If your dc did BTECs, do you say they have A levels?

[Milsonophonia]

My nephew did a BTEC in Media and a BTEC in Music production. He passed them all, which is fab. But my BIL keeps telling everyone he got 4 x A levels. My dd got 3 x A levels and I'm starting to feel a bit fed up with him saying dn got 4 x A levels. We were at a bbq yesterday and someone was congratulating dd and he interrupted and said well, dn got 4 A levels!

I think he may have got the equivalent of 4 A levels, so a great achievement whatever, but its beginning to annoy me. I know I'm being petty. But ds1 did BTECs a few years ago and did really well in them and ended up at uni but I am pretty sure I always told people he'd done BTECS!

Surely BTECs are more like how many degrees are now assessed. DS is doing an engineering degree. He has just finished his first year. To pass this year he had to complete and pass a number of group projects, assessments , presentations (both group and individual) and at the end of the he had 3 exams. Having done A-levels a lot of this type of assessment was new to him.

Also surely this type of assessment is much more like real life work situation.

If you do a degree that is all exam based, do you have a better/harder degree than ones which have different forms of assessment. I assume no-one makes that difference when talking about the degree they have

I am old, every single level of qualification I took involved end of year exams, no qualifying coursework, assessments or group work. But those sort of assessments would reflect more how I work in practice.

All because someone is good at exams doesn’t necessarily mean this is going to translate into the work place.

For those saying everyone knows what a BTEC is, I have only really got to know what they are in the last few years, and wouldn’t have a clue what a T-level was.

Are people as snobby about students who take a foundation year at university, do you expect them to explain that they are obviously not as academic as someone who didn’t need to do a foundation year. And tell everyone they have a lesser degree because they took a foundation year.

My DS’s degree is accredited to Professional Qualification. His university is not RG, not one of the top ten in the country. But if he graduates he will have the same accreditation as someone who did similar degree at one of those universities. Will he always have to explain to people like the OP that it is somehow a lower accreditation than someone who went to an RG university, even though it is exactly the same (the Professional Body doesn’t distinguish between universities, the important bit is what modules he takes)

You are being petty.

Your child's grades aren't down to you either- so don't understand why you feel so put out.

Thanks! Much appreciated.

Looking at what happened in clearing this year with some universities lowering some of their entry requirements quite substantially, I would assume some degree requirements for A-levels only are just a filtering exercise to reduce the number of applicants rather than viewing them as superior to BTECs, just like the original requirement to have all As being then reduced to Bs and Cs

I know someone going into dentistry who went down the BTEC route

My DD has A Levels, my DS has an extended BTEC. Both could get into uni but they're not comparable qualifications in my experience - in terms of academic content or effort needed in revising or to pass.

She is pleased for the DN on achieving his BTEC passes.

She is irked at the BIL for lying and saying he has 4 A levels when he doesn't he has BTECs. Either the BIL is embarrassed that his son took BTECs or wants to make sure that the qualification his son took equates to 4 A levels in which case he could just say he did BTECs which give him the equivalent of 3 A levels. No need to lie at all.

I'm nearly 50 and BTECs were around when I was young I think. I'd be surprised that many people hadn't heard of them.

My ds did a T level.

Poor kid was on the news with Braverman and Williamson lording over how great they were.

No sooner had he finished they were scrapping them because - well who knows 🤷‍♀️

But it does mean people don't take them seriously. Except because it's so industry based he's already working as a software developer at just turned 20.

The sooner people stop seeing any other route other than uni as worthwhile the better. The same with not seeing GCSEs at 8/9 or a levels at A/A* are not the norm!

T levels are a new qualification though whereas BTECS have Been around since I was teenager at least if not longer and I'm 50 ,

It seems to be a competition for you.

I did my Business and Finance Btec in early 80s as an evening course through work.

But most people talk about GCSEs and A-Levels when distinguishing where you are in the school system (media do it too). You have GCSE results day and A-Level results day. Very few people talk about level 1,2,3 etc qualifications.

No-one in my close family have done BTECs so I am not as well versed on them as GCSEs and A-levels

In fact learned more about them on this thread than I knew about them before!

