UK Schooling

[Louisa Brown]

Susan Atherton replied to Lynda:

The GCSE choices are made at the end of year 9, when you are about 13 or 14.
And if you screw up here, you actually can really affect your future. For
example, someone not choosing a French GCSE would not be able to take up
French at A Level, they'd be too far behind, and so they'd not have a chance
with a French degree.

I add (just to confuse things further):

In Scotland the system is quite different - we take Standard Grades in 3rd &
4th year of secondary school (I was 15-16) and then Highers in 5th and have
the option of staying on to do SYSs (Sixth Year Studies - a kind of Advanced
Placement equivalent from the US system but the names are unimportant for
this disscussion and will probably just confuse everyone) in 6th form or
repeat failed Highers or add entirely new subjects. Highers have changed
since I was in school to become more modular but again that's not my point.
What I was meaning to get to sooner was that in Scotland if you chose not to
take French at Standard Grade and then aged 16 had an epiphany that you need
to do a French degree, you may have the option (depending on school size and
the flexibility of your head teacher) to "crash," as we called it, the
two-year Standard Grade French class in just 5th year and take the Higher
the following year. You would have to work your little student backside off,
however. And some universities may not like the look of it on your
application, but basically I'm saying that in Scotland you could
theoretically catch up on a subject a year late.

Given that JKR has spent many years living in Edinburgh the Scottish
(confusing) system may be closer to how she's modelled the Hogwarts
syllabus. Without those weird SYSs.

Which could (I only just thought of this) explain how Percy got so many
NEWTs - maybe he did several in 6th year and more in 7th?

Where did JKR teach as a matter of curiosity? And where does her daughter go
to school? Just in a "English/Welsh/Northern Irish schooling system or
Scottish system?" way, not in a "I want to stalk her child" way. In case you
were worried....<g>

Louisa, who is sufferring from insomnia and may make no sense.