BTEC vs A Levels - can someone explain please?

[Weareallaliens]

DS is studying for 3 A Levels, and is working very hard. His best friend is completing a BTec level 3 (sports related). The workload and hours for the BTec diploma are very light and the expectations seem fairly low (e.g. most students get distinctions on assignments, easily). The BTec college states it is 'the equivalent of 3 A Levels'.

DS is feeling discouraged that he is working so hard compared to his best friend, and that he could have taken an easier route to get the same level of qualification. I don't understand how they are equivalent either so can't help him! Can anyone explain how it works please (I don't know anything about academia or further education)? Will they both potentially come out of these courses with the same choices open to them (equivalents of course, depending on subjects)?

A Level 3 Extended Diploma BTEC is equivalent to 3 A levels in terms of UCAS points.

However you can only go to courses at university it leads to that accept UCAS points or the extended BTEC, not those that demand 3 A levels. (eg probably can't do History at Bristol).

I am surprised (and don't really believe) that 'most people get distinctions on assignments easily'. To get distinctions usually requires good analytical thinking, research skills and attention to detail. Though I guess it depends on the academic ability of the 'most people' on the course.

Ultimately doing A levels may leave more doors open than the BTEC, but if you don't want to go through the other doors it doesn't matter.

DS did a BTEC and the BTEC was much more demanding in terms of coursework than other subjects.
The BTEC was the best route into the university course he wanted to do, and it got him there. He got a D* along with a couple of friends but most got D or M.
How do you know, other than what your DC is telling you, about his friend’s course?

From my experience from over 20 years ago a BTEC is a vocational qualification, no exams but coursework projects. I did one in fashion and it was really full on, and it really wasn't easy to get a distinction, barely anyone got one.

The BTEC course I did was very much linked to industry, more than A-level Textiles for example, and I could go straight to university without having to do a foundation course (again this is specific to the arts, I don't know about other subjects).

A-levels are academic - a lot of people (and I believe some universities) seem to think A-levels are better but I think it depends on the subjects you want to study/which university you want to go to and which industry you are going into.

Thank you, that is helpful. DS is feeling a little downhearted that he has made life harder than it needs to be. I'm surprised too at the distinction thing. Many of the students on this course didn't get 4 or above in maths and English GCSEs so are also studying for these. The students that did get 4s have a lot of free time in their schedules during the maths and English sessions! So the academic ability is pretty low - it feels like the standard isn't very high. I just couldn't understand how it could be the same as what DS is having to do.

A lot of the more prestigious unis want an A level in the subject to be studied in addition to a relevant BTEC so in that way, they seem to be only considering them to be equivalent to 2 A levels.

If your son wants to go to uni, he will likely have many more options than his friend doing a sports related BTEC. Even unis that like BTECs generally want them to be in a more academic subject like Business or Science, depending on the degree subject.

Officially they are equivalent.

however the BTECs are generally not in subjects that traditional a levels cover. They are generally more vocational and lead to related degrees.

as an example lots of people do BTECs in sports science/sports coaching etc and go onto degrees in similar. You can also get onto those degrees with a levels in relevant subjects - for example biology and psychology.

however btecs in eg maths, French or physics are rare.

traditional degrees such as maths or languages or physics generally want a levels and specific a levels at that.

A Full Level 3 Extended Diploma is quite possibly 3 full days or 4 part days, allowing for Maths / English lessons.
The difference to a school A level setting is the students will only need to be in when they have lessons. This allows part time working in the vocational area and time to work on assignments out of that time.
I very much doubt most people are getting distinctions for most assignments.
These days there will almost certainly be some exams too for the BTEC.

@Weareallaliens

My son did a Btec in Engineering. It was heavily maths and physics based. Very little practical.
It's a bit difficult for me to try and compare as he was at college during Covid restrictions so his college days were condensed and long compared to a school day ie, 9 to 5 on 2 days and a 'half' day which wasn't much shorter than a school day.
College students are expected to be a bit more independent learners. On the days he wasn't in college he had a lot of coursework to do. He was assessed by a mix of course work and a couple of exams. I never had the impression that it was an easy option or that they dished out distinctions like sweets.
He's now at university doing Computing.

One of my nieces did A Levels, one a BTec. One coped with her taxing university course, the other (BTec) was woefully unprepared for university and struggled to access a Masters (they didn't recognise the BTec and said she did not have the foundation needed for the Masters, so she went to a university that did recognise it and then failed to find employment in her chosen industry, so now doing a PGCE! ), the other is on a very good career path. Notvwhere you start, but finish!

DD did an Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care , got 3 x distinction plus which was equivelent of 3 x A * , went to an RG uni which was the top in the UK for her course and got a First. She did a lot of work but no exams and 100 hours of work placements.
She said the students that had BTEC were far better prepared for the course than those that had A levels as they had the placement experience

One of my DC did two single BTECs (got D*D) and an A level and went onto university to take a vocational course in one of the BTEC subjects. The BTECs proved to be excellent preparation for uni where the course was mostly based on assignments rather than exams as he was routinely juggling 4 or so assignments in different styles and on different topics just as he had been doing with the BTECs. The BTECs were definitely not a soft option, the exams were hard as well as the assignments. But I acknowledge that they wouldn't have been such good preparation for a traditional academic subject in say a RG uni.

