DS1 thinks he has done badly in his GCSEs

Definitely worth sitting down with him and having a preparatory conversation - with these grades you’ll get into your school sixth form, if you drop a grade on these then you’ll get into 6th form college A, any more grades dropped and 6th form college B will accept you.

As a mum of an ADHD boy, I would strongly recommend that you look for a place that would offer 2 examined subjects (maybe the French and one other) and one with continuous assessment - maybe a BTEC in Business or Entrepreneurship?

Really try to avoid 3 examined subjects.

Does the French A level include literature? How does he get on with English Lit?

Why do you think A levels are the best route (for him) if you haven't looked into BTECs?

He wouldn't need to resit if he got a 4 - that's a pass. If he got anything less than a 4 in either he would have to re-sit.

If he didn't get at least a 4 in English and Maths he will need to resit them until he passes. Check entry requirements for the sixth forms and colleges near you.

I wouldn't recommend A levels. My son with ADHD has just done his and absolutely hated it. He really really struggled. The jump in difficulty and the requirement for own work if you want to get above D/E is huge. He worked medium hard I would say ie. Doing all homeworks and quite a bit of revising for Sept resits for predicted grades, Jan mocks and the actual exams (Y13 is basically one long exam period!). He is set for D and E but that's in maths and physics which were very hard. Product design was easier for him, more hands on and 50% coursework. This was coming from a 7 in Maths, 6 in Physics and all other 6s (except 5 in English lang and Spanish).

It's also good to know you have 3 years post GCSE of government funding so maybe try A levels for 1 year but know that you can switch to a 2 year college course after you've done Y12. I tried to persuade my son to leave A levels after Y12 but he was adamant he would continue as he'd done one year already. Y13 was pretty much torture and we needed maths and physics tutors just to get those predicted D/E grades. He would have got much better grades at college because he does work when he enjoys it more and also the level is less academic.

My DS did ok in mocks (a mix of 4s and 5s) but terrible on the actual exams. He only got 4s in English Lang and Lit.
He had already decided to leave school and do a vocational course at a college, and was able to resit math there. But it was still devastating- I'm sure he did the worst in the school.
Then unfortunately Covid which impacted his college but that's not relevant here.
So fast forward and while he's still, at 20, trying to find his feet, he's been working steadily at one full time job and has a part time job at a gym teaching classes, which is what he's qualified for.
So think whether an academic route is really the best one here. It's not for everyone - my son is bright enough but doesn't have the aptitude- he's very physical and happiest when moving.

I agree re btec business, ds friend has done it and got offers from all the universities he applied to. He was on the borderline for A levels but would not have coped with the work load and the independent study. It has been a great route for him.

I think someone who will only revise with tutors may well struggle with the amount of independent work required at A levels (even if he makes the minium grade entry requirements).
The advantage of a vocational course is they are more modular with more regular meaningful assignments.
If you haven't looked at vocational options I urge you to do some research now so you can make an informed decision.

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

You have to resit maths and English if you don't get a grade 4.

My gut is that he needs to stay in education for another 2 years, ideally doing A-levels, and then decide

Never mind your gut - legally he has to continue education till he's 18.

A levels don't sound suitable for him at all. Look into alternatives. Do you have a place for him to go in September?

Yeh you don't usually resit if you get a 4 @winterrabbit as that is a pass grade. If you get a 3 you usually resit the GCSE; if you get a 1/2 you are often offered Functional Skills which can be great.

I wouldn't worry too much atm but at the same time I would look into some alternative options. A levels might not be right for him but if he gets 2/3/4/5 type grades, then there are still lots of things he can productively do.

Business or a computing course might suit - non-A-level options are not all plumbing and electrician, good tho those things are.

You wouldn't usually bother resitting GCSEs except maths and eng lang, and only if you get less than a 4.

If you don't get enough for A levels you do vocational courses BTEC/T-level, if needed starting at level 2, or even 1. Do well enough at level 3 you can still go to uni.

I'd be inclined to investigate what your local FE college has on offer.
Does he know what sort of business he'd like to run?
Our local FE college has a level 3 business course - five grade 4s are enough, and maths/English retakes can happen alongside.
As others have said, it's a good idea to have a plan B/C in place.

You can resit whatever you like if you pay. My son passed maths and still did a resit because he wasn't happy with it. It cost £48 at the time.

But your son may be fine, getting the results is quite nerve wracking and chances are he's done better than the mocks, since he has actually revised, whether it was with a tutor or not. I think my youngest who did exams this summer said the biology paper 2 was hard - he'd got over confident as the first one was a lot easier. He said yesterday he was nervous about the results, even though he felt fine about it a few weeks ago.

I’d honestly wouldn’t worry about it.

He can either resit or look for other avenues that interest him - apprenticeships ect..

I was kicked out of school at 15 for being pregnant- not a single GCSE. I have my own regulated business now and it has nothing to do with any GCSEs

It's not all bad news if his results aren't what was expected. My son has autism and didn't even sit any GCSEs, he was at a special school. I contacted local colleges and he got a distinction in music production and performance level 2 along with functional skills in English and Maths in his first year. He's just finished 1st year of level 3 and sat english gcse, next year he will do Maths gcse.