Is there any reason why children should not repeat a school year?

When the League Tables were published and schools’ success was judged on how many GCSEs students got.

I only sat 8 O levels in the 60s - when did it change to double figures?

Being able to play the piano would have been the most useful qualification in getting a job in a school. I could have breezed into anywhere?

Seriously though, don’t you think there are a large number of students who would be better off concentrating on five or six key subjects than trying (and failing) to get get eleven?

Yes, me too growstuff. Particularly that dodgy maths GCSE that I only just officially passed .

Calendargirl

Peasblossom

Hmm, dare I suggest this might be the moment to question the Curriculum altogether? How much of what is missed is really that important? Could they catch up with what they really need if a lot of other stuff was dropped?

Does anyone really need 11 or 12 GCSEs?

Fast forward ten or so years, does anyone then get asked how many GCSE’s they achieved, and what grades they were awarded?

Yes, whenever I applied for teaching jobs.

Peasblossom

Hmm, dare I suggest this might be the moment to question the Curriculum altogether? How much of what is missed is really that important? Could they catch up with what they really need if a lot of other stuff was dropped?

Does anyone really need 11 or 12 GCSEs?

Fast forward ten or so years, does anyone then get asked how many GCSE’s they achieved, and what grades they were awarded?

My son in law says he is enjoying seeing how his kids learn and what their strengths and weaknesses are during this homeschooling period. So there can be an upside. Obviously being back in school is a better option though,

I agree paddyanne-life lessons are equally as important.

As long as my family is alive and well when the pandemic is over is all I care about .the grandchildren will all catch up.
Their mothers and their schools are working well together.

My Croatian friend missed years of school during the war in his country in the 80's.he and his family lived in their CAR .They all survived and went to school and got good jobs and happy lives.You can get too hung up on qualifications I think

Ellianne

The longer this crisis has gone on, the more everyone has had their lives turned upside down in the educational world. School pupils, university students, teachers, lecturers etc. Let's not also forget the many parents who have worked so hard to educate and entertain their kids while carrying out their day jobs at home. No one has had it easy.
Instead of labelling it a lost year and going on about young lives ruined, instead of worrying who has worked harder than others, maybe we should just be grateful that technology has served us so well and that by the new school year every adult will have been vaccinated. Most importantly we should be grateful that our children have remained unscathed in terms of their health. It could have been a lot worse.

I'm sure my son will be delighted, having not had any face-to-face teaching at uni for nearly a year, but still paying £9,250 plus rent for the privilege. I doubt if he'll be vaccinated this year and I somehow don't think he'll be cracking open the champagne when I am.

Lucca

Blinko I taught several languages for 20+ years and I had never heard of a fronted adverbial !

That's because frontal adverbials were invented for SATs. They don't appear in any grammar book of the English language.

Adverbs and adverbial phrases are important in German because they change the position of the verb, but I'd never heard of them either. I can teach inverted word order in German in a couple of lessons, so why on earth primary schools need to teach them is beyond me.

The longer this crisis has gone on, the more everyone has had their lives turned upside down in the educational world. School pupils, university students, teachers, lecturers etc. Let's not also forget the many parents who have worked so hard to educate and entertain their kids while carrying out their day jobs at home. No one has had it easy.
Instead of labelling it a lost year and going on about young lives ruined, instead of worrying who has worked harder than others, maybe we should just be grateful that technology has served us so well and that by the new school year every adult will have been vaccinated. Most importantly we should be grateful that our children have remained unscathed in terms of their health. It could have been a lot worse.

Blinko I taught several languages for 20+ years and I had never heard of a fronted adverbial !

Unfortunately, you're right!

Peasblossom

Hmm, dare I suggest this might be the moment to question the Curriculum altogether? How much of what is missed is really that important? Could they catch up with what they really need if a lot of other stuff was dropped?

Does anyone really need 11 or 12 GCSEs?

I know one thing: no one needs to know what a fronted adverbial is...

