GCSE exam hopes in the Cardiff school for second chances

Students astatine Bryn y Deryn Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) successful Cardiff are among thousands of young radical getting their exam results successful the adjacent 2 weeks.

At the PRU, they effort to marque definite young radical who were disengaged from acquisition permission with qualifications, and are acceptable for much survey oregon a job.

Unlike different schools, exams are held not successful a hallway but tiny groups successful class, and students get other help.

Pupils volition person their GCSE results connected 24 August.

Before that, results for A-levels and vocational qualifications volition beryllium published. 

We visited Bryn y Deryn connected the time of a maths GCSE exam successful June, erstwhile astir pupils successful the PRU for 14-16-year-olds were sitting the paper. 

Mason, 15, who sat the exam a twelvemonth aboriginal to get immoderate signifier earlier adjacent summer, said: "I'm blessed with myself I tried my best, that's each I tin do. 

"We commencement aboriginal successful Year 10 and past we tin physique up our assurance successful exams and successful Year 11 we tin conscionable smash them retired past and get them done - it's conscionable truthful overmuch easier."  

He has been astatine Bryn y Deryn since the commencement of the twelvemonth aft what helium describes arsenic "constant silly behaviour" successful his erstwhile school. But things person improved here.

"I consciousness similar I tin enactment myself - I tin inquire for assistance erstwhile I request it and if I'm ever struggling oregon request thing I cognize I'm much than invited to inquire the teachers and they're ever determination to help. 

"I privation to get my grades - I conscionable privation to beryllium happy, enactment successful schoolhouse and get connected with what I'm doing now."

The portion supports students who person near mainstream schools due to the fact that they were excluded oregon astatine hazard of it. 

The different fractional of the 90-pupil tract supports young radical who person not been going to schoolhouse due to the fact that of anxiousness oregon different affectional and intelligence wellness reasons.  

Megan, 16, is astatine the extremity of her 2 years astatine Bryn y Deryn which she said had been "better for my anxiousness and coping successful wide successful school". 

"It's helped maine advancement my acquisition a batch due to the fact that successful my aged school, I was predicted Fs and worldly - present I'm predicted Cs and Bs."

The verdict aft sitting the maths papers was that it "went each close - it was a spot difficult, but I managed to bash it. Hopefully I'm going to get that amended people than my past one."

Nearly each its learners request other enactment for exams, which means moving the timetable is simply a large operation. Some get much clip to bash the exam, portion others get the assistance of a scholar to explicate thing they bash not understand.

"It's a large exam today," said exams coordinator and lawman caput Hannah Smith. "Every azygous country successful the schoolhouse volition beryllium utilized and each azygous big volition beryllium progressive successful the exam successful immoderate way."  

"Everybody's progressive - it's a immense magnitude of teamwork connected the portion of the unit and it's important that we enactment the learners to get the champion results they tin get," she said.  

Even getting immoderate learners to travel to schoolhouse for their exams tin beryllium a insignificant victory. For the maths exam, unit are astatine the gates to invited pupils into the behaviour conception of the schoolhouse and immoderate request encouragement to participate the building. 

Before the exam started, 1 pupil utilized the trampoline successful the playground to calm his emotions earlier starting the paper.

Year 10 pupil Lishamarie, 15, was "nervous but excited", adding: "I emotion maths - I perfectly emotion it".

She tin inquire for enactment from unit members if she struggles to work thing successful the paper. 

"I'm getting much enactment present than I did successful my aged school", she said. "I'm mode happier. In my aged schoolhouse I got everything incorrect but present I get immoderate of it close and immoderate of it wrong," she added with a smile.

There's a twelvemonth to spell earlier she finishes her GCSEs and this summer's results won't beryllium her last try. She hopes for Cs and higher but "if I get thing supra an E past I'll beryllium fine".

All learners bash GCSE art, explained creation and plan teacher Kath Miles, with its "therapeutic" and "calming" effect moving well. "It's not needfully astir the qualification and whether they tin overgarment oregon draw." 

Developing assurance and societal skills are important on with getting "the maximum magnitude of qualifications," said headteacher Fiona Simpson. 

Learners are entered for exams much than erstwhile during the 2 years.

"Because sitting your astir important exams connected the aforesaid day, successful the aforesaid week, each crossed the state isn't going to enactment for everyone."