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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Secondary education

Don't want dd to do btec

44 replies

toast55 · 15/02/2010 07:20

DD year9 was given her gcse choices and has been told she has to do a Btec and 5 core gcse.I intend to challenge this as the decision was made on her KS2 sats results and she has improved massively since then. Her report predicted B or C in all her subjects. It doesn't make sense to me. Has anyone any experience of this.

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toast55 · 15/02/2010 07:43

bump

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PositiveAttitude · 15/02/2010 07:49

Surely these are called "options" for a reason. You and your DD must have a say in what she does. I would be horrified if I was told that my DCs could only do what the school thought.
I would go and see the teacher and dig further. Her latest performance at school should be considered, not where she was in year 6!

Go and ask questions and get what your DD wants.

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toast55 · 15/02/2010 07:52

Thanks for your reply. I agree with you and intend to fight if I need to. I just dont know what their view will be. It is so frustrating it is half term and my DD is devastated.

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Skegness · 15/02/2010 07:53

Ridiculous. Go in there and raise merry hell if it's not right for your daughter.

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circular · 15/02/2010 08:00

Sounds a bit like my DDs school where they are put into one of four pathways with different cores
I was shocked to find out what else was considered as well as the childs current ability. See my ' thinking ahead...' thread.

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Skegness · 15/02/2010 08:02

When I say ridiculous I mean the school for basing their recommendation on results from 3 full years ago when your dd wasn't even at their school, just to clarify. So sorry your dd is upset. Just reassure her that you will support her to sort it out. Is this a common phenomenon in her school? I'm sure BTEC can be great for some but it seems a big decision to drop the full complement of GSCEs without consultation with parents/children and an explanation of the rationale plus reassurance that it doesn't stymie options for proceeding to further education etc. I would be furious with the school, frankly.

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toast55 · 15/02/2010 08:31

I think they play it safe to get the results that they do.75% pass 5 gcse.Makes you wonder doesnt it.Kids are given less chance to excel and stretch themselves so the school maintains its good results.

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Skegness · 15/02/2010 09:06

I really do think it's shocking, toast- sounds like piss poor communication and low expectations of perfectly able children is going on here. When I were a lass we had a meeting with a senior member of the teaching staff to discuss GCSE options. It worked well as everyone had a chance to thrash out the issues, if any. Any chance you could request such, if it isn't a standard feature at your daughter's school?

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toast55 · 15/02/2010 09:09

parents evening is in 2 weeks but I want to see her head of house befor then as parents evening is a bun fight.

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Skegness · 15/02/2010 09:30

Yes- I really think you need to go in all guns blazing asap, tbh. I just feel very sorry for children whose parents unwittingly accept this sort of academic write-off at 14. It's really quite usual for kids to faff about in the 1st few years of secondary and then pull their socks up bigtime when it counts, ime. (Not saying this is what your daughter has done at all at all, of course- sounds even worse in her case as they are apparently basing it on exam results she achieved at her first school when she was only 11 !). I think only a minority of children should be allowed to drop 3 GCSEs and it should be only those who know that they definitely want to do something that will be enhanced by a vocational course or those who genuinely need to focus on fewer subjects in order to pass. And it should always be done in partnership with the child and his/her parents. Just telling a child they are doing btec is disgraceful!

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frakkinaround · 15/02/2010 09:52

BTECs don't suit every child! They're pretty heavy on coursework and so require sustained effort all the way through - the sooner schools realise this and stop targeting them at 'less academically able' children the better. TBH I'd have failed one.

Why the hell shouldn't she do 5 core GCSEs (Eng x2, maths, double science?) and some subjects which interest her like history, geography, a foreign language or art?! A BTEC is nothing like the breadth of knowledge you can gain from doing 3 GCSEs. In any case a top London girls school, top 10 in the country, insist their pupils only need 8 good GCSEs to do well in life. That's only 3 more subjects for your daughter to do and then she can really focus on them.

That's quite apart from the high handed manner in which they've just informed you she's doing a BTEC. Have they deigned to tell you which one they've already picked?

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southeastastra · 15/02/2010 09:56

er ds(16) is doing a BTEC in business, he is in the top set and isn't stupid

he's going on to do a levels.

please don't think all children doing them are 'stupid' fgs

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senua · 15/02/2010 09:57

Rather than phrase it as "we don't want XXX", try to phrase it more positively as "we do want YYY". Have you discussed with her which subjects she would like to do, beyond the core?

Can you speak to other parents, do they have any more info about what is going on.

Go in all guns blazing but make sure that you have your facts right before you do.

