What do we do now?

[Wasrelaxing]

bottom line is my DS can’t do the A levels he wants at the school he wanted to go to.

We didn’t apply anywhere else.

He wanted to study Law, politics & sociology.
He got a 6, 6 5’s and a 4 in maths.
They suggest he does applied level in business, criminology & science. The others applied options are music, dance & drama.

So now we are applying to the other options but as it’s late entry who knows what will happen.

We are looking at apprenticeships but I don’t appear to see anything where he gets to do a qualification along side it.

I’ve tried not going to uni, the government apprentice site, and lots of other search engines.

What do we do now?

Are there any local colleges he can apply to?
Could he leave school and get a part time job in a cafe or similar, while reading up a lot on law, politics etc and doing some practise essays to improve his skills, then apply to college next year when his grades might not matter so much?
Are resits an option?

It seems unfair that he can't do the subjects he's chosen. No point working hard at all the applied levels if they are not in subjects he'd choose.

Any apprenticeship should lead to a qualification as well, so that seems odd. A try ringing a few places up if you see something he fancies.

Did he do GCSEs in law and politics and sociology (unusual subjects IME) or why is the school not accepting his grade 6s? ds2 tells me at his school you just need 5 grade 5s plus min 4 in maths and eng Lang; a 6 in maths for a level maths. I would imagine your son has a good chance of doing A levels at a sixth form college with those grades - I would ask on Monday.

None of the three subjects your ds had chosen are 'qualifying subjects', I.e. they would not get him a place at a good uni to study these subjects, even if he would have got As in them. To study law or politics at uni he would need to have good A levels in subjects like English lit or history, and 1 A level in a more vocational subject like politics or law, but the latter would not be required.

What subject was the 6 in? What were the grade 5s in? They are a bit low for A level study. Can you look at a college of FE for a BTec course?

I agree that the subjects he has chosen are random and would give him limited options. So what did he intend to do after A levels and what other route could you consider? Apprenticeship or FE College are what DC usually do.

Are they really a bit low for A levels? 6’s and 5’s, aren’t they B’s and C’s in old money? I got 2 B’s at GCSE, bunch of C’s and a D and an E. But I got 2 B’s and a C at A level and a 2:1 degree is criminal justice and Law (could have switched to full law degree after year 1).

I’d say if he wants to go to Uni then the subjects of his A levels don’t matter a great deal unless he wants to do a specific degree but doesn’t sound like it. I think his grades are ok and certainly don’t rule him out of A levels.

If he wants to go on to study Law - A levels in English or History would be better. Politics - History, Maths. Sociology - History, Geography maybe. All those university subjects require academic a'levels to support them. Depends where he wants to go next. He'll also have to up the anti in terms of his grade performance if he's to take on the additional rigour of A'levels.

Late entry applications for other colleges will probably be fine, they need bums on seats.

But why are you rejecting the applied options offered by the favoured school?

ASD, PDD-NOS and GCSE

My grandson was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified) several years ago. Whether this places him on the ASD spectrum along with an estimated 100,000 of his peers is unclear.

In some countries this condition is included in the list of disorders within a single category labelled Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Here in England anyway PDD-NOS seems to be outside the ASD spectrum, but is classified as an associated disorder.

He recently received his GCSE results achieving four passes at grade 4 and above. He failed one exam by just 3 marks, which would have given him five passes and automatic progression into his school’s 6th form. He also failed Maths and English Language.

There are multiple features of the PDD-NOS disorder. Kidsense (https://childd development.com.auu) lists some 50 symptoms under five main headings including language and communication, and cognitive functioning. Examinations in English language and Maths are designed to test both of these abilities.

Without passes in Maths and English Language my grandson will be restricted in his choice of further/higher education and employment opportunities.

This places him in a classic ‘Catch 22’ situation in that lack of GCSEs in English language and Mathematics erects a barrier to his progress, but he is prevented from gaining these qualifications by his PDD-NOS condition.

GCSE examinations may be appropriate for mainstream students, but they are clearly not fit for purpose where students with PDD-NOS are concerned. There is therefore a covert form of discrimination operating here. Government policy is failing these students.

Alternative, but equivalent, GCSE level qualifications should be made available to students like my grandson. Do any alternatives exist? If so, I have been unable to find any.

Depending on what grade he got in maths and English, he will either have to resit GCSE (if he got a 3), or he will be allowed to study Functional maths and English qualifications (for 2 or below) (examples for maths here: mathsmadeeasy.co.uk/functional-skills-maths-level-2-past-papers/.

He should be able to study these alongside college courses.

What other sixth form colleges or schools are near you?

Thanks for the information about functional maths and English. I'll check these out.

There are no sixth form colleges in our area apart from the one, which is part of my grandson's school. The Head of Sixth Form has refused to accept my grandson without 5 passes at GCSE - these did not have to include English and Maths, but he would need to resit these during a sixth form course.

There is one FE college some 6 miles away, but transport is a major problem. It is also situated in another local authority district, so my grandson would not qualify for a bus pass. Attendance at this college is not really a viable option.

@pappou are you the OP?

This was my first Mumsnet post. Not sure what an OP is.

Do you have any sixth form colleges near you? The college DS is going to would have accepted him with 5 x 5 for his selected A levels (with a 6 for his language) so it seems weird that his school wont' take him with the grades you mention unless they are worried about league tables.

Nothing wrong with applied law and criminology although they may be a little limiting in that some universities only accept them for law and criminology degrees (eg if you wanted to do a politics degree later, the applied qualifications might not be acceptable). DS liked criminology but decided to rule it out for this reason.

In terms of late entry one of the sixth forms DS applied to is definitely taking late applications. DS had a place there but has enrolled elsewhere so places open up.

Worth sounding out other local schools - those results would get him into A levels at DC's school, for example, but not at some other local schools!