How do you go about resitting A levels?

Another option if you've lost faith in the school (although it might be a bit late) would be to pull him out and for him to start a local sixth form/FE college in lower sixth now/in Jan? He'd have a bit of catching up to do, but it might be possible if you think the extra emphasis on self-reliance and taking responsibility for his own learning would be good for him?

Personally I would go for the option of going back into year 12 if they will allow it.

So would I.

This is far better than allowing him to relax for the rest of this academic year! It might refocus him and give him a kick in the pants at the same time.

I agree. I'd have rolled my eyes right down the street if my dd had told me she was going to fail her A levels the autumn before and going to take a year out for to resit!

It sounds like you are hanging your hat far too much on the August born thing.

My plan would be to tell him all is not lost. He can start applying himself and get the grades he needs for the next stage of his life.

And completes.

Yes a foundation year is 9k fees plus the costs of accommodation and living costs. So be looking at maybe 20k per year. Some of which will be covered by student loan but probably not all. Like a pp said the Access course loan will be written off if he goes to uni.

Fees for Access are around £3-4K so a lot less than a foundation year. Also an advanced learner loan for Access is written off once the degree is finished.

Def drop down to yr12 again now if he cam, preferably in a state school as a late entry. Not college.

He can resit and do another Y13 but he'd only get 1 year of funding at state.

Crammers are still a thing aren't they? If he's already at independent then another year of fees somewhere intensive might be worth a try?

@Bunnyannesummers , yes but by then he may as well do a foundation year or apprenticeship.

He can get an advanced learner loan for an access course

@igivein Could he drop back into year 12 now so that he goes back over what he did which will help him cement the content and then do year 13 in September 2024. That way he would improve his base level. As he is in a fee paying school this might be easier to negotiate than if he was at a state school.

What GCSE grades did he go in with? How many free hours does he have in the day? Ds has free periods even with 4 A level subjects. What time does he come home and what time does he go to bed? How many hours on the weekend does he have free? Add all of those up and he can see how much free time he does have that he could choose to study in.

Personally I would go for the option of going back into year 12 if they will allow it.

An Access course won't be funded though, as he will technically have completed level 3. So he may as well do a foundation year.

Sorry got it DDD.

He could take a gap year then go to an Access course. You can do maths/ physics.

Does he know what he wants to do with a physics degree? And why is he ruling out foundation year?

what sort of grades is he performing at?

undergrads earning a bit of cash. I’m not sure they could help, because what he needs is exam technique / a rocket up him and I don’t think that will be their specialist areas

Sometimes a mentor a few years older to come alongside and motivate him can be very effective though. He might ask them questions he wouldn't ask a teacher.

Or he can study something other than Physics. It's his choice. I'd be telling him if he loved Physics that much he'd be doing well in it now.

Agree with this. Does he really want to take Physics further, or is it just a default subject so he can go to uni.

From what I understand if he already has some A'levels (however poor) he won't be able to retake at a state school/college. Basically it's free up to the age of 19 if you don't have a level 3 qualification already (although it's worth checking with your local colleges)

His best bet is to pull his finger out now and give it all he's got, get him tutors etc and send him to intensive residential Easter revision courses and then apply for a foundation course. He can still defer, and reapply during a gap year.

Or he can study something other than Physics. It's his choice. I'd be telling him if he loved Physics that much he'd be doing well in it now.

Why isn’t he working?

I say this as someone with a similar sixth form experience and I was being relentlessly bullied by a teacher. I needed help not a kick up the bum.

How about an access course
?

there’s a biophysics one, not sure about pure physics.

Extra tutoring won’t do anything if he is not putting the effort in.

I’m a physics teachers and have seen similar. If your son doesn’t do the work, there is not much we can do. We can encourage, cajole etc… (sanctions rarely work to get a student working hard) but at 17 they have to do it themselves.

The problem is that at 6th form college, in my experience (my DD is at a large one), students are left to get on with it a lot more than at school. It seems to be midway between school and Uni. Whilst the college is strict on attendance and punctuality, it's been made clear that students are expected to put in a lot of unguided extra work, if they don't achieve what they're capable of, that's on the student.

I have a friend who is in a similar position to you except that her DS is achieving Bs instead of the As that he needs for the Uni course he wants to do. She's basically recently told him that if he doesn't get the grades for Uni, he'll have to just get a job and maybe go to Uni later when he can fund himself. She finds it really frustrating that she's paid to give him the best chances in life and he just can't be arsed and assumes he'll get through somehow.

If he wants to do physics he is presumably studying maths, physics and another.

A tutor will make a significant difference but cost a fair amount of money.

Failing that there are crammers where he can resit - places like Mander Portman Woodward. These cost +++

Once he is 19 he could do an access course although I'm not sure if they need to not already have a levels for that.

Would his private school not let him resit his Y13 if you're willing to pay?