DS likely to fail A Levels: Options?

[NinnyNewName]

DS is capable and smart but during his whole education he's put in a very half baked effort. This was always generally enough. He was disappointed in his GCSE grades but they were okay in the end.

He's in Y12. His working grades are:

Maths: D/E
Computer Science: D/E
Economics: C/D

He has struggled to settle at college. He doesn't want to go to uni. He wants to do an apprenticeship but with these grades doesn't stand much chance.

He's passionate about power lifting and is about to take part in his first competition. He doesn't drink, prioritises rest and and recovery over partying. The dedication he shows in his approach to lifting is incredible. Has a lovely hard working girlfriend.

We've tried all approaches: he's so difficult to help. He doesn't accept help.

So my questions are:

1. is it too late to pull it back? Any success stories out there?

2. should he consider dropping out and restarting in September? Is this even possible? He always assumed he would do a comp sci degree, pre starting to college. Now I'm wondering if he should have done sports science related A Levels.

Thanks for any advice.

Book he wants to do comp sci. He was interested in the IBM apprentceship. He likes the idea of a 20k salary and a fees-free degree and actually he enjoys comp sci: got a 7 for his GCSE and that was largely self taught. Also DH has a senior position for a big US tech company and is always willing to help him too.

He hates economics. He wanted to switch to Business Studies (got a 7 at GCSE for that too) but they wouldn't let him as it was 2 days too late. (Also got a 7 for maths which he's also doing at A Level).

I'd definitely look at the Eastleigh course if he wants to do Comp Sci stuff. Friend's DS has been getting on well there having had issues at school.

Mine bombed in his. Went to do a BTEC at local college- L3. Ended up with amazing grades and a full choice of unis (almost some need maths for science)

That said your sons grades will get him into a lower uni to computer science or similar at clearing.

Sorry- some need maths for computer science. My son is now studying computer science. He ended up with a D*DD which is I think 152 ucas points. The modular study with few exams is closer to the course style at uni and it seems to suit him,

Do you have a UTC near you? They are (mostly) great and I would have sent my son to one without hesitation. They offer a range of BTEC/A level and are used to retakes.

UTCs are mostly not great - do your research carefully if considering one. Lots are having to close due to lack of pupils.

Could he do a Btec in Computer Studies or Business at Extended Level 3 instead? He could pull it back and even get into a uni but most likely struggle for 3 years and accumulate debt.

One if my friend's son did IT BTEC at 6th form college, then 1 year apprenticeship at a local council in IT department. He is now 24 and works as software engineer on 40K salary without university debts. Don't have to do degree in CS to work in IT.

My DS went from an E in Maths at this point of year 12 to an B in his end of year 12 exams (and an A in his actual A level). He simply hadn't done more than the bare minimum up to that point, was lost in lessons and had convinced himself that he was actually a bit rubbish at Maths. Once he started working outside of lessons, he started following the lessons, did better in tests etc, believed he could do it, worked even harder and so on. A positive feedback loop.

Have you considered any private tutors Op? Costly but it might get him on track to where he needs to be.
Parents evening might push him in this direction - I hope you are taking him with you? So he can hear the reality of it all directly from the teachers?

@Lunar567 it’s amazing what an apprenticeship can offer these days and the paths it can get you on too!

I wish they had been around in my day!

Thanks all. He had 2 years of tutoring for his maths GCSE. It was very helpful, but it just taught him to lean on a tutor.

I don't think he will go to uni. I think he will do an apprenticeship and we fully support that. But still, he stands little chance of getting an apprenticeship with D/E grades. We've looked at the government website for apprenticeships. Many don't have grade requirements, but obviously it doesn't send a grade message if he's failing all 3 A Levels.

*Doesn't send a good message.

I think the apprenticeships on government website would be very competitive.
Can you try looking for a local company with IT department that could offer apprenticeship? Getting IBM apprenticeship will be as competitive as Oxford university place.

I think a sensible employer would accept that not everyone is cut out for A levels and not reject him out of hand with Ds and Es (which are not fails like the old style GCSE). He has decent GCSEs, clearly.

I'm not sure about the likes of PS or Alton but I understand that QMC requires 3 x D to continue into year 13. So he can pull it back if he gets 3 x D and then puts the work in. It isn't too late. I worked in my L6 year but I don't remember that other people did!

Being a powerlifting enthusiast, he could get into coaching, training, sports massage/soft tissue massage.

