[eal-bilingual] GCSEs and new to schooling and new to EAL

And this one!

Apologies everyone, particularly Dominique.  Was forwarding this old email 
to someone else and pressed the wrong button!
Jonathan

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "real.public" <real.public at btinternet.com>
To: "For practitioners involved in teaching pupils from ethnic 
andlinguisticminorities" <eal-bilingual at lists.becta.org.uk>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 1:45 PM
Subject: Re: [eal-bilingual] GCSEs and new to schooling and new to EAL

> And this one!
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dominique Moore" <dominique_moore at bristol-city.gov.uk>
> To: <eal-bilingual at lists.becta.org.uk>
> Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 3:59 PM
> Subject: [eal-bilingual] GCSEs and new to schooling and new to EAL
>
>
> Does anyone know if there is any information about how long a student, who 
> has had little or no formal schooling and is new to learning English, has 
> had to be in the UK to pass a GCSE exam?
>
> The question occurs because I am currently working with pupils in KS3 and 
> KS4 who have very limited previous schooling (some with no expereince of 
> schooling).
>
> At what point should alternative qualifications be considered for such 
> students? What are the best grades such a student arriving in Yr 9, for 
> example, could hope to achieve? Is there a point at which it would be of 
> greater benefit for that student's future prospects, in FE, HE or 
> employment, to consider alternative recognised qualifications? Or is it 
> best to have the approach that the student should continue to aim for 
> GCSEs but to sit for these later than other students?
>
> Some of the students I work with have high aspirations, for example one 
> student arrived from Somalia in YR 10 knowing only a few words in English, 
> having had no formal education and with very limited literacy in Somali. 
> She would like to be a doctor. I see no reason to beleive that she is not 
> capable of achieving her ambition however I don't see a realistic prospect 
> of her getting 3 or 4 A* A Levels by the time she is 18. Other students 
> may not have such high ambitions but similarly, in time they have in 
> secondary education, they may not be able to acquire subject knowledge and 
> appropriate level of academic English to get grades that are necessary for 
> steps towards their chosen careers.
>
> Would welcome any advice about best ways to guide/help such students.
>
> Dominique Moore
> EMAS Teacher
> Tutor - Newly Arrived Students
> Whitefield, Speedwell, Monks Park Schools
> Bristol
>
>
>
>
> 