Changing school halfway though year 12

[Rickandportly]

Long story short, we can’t afford to rent where we are living any longer. Or within an hour of here. So we have to move and the best place is 200 miles away where DH family are.

Ds just stared year 12 sixth form. But because he messed up some of his GCSEs he’s doing an odd mix of a Btech and 1 A level and retaking maths gcse. I’ve contacted a few schools And colleges in the area we want to move to. None of them off the mix he is doing.

I really don’t know what to do!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Other places I’ve looked do talk about needing Maths 😕

We should have just moved last summer. I was just terrified of ex h kicking off.

Could he have dyscalculia? Similar to dyslexia, but with numbers. A level 4 is a standard pass, and a level 5 is a strong pass.

It might be worth him ringing the force he wants to join and asking them what they require then?

I mean we could stay until the end of term (at a stretch) - but the. We face the problem of finding somewhere
For him to continue the same subjects for year
13.

Yes, will contact them.

Sorry just checked - maths he got a level 2

In that case, given that he is clearly an intelligent young man it is worth getting him assessed for discalculia. This could result in him getting extra time in exams.

Good luck

Would he manage living alone in a house share or a family who take in foreign students ? What area are you in ?

What does the college in new area not offer?

I'm surprised he can cope well with level3 Business with such a low grade maths gcse. Have you looked into Functional Skills level 2 as the maths is more practical. Presumably he could take maths gcse next summer in current college even if it meant travelling back for the exam.

Another vote for dyscalculia.

Also have a look at FE colleges rather than VI form. I've done some maths teaching in FE and it is taught slightly differently. My best day was when a students said, "Oh I understand that now, I never did at school'.

Depending on the board sometimes there is a post 16 text book that might be better for him.

BTEC business doesn't sound much good. What level is it? Has he considered BTEC 'uniformed public services'? He should be able to transfer any completed and passed units to another school / college.

Can he sit AS English at the end of this academic year? It might be better for the school stats that he leaves with a qualification even if it is not A Level.

Not sure if this sort of thing is an option these days as my experience was a looong time ago, but have you considered the possibility of not doing both at the same school/college?

My parents decided to move in my GCSE year and there wasn't a school that did all of the subjects I was taking. Ended up with the option of splitting my time between school and a FE college a few miles down the road.

His school only offered a Btech in business or sport. He wanted to stay there at the end of year 11.

He actually finds the business easy, weirdly since he’s shite a maths.

No one for him to stay with here and we’re in London, so a flat share costs the same as rent on a three bed house where we want to move
To!

Splitting may be a good idea - although when I spoke to one of the colleges about that they said it wasn’t possible? Will look into it further.

None of the schools or colleges I have spoken to in the the area offer the combo he’s doing now because of time tables.

Thanks for all the suggestions. My head is so foggy. I work 6, 12 hour night shifts a week to stay here at the mo so I can never think clearly.