older people get, the clearer the picture is on what you want to do with your life. When I was 14, I wanted to study either Archaeology (having seen The Mummy with Brendan Fraser) or medicine because the guy I fancied at the time wanted to too. I'm not saying that all 14 year olds are as vacuous as I was, but I can say with some certainty that I, and very many other young people, needed the extra years between 14 and 18 to gain some maturity and perspective and make a positive decision about my own future.

Even now at university, I literally know no-one that wants the same career as they did when they first started. In fact, most are polar opposites. I even transferred from Computer Science to Social Science after first year. And my current boss graduated with a first in languages last year and still doesn't know what she wants to do!

Basically my point is, the longer this guy has to grow up and learn about himself, the more likely it is he'll make a better decision on his choice of degree.

You're in lower sixth, right? You say you knew in Yr 8 and good for you, but you've had from the age of about 13 until now to cement that decision in your head and decide whether it's right for you or not. By throwing this guy into sixth form at 14, he'll miss out on a fair bit of that important process.

Reply 29

bruisepristine

Out of interest, what is the school that has agreed to take him into year 11?
Sherriff and Bablake are both excellent schools, of course, but anyone with enough intelligence and the right attitude should get on ok at a standard comprehensive.

Reply 30

Azn117

Hi to the OP, I saw this thread I thought I'd give a little input since I've been in a similar position before.

I entered Year 11 in mid-January when my family moved to England. I was 15 then. Few schools would accept me and all the top schools wanted me to enter Year 10 instead. Because of that, I chose to go to a non-selective independent school where I did 8 GCSEs. I probably would have done more GCSEs but I was told by my teachers not to waste time doing additional, unnecessary GCSEs e.g. Media studies, Statistics etc. Frankly, although I realise 8 GCSEs don't quite compare to 10/12 GCSEs, I don't think the number matters as long as you've met the min requirement for uni application. My Head of 6th form simply attached an explanation for why I had fewer GCSEs than others along with my UCAS form.

As such, I think that as long as you're sure your son is capable of coping with the pressure of facing exams in <5months, I would say he is better off joining mid-Year 11 than wasting a year relearning things he already knows in Year 10. This additional year he has on others would be much better spent taking a Gap-year after A-levels.

Reply 31

Levity

1

Have you looked at the GCSE papers to see how much of the syllabus is common to the Irish syllabus? Say he looks at GCSE science and things "what is all this? I haven't done these topics" then he should consider Year 10, but if he thinks "I know most of this" then it makes sense to enter in year 11, as he will pick up the GCSEs at good grades.

IS IT OK 2 JOIN AN ENGLAND SCHOOL IN THE MIDDLE OF GCSE COURSE:i.eYR 11?

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