Is it worth it applying for sixth form if gcse's are not great?

@Dotcheck actually most PPs who mention Btecs say you can get into uni with them.

@jennybba I have just recalled a friend's lad doing a business Btec which might be of interest to your DC - worth lookign at anyway.

@jennybba I agree with some PPs - a key question is, is DC working at full stretch to achieve grade 4s and 5s at GCSE, then A levels would be a stretch. But if they are not really putting in the work then it might be achievable - if they do start to work harder.

What are their predicted 5s in? I presume they do business and geography at GCSE? what is their Eng lit grade (thinking about politics and law)? what about history or any other humanity?

If those are their interests I can see why they might not be keen on Btec. A friend's lad got a 3 in one of his A level subjects but still did well enough in sixth form to go to Lancaster uni.

Some absolute rubbish on this thread.
Different colleges/ sixth forms have different entry requirements for different subjects- they are not all the same.
First- Btec / applied / vocational subjects CAN gain entrance to university.
Also, some subjects tend to have lower entry requirements but have some related content- ie she may want to consider Criminology or Sociology .

Why is she against vocational subjects? Students often think A levels = intelligence, btec = thicko which simply isn’t true

None of them are particularly "easy". Law and politics are both essay-heavy subjects so decent grades in English are a must - grade 5 at least but preferably higher. Geography and Economics both need reasonable maths skills so again, at least a grade 5 in maths at GCSE. I don't know about business but I'd imagine it's on a par with the others.

Why do they want to do those subjects?

If he is thinking of Humanities A levels then it may be he simply doesn't have an interest in any vocational course. If he is not working flat out already he could definitely improve those grades. We would caution against taking 3 new subjects. Does he do geography or business already? Is he aware politics is generally examined by long, e.g. 30 mark, essays? A good number of our students are as pp's have described; not academically stellar, not quite sure what to do and needing a safe space in which to grow up a bit. This is fine. Some drop out when they work out what they do want. And some start to shine when they get to study new subjects.
How difficult a subject is is a subjective question. However Humanities subjects are often accessible for a range of students, providing they have reasonable essay skills.

Look at legal apprenticeships too.

Given the predictions, I think law and politics are unlikely unless they are intelligent but lazy/working incredibly hard and are v committed.

Op he should apply and then work his arse off. No reason why he can't boost his GCSEs by at least one grade each.
My nephew was predicted mostly 3's, worked really hard and to everyone's shock, got mostly 5'sand 6's and even one 7. Didn't fail any.

It's unlikely most sixth forms would accept your DC to do A levels with those grades and university might well prove to be an expensive struggle.

What is the background to your DC's predicted grades? Do they represent their genuine abilities, or do you believe your child is capable of working harder and producing higher quality work?

Does your DC have any idea of want they want to do career-wise in the future? What are their interests?

I would suggest looking into a local college (visit if possible) and seeing what other possibilities are out there.

Apply to sixth form but have a back-up plan in place.

@jennybba
My DD had similar GCSE grades (covid cohort, so no exams but based on mocks)
She did go 6th form as unsure about next steps- once again many colleges were still doing p/t online lessons which she didn't want to do.

School only accepted her for certain subjects- science was out, due to poor maths grade.
Her predicted A-levels were not great, and wouldn't have got her a place at choosen uni / course. So decided to take a year out after A-levels working in her chosen field. So didn't apply for Uni.
However, she absolutely smashed her A-levels and surprised everyone with above national average grades. Needless to say she received 3 unconditional offers by November 2022 including her first choice uni.

It can be done, but I have to add that she worked very hard and had 100% commitment.

English and maths are the most important - will need to pass those to go to a school 6th form. Could retake alongside further qualifications at a 6th firm college.
Will definitely need passes in both for uni.

What does DC hope to study next and at uni?

If he does embark on A levels, it’s worth paying for a tutor if you can swing it perhaps too if he has a PT job to contribute towards the costs. Especially if the goal is University. The current education system isn’t geared towards all learning styles so some young people who are quite intelligent don’t reach their potential or academic aspirations simply due to the education system not suiting their learning style. Vocational studies and BTECs are perfectly fine if that’s what a person wants to do and is suited towards learning, but it would be a shame for him to have to give up on any dreams if he really wants to do a subject/career only offered via A levels.

Good tutors can adjust to different learning styles and even SEN. I got one for my DD with autism and severe dyslexia in Maths for year 11 and she went from a 4 to a 7 on her GCSEs. It’s a bit late for GCSEs, but nothing wrong with considering a tutor for A levels.

You would ideally want a 7 in a subject thats an a level choice to have the right foundation and pre knowledge to be successful.

Is your dc coasting along or making significant efforts?

I think they’ll really struggle so if it was one of mine I’d suggest one Alevel and Btech if you can find something that will interest them.

DD is mainly predicted 4 - 6s and is working really hard for them. She's been offered a place at her preferred sixth form college. Subjects and courses don't have to be confirmed until registration, but she's planning to do a mix of Btec level 3 and A-levels. They've asked for two GCSEs at least grade 6 and another four at least grade 4.

I’m suggesting level 3 BTEC from those grades.

I would probably opt for college courses with those grades or apprenticeship. However, it depends on the kid. My DS was a 5/6 (one grade 7) and he's doing ok at A level (B/C). He doesn't want uni. He wanted to stay in till 6th form as it's safe for him, his friends were there, it's very close to our house. He isn't very mature or confident so we felt it was the best option for him to give him a bit more growing up time. On the other hand, DS's friend who is in Y11 now has got an apprenticeship with a great company starting after GCSE. The post A level apprenticeship this company offers is ridiculously competitive (think 3A* and a lot of drive!) so it's actually easier to get in post GCSE. There's so many things out there. I got very excited looking for DS but he just didn't have the confidence to go for any of the courses I found which involved quite long commutes.

People are suggesting Btecs but I'm not sure what level they are suggesting?
There are three different levels for Btecs!
A Btec level 3 extended diploma will require higher entry grades than a Btec level 2 for example.

DD got higher grades than your predicted ones but is really struggling. She shouldn't be doing A levels really, but has absolutely no idea what she wants to do, so decided she'd rather try A levels in a familiar place than start somewhere different to do a course she doesn't want to do.

No. A levels are a big step up from gcse.

We have a pretty inclusive policy on A level entry (would make many on here faint) and even so he would be the wrong side of on the cusp for entry. We would suggest a double award BTEC with 1 A level alongside. However, you have nothing to lose by applying. Does he have particular subjects in mind? Are they new ones he will be more motivated by? Has he investigated options outside of A Level study.

The suggestion is A levels are a 2 grade drop from GCSE grade. So grade 4 at GCSE translates to E at A level. Some do better with lots hard work.

Apply for sixth firm
plus a back up or two.

Hopefully gives a target for the exams and reason to revise.

He probably won’t get any grades which is why most sixth forms wouldn’t let him on the course.