T Level and English pass - help please

[Plankingplanks]

Hello,

Son got a conditional offer for a T Level, but despite getting a 6 in English Literature he only got a 3 in Language. The college are now saying he doesn't have the grade to do a T level and has to do Level 2 and resit his English Language. I'm very confused as he appears to not qualify to do a resit for English Language as he has met the conditions of funding by his high Literature pass?

It's only a language pass that counts when colleges say 'Maths and English.'

But he's not entitled to resit as according to the Government he has passed.

The condition of funding is met by the Lit grade. However, the college can set their own requirements for following a course. Do they say its for funding?

No the college just say he needs English (language is not specified) and Maths and an average of 5 in his best 6 subjects. As far as we were aware he had met all of these conditions, but now they want him to do a year of level 2 and to resit his English Language, which seems pretty pointless.

Really difficult as he is there on his own and I'm working away this week so can't do a lot.

Maths and English language at grade 4 is the minimum for a lot of jobs and unis so I'd want to retake it if I were him.

Yes, but he can't, as its classed as him passing it by the Government, so they won't fund him resitting. He doesn't want to go to uni so it doesn't matter for that.

He will get funded for resitting so don't worry. Language is the magic one and literature is largely ignored. He will have to do a level 2 and language resit and then move to t level the following year. Sorry

A Level 3 isn't a pass.

The funding is for the 16-19 course, so either the T level or the level 2 course being offered, not just the GCSE. The college can't be funded for him following a 16-19 course without a grade 4+ in Maths and either Eng Lang or Lit, unless he is enrolled also on a course leading to a GCSE resit (or Functional Skills course, depending on grade). He has met the requirements, so they should get funding even if he doesn't follow an English course. It seems they have chosen to put an extra requirement in place.
Anyone can resit.

The image posted by the OP is from the government guidance on funding post16 courses btw.

?

It's quite clear what @HarrietJet is saying. 4 is a passing grade. A 3 isn't.

@Usernamesarenoteasy

No one said otherwise.

A grade 4 is a level 2 pass. That the DfE decided to call a standard pass. A grade 3 is a level 1 pass. On summary results documents from the exam board, every GCSE that is graded has the word PASS next to it.

A level 2 pass (4+) in Maths and an English GCSE is required for post 16 funding unless the student continues to study the subject.

A levels and T levels are level 3 courses.

The words grade and level can be confusing...

Check with college that they will fund the English language resit. Perhaps he could start on the T level transition course and resit GCSE English Language in November? Colleges are able to move students from the T level ‘transition’ into the T level itself , so they may do so for your son if he can secure a grade 4 in the November resits and is doing well on the transition course. Speak to the college about it.

This is my frustration, they are retrospectively applying an extra criteria, they publish other criteria for other T levels but haven't for the one he wants to do, but are now adding it in. His conditional offer didn't say it had to be English Language, it just says English.

It seems they want him to waste a year doing a Level 2 when he has met their published requirements to do the Level 3 and has met the requirements of his conditional offer.

How can they change the rules after? I'm not adverse to him resitting the Language but he should be able to do the T Level at the same time.

He's been told to go and plead his case on Monday when he starts!

Thanks. I've emailed the college to that effect. They told my son they might be able to move him, but will need to check.

This. Last summer my Foster son only got a 3 for his Maths so couldn't do the BTEC level 3 in Sports Performance and Coaching he had set his heart on. Instead they offered him BTEC Level 2 in Sports Performance and resit his Maths GCSE. This year he passed both and is now on the Level 3 course he wanted last year. I'm glad he now has the GCSE Maths grade and actually spending this year doing the level 2 course has helped him to be more organised and understand the importance of keeping up to deadlines and not slipping behind. His birthday is July so he is young in his year so I'm not sorry he did level 2 courses first.

It is just stupid though as he has strong passes across the board except this one 3 grade. Doing a year of more Level 2 is a waste of time when he a) doesn't need to and b) could do it at the same time as his T Level

It's not wasting a year or pointless to get at least a standard pass in English language. This is the bare minimum in the subject that employers will also want in the future and is all about communicating effectively and interpreting language. A grade 3 is very low attainment and doesn't sound in keeping with his ability in other subjects. It implies someone without a good understanding of the written word and below the level of functional reading and writing for an adult. It's therefore quite rightly a requirement for studying to the next academic level with the chosen college.

There seems to be an increase in colleges using “rules” like this to get kids on-roll and funded for three years rather than two. It’s totally immoral and not in the best interests of the child. There is no justifiable reason for forcing a kid with an average of Grade 5 in their best 6 and a 6 in literature down a level 2 path. Makes me really angry. 😡 What a waste of a year of a kid’s life. There was a mum on another thread with a son in a similar position. It seems to be getting more common.

He has a grade 6 in English Literature, which suggests he is a functioning reader and writer. And there isn't even a requirement any more to actually pass a level 2 qualification in English/Maths to achieve the T level. Only the funding requirement. Which he meets. Should he resit English Language - I would say yes because obviously lots of people do not see the English Literature as an equivalent. However, it would be wasting his time not to do it alongside the T level.

There’s no need for him to do a L2 Course to do English again. There is specific funding for 16-19 year olds to resit Maths and/or English alongside level three courses. Our students do this and ones like OP where the resit grade is an outlier always have the GCSE passed by November. It’s a lot less lucrative for the college than if they sign them up for a 1 year Level 2 followed by a 2 year Level 3, though.

I work in this area. A year on level 2 isn’t always a waste, for the right kids it’s great, but it is totally unnecessary for someone like the OP’s DS.

A grade 6 in English literature might mean a good memory for four studied texts and what the teacher said key bits meant, but doesn't mean a pupil can, for example, write a formal letter correctly, with precise word choices and accurate spelling and punctuation, or understand respond to an unseen academic written text independently

A grade 3 in English language suggests basic things like this haven't been grasped and aren't at a pupil's disposal as they move to higher level qualifications. But as long as a parent isn't 'adverse' to resitting if they get their own way, then apparently that's all that matters.

Thank you! This is my point entirely, he should be able to do the T Level and the resit. He has the required grades to do the T Level, it feels like a money making pointless exercise to do the Level 2 then the 3, when he clearly has the skills to do it.