Official Sixth Form rejection email. Knew it was coming, but still :(

[GCSEstress]

Hi,

So DD got her mock results a while a go and only had 4 5's or above and needed at least 5. She did get a couple of 6's and overall, I was very proud of her and she worked so hard, so it's really going to be a real kick in the teeth when she sees this rejection in writing later, although we knew the criteria, so was obviously expected.

She's not actually expected to pass Maths and this is by far her weakest subject and she needs to pass this. It honestly makes me so cross that this could hold her back from going far in the subjects she is naturally good at, such as English and Art. Seems so unfair and nonsensical!

Trying not to be too negative, as she does only need 1 more 5 as it stands, but that still won't guarantee her a place.

We've obviously looked at other sixth forms and colleges, but they either have tougher entry requirements or the courses (not A level) are just not what DD is interested in.

How can I best support DD through this? She's likely on the autistic spectrum and struggles to build new friendships, so staying at her current school is definitely her preference, but also just for general familiarity, not just friendships.

Be great to hear from those of you with experience of this.

Thanks 😊

no experience to offer, just sympathy.

You'll need to look at the school's sixth form admissions policy in detail. I would be surprised if they are actually allowed to refuse admission to sixth form solely on the basis of poor mocks results, so it's likely that if she works very hard and gets extra support she could get some much better actual results come August.

The sixth form will presumably be admitting new pupils from other schools and those offers will be made conditional on the basis of actual GCSE results attained, not predictions from mocks, and your DD should have the right to be on a level playing field with them.

You don't need to get an official diagnosis of autism or any other condition to get additional help - accommodations for additional needs are based on need not diagnosis. Does she need any additional exam arrangements to help her to achieve her potential? e.g. a smaller quieter exam room, occasional breaks to help with anxiety etc? These kinds of accommodations could make a grade difference.

Are you looking at fe colleges? Most will allow resits of gcse/level 2 while working towards other qualifications.

They shouldn’t reject her outright on mocks if she has 4 5’s surely it should be conditional on being able to achieve the extra 5 or 6 in the exams. My son couldn’t register for the A- levels he wanted to during the initial application process as his maths was too low but he was told if he achieved the required grade in the exam he could apply and luckily he got the grade and on results day they let him onto the courses he wanted to do. But it was very stressful up to results day. 6th forms can be really demanding on results as they can attract students from other schools. Is it worth asking if they will admit her if results improve?

@FeinCuroxiVooz thanks for your reply. I think they're just saying no as it currently stands, but of course this could change if she does better in her actual GCSEs.

She's trying so hard, bless her. She's determined to get in, but she really struggles in exams. Not so much with anxiety, but with time management and going through questions throughly. She does already have extra time during exams. I think 25% of students do actually

@LIZS sorry, not sure what you mean by fe colleges.

@Blueblell well done to your son! I think that's basically what they're saying - if she gets higher than predicted, then she can apply, but there's no guarantee of a place.

Is this for her existing school or for a new school?

Has she had predicted grades?

Is it an actual rejection following and formal application, or just saying the grades that they require for a place in 6th form?

Sorry for your DD. Just wondering how this works if kids are meant to stay on post 16 now what happens if places won't take them?

Further Education colleges, so not specifically sixth form but catering for a wider range of qualifications, Gcse, A level , btec, nvq, Access courses, adult education etc , abilities and needs.

I know what you mean about the maths but it's really important to pass it at gcse level, passes in English and maths are a requirement for loads of jobs etc. Has she looked at you tube for video help? It really helped my son. Good luck to her

Are you able to get her some specific tutor help with learning to manage time in the exam? Also tons of past papers at home is they key. You can start timing slowly. Exam questions are written in a certain way that can throw children, so the more exposure, the better. Schools, surprisingly, aren't always the best places to learn this.

Can you get her any extra help to pass the exams and improve her grades, either through the school or private tutors? Might be worth some expense and a one to one tutor might be able to help her improve her time management, picking questions, planning answers, watching the clock.

That's a shame op. On our local school they took it as an average, so a couple of 4s, as long as you got a couple of 6s to average it up wasn't a problem.
Sell it to her as a positive, this way she could perhaps focus on her art at college?

If they can't get into anywhere to do a levels they do a lower level course and work their way up with resits if required. Usually at a FE college.

Not everyone is academically able to do a levels.

