Are A Levels impossible for dd now

[coffeelover3]

So we moved from another country. DD just turned 17. She hasn't done any GCSE's. I tried to get her into a school, but they wouldn't take her as she is too old to start the 3-year GCSE programme. So she's enrolled in a College, and she's doing Maths & English (language) GCSE and she's on a Diploma in Art. She's not that happy though as 'to put it politely' and with no intent to disrespect anyone, the others in her class are students who have failed GCSE, as well as some 'long term students' ages 19-22 with possible learning difficulties.
She really 'should' be doing A levels now, but no college or school seems to allow that without GCSE. I've tried to get advice from the College but obviously they don't know dd, and what she is capable of.

What I want to know is, Are A-levels not possible for her now?

Should she try and do some more GCSE's online?
TIA,

This is really location specific, and depends on whether they've got the numbers to run more GCSE classes. Where I am, there is a big move to encourage more GCSEs and other qualifications, so the local colleges advertise programmes like GCSE Plus where they can pick up to 5 GCSEs including Maths and English language for those Y12+ age or those that combine GCSEs and Btecs, but nearly every year there are question marks about if they're going to run. Barely had the numbers this year for the one my DS is in with 8 students.

Also, had to laugh that colleges want to talk to parents. My DS is in a KS4 college programme (Y11), and they barely want to talk to me. While I get termly reports, pretty much asking about anything else is replied with either how DS needs to do X or how he needs to wait until next year to do X (early September birthday so he was quite disappointed that 16+ meant 16+ before 1st of September).

As PP mentioned, there are online courses if the college isn't suitable this year (or, like my son, do a combination of the two as he was unable to get the options he wanted). It's more awkward as they have to find a place to take external candidates and I'd recommend looking into ones that ensured kids got results this last August. That was a big priority for me this year.

It's a bit unusual to be entered for GCSE maths and English at college, and a level 1 BTEC. Usually if they have assessed as being ready for GCSE they would put onto L2 or 3. Are you sure it isn't year 1 of Level 3? Anyway I would suggest she carries on with GCSE maths and English plus art for now.

Some colleges do GCSE sciences too. You could ask if they run this as a programme for home Ed, and if she could join this.

Is there any way to do her junior cert? Is the fundamental issue here that she didn’t do it, so they have no way to assess her ability levels. Can she pay to do it remotely?

How come she didn’t do it? It seems important?

I did my secondary education in Ireland and am very confused by this—I wasn’t aware it is possible to just not do the junior cert?

NeedToKnow101

It's normal now to enter GCSE maths and English, something I feel is a step back because students resit at every opportunity which is fine for some but others would benefit from a 2 year course tailored tot heir needs.

You could look at online - National Extension College for example, she could supplement the maths and English with other subjects.

Take advice this year though over disruptions and covid impacts on exam centres.

@TheKeatingFive

If not, it seems crazy that this can't be sorted with a call to and references from her previous school.

This is why I’m asking why she didn’t sit the junior cert.

UK schools would expect someone of her age, from the Irish system, to have this.

Yes. I can think of several friends’ children who’ve moved from the Irish system to English schools with Junior Cert to start A-levels.

So what qualifications did she leave school with? As others have said they must be able to compare what she got with GCSE’s. Level 1 course is very low. You need to speak to the college asap. If they cannot accommodate, can you afford private?

Why didn’t she do the Junior cert? And how would she have have been able to start her Leaving without the Junior?

You don't have to pass or even sit your junior cert to do your leaving cert.

And I wish people would stop saying the junior means less than the GSCEs- they are actually the equivalent of each other.

It's the leaving cert that has a tad less weighting than the a levels.

OP The English system is so different to the Irish system....if it had been the other way around then she would walk into school at 5th year essentially. Who told you it would be easier??? Its not that it's easier...it's just different. They do less subjects in the U.K. yes....but it's not easier. That's technically apples and oranges.

@pilates she hasn't got any Quals as such...in Ireland the junior cert isn't really "used" for anything.

And I wish people would stop saying the junior means less than the GSCEs- they are actually the equivalent of each other

Would that not have then equipped her to do her a levels? Plenty of folks move to the Uk from Ireland, I can’t imagine that the junior cert is just ignored and they are forced to do their GCSEs from scratch? That seems shit and pointless.

