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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think my DS is completely stuffed

472 replies

logincard · 18/08/2021 06:54

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 ….

OP posts:
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6
Monestera · 18/08/2021 08:24

I think the care from his current school is shoddy. Do they know the situation he's in?

I'm surprised no other school or college have space for him.

Lovemusic33 · 18/08/2021 08:25

I think you need to call his current school and ask if they can still take him, explain that he doesn’t have a placement anywhere else. Surely if they have space and he’s only one mark off they should be able to take him? They are good marks. My dd goes to a state 6 form and they take anyone with level 5 GCSE and above, I know grammar schools are different but it seems crazy when he has been attending that school already and his results are good.

Sunshinedaisymeadowsxx · 18/08/2021 08:25

So you need to put him on waiting lists, a lot of students drop out from 6th form / college as they also have appt on the go or find one they are interested in. nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/career-choices-at-16

These have advisors, details at the bottom of the page… speak to them see what they can offer. It’s not the end of the world, worse case scenario he might need to take this year out and apply for next year instead (so he would be a year older). In the interim see if there is anything online he can do, online colleges etc

happydays2345 · 18/08/2021 08:26

This is insane, and shows how ridiculously inflated grades are now

Sunshinedaisymeadowsxx · 18/08/2021 08:26

Also push back on the school he is currently at to help, also contact the governors etc if all else fails

happydays2345 · 18/08/2021 08:27

Not because of your son, but what are on the face of it fairly average grades can no longer get your place in six form.

lastqueenofscotland · 18/08/2021 08:27

There are some colleges in south london… admittedly not loads
st Francis Xavier in Clapham, Merton, Esther, Coulsden

He may have a bit of a commute but better than not doing a level!

girlmom21 · 18/08/2021 08:29

He'll have to travel outside the area if nobody in the area offers the courses he wants.

Alternatively he'll have to do something other than A Levels.

If he did a 12 month apprenticeship, for example, he could do his A Levels next year, worst case scenario.

Comefromaway · 18/08/2021 08:30

@idontlikealdi

Why did you leave a 16yo to accept the place?!

As others have said there must be a college option nearby.

Because they have to. All paperwork/emails go to them and they have to either sign the form or turn up on enrolment day. Parents don’t really get involved with post 16 places.
Chocolatehamper · 18/08/2021 08:31

@logincard

where we live, the colleges do not provide A level courses as all the schools have 6th forms.

Does anyone know who we ask for help ? Who is responsible for making sure all 16 year olds have a place in education / some kind of learning ? and does anyone know if the child gets a 'choice' about what they do ? i.e. could he be made to do a beautician course if that's the only thing with spaces ?

'Who is responsible' - in a word, you.

nodtik · 18/08/2021 08:32

@logincard you're most welcome!

Don't let them fob you off - his grades are more than adequate for A Levels / Level 3 BTECs. If you were closer, I'd say come to my school, we'd take him. Shame you're not.

He will be placed! You never know the Grammar appeal may come good also. Keep fighting for your child! You will be rewarded.

Good luck

Embracelife · 18/08/2021 08:32

It s August. Things will change in September . .some kids won't turn up etc. Some will still be holding two places. Keep calling preferred school thru to half term.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 18/08/2021 08:32

Does he actually want to do A levels? There are other options too. I think you’re a bit blindsided at the moment OP, but PPs have offered suggestions and I don’t think all is lost. It might be good to really talk to him about what he wants, now he has his results.

AlternativePerspective · 18/08/2021 08:35

Are they allowed to do that? A local grammar school to us was legally challenged (and lost) regarding students not being accepted into second year of A levels, appreciate not exactly the same. that’s different because when they’re offering the a-level course it is on the understanding that it is the full a-level course, not just a year and then “we’ll see whether to let you stay.”

Was it St Olaves per chance? Because I know they were in the news because of the same thing, and their head teacher ended up having to leave over it etc etc.