I'm from California and quite a number of my athletic friends who were once into bodybuilding and running became trained and licensed sports massage therapists and nutritionists, the latter requires an undergraduate degree. But sports massage does not and it tends to be a really satisfying career.

Sorry, I missed the bit about computer science! He wants to do this. So, as I always tell my kids, sometimes you've got to take the other route to the other side of where you want to be. I wish your son luck in finding the right apprenticeship. It's the right way forward.

Similar situation here but we're 12 months further ahead.
Ds predicted DDD in yr12. PPR stayed at DDD all year and he got BCC in his A1s.
Predicted grades in yr13 are still DDD and ds has been so incredibly unmotivated this year. He's resitting one of last year's papers (at school's request) to try and raise the overall grade.
About 20 of the year 12s weren't allowed to come back for yr13 because their grades were too low.
Ds is getting increasingly frustrated because his teachers tell him he's not studying correctly but he feels his way of doing things works for him and tbh, I think he has a point. Trying to support him is difficult at times because he'd now rather be out with his mates than revising and the school are constantly emailing me about his work.
I'll be glad when the exams are done and out of the way.

He needs to pull up his maths grade more than anything.

I know you said he isn't looking to go to university, but unis don't want computer science A level, they want maths and further maths. Surely this will apply for an apprenticeship. He needs to understand that to progress to the next level he needs to apply himself. Now.

Pay for a tutor

Could he drop one of the A levels and focus on just two , particularly if he wants to pursue an apprenticeship position.?
After A levels he could study and work . If he wanted , he could go to university at a later stage.
I think some children feel the pressure to go to university at eighteen. Sometimes , they are just not ready.
He can still improve his grades if he puts the effort in. It’s not over until the fat lady sings

Have you spoken to a tutor in college about it? Can they give you options? Also, what's up with the computer science teaching? Has that been raised as an issue?

Fabby I addressed the possibility of a tutor further up, ie he's had one before. All it teaches him is to rely on someone else, which at the age of 17 he should not need, and whilst we could afford one, getting one in all 3 subjects would be very expensive (at least £30 per hour, per week, per subject). Also, whilst he has our full support, it also teaches him that we will bail him out no matter what. And in most cases we will. And if he found the subject matter hard we would consider it, but it's lack of motivation that is the issue, and now as others have said he's in a catch-22. Low grades -> dwindling motivation -> lower grades -> dwindling motivation.

Super we spoke to all three teachers and his lead tutor in the Autumn as requested. I imagine they half thought it was settling in issues and gave him the benefit of the doubt. Same lead tutor asked to see him late January. They had a meeting. (I spoke to the lead tutor before the meeting to give him some background re DS as I think they think he's not very smart: example - when we sat down with the maths tutor 6 weeks in she looked at him and said she didn't understand why he had chosen maths off the back of his lack of homework and a recent test score of 18%. He pulled his socks up and just 3 weeks later got 50 something % in another test. They don't know DS like they did at secondary school, so I filled the lead in a bit). He had some learning support and got organised: sorted his papers and created a timetable to include his lifting and chill time etc.

He did have a shit start. He split up with his first gf about 3 weeks in. They'd only been dating for 2 months, but he had been in love with her for 3 years. It was his decision to split but it troubled him greatly.

Anyway, we are seeing the three tutors and lead tutor next Tuesday. I will make sure we ask what the options are if he doesn't improve and also what the requirements are, if any, for Y13.

Yesterday DH and I helped him go through the syllabus on the intranet and we pulled out everything he needed to cover for all three subjects and put it in a spreadsheet so that he can organise his study time. He's redone his timetable. We've postponed his driving lessons as they were 2 hours once a week: we can get back to that further down the line.

I am hoping that now he knows what he doesn't know/has rejigged his timetable he can knuckle down. No gaming until after 8pm. Bed at 10.30pm (not a problem for him). One whole day off a weekend. Seems doable. Just needs to stick with it.

I really appreciate all the tips and advice here, and I feel for anyone else going through the same. Thank you.

I just wanted to come on with a quick update. Since DS' college was closed 10 days ago he has blown us away with his attitude and focus. He has written himself a 35 hour a week timetable and has stuck to it. He's seeing this as an opportunity to start from scratch and that's what he's done with Economics. He's doing the work the tutors set and also catching up on homework and previous lessons. He's got himself super organised and he's going for it.

I would MUCH RATHER this awful situation with COVID-19 had not happened. But I am proud of DS for his efforts in turning things around.

Well done to your ds.