Transfering school in 2 nd year advice please

hgm

We will be moving shortly and my son is currently in 2 nd year. He currently studies Spanish and Technology among other subjects, but the new school does not have these subjects. There is French and German but my son feels he has missed too much at this stage to catch up and is worried.

He is fluent in Irish so if he were to chose French or German which one would be best for him? He's a high achiever ,so I don't have concerns with him picking it up but more so playing catch up from 1 st years work.

Is it possible for him to continue studying Spanish at home if he is willing to put the work in ,and get grinds, then sit the Spanish exam in the Junior cert if his school do not have that subject?

Also what subjects from the following would be easier for him to catch up on if he has never done them before:
French, German, Physics, Music, Art, Home Economics, Construction Studies, Metalwork, Materials Technology (Wood), Technical Graphics.

Any advice on transfering schools half way through the Junior cycle would be appreciated thanks.

sitstill

hgm wrote: »

We will be moving shortly and my son is currently in 2 nd year. He currently studies Spanish and Technology among other subjects, but the new school does not have these subjects. There is French and German but my son feels he has missed too much at this stage to catch up and is worried.

He is fluent in Irish so if he were to chose French or German which one would be best for him? He's a high achiever ,so I don't have concerns with him picking it up but more so playing catch up from 1 st years work.

Is it possible for him to continue studying Spanish at home if he is willing to put the work in ,and get grinds, then sit the Spanish exam in the Junior cert if his school do not have that subject?

Also what subjects from the following would be easier for him to catch up on if he has never done them before:
French, German, Physics, Music, Art, Home Economics, Construction Studies, Metalwork, Materials Technology (Wood), Technical Graphics.

Any advice on transfering schools half way through the Junior cycle would be appreciated thanks.

French would generally be seen as an "easier" language to pick-up than German also there could be some similarities between French and Spanish which might help him so I would steer him towards French. He could continue with Spanish outside of school with the help of grinds etc if he wanted but I think at that age, it would be a lot to take-on. He could sit the exam for JC so long as the new scool is aware and registers him for it but it is a situation that is much more common at senior cycle.

The list of subject options you give (with the exception of Physics which is not a JC subject!) all would reguire some level of proficiency already - if he could already play an instrument for example, he might progress quickly with music.

happywithlife

It would depend on the set up in the new school too with regards subject choice in first yr
Eg in a lot of schools they run taster programmes I first yr so students do all subjects - sometimes it's for the yr other times it's till Xmas etc
If the latter happened in the new school he may less to catch up on than he thinks
Regardless I would focus more on what he naturally likes rather than what that subject did in first yr _ his choices now may affect his leaving cert choices so choose wisely

rainbowtrout

From a logical point of view it would probably be easier for him to take up French rather than German. There are similiarities between French and Spanish. Also you would have to consider if he will be keeping a language for Leaving Cert as it is a requirement for some universities/college courses.

Considering that he has been doing Technology up until now, if he likes it it might be worth considering Metalwork, Woodwork or Tech Graphics as there would be some sort of overlap with them more so than anything else.

In terms of keeping on Spanish outside school, that isn't a problem if you can get him a teacher and he can manage the workload of Spanish along with whatever new subject(s) he is taking in school. When the time comes in third year to fill in the forms for subjects and levels for Junior Cert all he has to do is add Spanish to his list of subjects on the form. The school doesn't have to offer it for him to be allowed to sit the exam.

Cailin CoisFarraige

I can really only comment on the language-related questions.
I had this situation with one of my grinds students last year. She was in a school in first year learning Spanish, and moved schools in second year and had to take up French. While it was difficult at the beginning, she put in the work and got a B in her most recent exam and is steadily improving.

Of course it is possible to do a language outside of school, but please take into account that this would then have to continue on for the Leaving Cert cycle also, if your son plans to stay in his current school. It is very inadvisable to not study a language to Leaving Cert.

If he decides to take French, my advice would be to seek grinds as soon as possible so that he can try to reach his classmates' level earlier in the year, and will therefore benefit more from his French classes in school.

implausible

If he is bilingual, research suggests that picking up a third will be relatively easy for him. It is possible for him to sit Spanish outside of school, but to do a language for the Leaving in his new school, he would need to do French. He may not have missed out on much, as another poster said, some schools take a lot of time with taster subjects so the others in his class may not necessarily have a full year of French done.

I'd recommend that before he starts in the new school that you and him make an appointment with the Guidance Counsellor - s/he is well used to advising students on subject options and will give you some guidance on how those subjects progress onto Leaving Cert.

Another thing I'd recommend is to find out if the English class has covered a novel yet. If so, getting it read will help him feel less out of his depth.

Best of luck.

GERMAN ROCKS

I would recommend german. points are lot lower yet eg commerce with german, law with german etc compared to French. what they will have learned in first year will be minimal anyway and a few heavy weeks of learning should make him catch up to his peers.