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

I'd suggest it's probably always both things. The vast majority of children, even the ones not very academic, can pass at least some GSCEs with enough work. And quite a few can pass without any work, just turning up to lessons and mostly paying attention. I think you have to really, really struggle academically (to the extent you're more likely to be at a specialist provision) or be completely uncommitted throughout Y10 and 11 to fail EVERYTHING.

I don't think he'll get an apprenticeship in tech without a GCSE to his name.

You always needed at least 4 O'Levels to get onto the BTEC OND (Ordinary National Diploma) in Business and Finance. There was a one year foundation course before that you could get onto with no qualifications. It sounds like your Son has been put onto the modern equivalent of that course which is about right if he doesn't have the correct qualifications for the more advanced course. If he didn't do his exams due to being expelled but you think he could pass them he could apply to sit the exams as an outside student (you should have done this for him at the time last year really) so he can take the exams he worked towards for 2 years.

They’ll probably ask for GCSEs though. If he’s capable he’s probably better off resitting them.

It would help to know more about what constitutes "horseplay" in this instance

It’s Maths and English that he’ll need.

Can you clarify this please OP?

Are you saying that he took a full set of GCSEs and failed them all? You say that he only missed the last few weeks of school with the expulsion and was allowed back to sit his exams but didn’t pass?

And then he sat Functional Skills exams through a different school (a PRU??) and that’s what he passed?

Setting aside the reasons for his permanent exclusion, there’s no way most of his year group didn’t lass their GCSEs. I think he’s spinning you a yarn there.

Do you think that your ex is/was keeping track of Ds’ education? Usually mock grades in year 11 help parents understand how their child is performing on a national level so their GCSE grades aren’t a massive surprise. You say that you’re not disadvantaged so could have invested in tutors for subjects like Maths so he could start his college course last September. My kids weren’t fans of English but studied for their GCSE to avoid the retake hassle. Do you think your ex was telling ds stuff like that so he at least made an effort in those subjects?

(You say that ex works long hours but it’s hard to tell if it’s something like healthcare which includes nights but there should be an understanding of the importance of education or he needs to work long hours because life is expensive and night shift means more money) Either way it sounds like ds was pretty neglected and that’s a massive gamble with teens that can easily go wrong.

My kids went to a comp and their school had qualifications for kids who are unlikely to pass GCSEs but had a good chance at passing those. When choosing GCSE options in year 9, our school would have steered kids towards those sorts of qualifications and they wouldn’t take the 9ish that other students took. (I say 9ish because some kids do triple science, further maths etc that can bump up that number)

Even more millions are sat on the dole or in dead end jobs without a hint of a GCSE - for every "I left school at 16 with no qualifications and now I'm a millionaire" there are five thousand who aren't...

Around here apprenticeships are like gold dust, so he will need a lot of parental assistance if he wants to attempt to get one!

Most colleges ime only allow students to resit maths and English these days.

The 'teenage horseplay' that ended up on tiktok and led to permanent exclusion from school.

Having got to pg9 of the thread, I think this is the most likely outcome. It sounds like neither OP, nor her ex have had their eye on the ball and the DS has paid the price. It's not the fault of the school, or the college, or even really DS. He's done what a 15yo with no boundaries will do.

Very competitive

As someone else has pointed out, I should have expanded my comment to include that he will need to re-do his GCSEs. He’s not going to get far without them unfortunately.

They also need at least 4 GCSE passes to do Level 2 courses in construction, it's not just 'academic' courses. My DS has 4 passes and is doing Level 2 Plumbing alongside retaking English GCSE/taking functional skills. And plenty of his classmates have more than 4 passes. It's not an easy course, and the Level 3 apprenticeship is significantly more challenging again. So all those people saying to go for a trade instead are underestimating what you need to qualify into those areas as well.

Well that’s good. He really needs to decide what he is good at, or potentially good at and make a plan around that. Realistically, how would he manage in Business at college if his peers there all passed the minimum requirements (and beyond). It could be as miserable as if I was put in a chemistry degree course (I absolutely failed terribly my then ‘O’ level).

Sounds like a school leaver apprenticeship in tech would suit him well.

Did he get grade 4? I don’t think he did but happy to be corrected.

It’s an ok grade in that it is a pass and the minimum for many apprenticeships so gives rise to other opportunities. Whether it’s a good grade depends on the individual.
I used SEN as an example but, of course there are many circumstances where grade 4 is a high achievement and equally many SEN children achieve very high grades.

My eldest is also an Sumer born baby! Came out with 9 GCSEs 4/6s. (Had 3 yrs of disruption with COVID!) Did level 3 Btec business and 2x A levels. The step up from gcse to A level is massive! She hardly has any time to herself, they need to be organised and dedicated to their study! Sounds like he just dicked at school, the college are going to need to see a change in his attitude or they won’t offer him a higher level course. Like in life , sometimes you have to suck it up, to prove your true potential xx

Don't worry love, he's doing really well on his video game 🙄

Your attitude is the problem so it seems.

Either OP's son is lying to her to try and normalise his results, or he's hanging out with the wrong crowd. I didn't know anyone who failed any of their GCSEs and everyone I was close to got all As and Bs. Failing all your GCSEs in my social circle would have been considered completely shocking and peer pressure meant that no-one would have been OK with risking that. Added to that, no-one was socialising beyond the odd get together for a revision session from about April onwards in Y11. Even if you hadn't been at home studying there was no-one to go out with.

I guess that's irrelevant now since you can connect with the whole world from an XBox in your bedroom.

You've got the wrong end of the stick.

I was referring to the end of the post I quoted.

You don't end up with no GCSEs through not being academic, it's a lack of effort.

Lack of GCSE attainment can be a result of both things.

Sounds to me like the kid is suffering from a distinct lack of parenting. This is likely to hold him back.

This is a conversation you both need to have with the college to get a better understanding. My son did Business Studies BTEC alongside his GCSEs at level 2 and is now doing level 3 alongside his A Levels. He is a bright boy who was in a challenging school for GCSE years but did well despite not having teachers for every subject. I'd imagine that the college doesn't have the evidence to support any confidence in the level 3 BTEC being realistically achievable for your son. If he's genuinely passionate about the subject, and he's willing to put the energy, effort, time and attitude into his college experience, he needs to make that clear to the college.

Could it be an option for him to do the lower level BTEC to prove his capabilities and commitment?

If he's thriving in his own entrepreneurial enterprises, that's brilliant. Academia isn't for everyone. One of my children will be pursuing a degree apprenticeship in business which will mean he's earning alongside getting the next level of qualifications, contacts and experience. Another left 6th form college because she wasn't happy with the course. She went straight into working full time and she's doing amazingly, she's dedicated, well paid, and has been given responsibilities and training development.

So I recognise the power and importance of practical experience, and when A Levels aren't the right fit for some young people. My fear for your son is that his future options will be limited with the qualifications he's got under his belt.

You say his mates didn't get GCSEs either? Are they still a big group of friends? What else do they get up to? What are their and his ambitions? Where does he see himself in a year? 2? 5? What are his values? What matters to him? What sports does he play? What volunteering has he done? What work experience does he have? What's his part time job? He's going to be competing with kids with all of that. In his part time job, what does his employer say about him? Is he reliable? Curious? Hardworking? A team player? A quick learn? What's he doing when he's not in college?