Our local colleges advised that if you needed to resit both maths and English you should take a year doing L2 BTEC alongside before attempting L3 study as the workload would be too much. One or the other yes but not both.

Ex teacher who's taught BTEC and A Level. You have to work very hard for 3 D*s and be pretty bright. A not massively bright but very hard working student could manage DDD in BTEC when they'd never achieve 3 As at A Level. And for a middling grade (MMM - DMM), it's definitely easier than the equivalent in 3 A Levels in my opinion. And it's harder to fail. A BTEC also gives you breadth of knowledge rather than depth and can be a better grounding for what you go on to do next. It encourages hard work throughout rather than cramming in the couple of months before exams.
Many of my ex BTEC students have done brilliantly in jobs related to their BTEC subject after leaving. I love looking at what they're up to on Linkedin.

You have to hit the ground running with a BTEC.
If your very first assignment has a distinction criteria and you miss it, then you have missed on distinction for the whole of that unit.
It's not like A levels where you get feedback on essays for 2 years and then have an exam to see where you've got to.

DD is doing a level 3 BTEC in business but as an apprenticeship, one day a week at college, then works, it was a requirement at DD’s college to have English & Maths 4+ for level 3. This has been best route for her, she’s enjoying the working environment much better than classroom, she’s not particularly academic, but work have commented that she is a quick learner.

I feel there is potentially quite a lot of misunderstanding around the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sports and Exercise Science out there!

it’s so not a soft option! The quantity of writing they are required to submit is huge, way more than I submitted in my entire degree. The quality of their work also needs to be high, it’s a great way of learning about academic writing and referencing in advance of uni.

The modular format and range of assessment styles is also useful for those heading to university.

My son is now on a paramedic science degree having completed a sports science BTEC, perhaps top tier universities don’t accept BTECS, but it’s quite rightly well respected as the equivalent to three A’levels.

They also need at least 5 grade 5’s as a minimum (to include a science subject) to be accepted on the extended BTEC

Surely he chose to study subjects relevant to what he wants to study at university or use towards a job.
If he wants a sports related job then he should have chosen to study what his mate did then.

I'd be really surprised if they are studying maths, English and an extended L3 at the same time and finding it light, I think the most likely explanation is that those resitting are doing L2 in the same subject with a plan to start L3 next year. We were concerned my DS might not pass GCSE English (he did) when we were doing the rounds of college open days and they explained that students doing resits often took a year at L2, as did some who had passed but borderline grades especially if it was a subject they hadn't studied before.

My DS is doing a BTEC extended diploma in engineering. It is not easy just different. He had 2 exam units last year and 1 this year. The exam this year was theory and practical combined, 12 hours in total, sat over 3 consecutive days. The rest of the units are assignment based. Each non exam unit is made up of 3 or more assignments. He typically studies 2-3 units at a time. He is only at college 3 full days a week 8.30-4, but spends the equivalent time at home reading and completing the assignments. In this respect it is more like a degree than A levels. He wants to do a very niche degree only offered by 2 universities in the country and they accept UCAS points as long as they are achieved in a relevant subject which this is.

I did a BTEC course many years ago and it was tough as we had to 60 pieces of coursework in 2 years as well as placements for coaching/ 6 week work placement s and sit exams for extra courses. I got 3 Distinctions then and it was enough to get on to my chosen course. It was interesting as those who did A Levels were more confident in exams and less so with coursework and BTEC was vice versa so I made sure I chose a degree I was happy with and came away with 2:1

DS1 is at Loughborough studying Sport Science. He did 3 A levels in PE, Geography and Psychology and got A star, AA.
DS2 (he is only 14) is desperate to follow the same path as his older brother but is much less academic although far more talented in sport itself ironically. He will most likely end up doing a BTEC extended diploma which is the equivalent of 3 A levels…but in reality it’s not! He won’t be able to get to Loughborough as they only accept BTECS alongside A levels. Clearly other Uni’s will but a lot of the so called top Uni’s don’t accept them in their own right.
Tell your DS to believe in himself and be glad that he chose the route he did, it will open up more doors for him potentially in the long run.

They are not the same at all. A levels are far more academic. That’s why you need them to get into good Universities.

Not necessarily.

Friend of mine's DD has just finished a L3 Extended BTEC and has 5 RG university offers on the table for competitive courses.

There are some courses and some universities that don't accept them (generally because they have a specific ask like A level Maths) but more and more do. Oxford University will accept a BTEC National Extended Diploma with grades D star D star D for Engineering Science

DDD at BTEC is probably going to open a lot more doors than BBB at A level.

Why are you both so bothered about what other qualifications people are doing? You both should’ve explored the options fully before choosing what he wanted to do- the information is freely available and it’s not a secret. It sounds like sour grapes from both of you that DS’s friend is not as clever as your impossibly clever son and is achieving something he’s not entitled to? It’s up to your son to find his own path, not make bitter comparisons to others you deem inferior.