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Original poster

HELP, y13 walked out wants to study A levels from home

60 replies

everybodystalking · 23/11/2024 12:06

I will try to be brief.
My last child (always rebellious) wants to complete the last 2 terms of their A levels from home having turned 18.
They have had mental health issues but seem ok currently
They are clever but impulsive
They resent the time wasting and frankly some pretty poor teaching/teacher attendance for their subjects
Thye are capable of and predicted As

I could refuse but I am at work long hours and cannot make them attend
They are stubborn but very capable and likely to do better at home.
Multiple other siblings did school and did (very) well but now look back and think it could have been better from home and one really struggled.

Do you have any advice/experience?
Might school allow them to study remotely and take exams with them given they have completed much of the course?

Help what do I do ?
(Single parent no support)

OP posts:
MightySnail · 23/11/2024 12:34

I'd say to him that if he's old enough to be an adult he's old enough to do all the research on how he would sit the exams privately and then get a part-time job to pay for them. Tell him he's got three days to come up with the relevant info and a fully hatched plan, and if he can't he's going back to school.

titchy · 23/11/2024 12:31

Could you task said teen with finding out about exam centres and how much they cost and if they could accommodate him? Would they put their money where their mouth is and find a PT job to pay the fees?

noblegiraffe · 23/11/2024 12:30

We had a kid who stopped turning up for lessons around January time insisting that he could work better from home. He could not, and ended up with Ds and Es. It's not as easy as teens may think.

RampantIvy · 23/11/2024 12:30

Yes, check if the school will allow the exams to be sat there.
If they are sat privately have you factored in the cost?

ScrollingLeaves · 23/11/2024 12:26

Hoppinggreen · 23/11/2024 12:21

Its a tough situation and I would also suggest speaking to his school/college.
DD is a straight A student and works hard, one of her subject at college was badly taught and she had to do most of it herself and got an A.She then had a gap year and taught herself another subject at home (was supposed to have support but it was useless) and didn't do very well despite only doing 1 Alevel and nothing else.
Self Study is really hard and if your son is off role at school they probably won't be involved at all so he would have to take the exams independently

Being alone in a house in a vacuum hour after hour has dreadful effects on teens’ minds. Look at what happened in lockdown and after.

Original poster
everybodystalking · 23/11/2024 12:25

Muchtoomuchtodo · 23/11/2024 12:23

The key decider for me would be will school let them sit the exams there if they’ve not been fully involved with the teaching? Your dc’s results will be reported with schools even if they’ve self taught for 25% of the course so they may not be too keen.

yes this is my concern
on the other hand this school really values it's ranking for A levels and my child would be in the top 10 percent.......if they achieve what they are capable of

OP posts:
Muchtoomuchtodo · 23/11/2024 12:23

The key decider for me would be will school let them sit the exams there if they’ve not been fully involved with the teaching? Your dc’s results will be reported with schools even if they’ve self taught for 25% of the course so they may not be too keen.

Original poster
everybodystalking · 23/11/2024 12:22

Thanks for answering

They have just turned 18 so legal to leave is the trigger....
We have a tutor for one subject because the school treaching is so poor and they are getting on well together
My eldest has a degree and is a tutor for one of the other subjects and would probably help (they get on well)
One of the other siblings has a good degree in the other subject but does not tutor usually...and they butt heads more

all are essay subjects so simple from that point of view

I think the academics are doable but I am daunted by the admin (my work is very full on) and I think if school would not allow to sit with them we would be too late to find a private exam centre...it seems like they get booked up well in advance.

I think I have to talk to school don't I? Argh...sadly stubborn rund in the family so insisting on attendance would likely end in failure

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 23/11/2024 12:21

Its a tough situation and I would also suggest speaking to his school/college.
DD is a straight A student and works hard, one of her subject at college was badly taught and she had to do most of it herself and got an A.She then had a gap year and taught herself another subject at home (was supposed to have support but it was useless) and didn't do very well despite only doing 1 Alevel and nothing else.
Self Study is really hard and if your son is off role at school they probably won't be involved at all so he would have to take the exams independently

LIZS · 23/11/2024 12:14

Speak to hoy in first instance. Has something happened to trigger this ? Would he attend for some face to face tuition, are his subjects suitable for independent study or are there controlled assessments for example. They may not be able to enter him fir exams as a pupil if he is offrolled.