Should a child getting 4s and 5s go on to A levels?

[Zappity]

Or is pointless? Is the step-up to A level so big they will likely fail?

Dd

It's true that D and E grades will get places at some lower tier Unis. And some kids are desperate to be like their more academic mates and do A Levels and go to uni - partly because it's difficult to see what else might be an option. But as a previous poster said, these probably won't learnt genuine graduate jobs. When the debt incurred is so great, one has to wonder if it really is worth it.

I think part of the problem is that some schools allow students into the courses with 5s or even 4s, but also the whole system itself which means that there don't seem to be many good options apart from A Levels and uni for many parents and also kids. The reality of low A Levels and limited uni options and then limited graduate options doesn't really occur to people when they are faced with a 16 year old who just wants to carry on and do what their friends are doing and has no idea what they want to do later.

I don't think it is in their interests though to take A Levels from 5s and 4s and as has been often said, 6s can be iffy too, and Maths can be very hard or impossible for those with all kinds of grades. More children need to find a different route forward and a suitable route which is highly regarded to allow these students to take next steps is needed, along with a different approach for those stuck with 3s who are forced to re-sit over and over again....but that's a different issue.

@TeenTimesTwo - that is fabulous data but fairly old. Any chance anyone knows of anything newer than 2012?

Well, there won't be any stats with the new grades yet, as the kids who have done wholly 9-1 GCSEs haven't sat the first lot of A levels yet.

But as a previous poster said, these probably won't learnt genuine graduate jobs. When the debt incurred is so great, one has to wonder if it really is worth it.

Ppssibly not, from the point of view of the wider tax-paying population, given that the individual concerned may never earn a high enogh salary to pay much, if any, of it back.

From the individual's point of view, though, if they enjoy their time at university and feel that they have benefited from it in terms of their personal education, then it may well be worth it.

My aunt is a maths teacher and also tutors gcse. She is dubious of anyone with less than an A doing maths A level. In my mind there's no point choosing something at a level you are going to struggle with, they will loose confidence. I was in the thickies A level maths group at my school having got a B grade gcse and got a B in the A level (this is pre A* days).
My niece is doing a level maths and after 1 term is needing tutoring to keep up.. it's not a good sign..