Feeling frustrated can anyone help?

[flixybelle]

I posted on AIBU regarding my sister but just a recap 16 year missed nearly 3 years of highschool (actually never attended at all) due to major surgery and illness. Went back to school full time in yr 10 had a very difficult time adjusting year 11 was a disaster badly bullied, bully excluded FINALLY things settled down throw in a chaotic home life.

Anyway final part of year 11 she moved in with me and my family and worked really hard yesterday she got GCSE'S 7 A-C passes but including 2 english, 2 science but not maths.
So we were delighted, went to enrol her in college she wants to study REP, Sociology, English lit and Law . Got to college were she was told that she would have to resit maths over 2 years (no problem) which means only 3 A level choices(no problem) then we got told that actually her grade profile (mostly c's) meant that she was not allowed to study actual A levels but must do Btec (which I was repeatedly told are exactly the same thing aaaah!) in either business, health and social care or IT. So not only must she take the lesser qualification she has to do it in a subject that she holds no interest in which I would worry she would end up leaving after a few months.

She had her heart set on Nottingham Uni on a 4 year programme (1 year aboard) which would be impossible with a Business Btec (as would any RG uni)
She has worked so hard and is very smart and could 100% manage the A levels but it really was a case of the computer says no. I argued for 3 hours with head of depts, Supported learning mentors and eventually the assistant principal who allowed given the exceptional circumstances to allow her to do double btec and 1 AS level.
The main issue is that none of the Btec interest her at all, the work is likely to bore her and limit her uni options plus as I understand it AS levels don't feed into A level like they use (as of this year) so actually the counter offer would leave her with no where near the points to get into any uni.
Does anyone have any idea on how to progress from here.

Are there any other 6th form options at all?

1 A level, 1 GCSE re-sit and 2 Btecs is not enough for what she wants.

Can you go back and talk to the actual principal?

I missed your AIBU thread, is it recent or was it a while ago?

So awful to see someone being actively held back.

There must be other places she can apply to? Or could she take a year to just do one-year resits in maths and any other gcse where she could improve (you generally aren't likely to thrive on the A-level with less than a B grade at GCSE) before aiming to start a-level courses starting autumn 2016?

With 3 years out of education it is amazing she managed to get any gcses at all with her age cohort but there is no shame in taking an extra year to catch up if that's what it takes to follow her ambitions. The rules are set assuming the grades achieved are the result of the full normal schedule of full time study so clearly your sister has a very good brain and will achieve a lot more if given the time.

Post on secondary education - much more traffic.

Please don't think universities don't accept BTECs - they do. What does she want to do at university? Why Nottingham? Tbh the advice seems ok - regardless of the circumstances, and she is clearly a remarkable young woman to overcome so many issues, but she'd be starting from a lower base than most other kids on the A level courses and perhaps she should consider a BTEC. If she isn't interested in those subjects can she look at what other colleges offer.

Some AS levels are still half the full A level by the way, and even where they are now split, the syllabuses are designed so the first year of A level and AS are taught together.

I actually think she should retake the GCSEs and, in fact, should not have taken them this summer bearing in mind how much teaching she has lost. Clearly making up for lost time has resulted in poor grades which are not good enough for A levels. Could she resist 5 GCSEs to get better grades and then go for A levels?

Also regarding the A levels, only English is a facilitating subject of this collection (I think) so that might need a rethink too.

I'm a big advocate for BTEC but in this case I can fully see that she needs the time to show her potential at GCSE, my sons college does a year of GCSE resits in the main subjects - maybe you can find her a place that will accept her.

My sons old school allowed a girl to resit year 11 with them again, unfunded, because they wanted her to achieve her potential and understood her difficult history.

I'd be trying for that first as she would be better to go into A levels with higher grades so she knows she has covered and not missed the work.

I have been thinking more about this, is it possible for her to resit GCSEs? Clearly she is very bright to have caught up to get 5 GCSEs with three years out of school, but unfortunately those grades aren't the best foundation for A-levels.

Call around VI forms including the private ones.

Some colleges are like that, I tried to argue the case for a Polish student with 10 GCSEs after being in the country 2 years but because she missed English she was limited. Total crap the student was very able.

