Help! DD hates A levels, are apprenticeships an option? Or what else?

[TabbyStar]

DD is in year 12 at sixth form, and although she did well at GCSEs, she isn't very "academic" and feels her A levels (social sciences / humanities) are pointless, she's struggling with essays, and getting quite distressed. She had similar issues with revision for GCSEs and I tend to agree with her that just battling through isn't good for her mental health at the moment.

She has had a customer-facing job for a year, and really enjoys it and gets on well there, so she really just wants to work, we've looked into the possibility of an apprenticeship, but there seems to have been bad press about some of them, so I'm not sure whether these would benefit her any more than just getting a job and perhaps spending some time volunteering. She does have some employment options.

We've considered going to college to do a BTEC next year, though she's not keen to drop down a year or to do more classroom based learning. Other possibility is just to do an access to HE course at some point in the future if she does need a qualification to go to uni. If she went to uni she'd do something vocational.

Anyone else been in this situation? Or have any suggestions about what we could consider? We're going to make some phone calls next week but it's a bit bewildering! TIA.

Loads of kids really struggle with the jump to A levels. They don't just give up at the first hurdle!

I did an apprenticeship, 3 years ago in a couple of days. I tried sixth form for a few weeks but ended up leaving in the October. Best thing I ever did, the only bit I regret is not saving more money! I was working on average 30 hours a week at £3.90 I think it was an hour so good money for a 16 year old.
I recommend apprenticeships to anyone who is struggling with sixth form instead of college tbh. The only issue was after the apprenticeship finished I tried going back to actual college to do a different but similar course and resented not being paid for my time anymore so left pretty quickly.

Give it a rest Trewser you have no idea what my DD's experiences have been.

thatguiltyfeeling that's good to hear - well done for making the decision. I did wonder that myself how easy it would be to make the change from working and earning money back to being a student again and having to pay out money instead!

@TabbyStar I'm going through the same with my DS at the moment, although he was doing a BTEC extended diploma rather than A-levels. He just wasn't happy, and like your DD, was missing classes. He made the decision to leave just before Christmas so now needs to decide what he wants to do. I'm of the opinion that they're very young and the worse thing you can do is put pressure on them. It's so hard for young people isn't it?

I disagree with PP that she should be made to finish her A-levels if she doesn't want to. A few of my friends have DC who have done apprenticeships, rather than the A-level/Uni route and they're all doing really well now.

Of course apprenticeships are an option, it's been a while since I looked at them with my dc but there were lots to choose from and you could search online by area.

Has she looked at banking? Barclays etc do customer services apprenticeships, hotel chains do event planning ones. I think the key is to go for one with an established organisation where she's working towards decent qualifications, rather than just being used as cheap labour.

Give it a rest Trewser you have no idea what my DD's experiences have been

Well no, because you haven't said, other than she's academic but struggled with essays which made her skip lessons and she's not enjoying it.

Every year 12 I know has struggled in the first term, some more than others. I don't know any who deliberately skip lessons though, so if she's missed a lot she's probably not going to be on track to pass her first year anyway.

If I knew 20 years ago what I now know about apprenticeship then I would DEFINITELY get one. To work, get paid AND get a qualification? Just sounds perfect.

I think they are good if you live in the right place. There are no 16+ apprenticeships within 10 miles of us.

I can't recommend apprenticeships highly enough. I went to college and did my A levels but at the age of 18 I wasn't sure what I wanted as career.

Then when I was 21 I found a level 2 Business and Administration apprenticeship which I completed whilst working for an Insurance broker, once I'd finished the qualification I stayed on there for a couple of years and took on more of an accounts type role.

That experience landed me my current job as an administrator for a mortgage broker and at 24, I'm now in the middle of completing my CeMap qualification which will allow me to work as a mortgage broker myself.

I found the whole apprenticeship experience fantastic and I really enjoyed the 1:1 learning and support that I received from my tutors (much smaller groups of students).

My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner but I don't remember being provided with any information about apprenticeships whilst in school which is such a shame.

Just as reassurance, on my university degree, over 50% got in via college (BTEC etc) courses so A Levels really aren’t what they used to be unless you’re going into a specific career i.e. medicine

Completely, your daughter mental health is definitely most important. It doesn't matter how our children get there, what matters is we support them along the way x

Just as reassurance, on my university degree, over 50% got in via college (BTEC etc) courses so A Levels really aren’t what they used to be unless you’re going into a specific career i.e. medicine

Btecs can be really great but the OPs dd doesn't want btecs

Trewser, hence why I said “etc”

I don't think the ops dd wants to return to college at all but might be wrong.

Trewser, a lot of apprenticeships are completed through colleges and that is specifically what the OP was mentioning

There is a level 3 events management apprenticeship if that is what she is interested in. I think she should apply for something along those lines .

It does not matter if she is a year behind, people of all ages do betc, some of her friends will be going to uni ect, but that should not matter as she will make new friends at college so will not feel like she is behind.
If she is able to do AS in any of them I would suggest she should this year, the she could do one year at college and get BETC equivalent to 1 A level or 1.5 A levels. That with the AS would be enough to go to uni the same year as her friends.

Thanks everyone, we're going to sit down today and look through the various options and then make some better informed phone calls next week when everything opens again, so it's still up in the air but we have a better idea of what's a possibility.

Violet good luck with your DS, hope he finds something he can enjoy. We know various people on trades type apprenticeships who are getting on well and enjoying working, and also people who've dropped out of BTECs. They're in such a strange in-between stage, not really children but not quite adults either, and at different stages of development. We perhaps assumed that apprenticeships weren't appropriate for DD because she'd get the grades for A levels and didn't really look into it, but maybe we should have done.

I think if it were my child I would encourage them to complete A levels and then do a degree apprenticeship.

I am struggling with the idea that someone can do so well at GCSE and then have no aptitude for A levels. Is she doing the right subjects - you've not mentioned that? Is a BTEC or L3 diploma alongside continuing with 2 A levels next year really not an option? That way she wouldn't have to drop down a year.