Help- how do you retake AQA Computer Science Alevel?

[Gr3yStar]

Hi
My son was predicted A at Alevel with an A at GCSE and further evidence of him being a gifted coder outside of school. Unfortunately he was very unwell during his Alevels following a life changing event . He got a B in the course work but was not in a good place during the exams and got a D. Think he literally just showed up. He is happily in a much better place now and planning his future starting with retaking his Alevels. Computer Science which he wants seems to be the tricky one to sort.He’d like to redo it in a year. How?

What is he looking to do now, op? My Ds did computer science a level and is now studying maths and computer science at uni. If he’s looking to do computer science at uni, they are usually more interested in maths than computer science a level as lots of places don’t do comp sci a level.

Oh wow thankyou that link is really helpful. What is JR and EOTAs? The thing about an EHCP is they take so long to get. My DD’s took ages!!!

Also: he sounds impressively resilient given what he’s been through - you must be very proud of him :-)

Coursework (NEA) often has a limited life span and can't be carried forward indefinitely. You will
need to speak to the exam board about it.

EHCPs can take a long time if you have to appeal. Although any appeal can be expedited if he is out of education. If you don’t have to appeal, the 20 weeks can be enforced when the LA think they can breach the statutory timescale. But, an EHCP is the route to guarantee support.

EOTAS is education otherwise than at school. JR is judicial review.

JR is judicial review
EOTAS is education other than at school

Think he has decided he wants to do economics. He has a B in maths after only 4 hours of lectures and 2 x diagnosis he now has. He’s planning on retaking that with self study which looks easier to sort. He is adamant he needs an A. He was going to do Economics Alevel from scratch online over 2 years. He got a c in psychology but doesn’t think that will be much use. It’s so unfortunate he was so ill in the Computer Science exam he just sat with his head int he table which resulted in a D. He got an A* at gcse, was ill doing the course work so did well to get a B for that.

He says foundation degree places are really limited and there want a very good access course even if he was eligible to do one.

Ok thankyou that’s useful to know.

Ok that’s really helpful.

If he found maths easy then further maths might be a good computer science replacement.

Computer science isn't particularly useful for an economics degree but depending on which kind of economics he wants to study further maths would be pretty useful, especially the stats components.

That is a really good suggestion . Thankyou.

I'm not sure about coursework being used for a second qualification, but:
https://www.swanseacollege.com/courses/a-level-computer-science-online

Just ring aqa tomorrow. In geography you can carry your coursework forward with a T code and sit at the same centre. They can only say no. Private candidate fees are about £300.

Yes will do.

Thankyou for that Swansea link below too.

Could he not do a foundation year instead of resitting? FE college is probably a better bet than sixth form as age is less of an issue but he may not be funded as he has already achieved level 3 qualifications. Would he be prepared to take a btec or equivalent in cs?

He says there aren’t actually many foundation courses , many are for PP type students or at unis he’s not sure he’d want to pay all the money for or not in the subjects he’s interested in. He was looking at that originally. It does seem nuts that’s it’s so hard for these youngsters to just retake Alevels when trying to get their lives back on track.

Agree with pp about doing another subject such as further maths.

Does he know where he wants to study economics? See what they’d recommend.

If he’s over 19 then he can opt for an Access course. Take out an Advanced learner loan and this is written off once complete degree.

The college you mention sounds shocking. There are FE colleges with good support provision. I hope you find one near you. They are using a blunt tool for something that requires a nuanced approach.

CS is unlikely to be available to private candidates.

Speaking to someone at the board is the best bet.

I don't know that is necessarily true. Many are more focussed on making up gaps due to underperformance or where a subject was not taken at A level. Perhaps speaking to the admissions tutors of course/unis he may be interested in would help steer him. Having a gap in maths study may be an issue for some.

Foundation year Economucs at Durham

https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/courses/economics-with-foundation-l101/#entry-requirements

I know its not the case for your son but I can see why people get 1 go at A levels or they could just keep going, there is a cost involved and DD got 2 free years of A level tuition so I don't really mind paying for another one. Luckily we can afford it though

CS is available as a private candidate, but most don’t sit AQA. For example, Tutors & Exams offer OCR A level computer science or Cambridge international A level computer science.

There’s a foundation year at Oxford uni in PPE though. Requires 3Bs

AQA isn't, and the OP specifically mentioned AQA in the first post.

I think offering a year 14 to resit would be a good option for some students. Especially if there’s been mitigating circumstances.