Is the fundamental issue here she didn’t do the junior cert,?

Could you afford a tutor for maths and English? If she could just get maths and English and whatever else she needs fr her chosen a levels possibly in one year then she an embark on a levels. Was she studying for leaving cert course in Ireland? In that case she probably will find gcse's fairly easy. It doesn't even necessarily matter if she doesn't quite do herself justice in gcse's in a 1 year course as long as she gets enough to qualify for a level.

Yes @Bluntness100, had she done her junior cert she could have then gone on to do A levels of course! But she didn't, do that is 100% the issue here.

If she didn't sit them due to the pandemic @OP then she could get her grades from her mocks from the school maybe and use them??

@sashh

NeedToKnow101

It's normal now to enter GCSE maths and English, something I feel is a step back because students resit at every opportunity which is fine for some but others would benefit from a 2 year course tailored tot heir needs.

@sashh - what I meant was: students put on L1 courses usually do functional skills and students put on GCSE usually start at L2 or L3, missing out L1.

And the college will have assessed her maths and English as she has no quals.

Could she do 3 years at sixth form college? 1 year of gcses and then 2 years of a levels?

I dont think she will get onto an A level course with level 1 qualifications.
All our local sixth forms require at least 5 GCSE passes (at grades 4-9). Additionally out of these, you must have a grade 7 or above in the subjects you want to study.
Most candidates for A level have 9 or 10 good passes.

My advice would be to ring your local colleges ASAP and ask them re alternative pathways.

Also to be able to help you effectively it would be useful for them to have a bit of an idea of what she is aiming for.
What does she eventually want to do?
Some careers have excellent apprenticeships with low entry qualifications, the Navy for example!

Another option is to self study for 5 or 6 IGCSEs or continue her college course and sit 3 or 4 IGCSEs alongside. (Check sixth form/college etry requirements - usually 5 or 6 GSCSE inluding English and maths.) You would have to find somewhere to sit them and pay for the exams (about £100 per subject) but if you choose the right courses, she may have covered most of the material in school in Ireland. For example, science is science and similar material will probably have been covered in her previous school whereas history is very much dependent on what periods she has covered previously and may involve a lot of further learning. She is probably even in time to sit a couple in January if she has covered enough of the curriculum.

A lot is dependent on your DD. Self studying IGCSEs should be fairly easy for a bright, self-motivated 17 year old who didn't get her leaving cert for reasons beyond her control. If she needs more teacher input or if there are other personal reasons why she didn't get the leaving cert, it might be harder.

As someone said earlier, getting GCSEs under her belt this year would give two years more funding to do an A level course.

Level 1 is very low. I used to work with students with quite severe learning difficulties and we did level 1.

She needs to be doing higher. Can she be home schooled to get 5 GCSEs? Lots of good stuff online.

She really can’t do A levels without GCSEs or equivalent. Most colleges will require a good grade in a GCSE before even being allowed onto the A level course. For example, you would be unlikely to be able to do A level biology unless you had obtained a 6-9 at GCSE. In your daughters situation I would honestly stop what I doing now and enrol on a full programme of at least 6 GCSEs - there will be overlap with her Irish school subjects - based on what she’s good at and what she wants to do for A level.GCSE’s are fundamental to the British education system and most people study between 8 and 10. Having only 2 could potentially limit her opportunities and probably wouldn’t get her only any A level programmes.

It would be even better if she could get her leaving cert as that’s the curriculum she’s followed up to now. That would be accepted and is accepted by universities here as equivalent to GCSEs. That would possible be less work for her.

The trouble with trying to get on a full course of GCSEs is that schools won’t take her and like he’s won’t usually do a full GCSE programme as that’s not what they’re for.

English + Maths + a Level 2 qualification will be enough to get on to a level 3 programme of some sort. Performance in the GCSEs will be key to getting on to A levels - they must be at least 5s really.

I think OP needs to find out exactly what the level 1 course is. I know some BTEC Firsts can be passed at level 1 or 2 so a bright or even average 17 year old should have no problem accessing the Level 2 criteria. Then she can apply for A level courses next year.

Like he’s - colleges (weird autocorrect)