Are people as snobby about students who take a foundation year at university, do you expect them to explain that they are obviously not as academic as someone who didn’t need to do a foundation year. And tell everyone they have a lesser degree because they took a foundation year.

Of course not 🙄

That would piss me off too. Showing my age, but it’s rather like a CSE grade 1 was allegedly equivalent to an O level, but we all knew an O level was the tougher exam!

@Thursdaygirl CSE Grade 1 was equivalent to grade C at O-level

@Zet1 it seems to be a competition between the parents, not the DC involved.

When DS passed his GCSEs and A-levels I didn't go round telling people his grades, that was his news to tell. I do cringe when parents post the results notifications on social media. I do tell when asked that he got what he needed for his next steps

It surely depends on context. I think it's fine to call general end of y13 exams a-levels, regardless of whatever they're doing, as people understand them eg:

"No plans over Easter as ds has a-levels coming up"

However saying

"DS smashed his a-levels"

when he actually did BTECs is obviously quite disingenuous!

@bravefox why would you say that though if the exams aren't A-levels? It's a lie.

@Needmorelego so if your DC was doing a mixture of A-level and BTECs and maybe an EPQ as well, would you not use the shorthand of A-levels which pretty much everyone knows. I have previously posted that I have heard of BTECs but not the detail.

If someone said to me Johnny has A-levels coming up and I asked what he was studying and they said A-level Maths, A-level Geography and BTEC Media, I wouldn't then go "Oh my god you were lying why didn't you mention the BTEC in your original statement!" The majority of people (apart from competitive parents) probably don't give a shit whether a distinction has to be made between A-levels and BTECs.

And once a young person has moved onto the next the level whether that is uni, work, apprenticeship, very few people mention A-levels, especially grades (apart from competitive parents!)

Because people easily understand it without having to explain further. My dad's passed away and my mum has a new partner. They aren't married, but sometimes I'll refer to him as my stepfather (eg when booking train tickets) as it's just simpler

Agreed! Both parents sound problematic.

I agree with this. BTECs could also be any level. They go from entry level all the way up to level 7, so degree level. An exam could be in any of those. For a 17/18 year old going into exam season it might just be easier to say a levels as it pin points them exactly with their peers.
I would personally just say exams but I understand why people wouldn't. The robbery towards them is prevalent, you're immediately put into a less academic box so I can understand why some kids would for that reason too.

@crumblingschools @bravefox I would just say "exams".
Considering BTEC is an older qualification than A-levels why would it be hard to understand?
(BTEC has existed in various form since the 1920/30s. A-levels from 1950).
To be honest - if it was a casual conversation between relatives/friends I would be more likely to say "Joe is studying English Lit, Drama and Media". I wouldn't bother to go into details about whether it's A-level, T-Level, BTEC, City and Guilds or one of the various other qualifications out there.
But I wouldn't say my child is studying for A-levels if they weren't. It's simply a lie and there's no reason to do it.

@Foxesandsquirrels BTEC is just the provider of the courses and qualifications though so of course there's different levels.
There's different levels in GCSEs too (ie Functional Level, Foundation Level etc).
Why would you lie and say "my child is doing media A-level" when the course is a BTEC. Wouldn't you just say "my child is studying media"?

@Needmorelegobut everyone talks about A-level results day etc. Doesn’t matter if BTECs have been around longer, most people talk about 17-18yos doing A-levels, apprenticeship or training.

If you were talking to an acquaintance/colleague who doesn’t know exact age of your DC, probably easier to say A-levels as pinpoints what age bracket and level they are studying, rather than exams as that could mean end of Secondary age rather than Sixth Form. And as others have said BTEC covers a wider exam range

That's not true. GCSE stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education and is a Level 2 qualification if you pass it at a 4 or above. If below it is a level 1 etc. There is no functional or foundation level GCSE. Lots of teachers are actually quite pissed off at the lack of funding towards functional skills exams as those are far better for some kids and a way they can achieve a level 2.
BTEC is a qualification in and of itself and is usually awarded by Pearson. There are lots of other vocational qualifications though they are not BTECs. UAL has their own arts diploma equivalent to 3 A Levels for example.
Overall, vocational qualifications in this country are a minefield so I don't blame anyone if they use the word A Level in passing to describe end of y13 exams. I wouldn't, but I understand why someone would.