Missed GCSE grades but offered complete change of Alevels to business, PE & Sociology

If the biology was a genuine surprise he could look to resit but you may need to find a private tutor and pay to sit the exam. (I am tutoring a student who is currently doing this). Pain at the moment but might open more doors for him im the long run.

Otherwise, it's maybe a good reminder that not everyone (or perhaps hardly anyone) has a career plan mapped out that they follow rigidly anyway. Most of us bumble along picking what seems like the best opportunity at the time and end up in jobs we had never originally considered / didn't know existed previously. So perhaps this is the unexpected path henis meant to take all along.

It is worth him resitting the biology next summer so if yr12 doesn't go as planned he might have more opportunities to do what he prefers- there or somewhere else?

My DD wants to do sports physio also. She’s planning on doing medical science and psychology at A level. A couple of days ago we found a course at our local college that would enable her to learn about health and fitness while also getting experience on sports physio. Maybe this would be something your DS would find beneficial? Show him that there are other options, as I never thought my DD would entertain college, but it has shown her there’s more out there that fits much better. An apprenticeship afterwards would mean that sports physio is definitely not off the table! 😊

First of all,definitely don’t discount physio!There are many ways to get there.
My daughter didn’t have the best GCSE grades after some health issues and undiagnosed dyslexia.She had no idea what she wanted to do,but has gone on to do BTec Sport as a 3 Alevel equivalent. She has now decided she’d like to be a sports physio. There are very few physio courses that will take BTec sport without a science Alevel as well,but she is considering doing a Foundation course before doing the degree.The other thing to do is look into sports therapy,as you can always do a masters in physio later.
Not doing as well as you expected is always disappointing, but it builds resilience and,like I say,just means you might need to take a slightly longer route to reach your goal!
Good luck to him!

My DS just dropped Physics May of year 12 (this year) and took up Business Studies immediately after half term (he's doing Maths & Economics) he caught up the whole of year 12 syllabus before the end of year 12 finished plus says he finds it fairly easy. He didn't study Business at GCSE. HOWEVER, he wants to study Economics & Finance at Uni so he doesn't need Maths or Business. If your son has his heart set on Sports Physio or regular Physiotherapy as a degree he might want to find somewhere that does let him study Biology A Level. or at least look at the Unis for that course and see what they require.

Having had 2 kids who’ve gone through a’levels, both biology and psychology are pretty tough subjects!

Is there no way he can switch to a college and do a btec / T levels?

Our school would allow him to take psychology with a 5 in Biology, Maths and English. As a Biology teacher, I definitely wouldn’t advise Biology A level though with only a 5 at GCSE. Even a grade 6, which is what we allow, really is pushing it for a decent grade. AAQ Science would be the best option if he’s serious about Physio.

I would let him run with those options as he’s likely to get better grades overall.

were you offered a remark for English? One mark can sometimes be found. The school look at it first and then if they think it’s worth a remark then you can apply for one and pay for it. Depends if the school have teachers with exam marking experience to look at it. You need to be quick though. But for one mark it might be worth it.

A T Level in Health would get him to physio for degree or degree apprenticeship.

Business and Sociology are easier and I think more common sense. I started biology and psychology and changed because I hated the teacher. I got an A in business studies after never studying it before. It was easy (for me) and it’s been useful in life.

If it’s a state school they’ll really want him to stay as it’s good for their funding. Maybe push a little harder on the biology esp as he was predicted much higher. It’ll go well with PE and align with potential physio career…suggest to the school he may have to leave otherwise. He could possibly get private tutoring in biology to help him if that’s an option.

PE Apprentice to become a PE Teacher? Course at Uni. The lads at my school love it

My son doing business studies A level and was one of the only ones who didn't do it for GCSE. He's been predicted A/A* - his highest grade by far.
He's also doing psychology and has struggled big time with this all of year 12. Got 5&6s for sciences so don't think it was the best choice for him. Good luck x

It'll be the science grade. It's increasingly common for psychology to require a certain level of science at GCSE.

Yes, it does have a knock on effect post results ...

Again, have they said why the no to psychology?

Or are they just trying to move students around to balance class sizes, irrespective of what the students longer term goals are?

Like some of the other posters, I wonder if the school is offering what they can deliver easily (staff picking up subjects not their specialism) and not having staff to teach more specialist A levels, but desperate to maintain student rolls. What's his friends been offered, and are they being steered towards alternatives? It would not be the first time a school has been known to manipulate offers to fit staff / budgets and not to what students want!

I guess see if you can find any information about the syllabus for the A levels they’ve said. Look online. Sit down with him and go through it, ask if he thinks he’d like them?

PE, business and sociology or psychology is a great combination if you want a career in the sports world . . .

That's a good point @itsgettingweird . I've just checked our 4 closest sixth forms/colleges and all would let him do Psych with that grade profile. With some margin.

Did he pick those 2 subjects or were they ones suggested by the school? If he doesn’t like one (or two) then can he switch to another subject?

My dd did psychology and said that a lot of her class did sociology as well. She briefly considered it but when she looked at the summer holiday homework for sociology, she realised that it wasn’t for her. Does your school set similar?

It’s a shame he’s so set on staying at school when other options may be better for him. Is he not willing to go and look at colleges?

My DD was set on sixth form but we looked at a college and she loves it. We’ve found it’s a better path and they need to learn to move forward and out of their comfort zone at some point.

Have they said why he can’t do psychology?

Biology makes sense but psychology should be doable with 7 in lit and 6 in maths I would have thought?

I got C in lit and B in maths and statistics and took A level psychology as a mature student 26) and got an A!!!

I think my question is whether they are really offering what is in his best interests or the subjects it might suit them to fill. I'm not necessarily averse to 2 new subjects, but like you say, for someone who's shown no interest in either AND chose to do zero humanities at GCSE? They are both quite humanity-y.

Maybe explore with him why he did no humanities at GCSE, and whether that might impact on whether he is likely to get on with that new subjects.

Sociology is quite popular among students who do it. I did a bit at uni and found it interesting. But it seems a bit of an odd departure for him.

Yes, the 7 in lit does suggest he can write well. Does he have any interest in sociology though? Academically he should be fine but lack of interest can be a killer.