Would let a 16 year old leave school?

[Sillawithans]

Obviously it's better if he stays in school but he absolutely hates, hates, hates it.

Would you consider letting him leave school?

He's 16 so can actually leave if he wants to but he'd walk away with no qualifications whatsoever?

He can do a Btec or go to a local college which will have something he's interested in.

My neighbours granddaughter isn't academic at all so she's gone to college to learn something practical she's interested in. There's something for everyone out there.

It would help him a lot to keep trying to pass his maths and English whilst it's still fresh in his mind from school for any future choices he makes.

If he leaves he will be at the absolute bottom of the pile for job prospects and earning a good income.
For a child to leave school with no quals whatsoever in this day and age is very unwise.
I know someone who did this and she now works in a cafe. Of course the cafe has been closed for months on end due to covid.
I'm sure there'll be someone along to say that they left school at 14 and are now a millionaire but that is really rare.

But leaving this school doesn't mean the end of education. Saying a decision at 16 puts you at the bottom of life is not correct. Literally thousands of early school leavers in Ireland enter post School education every year at all sorts of levels and thousands progress through education and professional training who left school early. The biggest challenge they face is the attitude that traditional school and their milestones are the best way for everyone and being brave enough to recognise it isn't.
What exams that are so crucial to the rest of his life do you think he will get under these circumstances. Probably not good and then labelled a failure. Surely better to look at other options at this stage, even a couple of years working low paid.

@Feckauras

Why doesn’t he just go to his local technical college and sit his GCSE’s there with people his age, or learn a trade in the college, they have full time courses.

He could if he was actually in the UK...

My brother is also very good practically and with his hands but doesn’t enjoy the academic aspects of school, he has been advised to see the school system through because although he may not want to do something that requires those subjects now, he may in the future. So, it’s always better to have those under the belt just in case!

To an extent it's fine for a child to leave school at 16 with no qualifications. It's an expensive business educating someone and there's no point continuing to throw money at a child who has no interest in being there.

What happens next is really up to them. It's true some people leave school with no qualifications and make a success of themselves - sometimes it's just the school environment that was the problem, and they have the motivation to work hard and get on in life.

Unfortunately more often they end up on the scrapheap because their disinterest in school was a symptom of their disinterest in life in general - they could have worked harder and achieved more, if only they could have been bothered.

Is there not a rule that says 16&17 year olds need to be in school or an apprenticeship in Ireland? Suggest to him if he can find an apprenticeship he can then leave school, he will struggle

I disagree with posters saying that you need academic quals.

I have never been asked and don’t bother to put my GCSE’s and A-levels on my CV.

There are many professional qualifications that you can do that have no pre-requisites.

Could you help him to pay for quals in something he is interested in? Oh, and get him driving ASAP- that has mattered far more than having GCSE, 😂

I think you are missing the point @BluebelllsRosesDaffodills. It might have been fine years ago. In 2021 most employers do want today's 16 year olds to have a minimum of English and maths. Unless you are happy to earn a minimum wage in an unskilled job it is wrong to say it doesn't matter.

@RampantIvy

I think you are missing the point *@BluebelllsRosesDaffodills. It might have been fine years ago. In 2021 most employers do* want today's 16 year olds to have a minimum of English and maths. Unless you are happy to earn a minimum wage in an unskilled job it is wrong to say it doesn't matter.

It’s fine for many things now, actually. Driving is much more important! I’m not that old.

Do you think they care if a HGV driver has any GCSE’s? 😂😂😂

A 16 year old is hardly going to be applying for any driving jobs though.

My son left school to enroll in a vocational college. He got the bare minimum GCSEs, and is now a qualified gym instructor and personal trainer.
As long as your child has a training program to go to then fine, not everyone is academic. But I would say a plan of some sort is a must, and not a vague 'I'll get a job somewhere'.

He is 16 so a year away from being able to drive.
Then you have the cost of lessons and testing and then if he does pass the insurance for a 17 year old will be astronomical.

No I wouldn't let him leave.
He cant be a NEET kid anyway.
Ds was adamant that he wanted to leave school at 16 and get a job. He didnt want college or uni.
He scrapped through his GCSE'S and got himself an apprenticeship which he loved.
He used that qualification to get him another job in quite a niche role and they are now paying for him to do his degree. He has plans to go freelance and into consultancy in the future. I must admit I am stunned at the way things turned out.

My point is that school and the education system doesn't work for everyone. Sometimes young people 'find' themselves once theyve matured or find a passion.
However they nearly always need the basics ( Englush and Maths) in todays climate.

they could have worked harder and achieved more, if only they could have been bothered.

Well no
There could be underlying SEN
Or MH issues
Or disabilities
Some will never get a qualification
Maybe the young person needs a different setting
If school isn't working

There seems little point persevering with school as it sounds highly unlikely as things stand that he’ll come out with Maths and English GCSE anyway.

I would take him out on the condition that HE has lined up work in a skilled trade that he can learn on the job (something practical like joinery or landscaping).

In addition to this, I would get him 1-1 tutoring towards getting a C at GCSE in Maths and English, even if it takes 5 years to do it.

There are just too many jobs and apprenticeships and other training that are not accessible if you cannot tick this Maths and English box (wrongly in my view).

[quote Sillawithans]@NoYOUbekind he absolutely does know he's not achieving and this is the biggest problem for me. It's killing his confidence and his ability to believe in himself.[/quote]
Honestly, so much sympathy for you both. My DS has no confidence and it's limiting him so much.

You mentioned you are his guardian, does that mean he'd fit into the looked after child category? Because you may find that opens the door to mentoring and other opportunities. I know here in Scotland there's a lot of focus so LACs are guaranteed college places etc. Might be worth exploring?

Do they do Leaving Cert Applied at his school? If not, get him into a school with LCA. It will be easier for him. I'm a teacher at a large secondary in Dublin.

@weegiemum

We're in Scotland. My dd2 left school in 2020 aged 16, but due to the way her birthday fell, already had some reasonable qualifications. She has hated school since primary 1 and there didn't seem to be anything to be gained by forcing her back. She got herself a place at college to study beauty therapies and is in her second year. She just got a part time job in a spa using the skills she learned last year.

But at the bottom of this was the fact that she does have her Nat5s and a couple of highers, she wouldn't have got on the course without them.

Personally I wouldn't let him leave this year, even minimum wage jobs want English and Maths and just an indication that you've got the wherewithal to apply yourself, even if you don't enjoy what you're doing. Leaving with nothing is a very risky strategy, I'd say.

But can’t you study beauty therapy privately without any GCSE’s?

Just had a look on ‘The London School of Beauty and Make Up’- no entry requirements whatsoever- just need to be able to speak English!

@BluebelllsRosesDaffodills

Just had a look on ‘The London School of Beauty and Make Up’- no entry requirements whatsoever- just need to be able to speak English!

and be 18+ and prepared to pay £5.5K

Just get him through it. It's not much longer. If he quits now, chances are he'll have to study a lot longer in future just to get the basics. My cousin's daughter spent three years trying to get her maths GCSE as an adult. It was painful. Hang on in there. He's done the vast majority of it and it'll be over soon then he'll be out of school for the rest of his life.

You'd be totally bonkers .. leaving certificate here is the minimum standard for almost any job at all's
My dh works for a large American pharma and it's required even on their production lines .
He will be so so limited here. Way above other countries which are less strict on this

Ghostly-

He could easily get a hospitality job atm, they’re desperate for staff everywhere, then save up for professional qualification courses and his driving.

Honestly, if you have professional quals, no one cares if you have any GCSE’s!