School not going well - what options should I be looking at?

Also, to add, your school may well do an information evening/open evening if they have sixth form- but this will mainly target Y11 parents. A lot of people aren't thinking about post-16 options any earlier!

If you have a local college, getting a prospectus from them might give you an idea as to the sorts of things that are available?

I don't think the thing about the "type" of students on BTECs is necessarily true- to get onto a level 3 BTEC, students will have to have passed 5 GCSEs or equivalents. Although that's not a super high bar, it's something most students will have to put some effort into achieving unless they have a very high ability and have completely slacked off.

Students have also chosen the BTEC and so are usually more interested in the subject/area than they are in something they have effectively been forced to do e.g. GCSE Science.

I teach science in a school, including Applied Science BTEC to Y12- many students have chosen this because they want to go on to do something like a healthcare course or sports science at uni, but would struggle with the demands of A-level Biology. Most of my students are engaged and will work hard in lessons- some need quite a bit of chasing about coursework, though! These students have chosen to stay on at school though- although part of that is travel time to the nearest college! I would describe most of my BTEC students as hardworking middle ability.

English and maths retake classes do tend to have behaviour issues though, so if you can possibly get him through them first time around that would probably be a good thing.

From what you have said about your DS, it sounds like he might enjoy the coursework elements of a BTEC and as you rightly say it puts much less pressure on the final exam. He could also choose to mix and match BTECs and A-levels- a lot might change over the next 2/3 years.

BTECs are widely accepted at most unis for a range of courses, including some more accademic ones. AFIAK, the big exception is Computer Science, where many unis want A-level Maths alongside whatever other qualifications you take.

My DD1 did a BTEC and it was a huge learning curve (BTEC parents are underrepresented on MN for a start). I ran a 'BTEC Support Thread' on this board which if you search for it (under name TeenAndTween I think) has some info about how they operate and are graded.

T levels were in the papers for about 1 day when announced. I had forgotten all about them until cats mentioned them.

re 'Type of Student'. I think that is a fair comment to some extent. But there are plenty of lazy kids doing A levels, and hard working but not academic doing BTECs too. I think it is luck of the draw.

Pleased to hear my advice is appreciated @SoTiredNeedHoliday.
T levels are indeed being trialled in some areas so may or may not be a possibility for your ds. Personally I think that similar trials should have taken place before the new 9-1 GCSEs were introduced as well.
Sixth form colleges usually offer a mixture of A levels and BTECs (or their equivalents).

One of my concerns about BTECs/T Levels is the type of student they attract. This sounds snobby, but I’ve heard from one or two on such courses that some of the students mess around/aren’t motivated and there’s a high drop out rate. I worry that ds doesn’t have the intrinsic motivation to work without peer pressure.

Having said that, over 20 years ago my brother, who’s not dissimilar to my ds, insisted on going to an FE college, although it was to do A Levels. His whole group were either lower ability than him and/or very mature students. He ended up doing better than me and better than anyone expected. I think he enjoyed being a high flier there.

@SoTiredNeedHoliday I’m collecting all the revision videos/online options in the hope that these will make revision easier. Ds spends half his life watching YouTube and he does seem to take stuff in that way.

Primrosekitten and freesciencelessons are good according to dd. I saw CGP maths buster advertised - anyone know if that’s any good?

Research local Further Education Colleges in the same way you would a secondary school. Go to an open evening and look at the BTEC courses on offer. To get onto a BTEC level 3 your son will need 4 GCSE's to include Maths and English. If he is showing any signs of not passing either Maths or English I would look into getting a tutor. If he is not enjoying school I would guess he will be very resistant additional workbooks at home. After the BTEC he could look at an apprenticeship or university. I would also encourage him to get a part-time job. Taught hours reduce post sixteen so you could be looking at 3 days in college 2 days 'at home' - it is the same with A level but this tends to be timetabled across the week. If he needs focus then a part time job on those 2 days would be useful

There's a good website called mygcsescience which was revision videos, multi choice questions and exam style Qs on all the content. If you can get the school to organise parent paid subscriptions you get a massive discount

re T Levels.
Not all areas are moving, and not all providers are moving immediately.
See www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-t-levels/introduction-of-t-levels
(These are passing me by as the area DD2 is looking at isn't being offered to start until 2023, whereas she'll be starting 2021).