I’ve been wondering if summer schools could provide an answer for some. They could be staffed by NQTs and university students with a small number of more experienced or even recently retired teachers. Maybe ‘school’ isn’t quite the right word - more somewhere pupils can access additional support/tutoring in smaller groups. Personally I believe young people are much more resilient than we sometimes give them credit for. and that this past year won’t have as much of a detrimental effect as portrayed in the media. Students can miss large chunks of school for various reasons - ill health, accident or injury and manage to catch up. Media headlines about ‘a lost generation’ are really not helpful.

growstuff, huge difference for a few children to repeat a year because they have not reached the necessary level to go on to next academic year- to the whole year intake doing so.

BTW- the concept of streaming/setting is really not continental and very unique to UK. A class on the continent is generally a 'whole' of more or less the same standard children, who go to all classes together as a 'whole'.

Unlike the UK where a form is made us of children of very varied ability, who may well be in totally different classes and sets for a variety of subjects. Totally different system.

Not read the whole thread- but I can think of two good reasons. Not educational - I think educationally it would make sense.

But

1 . - space - where would most schools find space for an extra school year

2. - staffing - where would most schools find the necessary teachers, etc.

There is a huge shortage of the above already.

Sorry I caused 4 or 5 derisory posts towards myself after my comments.
I omitted to mention I have been a teacher and Headmistress, admittedly at an independent prep school. So yes, I have plenty of skills and experience. What I did say was that I would be concentrating on social skills above curriculum requirements and making sure children were proud of their own individual achievements, not having to meet levels specific to their age.

paddyanne

Can someone explain the English system to me ? Here children go to the school local to them both primary and secondary .Why would a primary age child be able to choose what school they go to? Why would parents be able to decide what school unless its state v private ?

It's pretty much the same as the system in Scotland.

There are no guarantees, as obviously schools fill up, and there is competition for the more popular ones, but people have a right to express a preference.

Some primary school children are almost a year older than the youngest in the class and many even started earlier. What is this standard that all pupils have to reach by a given age?

In Germany, children only spend four years in primary school, but international comparisons and my own limited experience has shown that they are achieving the same as UK pupils by the time they transfer to secondary school.

Repeating the year may be good for some but awful for others. Those that have attained good grades at their mocks and are still working hard would be bored stiff if they have to do the year again.
For younger children many would catch up once school is fully open again and with a shorter summer break.

trisher

Ellianne

Well I for one would cover for the stressed teachers during those extra weeks voluntarily.
Provided I could do things MY way, no following the curriculum, just getting back social skills, letting the kids re acclimatise and reigniting their love of learning.

Other jobs are also very stressful with long working hours. Many employees have only 4 or 5 weeks holiday in the year.

I've always wished that those who imagine they could teach a class could just be dropped into one, I'd give them half a day in the nice ones and half an hour in some of the rougher ones. Even the nicest children in a class will play up when they sense inexperience and there are many very experenced teachers who have been on supply and cried in the loo because the class was playing up. It ain't as easy as it looks!

There's no way in the world I would volunteer to go back in the classroom to teach proper lessons. In fact, I don't think I ever want to go back in a school. I'm quite happy teaching one-to-one. I like teaching teenagers and I like my subjects, but schools as institutions spook me. I might do it if I were offered eye-watering amounts of money, but I still couldn't guarantee I'd do a good job.

Laughterlines

Universities and Colleges could reduce their courses to two years again. It would help those struggling to pay tuition and accommodation costs. I know of several students who have limited tuition ( one hour on a Tuesday and three hours on a Friday for example) and we know a few students with free time who don’t use it for study but go to the pub or stay in bed all morning. Those who work hard work hard anyway.

I don't understand what you mean by "again". My degree course lasted three years and I believe Scottish university courses last four years.

What about all the university staff who would have to be made redundant?

galaxy ???
We could all tell the government a thing ir too as well!