Dilemmas and Diplomas

Well Its been another eventful day ~ what is going on with my lot! I thought parenting was supposed to get easier when they get older? its not ~ the hurdles just change from tantrums and growing up to teenage hormones and right decisions, this is one hurdle i know I'm going to get another 3 times over, so i want to get this as right as can....

The triplets managed to come home from school nicely today, not via the chickens, thanks to Ryan... lol i had to keep thanking him about walking the 'tribe' home though, so no doubt he will milk it.
The good news is they had a great day, all ate dinner properly and not bought slush puppies with the £8.00 lunch money i have to send every day, to say i was annoyed at them yesterday was an understatement, they said it was because they thought it was the canteen :) but Ryan showed them the way today so there is no more of that happening ~ I Hope.. slush puppies aren't really food kids, even when you try to convince me otherwise... even im not that blonde

Im trying to sort out Ryans diploma and GCSE placing, which is proving to be a concern, after speaking to an assortment of i must say really good teachers today i have been filled in for the whole story as to why the good students are being made to work with the not so good ones, its not as simple as i hoped.
Basically when the diplomas came in this year they had based them on last years students who were attending work experience for the same amount of time out of school ( 2 days a week) which meant the students were down 2 days of class room attendance away from their friends who were doing the standard GCSEs... The results showed that on the 6 students that took part only 1 passed, and her grades weren't as good as her ability had shown she could do.... so the school made the rule that if they are doing work placement or diplomas then they go into the overspill class and not into the class that they would have been in originally placed in automatically through their marks and grades....
I can see their point in ways, they don't want to put too much pressure on them, but what do you do when your child has been put into a class that's way below his ability and he feels will hold him back? he says hes there to learn and wants to be in the top maths etc hes supposed to be in, his words were " I worked hard for my top marks and deserve to be there, why should i be in with ones that don't care because I'm trying to get extra grades?"

My son got top marks in nearly all his tests and yet has been put into a group of students that the headteacher admitted to me today, don't really partake in classroom learning activities " they are more hands on students wishing to do apprenticeships" so basically you've now got top rate students in with the ones who just want 'out of school' why?... because they don't feel they can do both well?

Because last years studies had shown that they don't think the pupils can achieve the diploma as well as take on all the other GCSEs on top... its been a thought provoking day..

I do not want to push my son into anything, i hope and encourage him to make the right decisions for him only , as long as he feels hes done his best, its all i can wish for, but he doesn't agree with what the school is saying...and wants to have a go at doing both, but in his groups where he should be.........

So today Ive had in depth conversations with his tutors to see if they think hes capable of taking all this work on without compromising his marks or pushing more work than what hes capable of doing.. its a hard one.

After speaking to him there is no doubt in my mind he wants to do this, he wants to do all the qualifications even though it means he will have double work and will have to attend extra lessons after school to make up for the two lost school days, on top of that he will have to do the diploma work which means another 8 GCSEs on top of the normal ones to work at! GOD HES SO MUCH LIKE HIS FATHER ISN'T HE!!! im prepared for what was left of my hair to turn white now too...

I really admire the fact hes up for this, but like Ive been explaining to him tonight, words are easy..... getting stuck in, day in day out, is the only thing that's going to allow him to cut this and he has to know what hes taking on here.. so Ive been trying to talk him out of it for all the right reasons (but also to see how much he really wants this) as hes not backing down one inch... :)

Hes the only pupil from Sprowston high that's doing this diploma, so like hes pointed out tonight, this could pave the way for future pupils who are going to be stuck in overspill classes like he is at the moment if they choose to take the diploma option... so its also a valid point.

Ive spoken to his dad by phone and explained whats proposed and hes backing Ryan 100% even to the point of working with him each night to support him in his best subjects, so it looks like I'm going to get the science homework to work with him on..lol god knows how but i got the highest grades in my high school for that, and french i will also learn as he does, we both know enough basics so hopefully we can make it enjoyable and take him to Paris with us when i go for stock, if he can see ahead it may just help to inspire him through this.
My head is spinning tonight, i will back him of course as i do believe he will genuinely do whatever it takes to do this, but ill also be there for him when he gets tired and hopefully give him the support hes going to need, it wasn't my little boy that made these decisions tonight it was my grown up son... my god didn't i see that clearly ..Talk about proud.....

If hes got half of my blood, he wont quit at anything and from his dad has inherited that thirst for knowledge, then I'm sure he'll do this..
I keep telling him to live his life to the max and just go for things.. so hats off to him..
I'm enjoying being a parent of a teenager more than i ever thought possible.......
I just hope he doesn't know more than me when it comes to mums night of tutoring......lol