DS1 thinks he has done badly in his GCSEs

I don’t think you are seeing how you are coming across. Many people have given up their time to consider what you have written and give an educated opinion. Based on their own experiences either personally or in the world of education.

You are being very defensive. Maybe if you look back at this thread in a week or so, you will realise how badly you have taken this pretty good advice.

You asked for options and are telling people to shut up when they are trying to help you.

On threads, conversations can go slightly off topic. It doesn’t mean you have to be rude to people.

I wish your son all the best. But be careful that by being so prickly and defensive, you’re not being open-minded to all the different avenues he could pursue, including A-levels.

Have you both looked at alternatives to school such as a local college that offers A levels ( I appreciate that this will depend on your location). It would worry me if the plan was for my dc to stay at school, if he had said he hates school. It’s difficult when they don’t really express an interest in the next steps because at 16, they do need to be doing something! I think at this stage, I would just wait for the actual results coming in. There will be people at school ready to advise if he doesn’t get the grades he needs. He also has you to support him, so he’ll be okay .

Oh - and unis are generally very open to and value ‘experience’ rather than qualifications. There’s so much pressure on the ‘traditional’ route. What’s he interested in?

And I’m not at all saying he’s not A level material - just that I probably would have benefited from a wider range of learning options at that age. DH and I are both ND, both went to uni and crashed out at 18, went back and did well in BSc/MSc/MEng in our 20s and 30s. I often feel the education system is too linear for ND people and by the time they’re 16/17/18 they’ve been in education a long time. We’re focusing on teaching DS to live as an ND person without burning out - something DH and I are still learning the hard way as we were diagnosed as adults.

If he’s neurodiverse, are there things he could do that aren’t academic? We’re an ND family. DS is too young for this atm (still at primary) but we’re working on giving him skills that aren’t academic so he has a range of options as we know he may not go on to higher education, at least not straight from school. We’re lucky because we’re both self-employed so DH has been teaching him how to use tools.

Most of all I’d say make him realise there’s more to life than grades. I wish I’d known that as a ND teenager.

sorry but we have a lot of ADHD in our family - including me and my two kids. I went into a school programme to condense my high school into three years and enter uni at 15...probably because I have ADHD and my brain thinks of several things at once. My children with ADHD are doing A levels and applying for Russell Group unis - at my son's grammar school lots of kids have ADHD in his A level programme and also expected to go to Russell Group Unis.

I think you need to do some research on A levels - kids mostly do these to get into uni. Where we live all the A level programmes in the government schools require a min of a 7 in that gcse to that subject - its only the colleges and the private schools which take students with lower grades.

Its not about your son getting into an A level programme...its about him coping in an A level programme. With the grades he got in his mocks I am sorry I can't see how he would cope in an A level programme.

I think as well - its super important you feedback to your son whatever he gets it will be OK. There will be options for him. If you make out you are worried or that its a catastrophe - he will become very down on himself.

Have you considered ADHD meds - we put our son on them specifically for his GCSES (a month beforehand) and it pushed his grades up massively,

The other option is ask for reviews of marking. If he’s close to boundaries in some, it might be worth it

Reviews do not look at grade boundaries, and there has to be clear evidence of marking being unjustifiable. It's only worth reviews in English if someone experienced has looked at the paper and considers it worth a review. Small mark changes are highly highly unlikely.

Reviews are also very expensive.

I think it has been mentioned, but apart from Maths and Eng Lang which can be resat on November, if you want to resit anything else you have to wait to the next summer. Normally you'd want to focus on your level 3 courses rather than want to spend time resitting a random (ie not maths or English) GCSE.

Good post @titchy - no one has said your DS is stupid @winterrabbit. I agree with titchy that actually, having ADHD does not mean he is not smart, but yes, it might well mean that A levels would be a challenge.

You keep saying OP that you didn't ask for advice about A levels and BTECs but tbf to me and everyone, your Op said this:
If he has done badly then what options are there for him?
which I took to mean If he has not done very well in his GCSEs, what can he do post-16?
Apologies if that's not what you meant. But I still think you and he should look at it. You and he will know next month how he has done - and I really think it would be a good idea to look at all the options before then. If you don't need them - happy days. Just a bit of wasted time.