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senua · 15/02/2010 10:00

I hear what you are saying sea. My DD did a BTEC. But she did 9 GCSEs and a BTEC, which is a bit different to 5GCSEs and a BTEC which is what OP's DD is being offered.

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southeastastra · 15/02/2010 10:03

er so is ds (5 gcses), shall i tell him that he's ready for the scrap heap already

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Tortington · 15/02/2010 10:05

i didn't know you could do a btec at senior school

but ( flame away) thee is a higherarchy about these things

dd was threatening to do a B-tech last year when she was thinking about college - and i think i started a thread on it where people were telling me how great it is and what a 'proper' qualifiction it is

but we all know it just isn't. its the qualification they pass you of with when you the the sted of proper qualification

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southeastastra · 15/02/2010 10:10

god this website can make you feel shit sometimes

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RubysReturn · 15/02/2010 10:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

senua · 15/02/2010 10:16

sorry sea

I was going to say to OP that, whatever they do, the important thing is to make sure that they are doing enough to get them on to the next stage. Sounds like you have that covered.

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frakkinaround · 15/02/2010 10:19

By southeastastra Mon 15-Feb-10 09:56:11
er ds(16) is doing a BTEC in business, he is in the top set and isn't stupid

Whilst this may be entirely true, and there are cases where BTECs are appropriate, I find it very suspect that the OPs DD is being directed to do 5 core GCSEs they presumably have to do and a BTEC. I suspect, but cannot prove, that they are doing this for less academic children in the hope of upping their pass rate but, as I said, BTECs are not an easy option - they require sustained work and don't suit everyone.

A BTEC in performing arts is an excellent idea if you want to combine music, dance and drama. It's not so great if you want to study pure music at uni. Let's not pretend they're the same as GCSEs - in some cases they can be better but they are not a substitute. I think we need to know which pathway is being recommended and the justification for that.

A BTEC cannot and will not replace a full range of GCSEs. I doubt your son is just doing a BTEC in business, southeastastra, and I suspect it's in place of a business studies GCSE. That kind of subsitution, IMO, is perfectly acceptable. Striking off the OPTION of 3 GCSEs is not.

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Skegness · 15/02/2010 10:26

sea- clearly you and your (fab and clever) son have had the "consultation with parents/children and an explanation of the rationale plus reassurance that it doesn't stymie options for proceeding to further education" that toast and her daughter have not been offered. I'm sorry- but I won't be the only one who has outdated notions that btec is different in kind from GCSE. In my day it was not necessarily the best option for someone who might want to proceed on to A levels and university. Academically it was seen as a less rigorous option and you were likely to be discriminated against when it came to applying for an academic course at college/uni. It could, however, be a great thing to do if you were sure you wanted to follow certain vocational careers. If that has changed, and it sounds like it has from what you say, communication with children and parents is all important.

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GetOrfMoiLand · 15/02/2010 10:39

We do not even find out what my dd's options are until 11th March.

I moved her from a really good academic school to this one which is pretty crap, truth be told. So I am dreading some kind of stunt like this where kids are shoehorned into doing vocational courses as opposed to GCSEs.

I do not want DD to do BTEC as it is pretty clear that sixth forms and universities do not view them as highly as GCSEs. I too think it is writing kids off at 14.

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toast55 · 15/02/2010 16:22

The btec she can choose from are PE (shes ok at this recreationally but no more), Land Management ( shes a makeup and hairstraighteners kind of girl) or ICT (again ok but not something she enjoys as much as say history).
I might consider it if she could do one she was vaugley interseted in.
She came home saying she had been sent to the library with all the thick kids to be told this. Done her self esteem no good.
The betec may not be the easy option but it is perceived as for thick kids by employers and the kids themselves.

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AccioPinotGrigio · 15/02/2010 16:55

"thick kids" - oh dear.

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TheFallenMadonna · 15/02/2010 17:04

Many schools, expecially ones which are under huge pressure to increase their A*-C percentage, will provide pathways through KS4 for their students. We do at my school. I don't agree with it myself, but for a child to do a subject they love at GCSE and fail to achieve a C is not acceptable when schools are judged to such an enormous extent on this one measure.

My swchool offers a huge range of vacational subjects, which I am in whole-hearted support of, but I also think children whould be allowed to study the subjects they love even if they aren't going to achieve highly in them. But I don't make the rules. And I can see why my school's management have made the decisions they have.

You need to get in touch with whoever is in charge of options at your DD's school and talk it over with them. Get them to explain their reasoning for your child. Ask them about their 'every child matters' agenda...

And don;t refer to other children as the 'thick kids'.