To think that 4 G.C.S.E's needed to do business studies is ridiculous

[magicalmadmadamim]

My eldest DS is 16 and been at college since September. He has 2 G.C.S.E equivalent certificates in English and Maths.
I'm sure back when I was in college business studies was always a foundation course?
He really wanted to do business studies and they have put him on some really rubbish courses that he is super bored with.
Is it me or is education getting much harder now?
Hardly any of his school friends passed any g.c.s.e's :(

In the UK for higher ed /post secondary, it was expected for students to pass five 'good' subjects (English, Math, Science and another two). Your DS subjects (two!) are below the minimum.

If he completes the foundation course, he will then be able to go up a level the next year. He will probably need to be at college for a total of three years..

I’d have thought it a minimum tbh.

I took a Business Studies 'A' level, for which I required more than 2 GCSE passes. Then I took an HND in Business Administration, for which I required 2 'A' levels. Finally I completed a degree in Business and Finance, for which I needed 3 'A' levels.

it entirely depends on what level Business Studies course he wants to do.... but Business Studies is not a Mickey Mouse course - it is a precursor to other vocational courses or to higher education for those that are capable and want to do them.

Yes, this is what my adopted DD1 (16) is doing, at a specialist college. She has SEND - with probable FASD and a diagnosis of epilepsy. She has an EHCP.

the OP’s DS doesn’t have SEND, he just hasn’t properly applied himself. So if he applies himself, there’s no reason why he can’t do what he wants in the end. It’s about accepting where he is and what he needs to do to achieve what he wants.

the OP’s DS doesn’t have SEND, he just hasn’t properly applied himself.

I'm not sure it would be spotted if he had send. Often the wheels come off in the teen years. By that point, mum is abroad, dad is working long hours and the school see disruption.
I'm not offering it as an excuse. It's just a comment that it is another thing that could have slipped through the net under the circumstances.

There was no malicious intent and they are still friends
According to your Son.

No malice involved is what bullies always say. He's belittling the situation and you're letting him.

Or was it not his fault?
Did he just get in with a bad crowd?
And of course he's not like those other boys.
Or is it the teachers fault? They just didn't like him I bet.
Is he just misunderstood?
A loveable rogue?
Let me guess....he always makes sure he looks after his Nan.
Does his smile light up a room?

Your Son sounds like one of those boys that everyone tolerates, and who the majority of the school population can't stand. And you're making excuse after excuse for him. You're either oblivious to his persona and he's leading you a merry dance, or you're just too hard faced to admit your Son is a belligerant little shit and you're failing him.

I'm assuming the OP lived in either England or Wales before moving away, so I am astonished at how little she understands our education system.

The boy's poor behaviour has been ongoing for a long time, so why is the OP only finding out about it now? Why has the father not stepped up and parented his child when he was still at school? Why has neither parent supported the boy's education?

OP is talking about further education, not higher education. DC do not need 5 GCSEs to access further education. There are FE courses for all levels. Not that everyone needs 5 GCSEs for HE either.

The boy is not higher education material so there isn't really any point in discussing it.

To weigh in, generally a school wants a student to have a minimum level 4 in English and Maths. If students don't get this the school will often get the student to retake at least one of them alongside their A level or equivalent studies. They also prefer a 6 in the subject they want to study, or a 6 in another subject. Something that shows they can apply themselves to this level of course. Otherwise you can be setting up a student to fail. Not always of course but often enough to be a concern. If there are SEND issues the criteria can change, depending on level of need. If they are SEND with an EHCP then you consult with the school to ensure the student can manage with the course.
I disagree that GCSE's have got harder. I work in Education, my school is different to many as we focus on the student more than the grade and a most of our students are ones that have struggled in school not high flyers but, that said, we have a very good track record in re-engagement and our students achieving passing grades and higher all the way to 9.
The relationship between the student, the school and the family has to work together.

