To think that 4 G.C.S.E's needed to do business studies is ridiculous

Absolutely! Still can't believe a teacher dared to write that. Pity the poor kids in her class who are struggling.

Thank you so much, and to your DD. Nice to know our children aren’t ’write offs’ after all!

That's a fantastic success story! Well done your DS.

Business studies is not an easy at A level or equivalent. I think you needed 5 at the when I went to college in 2000. It’s quite complex depending on the specific curriculum.

Thank you so much ☺️ Sounds like your DD is doing similarly well.

Yeah but he's got a Minecraft server so that's ok....!

@CatkinToadflax That's fantastic!

Loving the unusual animal anecdotes. My son was born extremely prematurely and had a brain bleed at birth. He has multiple complex disabilities. I can’t put into words how proud I am of him for passing maths and English Functional Skills. I have lived experience that they are counted as GCSE grade 4 passes. He went on to get a Distinction Star in his Computer Gaming T-Level. To get onto this course he needed maths and English GCSEs or Functional Skills. And yes, I’ve seen exam papers for both. They spent months on my kitchen table.

So much fun! She's having a ball and is doing better in her assessments and tests than she ever did at any subject in school. Despite what some PP think – cannot believe that person is actually a teacher – some kids who barely scrape their GCSEs will soar if they find their passion.

Target training lemurs was also a favourite!

I bet thats fun🤣

My DD's favourite is doing health checks on ferrets and chinchillas!

@Passingthrough123 Glad the animal care is going well. DD's favourite practical lesson was dog walking!

So basically you are saying if somone doesn't do Alevels they are a write off?

100% there is more to life than A-Levels! Due to SEN, my DD only passed 3 GCSEs above grade 4 and the rest were 3s. She applied to do Level 3 in animal care but was refused a place because all her sciences were Grade 3. She's now doing Level 2 and is on course for distinction – passing the course is the equivalent of four more GCSE passes, including animal biology. That's enough to get her onto the Level 3 course.

For a teacher your comprehension is really bad
You dont seem ti understand what equivalent means ?
Nobody is suggesting functional skills are GCSE,s they are saying they are an equivalent qualification, which many colleges and Apprenticeship, s accept.

You are wrong. I’m not sure how me googling exam papers for both or either would make you right.

not sure why you think him being expelled was OTT as the incident you described was appalling. Somehow excused as he was his friend. Even worse for the poor child who was ridiculed in person by his so called friends, and then had it circulated round the internet. If my son did that i’d be telling him he got everything he deserved, not making excuses and suggesting it was an over reaction. Also a GCSE course is 2yrs, so the fact he didn’t sit the actual GCSE’s shows he wasn’t on track anyway. Sounds like he spent his secondary messing around, which is really disruptive to kids who do want to learn.

Whilst most of his friends may have no qualifications, this isn’t the norm for kids his age. Great if he can make money from this server, good luck to him, but yes he needs some qualifications. But how is he going to manage a business studies course when he can’t pass GCSE’s. Business studies involves maths. I’d get him to actually sit GCSE maths and English as this functional skills won’t get him far when faced with competition from others who have GCSE’s.

Life isn't all about Alevels ...

My son has Autism, diagnosed aged 5, now Y13. He just scraped into level 3 business and level 3 travel/tourism courses with 4 GCSEs - English, Maths and 2 Sciences, all grade 4 passes. This is at a sixth form doing btec/ctec qualifications. There is lots of research/writing/presentation for coursework and the exams are quite different to GCSEs. My son didn't do well at GCSE due to doing almost no work in Y9/10 for many reasons and leaving it all to Y11. He is likely to pass his level 3 courses but it's not been easy. The entry requirements are realistic.

They are the equivalent, that doesnt mean the same qualifications, its akin to when I was doing my nurse training in the early 90,s when they asked for GCSE,at grade C or above or Olevels
Mumsnet does like to sneer at the less academic kids for some reason.

Getting 4 GCSEs is not necessarily about the certificate at the end, but more about proving that he can apply himself and be consistent and committed. In business, he will need tenacity, determination and commitment.

It's a similar thing to some jobs asking for a degree or equivalent, not because they need the qualification but because it can show employers (the ones who find it important) that the person has the ability to knuckle down to work, as other posters have said.

Expulsion is a different problem, and that will blight his efforts. It sounds as if he needs to start taking learning seriously and to realise how competitive the world of work is. I would say to him that if he can prove himself by passing these 'boring' courses, he will find himself back on the right track.

We all have to do boring things sometimes, to get to another point where we'd like to be.

Even at our local school which is in deprived area the majority get at least 5 GCSES only SEND don’t. A course asking for 4 GCSES isn’t aimed at academic students just basic requirements.

While a majority of students will pass at least some GCSEs, the system as it stands is designed to ‘fail’ a third of entrants: grades 1, 2 and 3 (equivalent to the old pre-1988 CSE grades 3, 4 and 5) no longer count as passes.

I don't see how that's relevant.

My experience is having a DC who has been through GCSE Resits and Functional Skills in the past couple of years. So yes I know the contents. I know they aren't the same. But I also know that having got the FS you are not required to resit the GCSE.