GCSE Support - the results are in

@bendmeoverbackwards Does the college which offers BTec Dance offer A level as well? Or qualifications related to her A level choices? What other BTecs do they do? Are there others in easy reach travel wise?

You say she enjoys Dance but I'd have thought that a BTec level 3 course in that subject would attract students aiming for that as a career, and that it would involve a lot of being looked at and judged. Are there other Dance courses there at a lower level or time commitment, part of a course of study rather than a whole course alone, that could be studied alongside Sociology and perhaps another A level choice?

Her own school sixth form may set the bar higher, but I would have thought 8 solid passes including 5 6s and 2 5s provide a range of options including A levels in subjects such as Sociology.

Then you can discuss a uniform or wardrobe with several of the same items for things which need to be washed frequently - and things which could be mixed up with others if she wants to change her look a bit when she is more settled/confident/sees how classmates dress etc.

Thank you all, very much appreciate the support.

Dd is point blank refusing to enrol anywhere else. All I hear from her is that she doesn't want to move schools, doesn't want to go to a college etc. We are still waiting for the outcome of the marking review but I'm not getting my hopes up. Just wish the results come soon so we know one way or the other. I think she's just too anxious to start somewhere new. I'm wondering if she should take a year off, get a job and have a re-think for next year.

@bendmeoverbackwards the BTEC does sound like a good idea. A consistent group rather than 3 different ones might be easier for her to settle in. The uniform thing is frustrating but so many autistic kids end up coping better than expected with blazers and ties, so it should be one you can break down and overcome. A designated "personal uniform" is a good shout. Maybe start with black leggings and wash her 2 favourite dance tops for the first week, see what everyone else is wearing, and buy more then.

Making a list is a good idea. I would also talk with her about how the first days or week of a school year are always super challenging for most autistic students. An autistic brain usually hates transitions, so the negative things she is feeling about new places may be an automatic reaction her brain is making to the change. A bit like how you'd address anxiety by talking about the thoughts and feelings as separate to the physical and very real sensations, try to decouple the starting college or school from how she would feel once settled. In a panic attack those physical sensations are overwhelming, but they don't actually come from the stressor, they are a separate thing. So her negative reaction, while real and overwhelming, might actually be coming from the newness rather than the setting. It is hard to know which, so how about she sticks with the setting for a couple of weeks just in case it's the former?

Whether A levels at private school are the right fit for her academically is tricky with her attendance. We have steered away from private school for our autistic DC because of a norm we perceived of more social (compliance) and academic demands - more hoops to jump through I suppose, and they all use spoons. It works well for some kids though. I would imagine Dance has its own social challenges with group work. It sounds like her social skills are pretty good.

As she has struggled to attend in the past, I would weigh quite heavily whether the settings have somewhere she can go to escape and get some support, when feeling overwhelmed. That might be a key part of keeping her attendance up. Good luck.

We decided not to request the papers he was close with. It wouldn't make a difference to his next steps as he'd already got his place at college.
He went for his induction yesterday and got his timetable, he's not too impressed that he has 3 hours of English on a Friday!

@bendmeoverbackwards well done to your DD, she has done incredibly well under those circumstances! It’s awful that some children have done so well but still feel like they have failed as they can’t get onto their chosen courses. My son is also in this situation. I agree with @PennywisePoundFoolish colleges can be good at supporting without the expectations. My son (ASD) couldn’t wait to get out of school and did really well at college. Would it be possible to buy clothes for college so that she sort of has a uniform? She could then have a pre picked outfit for each day. Just an idea. Most of the 6th forms where I am don’t have a uniform. I would also consider what job the course would lead to. My son has just finished college and is looking for work but his level 3 subject doesn’t really open many doors. It was difficult to persuade him to stay in education and it was the only course he would agree to do 🤷🏼‍♀️. Good luck I hope that you get something sorted out soon.
@PennywisePoundFoolish I sympathise with you. I had years of that attitude from the school. I was thoroughly relieved when I managed to get him to the end of year 11. I hope that he has a better day tomorrow.

There's a few online schools, Kings Interhigh and Oxford online school are the ones ice been looking at.

The LA was willing to fund online A Levels for DS1 through Tute. I think they so sociology (we found a more suitable provision in the end).

They're all pretty expensive options

@bendmeoverbackwards therea a good facebook group - Home education uk exams and alternatives - it has lots of information on it. As many different options

It’s definitely a BTEC (level 3). My oldest dd did a dance BTEC along with one A level a few years ago and she said it was pretty easy to get top grades.

As for career, dd doesn’t really know yet. She said recently she was interested in vet nursing which you can enter via a variety of routes so unless she wants to do a vet nursing degree, it’s not subject dependent.

Online is an interesting option, just been googling and found Minerva, is that the main provider of online learning?

@bendmeoverbackwards that's a very tricky situation. I think putting up the barriers is an understandable response when she's not been able to stay on. DS2 (also an anxious ASD with low attendance) is staying on at his 6th form and I have to say I can't see him completing his A Levels but I've gone with it.

I think if you can get her to view the college I'd start with that. I'd also try and speak to admissions yourself. I think colleges cam be a bit better at supporting young people rather than schools who just have expectations. (We've already had the '"he needs to be in school in his lessons" response to him sitting crying in reception 🤦‍♀️)

My last resort is online though it would be after id exhausted everything else

She did very well to get those grades on that attendance. How is the anxiety now?

