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Help with applying to college- A grade lower

9 replies

Sunsetsandpicnics · 06/11/2025 19:12

My daughter is looking at applying for T-Levels for next year. The courses she is interested in asks for a Grade 6 in English. The most she will get is a 5. English is her worst subject and she will hopefully get 6 and 7s in her other subjects.
Would it be silly to still put the T-Level as her first choice - and a second choice with lower entry requirements?
I am just wondering if on the day they might be more flexible.
Thanks

OP posts:
NewInks · 06/11/2025 19:15

Why is the most she will get a five? Is there anything that affects her ability to do better ie dyslexia?

Sunsetsandpicnics · 06/11/2025 19:20

She will be doing the Foundation paper. She has always disliked English despite doing well in other subjects.

OP posts:
NewInks · 06/11/2025 19:26

It’s really awful that they make some lids sit papers which they can’t achieve higher on.
I would still apply for the T-Level. My ds had a college place but didn’t quite get the grade they were asking for on one subject. They still accepted him in the end.
It sounds like you have a really good plan.

Becomingolder · 06/11/2025 19:28

There are no foundation and higher papers for English, just one paper for all, so she shouldn't be restricted for grades.

NewInks · 06/11/2025 19:51

That’s good news then, OP. Who told you there were different papers?

MargaretThursday · 06/11/2025 19:58

No one here can answer that.

Your best bet is to ask the college if there is any flexibility. They may say:

  1. None at all
  2. Depends on numbers, so if the course is undersubscribed they'd be happy to have her.
  3. Yes, they ask for it, but as long as they do pass they don't worry as she'll be more than up to doing it.

You say she dislikes it. Is that actually doesn't like it because it's hard for her, or dislikes it so doesn't bother about it so scores badly.

If it's the former you need to look at why they ask for it. A 6 in English implies that they do need some ability in it - it's not like saying they need a 4, which means they don't have to retake.

If it's the latter, then I'd use that as an incentive to do some work in it. She needs that 6, so she needs to put some work in.

monkeysox · 06/11/2025 20:02

Sunsetsandpicnics · 06/11/2025 19:20

She will be doing the Foundation paper. She has always disliked English despite doing well in other subjects.

Everyone does the same gcse paper

Cantseetreesforthewood · 07/11/2025 06:19

I think it might be worth looking at the application system again.
For us, there was no preference system, and no need to accept /reject offers before results day.
So, she absolutely should apply for the T level (check why her English is capped at a 5 - AFAIK only maths, science and MFL are tiered papers), plus other courses/colleges she is interested in.

Nothing is fixed until after results day - DS sat on 2 offers until the end of August. Many kids changed their subjects after results day. Some were still swapping around in September.

College entry is a completely different ball game to primary abd secondary admissions, - and there is no centralized system.

ThreePointOneFourOneFiveNine · 07/11/2025 07:05

I’m pretty sure there is no foundation and higher paper in English, they all sit the same papers. I’ve just had a look on the websites of the two most common exam boards and the each have just two papers under English language gcse, paper 1 and paper 2, students sit both.

You may be getting confused with maths where there is foundation and higher papers, the foundation only goes up to grade 5. To answer the comment by a previous user saying it’s unfair to limit students chance to get a higher grade, there is a huge amount of extra material on the higher syllabus. In order to cover it properly, there is far less of the easier material on the paper. In order to get a grade 4 on the higher syllabus, you only need to get about 15 marks out of 80 on each of the three papers. Anything less than this and you really have hardly answered anything. A four is the lowest grade you can get on the higher paper. If everyone sat the higher paper lots of students would end up being ungraded. On the foundation paper you can get grades 1-5. And while a 4 is considered to be a pass, there are a lot of collages that will accept a three for particular courses. It’s important that students have the opportunity to show what they can do, even if they can’t quite get the four.

Either way, I think your daughter should apply to the course she wants, and to a back up course that will accept the lower grade too.

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