If she opts for BTEC then Health and Social care may actually interest her (I teach it, I admit I'm biased) because a few of the units do look at things like sociology. There are units on sociological perspectives, health education. Not sure what REP is but there is also quite a lot on legislation, although not on the application of law.

BTW some Russel groups don't like Law A Level.

Could she plan on three years in College? So do AS levels and depending on results swap to BTEC or continue with A Levels?

Or start with the BTEC and 1 AS level but with an option to switch to A Levels after her first year?

I would also say take a year resitting the GCSEs to get a better foundation for a level. Less pressure, and she knows at the end she has the chance to go on and do the A level path meant for someone of her academic ability.

And, see if she can do her AS alongside her resits as that would be a good addition.

I don't know what REP is either! Feel very old.

If your sister has her heart set on RG university then I'm not sure those A levels are the way to go, and she will be constantly explaining and re explaining the GCSEs. It sounds to me like the best bet is to retake and get good GCSE results which she's clearly more than capable of, and then have her pick of A levels.

Got to college were she was told that she would have to resit maths over 2 years (no problem)

What are the realistic chances of an application to an RG university succeeding for someone who has not got, at the point of application, GCSE maths and whose other 7 GCSEs are mostly Cs? I would expect it to be rejected out of hand unless there were an incredibly compelling back story, as much on the grounds of "in no-one's interests to admit students who are likely to fail the first year" as anything else.

Thank you for all the replies, I have only just had a minute to log on.
She can't resit GCSE as yet we are unable to find anywhere that will let her resit anything except English and Maths (other GCSE resits are available)
I had spoken to someone who works in admission at an RG uni and they said all C's at GCSE wouldn't be an issue if she gets good A levels and made sure to mention the huge gap in her education. I hadn't thought about the fact that if she did maths over 2 years she wouldnt have the grade at the point of applying that is an excellent point!

I looked at informed choices at that said Btec were accepted in very limited circumstances. If the choice of Btec wasn't so poor I would suggest that she does them and re exaime her Uni choices she is only 16 so not set on law 100% and I am sure she would do well on one, but she feels the modules of business are boring and I am worried she would become demotivated quickly and drop out totally. I suggested 3 years with btec single and some resits then onto A/levels they said no. Which is the most frustrating because if she had failed English they would have let her resit Maths and English with a btec then go on to A/levels.

Feeling very stuck atm, she is devasted because she worked so hard. She obviously not had the best experience of the education system and I don't want her to lose all faith and just drop out.

Btw- REP = Religion, Ethics and Philosphy.

Ah, if she's keen on law as a degree subject or career then definitely ditch the a level. My understanding is that unis are very snobby about it and want to teach from blank slate. go for really traditional subjects.
Would you sister consider an apprenticeship route to law as well as looking at degrees?

Informed choices doesn't say that at all about BTECs.... Law and Sociology wouldn't be good A level choices anyway. Can you find another college that offers different subjects?

That say other GCSE resits are NOT avaliable.

That makes more sense!

Titchy this is from the FAQ section

If I choose to study a BTEC can I still go to a Russell Group university?

Some of our universities consider vocational qualifications like BTECs in certain circumstances. However, for many courses they are not considered suitable preparation. Where BTECs are accepted, it is likely that you will be required to achieve very high grades, for example three Distinctions. You may also be required to have studied the BTEC in combination with other qualifications such as A-levels.

That reads an awful lot like nope to me, but I may be wrong?

We are looking for another college but we there are only 3 one doesn't offer A levels, 1 may consider her on appeal and another wants a B in English. When I was at school 5 C's was sufficient to get onto an A level programme. Both my brother and I studied A levels and although we both had All A's and B's loads of others had just scrapped C's at went onto uni. She was working on the assumption that 5 c's was enough.

It really means don't do a BTEC of you're aiming for medicine or vet med. you need to check individual universities to see what they accept for Law. Bear in mind the HE landscape won't be the same as when IC was written and when she'd start.....

Fixy

Yep there is no funding for GCSE resits. Some schools will allow students to 'resit' the entire year but there is no longer fudning for 'consolidation courses'.

What about taking a coupe of GCSEs as a distance student?

The resitting English and maths with a BTEC is a bit of a red herring- that would be BTEC level 2, not 3 and that probably would bore her.