GravityFalls · 18/08/2021 08:38

Ok, so he has good GCSE results and just didn’t get around to accepting his offer. What happens to all the other students in your area with decent GCSEs who want to do A levels and don’t get their act together to accept offers super quickly? Because there will be loads of them. On MN we assume everyone is as on the ball and worried as most MN posters are but in my experience that’s very much not true. A system where every sixth form student has sorted their place by mid-August sounds like a dream come true…and too good to be true! So there must be some sort of fall back. Are you completely sure the colleges don’t do A levels? Any at all? They might not advertise them much if they’re mainly a vocational college but they might still be there. If schools aren’t open to queries etc right now they will be in the first week of September, by which point some people will have dropped out or got other offers.

candadebs · 18/08/2021 08:38

Have any of you never forgot to press SUBMIT?!

notquiteruralbliss · 18/08/2021 08:40

We are in a GS area just outside London and have been through this with 2 DCs. Your DS has options.

Does he have enough points to stay on in 6th form if he switches one or more A levels? Or does he simply not have enough points to stay on? Either way, I would be arranging re-marks of any results near a grade boundary while looking at on or more fallback options.

For my DCs, fallbacks were staying on with a subject change, a London 6th form college for original A levels (there were lots with spaces) and a local college for BTECs.

Would a commutable out of area 6th form college be an option for your DS? If not, are there 6th form colleges in area with BTECs that would get him onto the same uni courses as the A levels he had chosen?

LIZS · 18/08/2021 08:40

Can you appeal to grammar school? While they can decline on entry grades if he is a previous pupil he may have other experience and strengths to waiver the one point(if that is a thing) . Does he have the right grades for the particular subjects he wants to take?

There are likely to be further dropouts at other schools once the post gcse dust settles, get on waiting lists for any possibles. Some FE colleges won't do enrolments for a few weeks and sixth form places may release then.

TheMoth · 18/08/2021 08:43

Most schools in the areas I live and work would accept a student like that. In the schools I've worked in, we usually accept walk ins in September. They could be kids who said they weren't coming back; kids who were going elsewhere; kids who got better grades than expected (in one school, that could be as low as 4 grade 4s).Especially in subjects where numbers are small.

diddl · 18/08/2021 08:47

So do they have a blanket "not enough points can't do A levels here", rather than it being dependent on what he wants to study & the grades he got in that?

ShingleBeach · 18/08/2021 08:48

Since many students accept multiple conditional offers and only take up one (and in a few cases not take up a place at all) , there will be free places.

I would e mail all the schools on the most likely be mail to deal with sixth firm admissions and you will probably get an out of office telling you when they are back.

Which tells you which day to phone.

Don’t panic, it will work out.

HunkyPunk · 18/08/2021 08:50

I live in Hampshire where we don't have sixth forms in schools, the students go to college,

Sorry, but that's not accurate - there are loads! Burgate, Ringwood, Bohunt, Bitterne Park, to name but a few, off the top of my head.

I agree that the Grammar School should be being much more accommodating for one of its existing pupils. Especially when he's so close to the required grades.

Original poster
logincard · 18/08/2021 08:53

thing is he was told on Friday that he had not accepted the place at school 1 BUT he did not tell me. He rather told me that they would be ringing him to arrange enrolment over the phone. He says that's what he thought ...

Everyone else who did not have places was running around on Friday sorting it out. We were not. So everywhere else has done their jiggling and by yesterday when I drove to school 1 to be told what DS didn't tell me., It's way too late...

and there are no colleges here that do Alevels

And he says he wants to do A levels.

OP posts:
3WildOnes · 18/08/2021 08:54

There are literally loads of sixth form colleges that you can get to from SW London. Lambeth college, Esher college, Kingston college, Richmond college to name just a few. All of them do A level courses. This is a complete non issue.

DomPom47 · 18/08/2021 08:56

Congratulations on the results 👏 Have you spoken to his current school they may have direct contact with some admission tutors at local colleges.