To think my DS is completely stuffed

[logincard]

my DS has 5 grade 7s and 4 6's at GCSE.

he missed out on acceptance to his grammar school for A level ( by one point) and we now have no place for him to study A levels.

He had a conditional offer from another school. He has the grades, but I found out yesterday that he never actually accepted this offer ….

I have contacted every state and private school in the borough and close by and no one has a space, we have appealed a grade at his grammar school. (But I hold out little hope for that)

What can we do? He has. No space for A levels . And no one has to help us, he’s just on his own ….

Might sound obvious, but have you tried colleges as well as schools? Many also offer A level courses.

I'll be honest and say I don't understand the new GCSE grading so feel free to ignore the first part of this reply.

Does he need to retake any of those GCSEs to get better grades?

If not, then this is a lesson for him. He never confirmed that other place.

He can take a year out, work a bit, get ahead of the game for university applications etc. Then start his a levels next year.

I don't think you can just take a year out and work at 16. Aren't you supposed to still be in education/training until 18?

Aren't there any 6th form colleges where you live @logincard?

Have you looked at online providers?

Will the school he got his conditional place with still accept him? Any other college options? If not then he will probably have to let the LEA/council know, get on some waiting lists and wait for a place to come up.

Aren't you supposed to still be in education/training until 18?

No. 16 in the UK.

@Twizbe in older terms that's 7 As and 4 Bs!

@logincard somewhere will definitely take him with those grades. You must be in a very high performing area to not get a place with those grades - most places ask for 5 4s or above. Some also ask for a 6 above in any subject you want to take at A level. Have you tried colleges and further afield?

Education, training or work- should be fine to get a job- you may find he takes longer than a year out if he goes that route as quite common for teens to really enjoy the novelty of earning, etc. But those that I have taught come back with huge motivation and a really adult attitude and do really well, even if they have struggled previously- so it isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

@YouJustDoYou

It’s 18.

You have to do college, 6th form or an apprenticeship until you are 18.

Hang on, you made a 16 year old responsible for accepting their own school offer? Why would you leave him on his own to work that out?

I understand wanting to teach independence and life admin skills but surely a more hands on approach would have been the one to take?

@YouJustDoYou

Aren't you supposed to still be in education/training until 18?

No. 16 in the UK.

It's 18 in England, so depends where the OP is.

@YouJustDoYou

Aren't you supposed to still be in education/training until 18?

No. 16 in the UK.

Technically it is 18. Though legislation is ropy to say the least

College.
Apprenticeship
Job

[quote GorgonzolaSouffle]@YouJustDoYou

It’s 18.

You have to do college, 6th form or an apprenticeship until you are 18.[/quote]
Though no legislation to enforce it.

Why haven't you tried any colleges?

To be honest, I would have expected my 26 year old to accept their college place or at least I would have been checking the day they were meant to be doing it.

@Twizbe grades wise a 6 is a B, 7 is an old A (8 is A* and 9 is you are creme de la creme)

@YouJustDoYou they are not allowed to work full time at 16, yes they can work but they are meant to supplement this work with training. From childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/child-employment/

"Please note that there is now a requirement for young people to continue to participate in education and training up until the age of 18. If a young person starts a full time job at 16 they will still need to complete at least 280 guided learning hours a year in education or training."

I would repost this on the "futher education" or "secondary education" boards as it applies to both, it is FE but some schools have sixth forms and so this falls into both areas.

I honestly don't know what you can do. There is no legal obligation to be in education after 16 as in there is no legal obligation for the local authority to place your child in a sixth form/college.

Will the grammar not accept him on the condition he resits a subject ?
Where I live many students accepted multiple college / 6th form places pending results, these places are now freed once the results are confirmed. Isn’t this an option where you live?

If this is England, gov.uk says you can leave school at 16 but:
You must then do one of the following until you’re 18:

• stay in full-time education, for example at a college
• start an apprenticeship or traineeship
• spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training

There will probably be movement as people holding more than one sixth form offer make decisions. That carries on into September, so keeping in touch with the school that made him an offer seems sensible. And looking into FE and sixth form colleges to see what they have on offer.

It’s 18 in England. Where are you?

Sixth form Colleges will happily offer him a place with those grades.

@YouJustDoYou

Aren't you supposed to still be in education/training until 18?

No. 16 in the UK.

It’s definitely 18 in England. It changed about 5 years ago

Surely there are colleges? All the colleges in my area do a levels and in some are a lot better than sixth forms as it’s more of a university style set up in that they expect higher amounts of independent study and are great at preparing students for uni.

The sixth form college I work at doesn’t even do enrolment until the start of September so he’d definitely get a place there. And we usually take students right up until half term. We’re not particularly selective apart from basic entry requirements but send students to Oxbridge and get good results. There’s more to life than ridiculously picky school sixth forms (and no stupid dress code either).

I would think things will change; people will make different decisions etc. Keep ringing.

Are you in London?

Surely there are colleges? All the colleges in my area do a levels and in some are a lot better than sixth forms as it’s more of a university style set up in that they expect higher amounts of independent study and are great at preparing students for uni.

I describe ours as “university light” - plenty of support from teachers who know you well, but with the freedom to come and go during the day, organise your own time etc. I honestly think it’s the perfect preparation for post-18 life.

Can you appeal to the grammar school as it sounds like if he had one more point they would have a place for him? I would argue that it's just one point?

Call the school that gave him the conditional offer and ask if it still available.

Find out if there are any waiting lists, there may be pupils that don't turn up on day one or haven't told the schools yet they are not coming.

Try calling all the colleges in your area.

An FE college will definitely take home and is much better prep for uni than an old fashioned sixth form.