If it helps @SoTiredNeedHoliday, the predicted grades given at the start of GCSE courses aren't that accurate at the start of Y10 when they have only just started the course. It's perfectly possible for grades to go up 3-4 grades between now and the end of Y11 particularly in subjects that they like!
The most important thing is to make sure they are on track for grades 4/5 in English and Maths and then likely A level subjects.
For vocational options, my understanding is that BTECs are being replaced by T levels from Autumn 2020.

We are liking Seneca online stuff too. Not using it for maths, but using it so far for Science, RE and Food.

CGP do a combined science revision guide.
There is also one for Maths. For maths though you can't beat doing questions.

Both of these come in either Foundation or Higher. I currently have the higher for both but think DD2 will end up doing Foundation for science (topped at 5-5).

For DD2 (y10) we sit down with a timer for 20 minute sessions. When the timer goes off we stop for a break. We try to have an objective for each set of sessions. e.g. Today we are doing 2x20min maths (objective to get through topics for a test she has coming up) and 2x20 RE (objective make a mind map on one of the themes).

Just 'revise Chemistry' is too nebulous. 'Learn rules for solubility of salts' is much more tangible.

For DD1 when it got to final GCSEs we stuck coloured dots on revision cards. No dots = didn't know, 1 dot = knew roughly, 2 dots = knew well. And then we counted dots to know she was progressing.

CGP produce lots of guides / workbooks etc
e.g. www.cgpbooks.co.uk/all-products/complete-revision-practice?sort=best_selling&quantity=36&page=1&view=grid&currentFilter=KeyStage_59&filter_key%20stage=KeyStage_59

You need to check which exam boards the school is using for each subject. I would also check that your school isn't offering some, though. A lot do and usually at a discount, as they can buy in bulk.

Has your DS had a look at the BBC Bitesize website? It doesn't suit everyone, but is a good resource.

@SoTiredNeedHoliday does your ds give up easily too? We find that a good result in a test can give a very temporary boost to morale but he’s then so easily disheartened by any setback.

At the moment I’m trying to work out a way to actually help him study and revise as long periods reading just don’t work. Hence why I’m wondering if a course which is less exam based might be good, once we’ve got through the GCSEs - which is feeling very daunting!

I suppose one good thing about them being naturally bright is that I think they should be able to manage passes (ie 4/5) even without huge amounts of effort??? At least I’m hoping so! Although I’m not sure what it takes to get a 4 in Maths/English? Obviously 4/5 at GCSE for a top 10% ability child is an under achievement but at least they’d still have options...

It must be a lot harder if you have a child who struggles academically and doesn’t want to work.

@sotiredneedholiday our sons sound quite similar, especially re the ADHD. Ds scored very highly in the numeracy ability tests in year 7 but has consistently been bumping along in the bottom maths set as he just doesn’t see the point of maths. He’s always questioning when he would need it in real life. Whereas something like anatomy or nutrition fascinates him as it relates directly to something he’s into - fitness.

We’ve talked about jumping through hoops etc but he can be quite stubborn - he says he’ll be a bin man!

I often tell students that I do a job a love. But I had the freedom to do that because I worked flipping hard at school and uni. Qualifications and grades aren't everything, but they keep your options open for whatever choices you want later in life.

Is your DS in year 9 or 10? IME students tend to have a lot of growing up to do during those years (yr9 is particularly difficult) and can be totally unrecognisable by the end of year 11. But I think it is hugely important that you reinforce the message that school isn't meant to be fun and don't make excuses for him. When he can't see the point (a common complaint) just tell him the truth - the point is to pass gcse maths and therefore have options in the future.

For practical suggestions, I'd leave him be tbh. Don't be hovering in the background ready with a list of alternatives for him. Let him come up with a plan of what to do next if he hates studying in school. A bit of responsibility can do wonders for their self-esteem imo.