DS not great GCSEs - adamant about 6th form

I hear you - but until 6m into the course my DS genuinely thought he had worked hard at this stage in proceedings. He truly thought he had enough. It was only through doing the course in a different setting and being taught in a different way that he finally cottoned on to what he had done wrong, if that makes sense?

OK, that makes more sense!

I teach at a sixth form with pretty low entry requirements but your DSs do still give me pause for the course he is following. We do an awful lot of negotiation with students with mainly 4s and 5s and usually find them something- but in all honesty that's for the schools sake (funding is per pupil and is very tight) rather than the student's in most cases.

Sixth Form teacher here at a ‘bog standard’ comp. A levels have grades of A* to E because students will access them over a range of levels. You DS may end up with Ds and Es - but so will lots of other students. If it’s a good school, he won’t be written off - he will get support and help to achieve the best he can. The fact that the school is trying to find a mix that could work for him suggests they will help.

At my school, we wouldn’t ask a student to leave if they were struggling. We’d put in support, maybe offer a reduced curriculum, maybe a resit year, maybe a change in year 13. All, of course, if we could see they were trying - not if they were missing lesions or homework. We don’t only want to help the best and brightest - we want everyone to achieve according to their ability.

Sixth Form is also a huge rite of passage and they grow up a lot. It’s not all about the academics.

So, I’d have a realistic chat about how hard he might find it, how will he feel if he’s struggling and the necessity of revisiting at the end of year 12. And then support his choices. There are many students who look like a ‘shoo in’ to A Levels and then struggle for all sorts of reasons.

Wow well done to your DS @CautiousLurker01 that’s an amazing turnaround. Couple of things stood out in contrast to the OP tho:

• Your DS didn’t study effectively at GCSEs – the OP’s DS “tried really hard” and still got lower grades, which is less promising
• Your DS got mainly 5s and 6s which, while not stellar, are solid passes; the OP’s DS got one 5 and three 4s and a pass on a Btec. Not terrible – but if achieved with hard work, not a great predictor for A levels.

My DS1 who has LD worked hard to gain CCDDDEE for GCSEs, so a bit lower but not a million miles from your DS @Whatnextthen2. College and an initial L1 course and then a L2 was definitely a better option for him than A levels.

I also don’t agree that it depends on the school/area. If a student worked hard and their best effort gained them a 3 or a 4 in (say) history or Eng lit, then the step up to a humanity, essay-based A level is going to defeat them, even with teachers who try to help. That’s fine btw. There is a suitable path for him.

I think it depends very much on the school. My DS went to a high school in a grammar area, so the results were understandably on the low side. But the school has a 6th form and is used to supporting students with lower results through A Level. If that’s the sort of situation your ds is in, then he’ll be fine. If he’s in a class with much higher results than him then maybe he should think again..

I passed 5 out of 9 GCSEs in school and failed maths twice before finally scraping a pass. I stayed on into sixth form, grew up a lot and chose A levels in subjects I enjoyed. I got AAB and went to uni. So it definitely can be done.

Hi @Whatnextthen2 I am adding to the chorus of A levels will most likely be beyond him with those GCSE grades.

You say he wants to stay at sixth form for social reasons rather than the subjects- is that right? I don't know those specs well (criminology is not an A level I think) but no A levels are easy. How will he feel if he ends year 12 with Es and Us in mocks and is asked to leave? That's quite likely I would say.

Has he looked at college courses locally? Is he thinking of uni? Or how about an apprenticeship?

I am surprised the school is allowing him to continue tbh. What was his 5 in? Also the Eng lit retake is odd. What did he get in that? And what in Eng lang? That's the usual retake subject.

My DS got similarly (unexpectedly) bad GCSEs last year. Mainly 5s and 6’s and a fail. None of the local 6th forms would take him on so he is with the ‘rejects’ [as he and locals call it] at the tech college. He was devastated and we explored resitting but he was allowed to take 3 A Levels. As the year has gone on he recognises he was naive/arrogant about his ability, did not study effectively, disregarded exam advice because he felt he knew it all.

This year he has 100% attendance, attended any extra study sessions available, accessed on line study resources and has just got AAB in his AS Levels (they are required to pass these in order to be allowed to continue with the A Levels in Y2. There is no concessions - if you get lower than a D in the AS Levels you are ‘kicked out’).

It has been the making of him. He has matured, stepped up, found a work/study ethic that we truly did not expect of him. And his mocks, class assessments etc progressed from C/Ds in Sept right up to his AAB. He is now predicted A-stars in his exams next year [so long as he continues as he has been doing].

So, my question is, is the fear of him failing again what is motivating you? Or is there any reason to suspect your DS might not have a similar lightbulb moment? That with encouragement and support he can’t do the same? I’ve been worried sick that history would repeat itself this summer but DS realised that what he wanted and that he had to pull his finger out. I was fearing failure (and heartbreak) but what he delivered was a 200% commitment to turning his life around and NEVER failing through lack of effort again.

Perhaps looks at DS’s mock results and academic profile and explore whether he just had a blip and might actually flourish in a new 6th form setting? It sounds as though the college and the staff there are willing to give him this second chance - if you can do the same, support him in framing it that way, could he perhaps surprise himself and rebuild his self esteem?

