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 ….

@MadameMinimes

The idea that a school like Tiffin will drop its requirements for two sciences from 8.0 to 6.6 because someone writes a letter with tales of made up family crises is ridiculous. Across 8 subjects, he is 11 grades away from what he needs.

And he will do absolutely fine in another sixth form. He has more options than most kids!

I think the poster was laughing at the BTEC comment because the OP is obviously not going to approve of a BTEC, not that there is anything wrong with them. Absolutely!

Why should an external applicant who has worked extremely hard and got 9s and 8s miss out to an existing student who has not put in the effort? Well quite. But that's not how the system works, is it? It's all old school ties and back-scratching.

If he can’t or won’t get the grades at GCSE then he shouldn’t be taking a place at a grammar school.

Another harder working/more capable student should be given that place.

Or is it pupil? I can never remember...

I live on a different planet if people think a Btech, or BTEC or whatever you want to call it is laughable. For the record my DS did A levels at a FE college and is now at a great RG. I think FE colleges do a great job of preparing students for university. DS has many friends who went to schools I’d only ever heard of on mumsnet and he’s more than holding his own. Put it this way, I think he’s the only one not having to resit part of the hos first year exams.

I'd actually prefer my son to go to the (excellent) sixth form college here, as he would have more choice of A level subject. But he feels like he did what everyone asked of him, which was pull your grades up and meet the school sixth form requirements, which he did, just, and he wants to go there with his mates. My concern is that he will be a second class citizen at the school sixth form because he "only" got 7's. He worked extremely hard though to get out of the 4/5/6 zone though, where he was for a long time, and I feel like he deserves credit and his choice for that.

I absolutely agree though that new people to the school who got 8s and 9s should be prioritised, of course, and I'm sure they were.

Agreed. He has plenty of options. The world does not begin and end with highly selective grammar schools. I’m head of Sixth Form in a comprehensive, so definitely not saying his life is over because he can’t go to Tiffin. I think the advice to appeal to the grammar might lead the OP to waste more time when she should be putting energy into securing a place at the local college. If an appeal works or another school sixth form comes back with a place for him then great, but the sensible thing to do is to secure a college place. He can always turn it down at a later date if he gets a better offer.

Try Ashcombe school in Dorking? They have a 6th form and are right next to the train station so very commutable.

@Hdhdjejdj

I live on a different planet if people think a Btech, or BTEC or whatever you want to call it is laughable. For the record my DS did A levels at a FE college and is now at a great RG. I think FE colleges do a great job of preparing students for university. DS has many friends who went to schools I’d only ever heard of on mumsnet and he’s more than holding his own. Put it this way, I think he’s the only one not having to resit part of the hos first year exams.

Is wasn't the BTEC that was laughable. It was the suggestion because of the OP's obvious reaction to FE colleges she isn't going to approve. I don't think anyone has dissed a BTEC (I did one back in 1998 that got me into The University of Birmingham!)

Have you tried Escot in Ewell?

Is it not called Nescot?

I think the OP is getting a bit of a hard time here, yes options are available - just maybe not the options OP would like but last year I found the system very galling when we were told we hadnt made the grade (just the one of them) to stay on as the school themselves had given out the grades and so effectively chose who stayed and who went with predictable results.

There's a lot wrong with super selectives and the way they are allowed to operate (yes I know that bears shit in the woods).

GCSEs are only a stepping stone to A levels/Btech. If my DC was struggling to achieve 7s I would definitely worry about how they would cope with A levels. Far better chance of getting into a great university via good Btech results than poor A levels. Sadly, some people put their own prejudices and short-term thinking ahead of the greater good of their dc.

This thread is interesting because I got confused with the whole email thing. My son is an August birthday and not the most independent of kids, and I noticed all the school applications asked for his personal email address. He has an icloud email but he literally never looks at it. In the end I decided I couldn't face the stress of checking up on him and nagging him, so I put my own email as the contact address. It's a difficult age because they're not yet that independent are they.

have you tried Teddington or Grey Court? They may well still have spaces

Strodes in Esher do all of his desired A levels and are still taking candidates for September. He gets the train to Twickenham or Clapham and changes for Egham.

www.strode-college.ac.uk/courses

OP I wonder if he needs to reconsider his A level choices? Does he actually have the capability to take those A levels? My parents pushed me to take Biology, Chemistry and Maths because they thought they were the 'best' subjects, I agreed to make them proud. I got A's in Biology and Chemistry and a B in Maths in GCSE. School tried to convince my parents to let me take 'easier' subjects but they insisted. I failed Chemistry and Maths at A level and got a D in Biology, this was at a top private school and with extra private tuition in my final year.

I managed to scrape into an ex poly with my D in Biology and D in General Studies, but I'd have done so much better at A level if I'd been allowed to take subjects I wanted i.e. English, Classics and Biology. I spent so much time on Maths and Chemistry that Biology (which I was actually good at) became pretty much ignored. It might be worth some thought and discussion.

@SoundBar

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?

This!! Someone's been reading too much mumsnet and think once a child turns 16 they need to "learn independence"

@hopeishere

Is boarding school an option?

Only on MN.

Not Esher. Egham. Strodes is in Egham.

@MadameMinimes

The idea that a school like Tiffin will drop its requirements for two sciences from 8.0 to 6.6 because someone writes a letter with tales of made up family crises is ridiculous. Across 8 subjects, he is 11 grades away from what he needs.

Tiffin Boys 6th form requirements for 2021 entry - 54 points from 8 GCSEs (only in subjects from a specific list ie traditional subjects).

The OP’s DS has 59 points from 9 GCSEs
or 53 from 8 GCSEs (one below the required point score of 54).

If you want to study Science and Maths the requirements are always higher no matter where you apply.

I haven’t read the full thread, as I’m just dashing out, so may be repeating advice you have already received. I’m a sixth form teacher, and your DC will be able to secure a place to study A Levels with those grades. Contact sixth form colleges (including ones attached to schools, there are always lots of new starters in Year 12) to find a sixth form that offers your DC’s chosen subjects. Schools and colleges are funded per capita, and will be more than happy to welcome a new student on roll. Your DC has great grades, and will be just fine.

@ChristopherTracy I totally agree with you about the way super-selective operate, but parents who choose them know what they are signing up for. In fact, it’s why they choose those schools in the first place. They want a school that only admits the brightest, with the best grades. You can’t decide that that’s great when your child falls on the right side of the line and then get angry when they happen to fall on the other side. I don’t agree with the way those schools operate, and it’s not how we operate at my school, but people know that that’s what they are getting when they choose somewhere like Tiffin or St Olave’s.

You're awash with colleges round there - Richmond, Eaher - all huge intakes. If we'd stayed in SW London our kids would have gone from Teddington to one of those colleges.
I don't understand why you're not in one of those catchments OP.
And what kind of school is it that your DC can't continue with those grades?
I'm confused!