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

Do you have any UTC's near you? They are technical colleges and might be better.

I doubt you'll get a totally fun experience at any educational institution though, I do think that's a little unrealistic. If your DS has a tendency to turn off when he doesn't like things, that is likely to happen anywhere so you may just be moving the problem rather than tackling it, unfortunately.

I always recommend apprenticeships. If you can find one that interests him they are excellent options

To put another angle on this you have said

School is not 'fun' for them

School isn't meant to be fun, it is a place to learn. How much of everyone's day to day job is actual fun? Ds hated PE but obviously had to do it until he left school, but still got outstanding in his effort grade for it on his report, just because he didn't like it didn't mean he didn't give it his best.

There are huge apprenticeship fairs that take place locally, have a google for one near to you and we have had stuff through our door offering places at technical colleges from our local council. School also did a careers evening where they have local universities plus apprenticeship recruiters so the children could talk to them about it.

Your son will still need maths and English GCSE passes and hopefully as many subjects as they can pass. As I have always said to my children, GCSEs are a game, you might not like it but learn the rules, learn what gets you "points" and come out as close to the top of the leader board as you can. That way you have more opportunities open to you.

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
This will help you find all the colleges near to you, and you can go on to their websites to see what they offer.

qualifications.pearson.com/en/about-us/qualification-brands/btec.html
This tells you more about BTECs and lists of what sort of thing is available.

www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
This gives apprenticeships, but it seems to me that schools are often directly approached by employers too - (at least ours is).

Does your school have a careers person? You could send your DS to see him/her if you thought that might be helpful.

@SoTiredNeedHoliday thanks for starting this, as I’ve been thinking along the same lines. Ds is year 9 and in theory academically able (at a grammar school) but other things hold him back - ADHD, immaturity and inability to study for long/revise etc. I’m beginning to wonder whether A Levels would be right for him, although he could change in the next 2 years.

Ds has expressed interest in policing. He’s also very interested in sport and fitness so I’ve been looking into the BTEC in Sport (I like to be well prepared! Plus I’ve got a dd in year 11 so already in the zone!).

I think if they’re not sure of a particular trade there are some more general BTECs that can lead onto a lot of different uni courses or straight into work eg computing, business, engineering, applied science, sport, health and social care. Students who are borderline at GCSE ie getting 4/5/6 seem to do much better on these courses than in A Levels.

Often college courses are compressed into 3 days so the young person can have a related part time job more easily.

Extended Diploma = 3 A level equivalent (so full time)
Diploma = 2 A level equivalent
Subsidiary Diploma / Certificate = 1/1.5 A levels

Places offering A levels often offer a small range of BTECs so you can mix and match, but if too much classroom is out that wouldn't be suitable probably.

Other BTECs / vocational courses include (not exhaustive list):
Computing, Business, Uniformed Public Services, Outdoor Pursuits, Health & Social Care, Hospitality&Catering, Applied Science, Bricklaying, Plumbing, Beauty

If A levels aren't suitable, then you do a vocational BTEC/NVQ or an Apprenticeship.

There is a wide range of BTECs (DD1 did Travel&Tourism), but not all colleges will offer all of them so you will need to look around. Worth travelling for the right one. DD1 had 1 hour's travel door to door and DD2 (y10, looking at Animal Care) will have similar at a different location.

Some BTEC/NVQs are very sector specific, e.g. Childcare, DD's T&T ones covered some very specific Travel ones, but also generic stuff like customer service and marketing.

They vary quite a lot in the written v practical so ask clear questions.

You can do a Level 3 with around 5 GCSE passes inc Eng&Maths. Otherwise you can take an extra year, start at Level 2 and progress from there, hopefully picking up Eng & Maths en route.

If you do well enough you can still go on to university but more likely to a related vocational course rather than say History or Biology.

Apprenticeships you learn on the ground and are paid a minimal wage (£3.xx in the first year). The youngster will be too young to drive so you need to factor in transport. They will expect a level of maturity as it will be a work place. They work in parallel towards a BTEC/NVQ It will either be day release weekly to college or they should allow time for doing assignments but some will be better than others at doing this.

Hope this helps.

It is a bit early to be thinking about it yet, but either vocational courses such as BTEC, usually at FE college but some sixth forms seem to do them, or an apprenticeship. The school should start to have assemblies / careers evenings / citizenship lessons in year 10 to introduce options.

My DD is doing A levels but not really wanting to do anything very academic after that, but she has had a job in a cafe for a year now, which I think has given her a great insight into the world of work and running a small business, so I'd always encourage young people to work if they can, though it can be difficult until they're 16.