British phrasing: flunking out of school

[kronette]

I'm not quite sure how to phrase this, but I'm having a character flunk/fail Year 10. I don't know if that's possible, but this is for a story set in the future by several hundred years, so I figure it'll be okay.

If he's explaining to someone what happened, would he say, "I've failed Year 10," or "I've flunked out of Year 10"?

In the letter from the

Comments

[jodete]

Both are right but "flunked" sounds more like something that would be said in a very informal situation, it's more slang than anything.

[kronette]

Thank you kindly.

[laura_anne]

I would go with the first, flunked out seems very American to me.

In a formal letter I would expect him to be told not to return next year. (although right now you wouldn't really be kicked out of a non-selective school for poor academic performance alone, you'd just leave before or fail your GCSEs)

[ditdatdo]

I agree with all of this, especially the part about not being kicked out unless you were a complete behavioural nightmare, in which case you'd probably end up expelled before you failed anyway.

[kronette]

Something else to think about; thank you.

[kronette]

Yes, thank you. I was afraid "flunked" was an American term (I'm American).

[enigmata]

He'd have to take Year 10 over again.

[kronette]

He's had too many problems, this was a blessing for the school to get rid of him and not tarnish their name. Thanks.

[leyosura]

In the UK you wouldn't be kicked out of a state school for failing exams, that would only happen for extremes of bad behaviour. You'd be more likely to re-sit the exams, or you could leave voluntarily at the end of year 11.
"flunked" is a very American term, so "failed" would be more likely.

[sollersuk]

If it's set that far in the future, and the English educational system has become so Americanised that it's really an appropriate concept, you can handwave any phrase you like.

The key concept at present is the Minimum School Leaving Age, which has been rising (it went up from 15 to 16 in my second year of teaching), but once you reach it, at the next appropriate date in the school year you can leave school and that's that; you haven't dropped out or anything like that, you've left. If you're at a selective school and your academic performance is poor, it will probably be suggested to your parents that you might be happier elsewhere. Otherwise, if you are still at school after GCSEs you will be directed away from the more academic sort of A Level to something that is effectively more vocational or softer (there's been some fuss about this recently).

In State schools, suspension, and finally expulsion, are only used for really bad behaviour, and quite difficult to organise.