Can you do a levels if you fail gcse?

[Maythelordopen1]

As the question states? Posting here for traffic...unless there is a better board??
Friend is moving to the uk and her DS is going into GCSE year ( he is bright but obvs not in the know of the exact GCSE curriculum so to speak) so if he fails them can he just move on and go ahead with a levels?? Thanks.

So now I HAVE to ask...what do you do at age 15/16 if you can’t do a levels??? How do you get to university etc??

My dad's sixth form want students to have got a 7 at gcse to be accepted to do A level. Other colleges may have lower requirements...

@underneaththeash the date of moving is not a set date!! She can commute from Ireland and work from home!!Thank god because by the sounds of it he would be scuppered!!

So now I HAVE to ask...what do you do at age 15/16 if you can’t do a levels??? How do you get to university etc??

College courses for equivalent grades. Depends, ultimately, what they want to study.

@Maythelprdopen1

There are lots of other options - vocational courses (eg. BTECHS in everything you could imagine from Animal care to Sciences to business to building to agriculture... to... well, you get the idea, NVQs, T(technical)-levels are coming too). Apprenticeships. Repeating GCSEs.

Doing well in alternative qualifications can also lead to uni. They are all level three qualifications :)

@Ouchaheadinmybehind but what if they don’t know what they want (which is to be expected for some) at age 16??

Being as they’ve been specialising since they were as young as 12 they give up on ideas

It sucks!

My dd did maths, English lit, English Lang, German, physics, chemistry, biology, further maths, history, geography and RS at GCSE.

Is doing maths, further maths, geography and chemistry at A level.

Yes, she may suddenly decide that she’s always wanted to do an English degree. Unlikely, because even at 15/16 most children have a vague idea. But if she wanted to, there’s nothing stopping her from taking English A level as an adult. Or an access course of some description.

She can apply for him to start in year 10 instead but this could be a long process.

My son missed most of year 10 (school refuser due to anxiety) so I applied for him to change schools and repeat the year. We applied to change schools in July, as advised, only to be told the admission department were closed until Sept. He got his place at the new school a week before Oct half term. They finally agreed to let him resit year 10 2 weeks ago!

All 6th forms and colleges that ive looked into require certain GCSE grades in particular subjects. Which subjects they require depend on what they are (eg a biology a level would want a biology gcse).
Students who dont pass GCSE, or pass with a low grade can repeat them. Or do vocational courses or apprenticeships.

She didn’t choose gcse options until she was in year 9. Ds1 will be choosing in the next few months and is 14, in year 9. They all (at both schools) have to take either geography or history and either double or triple science. At dd’s school they had to take a language, and at ds’s they don’t. Core subjects which everyone has to take are maths, English literature and English language. Plus RS at dds school.

The basic expectation is English , Maths and 3 others or equivalent level 2 qualifications. English and Maths passes are mandated resits until 18, even alongside a level 2 or 3 qualification. It would be unusual to do A levels without gcse or equivalent unless there were significant mitigating circumstances.

If he's moving into exam year NOW, I'm not sure he's in time to be entered for this year's exams. They start in about 2 months I think.

I have a minimum requirement of GCSE grade B for the A level I teach.

@ooopsupsideyourhead wow!! At 12 here they are only ENTERING the secondary system...my DS won’t start secondary school until he is 13.5!! My dd will be just turned 13!!

Depends on the college but it’s compulsory to get a 4 at GCSE in both English and Maths to be able to do A Levels. Some colleges will want certain grades for certain subjects. So for example if you want to do A Level Maths you need to ideally get a 6 at GCSE but a 7 is preferential as it’s such a hard course. Others aren’t fussed.

@Maythelord1

Secondary in England & Wales starts at age 11 in Year7 (12, S1 in Scotland I believe?). Most schools in England and Wales have students choose their GCSE options in Y9 when they are 13/14 but an increasing number were moving towards choosing in Y8 when they were 12/13 (meaning they started GCSE courses in Y9). This isn’t being encouraged, so, we will see if the trend reverses.

No you cant.

Where are you based OP?

@sugarfreejelly in Ireland 🇮🇪

Alternatively they could look at schools offering IB diploma in sixth form which includes more subjects, although employers and unis will still probably expect some gcse equivalents. Most UK schools offering IB still take gcse in y11 rather than MYP but think international schools may not (If that is an option financially).

Where we are you have to do English and maths at leaving school exams!!

You do here too - GCSEs are the leaving school exams....

Coughsyrupsucks is right.

Also you have to wonder if he has covered the same curriculum as the school he will join. For example in History he may have studied completely different time periods to those in the school he is joining.

Is private an option? An international school that studies the IB (International Baccalaureate) might be a far better fit

@titchy they leave school at 15???

So now I HAVE to ask...what do you do at age 15/16 if you can’t do a levels??? How do you get to university etc??

If you're not academic enough for GCSEs why would you think that you'd be academic enough for university?

Kids that get lower than grade 4s in GCSEs go to college to do Level 2 - higher grade GCSE equivalent exams. Then they can do Level 3 (A level equivalent) courses - often BTECs, sometime Access. There's a much wider selection of roughly equivalent qualifications than there are in Ireland. The advantage we have is that kids with strengths in particular areas aren't scuppered by a few low grades at GCSE - as long as there are a decent number of passes at grade 5, failing say Art and Spanish GCSE doesn't matter if you're wanting to do Maths Physics and Chemistry A level.

Colleges can set their own entry criteria for any course so more popular courses may have higher demands. You also need to have (at grade 4 plus) or be studying for GCSE Maths and English to be eligible for funding at 16-19yo. Although that is a bit moot when it comes to A'levels as they will require that anyway. I don't know residency rules on funding though as that might be a factor.
Options -
Start school in yr 10 so cover full curriculum.
Home educate for yr 11, sit fewer subjects so more time to focus. Can be done in a year but requires commitment, lots of research and finances so not the easiest of options.
Stay in Ireland until finishes schooling, liaise with colleges regard what they will accept.

They leave school in June of year 11 - most kids will be 16. They must remain in education or training till 18 though - often A levels or vocational qualification in sixth form or at college, but could be an apprenticeship.