Stay at school or go to college? Help!

[Manchestertimes]

My daughter has ADHD and we have supported (totally had to revise every aspect with her listening!) throughout her GCSE. She is expected to come out with very good results.
The question is should she stay at school with all her friends but will probably get mediocre results because we can't continue paying for tutors etc or go to college and do a extended diploma BTEC.
My main concern is friends as her whole friendship group are staying at 6th form.
She is not very forthcoming about making a decision and is burying her head as always.
Any advice? Thanks

i left college as it was too much for my anxiety, so i started an apprenticeship get the qualifications without the stress of work okie up and teachers in your case

I went to college which was a different experience to school and much more laid back but I didn’t get very good results at college because I didn’t try and wasn’t really encouraged to do so. I feel like I would have done better at school.

Is this about school v college & friends or about A levels v BTEC?

It isn't feasible, I don't think, for you to hand hold her through every aspect of her A levels, including the independent work required.

This is why the Hants system is good, pupils have to make an active choice, as schools don't have 6th forms (with a couple of exceptions).

Ds (who has autism) just about scraped enough GCSE's to get into college on a Btec Extended Diploma. He is clever having previously passed the entrance examination for a selective school, but the school environment and studying subjects that were not his particular interest just didn't work for him.

At college despite a slightly shaky covid related start he has flown and is now on course to get Dstar Dstar D in his Btec.

For him it was a no brainer, he wanted to study a certain subject and he wanted to get out of the school environment. He could have gone to a college with a slightly better reputation but it was also about the environment where he would feel happiest and most comfortable. For us, we didn't care about his results as long as he was happy and engaged after some dreadful school years.

Where do you/your daughter think she will thrive both academically AND emotionally?

To be honest I think the college Btec course would be best. However, the problem is friendships. She is very happy in the school at the moment but I don't think A levels will work for her. She is worried she will lose all her friends and end up alone as nobody from current school is going to college.

@Manchestertimes why do you think the BTEC is better? Does she struggle to remember things for exams? I ask as my year 11 ds has ADHD and is probably going for one single BTEC and two A Levels. He managed to revise independently but he’s not good at organising or planning. I’m not sure how he’ll cope with the coursework element of the BTEC. As long as he’s got an online programme to work through, he can cope with revision, because the programme does all the organising for him (mainly Seneca in his case).

One of the things that put my ds off from doing an extended BTEC was that he’d be with the same kids all week. But he’s moving anyway and wants to make lots of new friends. A set group all week could make it easier for your dd to make friends?

She does well in exams but only because we sit next to her and revise with her. The exam season has been really hard and lots of arguments so cant keep going like that. This is the reason I thought a btec would be better as I think it's time she took control of things herself. Also being with the same kids might make it easier to make new friends. If she does A Levels she can stay at her current school but grades won't be great as we are backing off now.

Has she tried any of the apps, like Seneca? It acts as a structure for the student, so it could take your place? We used a financial reward to get ds started with revision - paid by the hour! I’ve said I won’t be doing it at sixth form, so he’ll have to find his own motivation. Most of the BTECs still have some exams but they’ll not all be at the end I suppose.

College defiantly. It would be good for her and pull her out of her comfort zone.

Also who wants to stay at school anyway ?

Sixth form college teacher here. From what you're saying, your method of working with her doesn't sound sustainable at A level. If your daughter is coping with GCSEs with tutors and you structuring / supporting her revision, then it doesn't sound like it will work at A level, without her becoming significantly more independent.

The benefit of the BTEC is that the work is ongoing, rather than the final exams. Yes, it will mean making new friends at college, but unless your daughter struggles with making friends, then she is likely to make new friends fairly quickly. It might be tricky until Christmas. I find most students have settled by then.

Good luck with whatever you decide

A 6th form teacher advocating college ? now i have seen everything

Seramu, I totally agree with you. Thanks for your advice. Unfortunately, she went to the college taster day and didn't know anyone and loads of kids were in groups as they went to school together so she has decided to stay on at sixth form. If it all goes wrong she can go to college next year and do the btec.

What’s odd about a 6th form teacher recognising that A Levels aren’t the best type of qualification for every student? Do you want them to pretend they are?

I guess it`s my past experience that teachers in school/6th form were always indifferent to college and tended to turn their nose up to it.

@thistimeiknowitsforreal

"I guess it`s my past experience that teachers in school/6th form were always indifferent to college and tended to turn their nose up to it."

But I work in a sixth form college. Not one that teaches BTECs, though, Here, you'd have to go to the FE college for that. But I do teach A levels. In fact that's all I teach! My advice is based on seeing lots of students who scrape their GCSEs then really struggle with A level. It is a massive step up for many. So if they need support with GCSEs, there's a strong possibility they'll struggle with A levels.

However, lots of colleges let you swap up to 6 weeks in. So if the OPs child starts A levels, and finds out it's not right for them, chances are they'll be able swap after a few weeks if it's not working out.

Why do you feel the jump from GCSE to A level is so big and why the perceived jump from GCSE to btec/gnvq isn't as big ?

Btec is often assessing a different set of skills. It is more practical and the academic content is continually assessed, often via coursework.

The impression I have (based on historical A level knowledge and looking at BTECs for DD1 and DD2) is that with A levels (maybe especially sciences?) it is possible to just not 'get' what is needed or to be able to learn the info and process it, whereas with BTECs someone who works steadily can still get merits on sheer effort, even if they can't do the higher order thinking required for Distinctions. Plus, BTECs enable students to show knowledge in different ways compared with A levels. I could be wrong, it seems very hard to really find out what any BTEC course will be like.

btec sounds perfect for her! She will probably be with the same medium sized group of young people through out the 2 year Btec and will be meeting people with similar interests. I’d frame it as extending her friendship group rather then loosing friends. Help her to utilise social media to arrange weekly get togethers with her existing friends. Two or three meet ups each week will ease the transition.

Also the likelihood is one of her friends will switch to the BTEC course at the start of mid course. There’s always a fair amount of movement

btec will be much more manageable, assessment spread over the two years and no stressful exam to sit at the end, with everything resting on a few hours of performance