English or EAL

[Amigowonka]

Hey guys, i'm currently in year 11 and I just found out that I'm eligible for EAL (exactly 7 years). My school, however, advices me to choose mainstream English instead.

There's only one other student in my entire year level doing EAL (who is average at most). Hence I will be in mainstream english classes but do exams and SACs separately.

Well, I think i'm quite capable and I got the 30/30 for my mid-year "Henry IV:Part 1" essay, so my teachers believe that I'd do really well in English. But I feel like it's a missed oppurtunity if I don't take advantage of it. The scaling is very tempting indeed.

I did the listening component of the 2017 exam, and didn't find it too difficult (except for the tone for part 1 which I got wrong). Yet I heard there are tryhards who have been preparing for this listening task since year 9 and I will be no match for them. *cue shudder*

So should I just stick with normal English or attempt to capitalize on the fact that I'm eligible for ELA. Any help or suggestion would be IMMENSELY appreciated!!