Hopefully we have variously answered your resit questions - you have to resit maths and Eng lang if you don't get a 4 (a 4 in Eng lit will do tho); you can resit anything else but you will probably have to pay. I know a lad that didn't do well enough to get in for sixth form and he resat the whole of year 11. No idea if they had to pay exam fees tho.

Can I reiterate that BTEC level 3 qualifications are rigorous and not easy; they just suit different learning styles. Mate of DS's did a L3 BTEC in sport science and ended up studying it at Lboro - probably one of the hardest unis to get into for that subject.

My DD did well at GCSE, not very well at A level and then did a degree with only continuous assessment, no exams, as that's often where she crashes - and she totally flew. DS2 otoh does better in a timed, pressured exam. Different things suit different people. Best to play to your strengths as far as you can.

Having ADHD and learning differently to others does not mean he is not academic and can't do A-levels.

No-one has said he isn't capable or academic. But actually yes, having ADHD and the sort of learning style that he appears to have often DOES mean that A levels are not suitable as they require a very specific style of learning - one suited to a very ordered type of person.

Someone who needs short sharp bursts, with external inputs, is better suited to exams where they are examined that way - in short sharp bursts. That's not a good thing or a bad thing. It's just sensible to plan a pathway that showcases strengths that showcases weaknesses.

Despite having lots to offer, I'll stfu.

Still none the wiser about what you actually want. Kindness is a two way thing.

Yes he needs a 4 to not have to resit. You can pay to resit anything if you want to.

Classic MN poster, asks for advice, has already made her own mind up, so ignores all advice.

You've said he didn't do very well. There are varying degrees of not very well, but usually this implies below grade 4s. In which case he isn't suited to A level study.

What do you want from the thread?

He needs 6 ideally. If maths and or English are failed some colleges will take them but they will continue to study those GCSE's.

Nobody is “grilling” you @winterrabbit

Don’t put “If he has done badly then what options are there for him?” in your OP if you don’t want people to give you options 🤷🏻‍♀️

DS was at a super selective and achieved all 8s and 9s in his GCSEs.

A levels were a massive shock to him - the amount of self-motivated study he had to do and the shift from 'learn this stuff and then repeat it back in the exam' to 'let's research 6 different critical views on Paradise Lost and then you weave them into an ordered argument answering a question that none of them specifically refer to'.

He was also keeping up his sport and music commitments.

His ADHD meant that managing tasks without daily deadlines was really painful. 'Do this French translation for tomorrow' - fine.
'Over the next week, prepare several responses to potential questions on these trolley problems' - almost impossible and very stressful.

Ironically luckily for him, he was the 2020 year that ended up with Teacher Assessment rather than exams. His excellent responses in class and his essays (often dictated into voice recognition software while he power-walked round the neighbourhood) meant that he ended up with his predicted grades and a place at a great university. I have NO DOUBT that he would not have achieved this if he had had to prepare for 3 revision-heavy A levels (all squashed into 2 and a half weeks and with several double exam days).

I wish I had had the insight in his post GCSE summer to guide him towards at least one course that was not graded on a summative exam.

He is SO clever, but summative exams don't suit the way his brain works.

You have to be bright to get Distinction stars in BTECs. There can be a high level of analysis etc required. It is only you who seems to be equating bright=A levels and 'not A levels' => 'not bright.'
A different learning style may (note MAY) indicate that A levels may not work well. That is all people are saying!

Hmmm. You’re very rude. People like me telling you he’s stupid because he has ADHD?

My post on this thread:

Why ideally A levels?
Which ones?
What other options has he even looked at? BTec Level 3 Business?

Nope, can’t see the bit where I said he was stupid because of ADHD.

The only backfiring I see here is people trying to answer your posts helpfully, and getting your rudeness in return.

No one is saying he is 'too stupid to do Alevels' (except you).
People are merely pointing out that if his learning style doesn't work well with GCSEs (and you yourself said he needed tutors to do any revision) then it may not bode well for A levels which requires similar skills, but enhanced.
People are suggesting you put aside your prejudices and properly look at BTECs which may suit better. You still have to be 'bright' to do well, but the learning and assessment styles are different.

I didn't actually come on here seeking advice as to whether to do A-levels or BTECs but options around resits/retakes.

Bit of a snippy post when people have given up their time to think and reply. And you did say this in your OP:

If he has done badly then what options are there for him?

If he’s done badly, then the BTec discussion is very valid. Not because there easier, but because they fit a different style of learning that could have been the reason for poor GCSE performance.