The BTEC (it is BTEC not T-level, yes?) might be less stress. Any homework would be directed for assignments, exams would be fewer and so less revision.

However would there be group work, how is she on that?

Also what career progression are you expecting after college?

Thank you @TeenDivided I agree about the uniform thing and I did point out that she'd be in dance wear. But she's obsessed with her appearance, always thinks people are looking at her/judging her etc.

She got five 6s, two 5s, one 4 and one 3. Shame as she is a very bright girl and capable of much better but her anxiety went through the roof in Year 10 and she had very poor attendance in Years 10 and 11 (around 60%). So I suppose she's done ok in the circumstances.

@bendmeoverbackwards Get her to sit down at the weekend and list out the pros and cons of all options. Her grades aren't fantastically high if she has averaged 5.5 so A levels is a bit of a risk.

The clothes at college is a ridiculous reason really. Doing Dance I expect they'll be in leggings and hoodies won't they?

Maybe given the ASD situation she needs you to make the decision for her?

Nice to hear everyone's updates and good luck to all your dc for starting sixth form or college.

Can anyone help me, feeling a bit desperate. Dd narrowly missed the entry requirements for her school sixth form by 2 points (needed 46 points from 8 best GCSEs, she got 44). She appealed to the Head which was turned down. We have submitted English and History papers for review and are waiting to hear. I'm not too hopeful but if her grades go up by 2 overall, her current school will have to accept her.

In the meantime, she had the option of another (state) school or a small private school. The state school is lovely but the journey is an issue and I think she would find it exhausting (she is ASD and has a lot of anxiety). The private school is very close to home, we put in a late application, she went for an interview and they offered her a place.

She attended yesterday but came home and said she hates it and isn't going back. Her reasons include - it's a very long day (finishing at 4.10pm), they don't offer one of her subject choices (Sociology), they encourage an EPQ which she doesn't want to do, and as she's new they all know each other and is worried people won't like her.

I want her to look at college courses, our local college offers a BTEC in Dance which would suit her (she's a keen dancer) and is the equivalent of 3 A Levels. Lots of plusses her - everyone is new so in the same boat, BTEC much less stressful than A Levels, she can come and go as she pleases and it's relatively local to home. Her reason why she doesn't want to go? The lack of uniform. She said it's too stressful to decide what to wear every day.

I have pointed out many many times that no sixth form will offer ALL her wishes, she will have to make some compromises. But all I hear is that she doesn't want to move schools.

I am so scared she will become a NEET. Any advice please?

Further maths( 1 mark off 7) has been sent for review by school.
In rather niche news Ancient Greek apparently results nationally have been lower than expected for the cohort so school have requested scripts and may submit a blanket request for reviews. It won’t change anything materially but would be nice to go up a grade!

Thank you @NCTDN and @MrsHamlet .

We got in touch with school this morning and it turned out they'd set a deadline of lunchtime today for requests.

Thank you mrshamlet

AQA's deadline for priority access - so you can see them before deciding to review or not - is today.
The deadline for review requests is towards the end of the month.
If you just want the scripts back to have them, then that's also the end of the month.

We requested scripts for 3 subjects 2 were one mark from the higher grade and one 4 marks). The staff for relevant subjects very kindly reviewed them as well and subsequently we decided to just submit one paper for one subject for marking review AQA Biology.
Not holding out much hope & it doesn't effect DC sixth form choices but it would mean having 2 sciences at a grade 5 as opposed to one, which might be useful in the future.

I think you're right

filestore.aqa.org.uk/admin/results-days/AQA-POST-RESULTS-FLOWCHARTS.PDF

Was tomorrow the last day for AQA? We were told 26 Sep. We have put one in but were advised to see what came back from that and then decide whether to put the second in. Obviously we can’t do that if date has changed.

Was coming on to update, but just saw the confusion regarding scripts and the access deadline. At DDs school the exams officer was saying that yesterday was the last day, but only for AQA exams. She said she felt it was incredibly unfair and actually quite unusual. Maybe they suspected an unmanageable amount of admin after this years harsh grading, so decided to bring forward the deadline.

So we have had a very stressful week. Dd had enrolled at an art college, but on the day of enrolment hated the vibe (as did I tbf)Completely different to a few days before at the interview. Looooong story short, she has joined a sixth form at a high school who only got back to her 2 days a go! Apparently they had missed her application.....strangely. Anyway, we're keeping everything crossed that this was the right decision for her, given this was all very last minute 😬

That's for priority access. The main deadline is 23 September.

Thank you, we have managed to get the scripts back and we are just deciding whether to pay for the review of marking. I think that we have until the 28th. We need to check one subject ourselves but a teacher is looking at a few papers for the other subject and has kindly offered to add ours to the list.

Apparently tomorrow is the last day you can request access to the scripts.

just wondering if anyone else has had their review of marking back? We are still deciding whether to get 2 subjects reviewed. One is one mark off a 9 and the other 2 marks off an 8.
@Hellocatshome Interesting, we definitely have a form to fill in and sign for a review of marking and you have to list the components. Well done to your DS!