Mum fuming after school 'forces year 11 son to drop GCSE subject' for key reason

The school has implemented the change for a key reason

A mum said her year 11 son had been 'forced' to drop a GCSE subject despite studying it throughout year 10. The parent said the pupil had stopped attending history lessons in favour of more English and maths lessons.

Around 100 pupils were thought to be in the same boat at Birches Head Academy in Stoke-on-Trent. But the mum, who was not named, claimed she was not consulted about the change to her son's timetable.

She told StokeonTrentLive: "If they are having to do this with so many Year 11 students, that’s not a problem with the children, that’s a bigger problem with the school. The kids are being punished due to Birches Head’s failings.

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"They hadn’t discussed which option my son wanted to lose, they hadn’t discussed anything with the parents. He’s majorly disappointed. He’s wondering what the point is of him going in.

"This school year was majorly impacted by Covid. They call them the ‘mystery year’ because they had no SATs, no Year 7, and they’ve missed out on a lot of education. I don’t know what has happened to the education system, but whichever direction Birches Head is trying to take it is the wrong one.”

The school said its pupils took nine GCSEs rather than the traditional eight meaning there was more flexibility to change. A spokesperson for Birches Head Academy principal Paul Masher said: "As a school we work hard to ensure all our students study a really broad curriculum. That is why we offer nine subjects at GCSE rather than the national standard of eight GCSEs.

"Alongside this, we also closely monitor the progress each student makes. If it looks like someone might benefit from focusing on one less GCSE then we will explore that with the pupil and their family. For example, if a pupil looks like they will struggle to secure a pass in one of their options subjects, and would benefit from more time focusing on English or Maths, we will look to create the capacity to provide additional lessons in those core subjects.

"As our pupils are currently studying one more GCSE than most other pupils across the country, there is no detriment in doing this. In fact, given the focus there is for students to pass the core subjects, this approach helps to provide pupils with enhanced options when they look to move on to college or an apprenticeship.

"It is also important to stress the process of reviewing and refining the number of GCSEs each of our pupils takes is something that happens every year. If a pupil or family still wants to study nine subjects after our conversations, then we will support them to do this. Refining their GCSE options is meant to be a genuinely supportive move – it is not a mandatory or punitive measure."

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