Watching with interest, my dc is just scraping passes or not reaching them for the subjects they need, they have got an offer from a college (2 more interviews to go) but their mocks (they do 2 sets) are so hit and miss there's no security Re a place anywhere.

I'm borrowing money from my mum to help pay for a maths tutor and it's a nightmare, ferl like wading through mud all the time.

Sorry op, that's no help and I'"m using your thread to moan.

Doing something like a BTEC or other alternatives to A-Levels might be the absolute making of her. Not everyone has to do A-levels, nor should they. Also FE college offer far more independence than school and treat them like grown ups, lots of young people thrive there when they have struggled with school.

My daughter just met ASD diagnosis criteria and i realised last year that she had problems with time management. I got her to do loads of past papers from January, did a few myself with her and it really helped her manage time when the summer exams started.

It sounds as though sixth form may not be the best place for her, would a college that specialises in her preferred subjects not be better, more enjoyable, and more worthwhile?

Sometimes it’s better to go to 6th form college than stay at school for 6th form, although I appreciate your daughter feels she wants the security of a familiar place. I also wondered if, even with the grades, she might not get a place there, that means that they are over subscribed.

Can you encourage her to look at options other than A level? Not everyone finds A level and university is the right path and a lower level course, moving on afterwards might give her confidence and suit her better.

Get her a maths tutor if you can possibly afford it and perhaps negotiate her dropping one other, weaker subject so she has more time. It’s a stupid system but it’s the system you have to work with unfortunately.

My son got into his sixth form after the deadline, his grades were better than expected.
Don’t give up hope and push on I’m sure decent results are still possible.
If you could get a maths tutor it would help.

Speak to her head of year. If she already has reasonable adjustments for the exam then the school are obviously aware that she has some additional needs; they may well be prepared to be a bit more flexible around the admission requirements for an existing pupil.

But do also consider other options for post-16 education. My daughter has autism and at this time last year we were very much wanting her to stay on at her school for A levels. We thought the stability of staying with her friends in a setting she knew well was the most important thing. By halfway through the summer she had completely changed her mind. She is now at an FE college doing a BTEC. She’s loving it. The teaching and assessment style is a much better fit for her and she’s got a whole new gang of friends.

Thanks for all the replies so far. It's really helping organise my brain a bit! 😂 Trying to get myself in a positive place with a plan by the time DD gets home.

For those asking/suggesting, she has actually had a maths tutor for the past year, but the company we used were useless and they had a huge staff turnover rate, so she never got up a good rapport. She has just started with a new one with a very good reputation and we're really hoping this one will help. She got a 2+ in her mocks, so she has quite a way to go, although tbh we didn't expect her to get that high, so were proud that she achieved that.

There don't seem to be any decent colleges around here at all! We were actually thinking about moving, but put that on ice, as it sounded like DD wanted to stay at her school, but actually most of her friends aren't staying. I think only one is applying, but there's no guarantee they'll get in. They've had a lot of time off and have struggled quite a bit from what I hear.

The area we were looking at has a great college, especially when it comes to the arts. I don't know how that works though, as it's a 45 minute drive away currently, so if she applied and we couldn't find a house, that would be a bitch of a commute.

It may be possible to do functional maths instead of resitting GCSE maths (should she actually fail it) if she goes to a college, OP. Has she looked at any colleges?

We are looking round colleges and sixth forms at the moment, a college that we went round at the weekend mentioned functional maths - however, the two nearest colleges to us don't do A levels, only school sixth forms (her school's sixth form do some btecs as well). It's a big decision for them to make, while my own DD is likely to make the grades required for A levels she is also worried about maths and prefers the idea of a college as she's had enough of school! Good luck with whatever you decide.

It was an Arts-based College that we went round at the weekend (wonder if it's the same one!), a full time course there was three days a week so maybe a bit better on the commute. It wouldn't be the easiest commute for my child either, two buses or a lift to a stop on the second route.

My daughter is 13 and autistic and really struggles with maths, she is at a small private school so slightly different but they are already talking about not getting her to do a GCSE but to do functional maths. Don't know if your DD could switch at this late stage.

I would really explore getting a diagnosis for her whilst the law says that support should be provided on need and can been done without a diagnosis my experience is even with a diagnosis trying to get some schools to help is like trying to pull teeth.

Schools really don't seem to do much to help autistic girls and they often slip under the radar, which is so unfair on girls.