And, please don't think I'm obsessed, but do look at Health and Social care rather than business. There are 40 units, these are units 1-10

Unit 1: Developing Effective Communication in Health and Social Care
includes some psychology and sociology, if I'm teaching it you also learn some basic BSL

Unit 2: Equality Diversity and Rights in Health and Social Care

Lots of info about religious beliefs and some more sociology also lots of legislation - but not law, so no looking at tort law.

Unit 3: Health Safety and Security in Health and Social Care

ok this might bore her to tears, although it does have some legislation

Unit 4: Development Through the Life Stages

more sociology

Unit 5: Anatomy and Physiology for Health and Social Care

Very few students enjoy this one and again might bore her

Unit 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care

Workplace, or at least runs along side it - but you do also get lots of transferable skills

Unit 7: Sociological Perspectives for Health and Social Care

more sociology

Unit 8: Psychological Perspectives for Health and Social Care

Psychology, Milgram experiment is usually interesting for students

Unit 9: Values and Planning in Social Care

bit more legislation, bit more sociology

Unit 10: Caring for Children and Young People

May also bore her to tears, although there is usually a lot of craft stuff most students enjoy even if they complain

Funnily enough, I have just taken on a legal services apprentice who has a BTEC in Health and Social Care! She seemed to enjoy it! She did do some a levels too though and I can't think what level BTEC.

I think it is inexcusable for the school this young lady has attended NOT to offer an extra year to do the exams again. I know private schools would not have entered her anyway with this amount of time and teaching missing! She would have gone down a year and sat the exams a year behind to maximise her chances of success. I have seen this several times when a young person has been ill and missed too much teaching. Also nearly all the foreign students at my DD's school were a year behind due to language catch-up. Why on earth cannot a large business, such as a state secondary school, do the same? It sound to me like the school is getting rid of the student, due to non attendance, and is not showing any compassion at all. Are there rules that prevent a state school offering the year again?

Unfortunately, if she wants to do A levels, retaking these GCSEs is the sensible way forward. I would try and persuade the school to have her back for a year, but not to combine GCSEs and AS levels - far too much work! 5 Cs is often not enough to study A levels in lots of schools. Also, I do know of children who have been ill being allowed to study a reduced number of GCSEs (5 including English and Maths) to get the higher grades. One student I know who had to do this went to Warwick University. She missed a lot of schooiing, but the school and university were sypathetic. She went down a year at school to achieve this. I am sure someone will know what external advice and help can be offered - does the Parent Partnership help in such circumstances? What about assistance from medical staff to support her doing the year again?

MMM although there are no rules as such, the school would not receive any funding for her, and would obviously be using a significant amount of resource.

I doubt any private school would offer her a free place so the comparison isn't valid.

You can definitely resit GCSEs as a private candidate-she wouldn't be able to attend lessons (so you might be looking at a fairly hefty tutoring bill or your daughter would have to be incredibly self motivated). Most local sixth forms require 5b's to get in to a level courses with specific requirements for the individual courses. She could take a year to get the GCSEs over and done with then start a levels with a clean sheet. Would this solve anything? She'd lose a year but would hopefully end up with the magic c grade in maths and maybe she could find something productive to do (such as voluntary work) for a few days a week?

One of my friends got a d in maths. She basically did what I suggested above and got a geography degree from a great uni and is now a teacher.

I did not expect her to get a free place at an independent school and I do not think I sugested this.

I was just explaining that they take a different stance. I just wondered why - although they do get the fees for another year of course! However, I would have thought that exceptions could be made for someone who has been ill in the state sector. I made reference to the size of budgets in secondary schools - into the several £ million - so why can they not take someone back for a year who has been ill and missed schooling? The AWPU is probably only about £5000 and the subjects needed are not the full 9 or 10 so the cost will be less than this to the school. I have a suspicion that they would allow a repeat year for the "right" type of family. Were social workers invoved with her previous chaotic life? Who, exactly, is advocating for this child from a professional background? Is it normal to allow someone to fail because they have been ill in the state sector? Usually integration discussions are entered into before someone goes back to school after prolonged absence due to illness and presumably a troubled background, not after the inevitable failure to do well.