Hopefully there are sessions at the end of each day a bit like homework club where they can ask their teachers for guidance and help. If he is committed to this then he needs to dig in right from the off. Free periods should be spent doing his homework whilst it is still fresh in his mind from the class. If he can work in a group with kids from the class that would be good.

As for asking students to leave, yes they can because compulsory education is until they reach 16. He is funded 16-19 so can do 3 years but be aware that he cannot resit year 12 at the same college due to funding. Realistically he would be taking the place of a 16 year old year 12 student who could be given this place and excel.

BTECs would be so much better for him. What are other colleges offering courses wise? Kids do change courses and sixth forms in the first few weeks so look now for potential places. I think at this point all you can do is support him. For his English Language resit, find out what board he will be doing, look up the past papers online and do a couple together to help increase his chances of passing. Do one question, answer it, look at the mark scheme. What should he have written? What are they looking for?

The other advice I would give is see if the college have revision books for the subjects he is taking and get your hands on one of those. Mine used revision books whilst learning their A level, used the relevant sections to make sure they understood the content.

i think he’d really struggle doing A levels with those grades. Am amazed the school will allow him.

I think your instinct is right, and he’d be better doing something else. Can the school help with careers/college advice?

I honestly think he will struggle at A Level. I had mostly A* and A at GCSE and got ABC at A Level plus 2 additional AS level a B and C.

I remember I had 2 Cs in the first modules I did and I was devastated S I had worked hard. It's a massive step up.

Maybe suggest a visit to the college just to see what that have to offer x

I don't understand why they are making him resit English Lit ,assuming he has a 4+ in Language?
Have you definitely got that bit correct?

are the business & criminology the applied/extending certificates rather than a levels? If so they may suit him well as it’s modular and exams at the end of yr 12 and 13. They are equal to 1 A Level each.

This is why I dislike schools with sixth forms. 16 year olds will decide to stay on because it feels safe and comfortable with their mates rather than striking off on their own and because the schools want kids to stay for sixth form their post-16 advice is often poor.

It's a shame school have bent the rules to allow him to do A-levels but I think you have to allow him to give it his best shot. I think all you can do is be honest that he will find it challenging and he might fail but also support him to do his best. A year of experiencing sixth form and maturing a bit might mean he's willing to look at alternatives next year.

Can you quietly do some research into local BTEC options so you are prepared if needed? It sounds like Law, Criminology and Psychology are a common combination that would be well regarded. This came up top of my search results and they suggest potential legal career paths for afterwards: https://www.bmet.ac.uk/course/applied-law-with-criminology-and-applied-psychology-level-3/

If he's set on sixth form, I'd leave him to try it. You've tried to guide him towards a more realistic path and he doesn't want to hear it- right now.
He gets 3 years of funding, so can have a rethink if year 12 at sixth form doesn't work out.

My son got slightly better results and he would not have been allowed to do A levels. He got one 8, 5 in Maths & English Lit, 4 in English Lang and Computer Science and then 2;s and 3's in the rest.

He did a Btec in the subject he got an 8 in and is now at university studying that subject. Unless there were extenuating circumstances I would advise against A levels for your son.

My DS is doing criminology. The good thing is that they are assessed separately for the 4 modules, so he can do the first year and then at least if he decides its too difficult at least he can 'cash in' 2 modules and get half an A Level equivalent. Or he can resit modules. There is also a large 'law ' uelement so the criminal law nit will be stuff he covers in the Law A Level as well.

Does he have a longer term goal - such as university or joining the police (I've chosen that based on his subject choices)?

I would let him try for a year and see how he fairs, sit down now and have him set goals along the way. For example, checking in with you every six months, what he'll do a year from now if it isn't going well. Having ideas and plans will help him if it does go wrong and it's easier to make them while his confidence is high than if he's feeling a failure.

Good luck to him.

A levels are hard! I don’t think the school is doing him any favours by bending the rules to let him onto the A level courses. A grade 3 isn’t even a pass at GCSE level. It’s a shame they haven’t told him no. I’d be inclined to ask them to tell him no, so he has to look at an alternative, which will be better in the long run.

Yes I was going to say similar. It is better that he comes to the decision either that A Levels are too hard for him and then he can move to a vocational course at college (he is funded until 19). He will only resent you if you say he cant do it and get him to do something he doesn't want to do. You never know, he might try really hard and get decent results, or he may mature over the 2 years and suddenly ;get' it. He has a lot of years ahead of him. If he wastes one of them at least he's had the opportunity.

I found A levels really boring and did one year, failed the end of year exams and switched to college Btec Higher diploma. Which i then did really well in as it was fun and interesting, got a distinction and from there went to university.
So I do think he might have to actually learn for himself if the A levels he has chosen are right for him. Maybe they will be, maybe not, but nothing ventured nothing gained and if it doesnt work out he can switch to college next year. I thought of that a level year almost as a gap year as I started to become more dissinterested and skip classes. The college course I enrolled in on the following year I hadnt even thought of as a subject when I left school and it took me the year to figure out what I wanted to do.
All this to say, all is not lost if he starts a levels and then decides they arent for him.