Just a thought @magicalmadmadamim have you looked at a UTC? There aren't many in the country tbf. My school is a UTC and we take from yr10 up to yr14. They all have different specialisms as well as core subjects. There is one near Heathrow for example that specialises in Engineering and IT. It could be a really good fit if he's struggled with school before for whatever reason (no judgement, life happens, mistakes get made and sometimes things just don't work) it helps re-engage and re-ignite passion for learning too as well as repair the broken relationship with education. If you Google UTC schools UK you can find the list of them. If he's bored, he's not in the right place and will disengage, I know I would, humans do, especially when they're still young and discovering the world.

No, 4 GCSEs isn’t a ridiculous requirement, anyone with fewer than that clearly isn’t suited to an academic career. If I had an applicant for a job with 2 GCSEs I’d assume they either had learning difficulties or couldn’t apply themselves. I’d say for his own sake he needs to see if he can re-sit his GCSEs now or it will follow him around like a bad smell.

As a secondary school teacher this would have been exclusion from us as it is racism and a hate crime. Taking the mick out of a Muslim praying whilst they are praying is awful absolutely truly awful. And this 'they were friends' excuse is just as bad, I'm suck of awful behaviour being blamed on 'banter' and boys being boys. Also constant low level disruption and disrespect to staff so obviously not a hardworking conscientious student. Thr fact that you thino exclusions should be for chairs getting thrown at teachers. Wow! No wonder teachers are leaving in droves when parents think their darlings can do whatever they want as long as they stop short of physically assaulting anyone! Also permanent exclusions can be appealed and schools have to provide so much evidence to back it up especially for year 11 students it isn't an easy process to exclude someone at all.

Also he didnt pass any GCSEs if this happened just a few weeks before he was due to sit his exams I'll be honest he probably wouldn't have passed if he was in school.

He was stupid, he made a mistake, he has less the consequences of that and now needs to accept the hand he has been dealt and do the lower level 'boring' course to prove himself able to access the higher level courses as colleges don't want to waste their effort on people who won't work.

Also mother to a 16 year old summer baby who knows not to be racist, homophobic or just generally disrespectful and managed to get some excellent GCSE grades. Stop making excuses for him

I'm always surprised when i hear people saying things like, 'is he academic'?
How academic do you need to be to do Gcses?
And why are people just accepting this?
If the child is willing to engage, there is no reason for them not to get Cs in Gcses.
In 2021 a C in higher Biology was about 16 marks!
Children should not be allowed to fail.
Get a tutor, or learn the content yourself and help your child.
There's a ridiculous amount of online resources now.
Even BBC bitesize is helpful

There were no GCSE exams in 2021 so how can you say that!

in 2022 to get a Grade 4 in AQA Higher Tier Biology you needed to get 51 marks out of 200. This paper contained harder questions than Foundation where you needed 109 marks.

If the child is willing to engage, there is no reason for them not to get Cs in Gcses.
Children should not be allowed to fail.

There are reasons not all can achieve 4+. Ignoring all other reasons, the exam system is designed so that not all candidates can achieve a 4+.

In 2021 a C in higher Biology was about 16 marks!

Weren’t grades teacher assessed grades in June 2021? So no official grade boundaries were released for the June series. Candidates could sit papers in a the autumn sitting if they wanted but more than 16 marks were needed for biology for a 4.

Just what I was thinking. Poor lad. Obviously in the wrong crowd of they have "all" failed GCSEs. I can't really believe the whole year group collectively failed - if so, what Mickey mouse school were you sending him to?

And his bullying hasn't even been addressed - the fact you regard the school expelling him shows your son's racism hasn't been addressed.

Your son is at a really critical stage in his development and he needs some real engagement. Not just seeing him at the summer. If his dad can't cut his hours maybe he should move to be with you and go to college there?

Agree, It frustrates me that people won't understand grade distribution. One year a score might get you a 4, the next that same score might get you a 3 and it's baked in that about a third must be within grades 1-3. My daughter was 1 mark off a 6 in an exam last year whereas the year previously her mark would have been comfortably within the grade 6 boundary.

Grade boundaries have gone up and up since 22. In 22 there were still lots of concessions made, eg some topics not tested and more formulas provided. I think we're not back to normal.

