Post GCSE options- poor predicted grades

[Agwen]

A friend is struggling with her son, his GCSE grades don't look like they will be very good at all and he is burying his head in the sand. She is trying to come up with some options to help talk them through with him to get a plan together- what could they be? I can think of:

Resits (she thinks he would be better off going somewhere else than his current school to do these, bit of a change sounds like it would be good for him)
Local college for vocational courses at level 2

There must be other things that we are missing, can anyone suggest other options?

Not got any specific advice other than to say not to panic.
Seriously.
Lots of kids peak at different ages and GCSE's are not the be-all/end-all.
Has the student got any specific interests?
She should ask to speak to school careers person and also at the local colleges.
Any interest in apprenticeships?
Really good idea to try to get a Saturday job at least...it could focus minds and excellent for future CVs's.

He's the loveliest chap, so gentle and sweet without a malicious bone in his body. Just no oomph. And no street smarts either.

I think a Saturday job would be a great idea @areallthenamesusedup, I'll add that into the mix- thanks.

Wait and see what he actually gets. If they really are bad then I don’t think resitting everything is a good option. GCSEs are a 2 year course and if he lacks oomph he won’t be able to resist them all in a year and do better. I think something more vocational that holds his interest would be better, plus resitting English and Maths only if necessary - they’re the really important ones which are likely to have the most impact on his future if he doesn’t have them. How about an apprenticeship? Does he have a hobby or interest that he could find a course related to?

Partners son didn't do that well in 2018. Got mainly 4s and 5s so struggled to choose subjects for a'levels. We all had a good chat and he said he wanted to study architecture at uni . Unfortunately his grades in the most appropriate subjects weren't quite good enough. School 6th form were trying to steer him into some kind of btec sports course.
In the end he enrolled for a level 3 advanced btec diploma in architecture at an FE college in a nearby town (not our local one). It was a bit of a daily treck as there were no direct buses. Dp had to drop him off 3 mornings a week but he really enjoyed it and is predicted to achieve 3 *distinctions. He got several degree offers at good unis to study architecture and all being well is going in september. So I guess my advice is to find out what he wants to do and look at btecs. We live near 4 different FE colleges so had a pretty good choice.

Would recommend a level 2 BTEC. Could he have a zoom call with someone from a local college who could talk him through the options.

Does he have any idea what he'd like to do ?

In my department we offered

public services (police/army)

Administration ( office work)

Business studies

Travel and Tourism

That's just one of many departments. Many of my students went on to complete level 3 then onto a degree. Did a re- sit of maths and English GCSE along the way.

I’d second what @happilybemused suggests. Maths and English GCSEs/Functional Skills can be done alongside. I wouldn’t suggest an apprenticeship unless they have a guaranteed job somewhere - not many employers taking on at the moment, although there’ll be regional variations.

I will definitely add the level 2/ functional skills idea to the list! Thanks :)

I think the social bit is going to be as important as the qualifications, so the weekend job idea is an excellent one to try and get into the plan. He's lost a lot of schooling due to some severe health issues that hospitalised him on and off for a good 3 years and think he has struggled to catch up in both areas because of this. Thankfully this is over now.

He's a lovely young man, hope that as a pp said he just needs a bit of time to come into his own.

Ds went to college and did level 2 forensic science (it might have been called applied science but was linked and led into FS) and GCSE maths over the whole year (he could choose resit in November or redo it in a year). He's moving on to level 3 forensic science in September and we are waiting for his maths results shortly

There are always options.

My lad is doing an apprenticeship as a chef. The hours are terrible but he loves it, and he's getting paid.

Take the year again. Properly this time wity exams at the end.

The poor children caught in this COVID crossfire.