Something between A levels and vocational qualification

[MerryMarigold]

Ds1 is on track for 6s, possibly some 7s in his GCSEs, possibly some 5s if he doesn't get his finger out a bit. Anyway, he wants to do Maths, Physics and Product Design at A level. The minimum entry for Maths anywhere round here (possible everywhere!) is a 7 and I'm not convinced he's going to get this (or that he will enjoy Maths and Physics A level as they seem to be the bane of his life). He wants to work in the automotive industry.

The next step down seems to be courses to be a car mechanic which require a 3 in Maths and English and nothing else. This seems to be a huge jump! Does anyone know of anything which could be good, a step towards engineering or product design? I can't find any relevant T levels.

Or should he rethink his A levels to do subjects he could get into eg. Product Design, Spanish and History, where he's more likely to get the grades required. This wouldn't be a 'career path' as such but just a way to do A levels and have more time to think 'what next'.

There's two engineering based T levels starting in 2022, and one is design related I'm sure.

This one

You can do BTEC Level 3 engineering or art & design extended diplomas which are equivalent to 3 a levels but more practical

Used to work at an FE college where these were offered and lots of students then went on to university or into industry.

@TheFallenMadonna

This one

This looks great but unfortunately nearest place to offer it is 2 hours on public transport.

Thanks mads, that's great. Do you have to do level 1 and 2 before 3? It looked like it in one of the colleges I was looking at. It's not that local but probably an hour journey with walking and train.

Mads, can you do more than 1 course at college eg. If he wanted to the art and the engineering.

DD in y13 doing A Level maths. She had to ask special permission to be allowed to do it because she only got a 6 at GCSE.

She is predicated an A at A level

@MerryMarigold

Mads, can you do more than 1 course at college eg. If he wanted to the art and the engineering.

No - they're equivalent to 3 A levels so are classed as full time courses. GCSE's are level 1/2 so as long as he gets 5 passes that should meet the entry reqs - best to check with the college as they can require certain results in particular subjects

@dizzydizzydizzy

DD in y13 doing A Level maths. She had to ask special permission to be allowed to do it because she only got a 6 at GCSE.

She is predicated an A at A level

That's amazing! And very encouraging.

Can you clarify:
A. Was the 6 a surprise or due to extenuating circumstances? Ie. She's always been top set and done very well but had Covid or couldn't handle online lessons etc. My son is set 3 of 6 but did really struggle with online lessons. He does get extra time in exams due to slow processing and dyspraxia. Did she find Maths GCSE work difficult?

B. Did she stay on at the same school and how competitive is it? Unfortunately DS school is very competitive at 6th form. My other DC school also require a 7 but it's not competitive and they are crying out for students so I think they'd give a special dispensation to one of their own students, but possibly not an outside student. Unfortunately my other DC school don't do Design Tech A level otherwise I would encourage him to apply there and see if he could get in with a 6 in Maths.

I would not recommend maths A Level for anyone who can’t comfortably get a 7. It’s a tough A Level, it constantly builds on knowledge so you need to start from an excellent point in order to achieve a good grade and also to not have a miserable two years.

A BTEC sounds like it would be a great option for your son. There are BTECs worth equivalent to 1 A Level (so you could take three of these, or a mix of BTEC and A Level) and BTECs worth equivalent to 3 A-Levels (so you’d just do that qualification).

Get in touch with your local FE college and see what’s on offer. Does your son know what he’d like to do within the sector?

Someone in ds2's maths A-level class got a 6 at GCSE and really struggled. Like, getting zero in a test in term one. Not sure what grade she gained in the end but DS2 got 8 at GCSE (2019 so exams) and was awarded a B this year. With a lot of work his teachers last Oct said he could get an A.

So I would be wary of taking maths A level with a 6.

You mention Spanish OP - MFL is my subject and I wouldn't want someone to take A level who score a 6 in this either. Unless it was a surprise and caused by (for example) them forgetting to do an essay in the writing paper or losing the plot in the listening. A level MFL needs and assume good grasp of grammar and tenses from the off, and someone who has that will most likely gain a 7 or above in GCSE.

Tbf you don't say what grade he might get at GSCE Spanish so if it's a confident 7 please ignore the above.

Thanks, that's helpful. Seems like grade boundaries have really changed since I did it. I thought a 6 was a B and a 7 was an A. I do, however, believe if you love something or you are motivated, you can do it. I got a B for History A level and a first class degree from Warwick in history (bit in those days my offers from top uni's were BBB or ABB so maybe all the grades are of less value since the 90s).

Spanish....hmmm I think he could get a 7 with lots of work. I haven't been too impressed with the teaching at his school. Seems to 99% focus on vocab and very little on tenses eg. Loads of vocab tests, hardly any tenses tests (therefore little revision on tenses..Ds does need a test to revise!).

I know of two boys with similar GCSE grades, both with similar interests/aspirations to your son. One just scraped a 7 at GCSE so he was able to stay at school to do Maths, Physics and Product Design. The other got a 6 in Maths so he went to college to do an extended BTEC in something like engineering.

The first boy found sixth form very difficult (apart from Product Design), he eventually gave up Physics and scraped an E in Maths, but got an A I think in the Product Design. He found he wasn’t able to get an apprenticeship as they ask for at least 3 Cs. The other boy did well and landed a really good apprenticeship.

My ds is on course for exactly the same sort of grades, with doubts over whether he'll pass his English at all. He has ADHD too. We’re looking at sixth forms now but we think he’ll end up doing maybe 1 or 2 single BTECs, as they’re more practical/real life focused and maybe one A Level, but not one of the traditional ‘academic’ subjects.

@MerryMarigold, you are right, a 6 is roughly a B and a 7 an A. A 6 is a great grade for sure, but A level MFL builds on GCSE knowledge in a way that not all A levels do. If a student were genuinely working at their best level and gained a 6, I think A level would be a struggle.

Re your grades - remember that there was no A* then (was there?). My 80s offer for MFL at Bristol was BB.

No, there was no A*. I got a B for French but a Merit at S level which was weird. I needed tutoring to get my B for History.

@crazycrofter, that's so interesting to hear. I really believe that is the best way for Ds, but he's fixed on A levels. He has a lot of ASD traits which include being very fixed and also extremely fearful of anything new (hence unwilling to go to college). I almost hope he gets a 6 in Maths so he can't do A level as I'm worried he's going to hate it asking with physics even if he enjoys the product design bit.