DS won't pass GCSE English and Maths

[bluetatoo]

I have a lovely boy in Yr 11 and it is unlikely he will pass his Maths and English grade 4. He might not pass any GCSEs tbh.
I have looked and found a great BTech course at a college but needs 5 grade 4s or above.
What did your child do or what do kids do if they can't pass exams. I am so worried he is lovely but very dyslexic and not geared up for school work.
Got him tutor etc but still struggles?
Did your child do OK despite lack of success at school?

Functional Skills? Some colleges will accept onto a level 2 and run these alongside.

@LIZS Thank you, I think they do do that I'll have a look. do you happen to know if you do this if you then have to pay for the Btech as you'd be older when you do it?

Colleges offer level 1 courses and some offer entry level courses. The ones requiring 5 grade 4s will be level 2 courses.

When you say may not pass any GCSEs do you mean wont get 4s/level 2 passes or do you mean will get a U/won’t get any grade?

Depends on the btec level but usually a level 2 takes one year and level 3 two, so funded assuming he is under 19 when it starts.

As long as the student is 16, 17 or 18 on the 31st August prior to starting the course they will continue to be funded as a 16-18 year old even if they turn 19 during the year. Those with an EHCP continue to be funded under the same rules too.

Start the BTEC at Level 2 or even Level 1.
In parallel do English & Maths GCSE resit or Functional skills.

Level 3 BTECs can have a surprising amount of research / writing, and starting at a lower level can help a lot.

He can have 3 years funding at college.

Sorry I meant the ones requiring 5 grade 4s will likely be level 3 courses not level 2.

Thanks that is all really useful. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. It feels a bit of a minefield when it is not straightforward I don't know where to start.

He will get 3s I think in maybe 5 subjects. He might get 4s if he has a good day but I think that it is not likely in English as he normally gets 2/3 in graded work.

Is a functional course the equivalent of math and English GCSE grade 4 or you still have to do the Maths and English until you pass it as well?
I worry he will never pass English no matter how many times he sits it?

If he can pass the maths he will have a lighter timetable at college which will help, so if he is close it might be worth a tutor for that.
(My DD ended with no GCSE passes due to MH issues and other factors, the world hasn't ended)
The Secondary education & Further Education boards here on MN can be very helpful. What BTEC are you thinking?

If there is an underlying SEN reason you could apply for an EHC plan (which means you can potentially receive funding for education up to age 25). If you are not sure a speech and language assessment can be done cheaply and can flag up issues with understanding / processing etc. Appreciate SEN may not be relevant to your situation but not everyone knows you can apply for an EHC Plan up to 25.

FS is separate literacy and numeracy and go from entry to level 2(gcse pass equivalent).

We're looking at FE colleges and 6th Forms now, and many courses are Foundation or Level 1/2. From these you can go up. All is not lost!

No advice but just to say the world needs people with a variety of talents, many of which aren’t taught and measured in GCSEs. It’s one stepping stone/path.

Best of luck to your son.

@TeenDivided thank you I didn't realise there is a seperate board I'll check that out. He wants to do business studies and the course sounded brilliant think he would love it. A lot of practical work, I hope your daughter is OK now xx
@JJ8765 thank you I didn't realise that.
@LIZS thanks so much!

functional skills is an English/Maths qualification that is much more straightforward than GCSE, and focuses on just that - functional skills.

So he is much more likelyto be able to get them than GCSE. You can do level 1, 2.

@Noyn thank you. He is so lovely and a great chatter but just not good at school work :0)
@Parmesam good luck to you - it's hard to get your head around it all isnt it!

@steppemum thank you!!! feeling a bit less worried now as there does seem to be a different route.

Please make sure that you encourage your son to do any further study in a field that he likes.There are lots of well -paid jobs, especially for hardworking youngsters in home building services eg electrician, plumber, plaster etc. Well done for spotting it and making plans.

Check whether they offer the course at Level 2.
That really is the level it sounds like you should be looking at for the first year.

Functional skills comes in different levels, Functional skills level 2 is the equivalent to GCSE grade 4.

If DS gets a GCSE grade 3 in maths he won’t be given the option of sitting functional skills, he will have to resit GCSE maths. English is a bit more complicated due to there being Lit and Lang GCSEs, but a grade 3 in English language without achieving a 4 in Lit means you can’t swap to functional skills in English you have to resit GCSE.

Is it his dyslexia which is causing him such issues with passing exams?
Does he know the work, but he cant give full answers or correctly process the question because his dyslexia is severe? If yes, then he should have a scribe. They can read the question and write his answer. Why have the school not pushed for this? They've had years.

Take heart!

A young relative of mine left school with no qualifications at all, joined a care agency as a support worker for mentally disabled adults where he thrived (?throve!) and was able to take various care qualifications on the job - he is now manager of a unit for such adults and boss to a number of workers.

Another also left with no qualifications and went to college to do welding - he is very skilled at this and making a mint!

My DS has dyslexia and got a U in English and an E in maths at GCSE about a decade ago.

It was a very complicated situation at the time, lots of trauma and behavioural issues as well.

He was able to sit his functional maths and english as an adult through free training provided via the DWP.

I would suggest you encourage him to improve as much as he can in the run up to the exams, but don't tell him it's "do or die" - my DS finds his dyslexia worsens the more anxious he is. Just explain to him that if he can get a pass now, it will be quicker and easier for him to get onto the course he prefers, instead of having to do boring re-takes - but that the re-takes are always an option so there's no need to mither himself and get caught up in "what if...?!" anxiety spirals.

Thank you so much all of this is so helpful.
I love hearing the success stories, I know school is just a stage so fingers crossed once he is out of there.
@WeepingSomnambulist I think it is exactly that. He is severely dyslexic but does ok and seems to know answers if done verbally. I am going to message the head of year actually and ask about this scribe. They said he can do exams on pc but that doesn't help as it's an unfamiliar PC he won't take his as he has anxiety as well and gets worried someone will steal it or smash it. thank you so much.