BTEC versus A levels

They are piss easy. I taught BTEC for five years.

@VelvetPineapple I'm about to go into work but I will address your post in full later although I would like to state that they are not easier, but assessed differently (in fact many BTEC units contain far more difficult content than A levels)

"So it’s less than half coursework"

No, the majority is still coursework (number of units depends on weighting) but note the externals and the importance they have on final grade

BTECs are much easier than A levels and there is heaps more support available to complete the assessed work. The grade doesn’t hinge on your performance on one exam day so is a fairer representation of ability, less stressful and harder to fail. The same person will typically score significantly higher grades on a BTEC than on A levels. And they’re worth the same in terms of university admissions. In fact the main reason they introduced exams into the BTEC a couple of years ago was because people were complaining it was too easy in comparison to A levels and it was unfair for it to be worth the same UCAS points when it was so easy.

Geography coursework only accounts for 20% of the final mark. History and English lit are the same.

PE a level has 30 percent coursework and I think geography has coursework too.

Check the private schools .

Recently a few near us have added Btecs.

If you are anywhere near Somerset Milton Abbey does every single btec there is!!

Because she doesn't really understand what Btecs are!

OP, look into doing an epq as well. It means you end up with tons of coursework but it's served my own dd well (She also gets extra time, slow processing)

Why SuziQ10?

I would ask if the college still does old spec given your DS needs (colleges can still run old spec) which is 100% coursework but I'm not sure as to current uni acceptance on old spec

For the ext dip Business there are 7 mandatory units, 4 of which are externally assessed.

These external assessments include an exam (finance - personal and business including having to remember accounting ratios), the other 3 are 3 hour write ups in controlled conditions. The remaining mandatory are large coursework units with each one covering 5 learning aims.

The other units are from an optional list which whilst officially are 'optional' will be selected normally by the college i.e. I select unit 8 and 27 for all my students but I do give the group the choice for the others but a neighbouring college preselects all optional units therefore that is a question to ask.

DS does an A-level and 2xLevel 3 BTECs at Sixth Firm. He's hopefully off to Uni in the autumn. He is intelligent but didn't work consistently during GCSEs. He could get away with not studying until a day or two before. BTECs forced him to continuously work on assignments and tests. The research on assignments is great practice for unit and knowing your grades in assignments and module exams ahead of time is also a bonus.

Re the slow processing, this is new to me but DD has just been assessed as having mild dyslexia and slow processing. As a result she will be getting extra time in her exams.
Your comment about teachers thinking he should do better than his actual results show, makes me wonder if this is less about his academic ability and more to do with needing more support for slow processing.
Not that this would necessarily impact on his choice to do a BTEC rather than A levels.

Yes you have to get a D in a single btec for a decent uni. DDD in the extended diploma and check which subjects they accept.

If your dc is not the most academic I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend BTEC or a combination of ALevels and BTEC subsidiary diplomas. Both my DC did a combination, DS graduated from a modern uni with a First and DD from a Russell Group with a 2:1(uni of Leeds). They are not necessarily career limiting whatever some people think. DDs uni friends were mostly private or state grammar school educated with 3-4 solid ALevels. She was state co-ed comprehensive.

They didn’t graduate with any better degree than her.

My DD is predicted grade 5 through to 9's in her GCSE's and she would probably get on to A levels without much bother, but she said she can't think of anything worse. She's applied to do a creative media extended BTEC. As long as DD is happy with her choice, I'm happy :)

Good luck with whatever you son decides.

My DD2 has a diagnosis of ASD and although academically able ( predicted 6/7s in most things, might get an 8 in music) really struggles with exams. Her short term memory is not good, she is hugely anxious and suffers from panic attacks.
She wants to go to uni eventually and do either animation or concept art, so has decided to do a BTech in Game Design at a college local to her secondary school. She also hopes to get a part time job.
DD1 suits the current school system much more than DD2, got all 8s and 9s for GCSEs and is finding A levels to be a lot of hard work. I can't imagine DD2 coping without a lot of stress so I think she's making the right decision.

If he's more creative then I'd deffo recommend a BTEC rather than A level x

Dd has done an extended btec and there is a lot of coursework. She made sure she got distinctions in everything and is on for a d , which as far as UCAS points go is the equiv of an A at a level. She enjoyed it as it was more practical and she's great at coursework.

My daughter doesn’t do too well in exams, always lacked confidence.
She was never very good at maths and despite having a tutor failed to get c GCSE by 1 mark.
She had to go to college to resit and decided to do foundation maths and btec in health and social care.
She loved doing this, it boosted her confidence.
She passed gcse in first year and did really well in her btec.
She’s now at uni doing health and social care and loving it.
She wants to go into some sort of work working with vulnerable people but not completely sure exactly what just yet.

I did BTEC at college rather than A levels. I always found myself stressing about the exams and could always do the coursework to a much higher standard.

Has your son said what he would prefer to do?

When I did my GCSE's in 2010, we were on the letters still for grading. I got 4 B's and 7 C's so I was quite bright but I just didn't like doing exams.

When I did my BTEC course in Social Care, I got Distinction+, Distinction+, Distinction. (Equivalent of A+, A+, A) I think..
if I'd have done A levels instead, I don't think I would have managed to get such a good grade.

What does your son want to go on to do, career wise?