Can 16 year olds to a year of online GCSE retakes at home and then do Alevels over 3 years if needs be in school?

If you think you might need the third year you need to withdraw before the exams and repeat y12.

f he is certain the teacher will underestimate him because of previous performance them he needs to revise for the resits.

All grades are based on evidenced internal assessments and exams.
The teachers can’t really underestimate. If anything, they will overestimate.

So for example, a student gets 7,8,8,6,7,8,8,7,8 in internal assessments over the course of 1.5 years. The teacher will have more than likely predicted an 8.

If a student has achieved 5,6,4,5,6,6,6,4,6 they will more than likely be predicted a 6.
What teachers can’t do is say ‘oh but they been ill so we’ll award a 7/8.‘
Predicted grades are based on evidence.

Does your son even want to go to university?

Im not sure how they are deciding grades but would think he should be able to tell if he will fail.
Apparently teachers lists the students in order of ability.
If he is certain the teacher will underestimate him because of previous performance them he needs to revise for the resits.

If he wants 3y of alevels i would get on and start them this year.

He should know in about a month though which ones he will want to resit. Could he maybe plan say three or four which he will plan to resit in November and then hone that list once he knows his grades. Say English, Chemistry and Physics would probably make the most sense. Use revision tools such as Seneca to revise. He should have already covered most of the course. He would then have five GCSEs from this year. What help is he getting for his mental health and what do they recommend he does?

I really think that you should wait and see re. GCSE results this year.
They are based in best performance in all internal exams and assessments and ‘best possible scenario’ predicted grades.

Your DS only needs a 5/6 to get onto A level courses at college.
GCSE retakes may not be needed.

He can do the A levels over two years, sit them and retake if he likes - in the 3rd year.

It depends on his gcse results. Most unis will look at A level first and foremost so ideally he needs to focus on those. He may be able to resit one or two gcse in year 12 alongside A level studies. What do you nean by "hard to get into" unis as some do look at gcse (Oxbridge,UCL etc) - their criteria are online and may recognise this year's disruption for 2022/3 intake. What does he hope to study?

I also have a year 11 who has very bad mental health and we are looking at all options.

Young minds is incorrect if he is homeschooling but correct if he is just dropping out for a year (which he isn't).

My year 11 is also looking at top universities and mental health illness should be taken into account same as a physical illness. So depending on his grades he might not need to resist.

You say he is worried about starting school in September and wont be well enough. Does he have a diagnosis and receiving treatment? Do you agree with him? A lot can change in 2 months.

Our plan is to start A-levels in September either in school (preferred/ default option) or using inter high. You could look if interhigh allow you to complete gcses at the same time as starting A-levels. I would be wary of him just doing the gcses on his own, hard to keep motivated with the best of health and could end up being a mental drain.

In regards to the funding I'm just not sure. It could well be a problem in a school, if he takes a year out and then takes 3 years he will be 20. School is not the right place for a 20 year old! 6th form colleges might be more suitable.

Happy to chat more as we are in a similar boat.

A levels are only funded until the academic year they turn 19 so only allows for one additional year. Some unis do not view qualifications taken over a staggered period or resits as positively so if he wants to look at uni he may need to be careful in his choices or be prepared to explain the situation constructively in his personal statement.

OP I'm confused as to why you keep mentioning 3 years for A Levels - it's only two years in sixth form in England. Apologies if you are elsewhere in UK.

My dd is only year 10 so who knows what will happen but I do believe that realistically unless they fail English/maths it's best to take the grades they get and move on where possible. I do think there will be some future understanding with these cohorts.

I agree. I think they probably missed very little teaching but could have been ill and needed to SI. But would have revised in apr and some of may etc. They knew they had exams and had been doing maths recently etc.
Also obviously resits usually have sat the exam once.
The entitlement is up to an age so they get till i think 19.
Is this that he doesnt want alevel year distrupted by covid?

If I understand correctly he is awaiting his GCSE results, but due to the unconventional way this year has been assessed and his struggles with his mental health he is unlikely to achieve the grades he feels he is capable of?

So the plan under consideration is to resit maths, English and science GCSEs at home whilst working on improving his mental health, hopefully resulting in stronger grades, and then he would start A levels with the current year ten cohort?

I think it is feasible, as home education is a valid form of education. I suspect there may be issues with child benefit stopping etc. I started A levels a year late and there were several others in my cohort who had done the same for various reasons - although this was before the new rules.

Whether it's a good idea or not depends on the individual. Is he self motivated enough to study at home? Often struggles with depression can go hand in hand with a lack of motivation which may then manifest itself in feelings of failure.

What does he want to do, A levels wise?

He wants to apply for unis that are hard to get into
You may need to manage his expectations. They don't just look at grades - sometimes there is small print about when the grades are achieved. They aim their courses at students who are capable of intensive study.

Another option to consider is if he can get into A levels and he feels more confident with the subject matter is to forget the GCSEs and concentrate on A levels then plan to take a gap year after A levels and apply to University with actual rather than predicted A levels. University will not be too interested in Covid year GCSEs if he has the right grades at A level. He can then get an unconditional offer and go off travelling for 6 months or work and save money.

Just adding one thing. There's a key difference between the Autumn 2020 Covid re-takes and "normal" re-takes. The Covid re-takes will result in the August 2020 GCSE certificate being re-issued, so the original grade will be wiped off the record. (And if the re-take grade is lower, then the original grade can still stand). In contrast, for "normal" re-takes a second certificate would be issued and both grades would be on the academic record, remaining visible to universities, employers etc.
Very competitive employers are put off by hiccups and "gaps" in academic and employment records, but other employers can be more understanding, so its a risk vs benefit decision.

You still have the right to home educate post 16. Have you looked into some of the online providers- interhigh etc. I would also talk with a 6th form college. They are likely to be far more flexible than a school.

He can sit GCSE /A level courses whenever he likes (Many home-schoolers do this every year) but you will need to find an exam centre and pay for all exam entries yourself.

It would be unusual for schools/colleges to accommodate the level of flexibility you are taking about.

We’ve been - and still are- setting bridging work for our Yr 11s (we don’t have a 6th form but students have work in the subjects they have chosen for where they go on to)

You can certainly home educate him without being fined. Didn’t know about the financial penalties - that sounds tough.

You’re right to put his mental health first, but it might be worth suggesting he tries a place of education with the proviso that you will support him leaving for home Ed as soon as he wants to do so.

I have a son in year 11 who has had his gcses cancelled
The idea that after 6 months of complete radio silence from school other than a letter apologising for calling off prom, and no attempt to continue his education in any way, that he will be able to just retake exams in subjects that he has had no teaching in since mid March is just frankly bloody ridiculous. There is NO WAY he will be in anything like a similar situation preparation wise as he would have been if he had taken his gcses in May/June. In my opinion this year has been thoroughly shafted and the only chance those who, on finding out their grades, want to retake have is to be allowed to repeat year 11. Which is shitty for them in lots of other ways.