Options after GCSEs if no passes

[SherlockJones]

DS is 14 and is dyslexic and has trouble with focus and processing information. He enjoys school and gets extra support, he has an EHCP and is in mainstream school. At this stage I am not sure if he will pass any GCSEs as he just doesn't have the brain for remembering facts and applying his knowledge.

What happens if he gets 3s or below in all his GCSEs? We have a technical college near us that offers vocational courses and apprenticeships. I wouldn't know where to start though.

You can do a BTEC level 1 course without any grade 4 GCSEs. It's a 1 year course.

My DD who has dyslexia and ADHD has just completed her level 1 in her chosen course and resat maths and English. She will move on to a level 2 in the same subject in September.

She's at a technical college. Find out if your local technical college offers level 1s. Most have course information on their websites and will be doing open days/evenings in September/October.

As above you can do a Level 1 course or maybe even a Level 2 if you get a bunch of 3s.

With an EHCP you have time.

My DD has done animal care, something she was clearly going to do at dome level or other since tiny.
She has done
Level 1 work based (portfolio photos and descriptions)
Level 1 theory based (assignments with pass, merit, distinction criteria)
Level 2 work based (assignments you can do over until passed)
And is hopefully going to do a Supported Internship.
Along the way we did English Functional Skills independently, and waiting on GCSE maths result (again).

In your position I would look through the courses at your local vocational colleges (and any agricultural ones within reach) and see what there is.
Go along to open days in the autumn / spring with your DS to see if anything takes his interest.

I don't have anything to add on college courses but I have 2 sons who have no GCSEs. Both have great jobs, 1 has a trade the other in IT and, while definitely not ideal, it hasn't held them back!

Thanks for the replies. Its good to know there are options. DS is bright and hopefully if he finds something he is good at he will enjoy it and do well. Its a shame the only pathway at his school is GCSEs as it feels like we are setting him to fail. Its like he needs to fail first and then find an alternative route, it would be better if he could go down a different path in year 10 already but sadly that doesn't seem to be an option.

Are there any UTCs within reach? Their quality was patchy but could be an idea maybe?

All the colleges offering vocational courses are structured to allow people to retake GCSEs in parallel with studying their new qualifications.

If GCSE maths and English prove beyond him there are easier "functional skills" versions that show basic numeracy and literacy

What is a UTC?

There are a few further education colleges in the area. Their websites are not that great though. I think we will have to go to some open days for a better idea of what they offer.

Some schools offer vocational qualifications and/or Functional Skills form entry level upwards, which can be continued at college, as an alternative pathway. Also look up Supported Learning programmes which are available from year 12 offering activities such as lifeskills, floristry, cooking, drama, art and crafts with embedded learning. There will be specific criteria to qualify for a place related to learning or physical disabilities and EHCP.

UTC = university technical college. Age 14+. Offers are more practical approach, (possibly engineering led?)

Colleges generally only resit English and Maths. Functional skills at level 1, then often only GCSE (due to gov rules and funding restrictions). Ridiculous as FS level 2 English is far more accessible than the GCSE.

If he is not going to get GCSE passes is there any point in taking them?

You can do a level 1 course with no other qualifications and if you have grade 3 you can do a level 2 qualification (GCSE equivalent). Usually grade 1 qualifications take a year, and level 2 takes 2 years.

AND you don't need to be 16 to attend college, you can go at 14.

My DD learned quite a lot in y10 (she then missed all y11) so I don't consider the time wasted despite not passing any GCSEs.

Locally to us the college offer a handful over level 1 and entry level courses where you need no GCSEs or got low grades to get on them . The subjects are limited e.g. hair and beauty, travel etc.They are a year long with the expectation of re taking maths and English alongside it. If you got a grade 3 you re take the the GCSE anything lower a functional skills course is offered. Then after that year you can move on to level 2 etc so long as you have passed everything. You won't be able to start a level 3 and some level 2 courses straight away as there is usually no timetable space for the retakes. My son is at UTC there is a lots of coursework and work experience needed and again technical exams that all need passes. If you don't have the grades you do not get in or on the courses as you would not cope with the maths content

Its difficult to predict the future and at the moment he is happy at school. I just think he would do better with a more modular way of learning rather than having to recall 2 or 3 years of factsall at once for an exam on one day.

Just remembered local college also have some courses especially for young people with ehcps and if you have ASD these are not advertised on website , they are smaller classes etc so may be worth a phone call to see what else is available

My DD has slow processing - really struggles to retain information.

We also thought she would be unlikely to pass any GCSEs.

At start of Y9 we moved her to a new school and they assessed her and set her up with the dyslexia gold app to get her reading level up and gave her extra one to one support in English and maths. They also applied for extra time in exams and a separate small exam room. They offered reading pen but she declined it.

In the 6 months leading up to GCSE time they allowed her to focus purely on the subjects they thought she had a chance to pass ( so she would be pulled out of science or history classes to do additional maths and English study.

They also got her to do functional skills maths as a back up.

She ended up with a level 4 GCSE maths plus a functional skills pass , level 5 English and level 5 in food tech , 4 in music and GCSE equivalent in child dev.

She is now doing a level 3 extended diploma at college. It is all course work and no exams.

So there is still time to turn things around at age 14 but it's also good to have alternative paths like level 2 courses where the focus is on course work and not exams.

Good luck with it all. You realise after GCSE that they are not as important as you think as there are other paths available.

That's very positive, great to hear and well done to your DD x

@SherlockJones thank you. I should also mention that unlike your DS my DD could never ever be described as bright , has a chronic illness, lost two years to covid lockdowns and had mental health issues that meant she did barely any homework for a year. We are amazed that her school managed to turned all of that around in a couple of years.

If you think DS needs a different approach now, have you looked at other options for now?

If DS is happy at school at the moment, that counts for a lot. What about a more bespoke arrangement, but remaining at the current school, e.g. DS might attend an alternative provision some of the time and the current school some of the time?

Or if you want to consider other placements, some mainstream schools run alternative pathways for KS4. Some mainstream colleges run programmes for 14-16 (some open to all, some specifically for DC with SEN and some specifically for those with EHCPs). Then there are special/specialist placements.

I would minimise the number of GCSEs that he takes in order to free up time and get a tutor for Maths and English to get the best possible grade for them and avoid redoing them.

My daughter has just finished a I year level 2 art and design course, she got in on interview, she took no gcses due to being out of school. Next year she's doing the level 3 2 year course. Worth looking at level 2s aswell as level 1s. We have a dedicated art college and she's good at it so lucky I suppose. Lots of her class had no qualifications so she wasn't unique

Do any schools in your area offer btecs at GCSE equivalent level? My son is doing one for music. I don’t know if they do btecs for maths and English at the GCSE equivalent level. There are good options out there now and btecs are great for academic kids that can’t show their knowledge and skill in a traditional exam structured approach.

Look at colleges in the area. So post 16 you work at levels roughly level 1 is the equivalent to a low grade GCSE - so someone who might get a 1-3, level 2 is a 4, so a pass, higher levels are higher. So you'll find many colleges have technical courses which run lower than GCSE passes. These can be in Maths and English, but also in other subjects like IT, Animal Care, Childcare, aspects of building trades, and many others. You need to look at what colleges run courses in areas your daughter might be interested in, and what the pre-requisites for these courses are.

There are no maths and English BTECs.
There are Functional Skills for both of these at level 1 and level 2 (level 2 is GCSE level).

You don't maths and English gcse/fs alongside a full-time college course in something else.