Any advice for teen boy that doesn't want to do anything post GCSE?

This is where apprenticeships come in. 80% of the time working 20% of the time training usually day release or block release at college. DS is starting his in September and will have a take home pay per month of over £1000.

It's a shame they can't just go out and get a job. I left voluntarily at 16 just wanted to get out into the world, did a short polytech course on administration and was working in a bank at 18. Ended up going back to uni at 21. But strangely enough I use the admin qualification a lot more than my science degree that cost a million pounds 😅

Military, service etc out of the question.
Thats a shame, I've seen a couple of teens in a similar position be very happy and achieving much in the navy.

Another vote for him processing it all over the weekend.
schools don’t enroll properly until the beginning of term and same for colleges. There’s a lot of chopping and changing goes on around this time.

what I wouldn’t do is shoehorn him into a level subjects he isn’t fussed on for a place at 6th form. Our local fe college has lower grade boundaries to study a levels than 6th forms. It would still be worth him checking the local fe college requirements. But whatever he does tell him to pick something he’s interested in and he will be fine.

Give him a day or two to process, then go for a long walk/drive and hopefully he'll be more ready to talk. (Lack of eye contact and distractions works wonders for getting them talking.)

16 year olds are expected to be in some form of education or training (although I'm not sure this is policed), so he should sign up for something - perhaps a one year course while he thinks more about what he might like to do. Our local college has a "uniformed public services" course which might suit him - it includes fitness, work experience, adventure training, developing skills in assertiveness, leadership, etc.

Does his current school not offer BTECs or CTECs? If not maybe other local schools will have these options or lower entry requirements for 6th form. This may be preferable to going to college.

The problem lies in schools treating all students as if they should go to sixth form, when this is only a good idea if they offer a broad enough range to cater to every type of student. If he is not super academic, A levels may not be right regardless and he would only be much unhappier in two years time.

I was going to suggest this too with an extra a level in biology or maths. It’s got lots of potential uni options (if you have the extra a level)

Honestly I'd try and encourage him do some work at McDonalds as a temporary. It was the best thing that ever happened to DS1. Fully occupied all day, working with young people, learning lots of transferable skills and some (actually decent) money in his pocket. I always think it looks good on a CV too - people know you're not afraid of hard work if you've done a stint at McDonalds. They were really good supportive employers through Covid too.

He can treat it as a temporary job until he decides what he wants to do (as DS did) but DS has stayed in the industry and is now flying high with head office.

So he only just got the results today? He's upset. He needs time to process. It's a big decision. Give him a few days at least.

School leaving age - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
These are the options if in England:
You can leave school on the last Friday in June if you’ll be 16 by the end of the summer holidays. You must then do one of the following until you’re 18:

• stay in full-time education, for example at a college
• start an apprenticeship or traineeship
• spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training

BTEC in sports ?

I would give him a few days to process it and get over the initial disappointment. But I would then be making it very clear that doing nothing is not going to be an option, and demanding to know what he's going to do with himself.

As a parent, you simply crack down on it. Whatever he does, it doesn't matter, but he has to do something, or you are not housing/ feeding him. End of.

I know it sounds harsh but it really is what some kids need at that point. He really can't be allowed to see it as an option that he can sit around doing nothing and be subsidised by you financially. He is too old for that now and needs to either contribute financially or be in education.

Can he do a fitness apprenticeship instead?

We told dd it's uni or a job .. you choose .. she chose uni .

There is no free loading

Maybe suggest in the morning he goes into the college to talk through his options . There should be staff on hand to advise him what would suit his interests and they may have a different entry threshold. What did he want to resit? Could he do so alongside another course there?

Give him time, he’s obviously upset because he didn’t get the results he wanted, it will take him a while to process. Hopefully in a day or two he will be able to sit down and discus his options. If he’s into fitness then there are a lot of options if that’s the area he wants to work in.

@JPW1974he has done well given the late diagnosis. Has he been given all the tools and techniques that can assist him?

We still focus on academic achievements and university as the goal but that just is not the right path for many people. It’s also something that can come with age. Lots of people do professional qualifications and degrees later in life.

He is 16, it sounds scary but he won’t retire until he is 66 or later. That is 50+ years in which he can study, have several careers etc.

All he needs for now is time to adjust to the change I.e. not going into 6th form. Then work out what he wants to do for the next year or 2. He needs something to expand his horizons, give him some skills, maybe find what works for him and his dyslexia. It also should be something he will hopefully enjoy.

Use the National Careers Service quiz to find out what he may be suited for. Do the skills audit and these may come up with interesting options.

Unfortunately, the longer he takes to process this, the harder it will be to find him something. He probably does just need time, but if he doesn't do anything then options may disappear to other students.

Can you at least accept the place at college, so he's got that as a plan in case nothing else comes up? If he doesn't turn up there in September, it won't be an issue, but if he doesn't accept the place, they could offer it to another student.

I would talk to the school to see if there is any option of him staying on for sixth form, or if they have any other advice- but it sounds like he has missed what he needed by quite a long way.

I totally understand that he's upset- but is there any way you could persuade him to at least talk to the college about his options?

Give him the weekend to get his head round it and then restart the discussions.

decided what he’d ultimately like to do and work backwards. But be clear doing nothing isn’t an option throughout.

his options include college, A Levels, Btecs, apprenticeships, t levels, volunteering…there lots he could do, depending on his interests

His school will not want him to be a NEET (not in education, employment or training) as this looks bad on their figures at the next census. Push the school to organise a careers meeting with him. As part of the careers guidance for schools, all y11s should have a meaning full discussion with a careers adviser to discuss next steps / career paths / colleges etc and you can try and request some further support. Such support is often funded by local authorities so you may be able to go direct to see if they have any drop in centres for discussions.

I am not being insensitive but were his results a true reflection of his academic/exam ability or did he misread questions or not revise enough? This is a good indicator of what his next steps might be.

He could resit in November or redo the year. He could go in a different direction apprenticeship, military, vocational qualifications.etc.

He needs time to come to terms with the results but then think about what he wants to do. The National Careers Service is a good place to start https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

He needs a day or so to feel a bit crap about it.

Give him a hug, acknowledge his dissapointment, say you are here for him and when he is ready you can help him find a new path that will be ok, but you recognise he needs time to feel low.

Remember he may also be a bit embarrassed if he didnt do as well as he hoped. So i saw some advice saying check how they wants to share the news with relatives/friends etc.