Bedford College, North Hertfordshire College, any advice would help.

[Itscoldouthere]

I posted this in higher education but didn't get any replies so I thought I'd try here.

Our DS took his mock GCSEs before Christmas and he hasn't done very well, so we now have to consider the possibility that he will not stay at his current school to study A levels.

He doesn't really know what he wants to do but has leanings towards Art & Design or Media Studies.

He could do a BTEC in either subject at Bedford College which is about 8 miles from where we live, but I know nothing about the college as we only moved here 8 months ago and didn't think we would need to look at colleges.

The other option seems to be North Hertfordshire college in Hitchin which offers the same course, but again I know nothing about the college.

Any advice would be really helpful.

Both colleges are perfectly fine and kids I know have done well on a variety of course at both. North hearts has great facilities and I think Bedford college has also upgraded recently. Are you concerned academically or socially (about college)? I wonder if you live near us as either would be ok kind of journey!

You could also chat to head of year at current upper school to see what they say. They'll know if they could keep your dc on current predicted grades and wil have liaison with each of the colleges.

Thank you for your reply overthemill.

I suppose it's both socially and academically, we moved from London and he has always been to quite liberal schools (both state and private) so on some levels has existed in a bit of a bubble.

He's dyslexic and the reality is his written work is very poor, so it crosses most of his GCSE subjects, he doesn't excel in anything really, I think it's all getting to him and I think the pressure and pace of A level will be too much for him, so we have to be realistic about his choices.

We have been to visit the college in Hitchin and it seemed ok, quite small, he would be able to get the train. Would he had a good social life as well?
He knows people in Letchworth/Hitchin but I don't think any of them will go to the college.

We hope to go to look at Bedford at the end of the month, it looks much bigger, I must say I try to like Bedford, but find it hard, but maybe it would be fun if you were a student? He does not know anyone and he would get the bus.

I suppose I feel guilty as we moved from London at a funny time for a teenager and he's a bit stuck out here in the country. I honestly thought he would stay at his school for 6th form and then go off to college somewhere else.

Where do you live ? Which town or village and which school is he at? My dss is at an upper school that used to be total crap for helping dyslexics into 6th form but it has improved and he is happily doing A2s in maths further maths and history , despite dyslexia. We live 10 miles a of Bedford and about 12 miles w of Hitchin and dss and mates go to Hitchin quite a lot for clubs restaurants etc and we also use it at weekends (but biased cos used to live here). Bedford is ok once you get to know it. Try the cheese factory, castle road and frescos cafe in centre! Comedy club once a month which dss and mates go to. You are welcome to pm me

Ooh and a good friend moved with trepidation from our village to Bedford and loves it. I know it better now as she has shown me round.

No worry of outing myself as I don't know many people here, so, we live in a village near Sandy. He goes to school at St Christophers in Letchworth.

I think his school would consider letting him stay if he manages to scape a few Bs but I think he will not cope well. They do not advise on other local options as most students either stay or go to sixth form where they live (lots of pupils are from London or Cambridge way).

I have looked at the Samuel Whitbread Academy website but they have had their open evening and the admission deadline has gone and it would be A levels again.

Is your DC only doing 3 options for AS. That is something I have considered although school advises 4.

Thank you for your help, all very useful.

He did 4 AS and now at A2 stage. Have you looked at highfield school letchworth ? It's good IMO at sixth form, nice relaxed atmosphere and good bunch of kids

Sorry didn't read your previous post properly, re your DS.

Thanks I will look at the Letchworth school, but I'm really trying to find other options than A level that's why I was interested in the colleges.

Does North Herts college have a good reputation locally? Or is it seen as a last resort?

Don't you think something like CCC at A level and then a degree though would be better than BTECs or is there no chance at all he would even pass A levels?

Also schools often mark down mock GCSEs to make children work harder. He might do better than you think. I hope he has made all the applications he needs for extra time and perhaps typing his work.

laura it would depend on subject. I'd assumed OP meant doing a levels at college actually but my nephew did btec then university route for a non academic subject (which is some kind of sports related subject but not sure which. And IMO some schools can support through a levels for those with SN)

Laura in my experience friends children who have CCC at A level have had very few options open to them for university and you then wonder if it's worth going.

If you do well in a level 3 BTEC (which takes 2 years) it is still possible to get on a good university course, it just means you specialise earlier so you are limiting your options.

This is a problem for my DS as he doesn't really know what he wants to do, I am just thinking if he can only get c's (he may scape a few bs) at GCSE, surely A levels will just be too much for him?

I'd always thought you shouldn't really take an A level unless you have a b at GCSE or you will really struggle.

The past 2 years have been a real strain with us constantly hassling him about work (he always does the minimum asked of him) he gets extra time and has a tutor to work on his organisation/ revision, his classes only have about 12 pupils, so he gets teacher input, he even went to a specialist dyslexic school for 3 years at primary, but it's all been a real struggle.

His brother only works a little bit harder and is a consistent A/B student.

It's all rather frustrating for him and us, it's not that I don't think he will be supported by school, it's more that I wonder if it's really worth doing A levels if you come out with CCC at best, I worry about his self esteem, perhaps others can tell me something different?

It will depend no the personality of the child. Mine with mild dyslexia found senior school easier than primary as suddenly how clever your ideas were mattered not whether your handwriting was neat and your spelling perfect and she got a good degree and has a good job but spell checks absolutely everything very carefully. However that is mild dyslexia and she has always been very turned on to hard work and career etc.

I think worse is done to self esteem by not doing A levels and not doing a degree even if the degree is at a second rank university but who knows? If he does not want to do A levels that needs to be his choice.

Hi Itscoldouthere, Rich here from Bedford College.

Feel free to come and visit the College on Wednesday 22 January as we have our Open Day then where you'll be able to speak to tutors about courses your son might be interested in and take a tour of our South Bank Arts Centre (amongst other facilities).

You can pre-register for this at www.bedford.ac.uk/events or just turn up in the evening!

To find out more specifically in the run up to that you could visit www.bedford.ac.uk/art and www.bedford.ac.uk/media

We also have another Open Day on Thursday 20 March which includes a specific 'Careers in the Arts' event in the evening which sounds just up your son's street. We will have further details about that on our website in the upcoming fortnight so keep an eye out.

All the best

Rich