I compared Edexcel biology criteria for a 4 in 22 and 25 and it had doubled to about 80 marks

I feel a bit mean saying it, but you asked for people's thoughts. No, I think that's quite a low bar. But perhaps if he's struggled with his GCSEs doing business studies at a higher level probably isn't right for him. Maybe speak to an advisor about something he would enjoy that isn't academic.

He should definitely try to stick at what he's doing. Teaching wise they are more than halfway through, even though that feels weird to say in January.

I teach on these sort of courses and although colleges have their own rules they can usually progress onto a level 2 course if they get at least merits on their level 1 course and have attendance above 90%. Some courses have higher GCSE requirements than others but your son has passed functional skills level 2 so that should be okay, and academically he should be able to get merits or distinctions at level 1 if he puts the work in.

School students bring in their school reports to interviews so the college has a good idea of what their GCSE grades will be. They might have already filled up the business course for next year but your son could ask if there's a waiting list.

As for the technical skills unit in his current course, if it's btec you can find the specification online. Maybe there will be aspects he is more interested in coming up. Maybe it is really easy, level 1 is easy. The hard part will be in hitting the distinction criteria rather than scraping a pass, and that means listening to the teachers rather than arguing or back chatting. You can't argue with the mark scheme. If you don't do what's asked you don't get the marks. Teenagers do sometimes struggle with this, at an age where their brains tell them they know better than the boomers who are teaching them.

If they argue or backchat, or skip lessons etc. this will likely be visible to the person interviewing them for the next course, so if this is where your son might have issues he'd have better luck applying to another college instead. If his grades aren't merit or distinction he could ask if he's missed the deadlines to improve those assignments. If his attendance is below 90% he might be able to bring his average up if he is 100% from now onwards.

Good luck with it.

just as a bit of hope OP I was in a similar situation to your son as a kid, I was expelled at the beginning of year 11 and was sent to a pupil referral unit were I took functional skills, I did however have a maths gcse as I took this early as I was in top sets but when I when I left I only had the option for functional skills English. When I left for college I only had 1 gsce and 1 functional skills. I then did a business level 2 course. It was actually an entrepreneur course which was brilliant so there are courses out there that will expect functional skills maybe worth looking around different colleges, the course I did was run by Peter jones and there was an option to carry on with level 3. I really hope your son manages to find a course that suits him and wish him all the best. Kids make mistakes and they learn from them.

When you give birth that child is Your Responsibility. Your Responsibility for a minimum of 18 years. You need to put their needs first for 18 years. Many parents still feel responsible for their adult children and grand children.
Responsibility means always being there for them, potty training them. Why do so many parents think this is not their responsibility?
Responsibility means making sure their child attends school right from the word go, instilling good attendance and good manners. Responsibility means listening to your little one read every night, even when you are dead on your feet. Responsibility means attending parents evening two or three times a year for bloody years, liaising with the school over any issues. Correcting the child for poor manners and poor decisions. Its much easier to instill good attendance and good manners at an early age. It is easier to guide small children into good friendship groups. Once they are teenagers it is difficult to enforce stuff you taught them at an early age. It is virtually impossible to introduce good manners and an interest in education. I'm afraid he's going to have to work this out for himself. Op can try to support him but doubtful he will listen.
There's some very unpleasant insulting comments on here. Some of the terminology is not nice at all.
I'm guessing op, and many other posters, have not personally navigated the FE system. The pathway can vary depending on the child. Other posters have A level kids. It's totally different and not helpful to compare.
Education has also changed since the 1990s so that's not a helpful comparison either. It continues to evolve.
A good college should be assessing all students upon arrival. Colleges pick up more sen issues than schools and are able to put measures in place to help the students. Of course, there are some back chatting smart alecks who refuse to attend learning support and accept this help. I bet their parents are oblivious. The initial assessment will also determine which course is the most suitable for the student. Different posters on here have recounted different experiences. That's because kids are different and the colleges have encouraged different pathways.

Thanks for your post. I'm sure he is not a complete lost cause!