DS not great GCSEs - adamant about 6th form

[Whatnextthen2]

DS got his GCSE results last week, and he tried really hard, but only scraped into 6th form (and needs to resit English)

He got: one 5, three 4s, three 3s and a btec pass.

His 3s include one science (he did double and one passed) and English literature and History.

School have said he can still go to 6th form on the basis that:

1. he has to choose different subjects (he doesn’t meet entry requirements for some he chose) and they think he’ll struggle) they’ve recommended he continues with the btec but he doesn’t want to as he hated the heavy coursework part at GCSE and struggled
2. he resits English literature

I honestly think he shouldn’t do 6th form with these results, and should do something more vocational at college/apprenticeship instead but he is adamant (he doesn’t like change and doesn’t want to have to get the bus to college either).

Has anyone’s DCs done 6th form under similar circumstances and it worked out well? The barely meeting required grades and then the fact he can’t even do subjects he’s wants is causing a lot of worry!

thanks

Those grades do not look high enough to cope with A levels if that is what 6th form are offering unless extenuating issues when he sat the exams. Based on supporting my DD through AL and watching her friends drop out those that had G5 or below could not keep up with the pace or level of AL work. A vocational course or lower level btec would be more suited whilst he re-builds study skills maybe? They do get 3years of post16 funding at college so time to build up skills & maturity.

@Septleavescoming that’s my thoughts. And the school have waived the requirements on 2 of them where higher English grades are recommended. He’s chosen 2 A Levels and 1 level 3 BTEC, and he only officially meets the requirements for one of those! And the school have said ok (he swapped one A Level for another and so the school have agreed). All 3 are new subjects.

No special circumstances- he really did try his best.

Which subjects is he wanting to do?

I think he will end up being asked to leave or you’ll be hoping that he comes to the realisation that Sixth Form isn’t right for him and repeat year 12 next year.

His best odds of success are BTECs as they are aimed at students who got grades 4-6 at GCSE unlike A-levels which are aimed at people who got 6-9. Sympathy on the stubbornness of teens.

Ex secondary teacher.

the grades aren’t great.

but I do know students who have gone on to do a
levels with similar results and have done ok, and gone on to uni.

what I would advise is that it may be backing off time.

he thinks he can do this. Sixth form are prepared to
let him try.

there’s three years of level 3 funding so if it goes badly and sixth form ask him to leave he can go and do a different course (byec or vocational or whatever elsewhere).

personally I’d let him try. Then at least if he fails it’s on him and if he does well then great.

A levels are really hard so I don’t think he’ll manage if he actually worked hard and only got those results at GCSE. He would be much better doing something else.

If he does go ahead I imagine he’d be dropping out pretty quickly, particularly if it’s not his favourite subjects and he is having to retake a GCSE at the same time.

DD did very well at GCSE level but has said how much harder A levels are, and there is so much out of class learning to do.

I think you’re right about backing off - it’s just so tough when I don’t want his confidence to be knocked anymore.

Do schools ask students to leave if they think they’re finding it too hard?

He wanted to do Law, Criminology and Psychology - Psychology was a hard no as need 6s minimum. They’ve allowed (after trying to persuade him not to) him to do Business, Law & Criminology

you or the school know your son best.

if you/they think that those results are his absolute best then the reality is most alevels will be out of his reach, certainly the more academic ones

But if you or the school think that he is a late bloomer or more suited to alevels (less memory more understanding I think) then he might be fine

the fact that the school are allowing it is either because they are stupid/need money or because they genuinely think he can do it

alevels are a MASSIVE step up from gcse - it’s a whole different game

you may just be kicking the can down the road, and making it worse, for a horrible conversation

@CornedBeef451 yes my niece did very well at GCSE all 7s/8s and found A Levels difficult and nearly quit a few times! She did finish but not with grades as good as her GCSEs - I can’t remember exactly but I think she ended up with A, C & D at A level. Enough for her uni course but my sister said niece was shocked that GCSE grades didn’t translate to her A Level grades.

These results are similar to what DD1 got years ago. She was insistent on 6th form and A levels, promising all sorts to do well. She flunked her first year so I made the decision that she couldn’t stay on, sorted out a BTech at the local college, she passed with distinction, went to Uni and is now, at 40, a Director earning over £100k pa.
She really didn’t want to leave school 6th form as all her friends were there, but basically I gave her no choice. Sometimes parents have to be quite forceful with the decisions their DCs want to make. We do generally know what’s best for them!

@arethereanyleftatall i don’t think the school are being hard enough, they’re gently trying to persuade him it’ll be too hard but letting him do it anyway. He’s not listening to me at all and I don’t think he fully understands it’ll be different to GCSEs. He’s quite sensitive and lacking confidence so he wants to go to 6th form because it’s less of a change and his friends are all going, not because he cares about a levels.

@Soontobe60 thanks for sharing. Yes this is what I see happening with DS. I don’t know at what point the school say - right this isn’t working - as I think that’s the only time he will actually leave and look at other options.

so pleased it worked out for your DD in the end.

in our sixth form there were always some students who struggled. Sometimes they had chosen too many a levels and dropped one, sometimes they switched (we allowed switches up to October half term).

we wouldn’t ask anyone to leave for academic reasons in the first or second terms. We’d do mocks at the end of year 12 and there would be a minimum grade needed to progress to year 13 or you could either do year 12 again (same a levels or changing one or two) or move to
BTECs.

every year out of a sixth form of 200 total there would be four or five redoing year 12.

I agree with you, op.
With those grades he will struggle at A Ievel

@Octavia64 that’s helpful to know, thank you. Did the ones who redid y12 see better results the following year?

I’ve also asked his dad to talk to him (we are separated) but he’s just said he needs to learn for himself. So it looks like I’m the only one being ‘mean’ and telling him not to go, which doesn’t help.

I found A levels really boring and did one year, failed the end of year exams and switched to college Btec Higher diploma. Which i then did really well in as it was fun and interesting, got a distinction and from there went to university.
So I do think he might have to actually learn for himself if the A levels he has chosen are right for him. Maybe they will be, maybe not, but nothing ventured nothing gained and if it doesnt work out he can switch to college next year. I thought of that a level year almost as a gap year as I started to become more dissinterested and skip classes. The college course I enrolled in on the following year I hadnt even thought of as a subject when I left school and it took me the year to figure out what I wanted to do.
All this to say, all is not lost if he starts a levels and then decides they arent for him.

Yes I was going to say similar. It is better that he comes to the decision either that A Levels are too hard for him and then he can move to a vocational course at college (he is funded until 19). He will only resent you if you say he cant do it and get him to do something he doesn't want to do. You never know, he might try really hard and get decent results, or he may mature over the 2 years and suddenly ;get' it. He has a lot of years ahead of him. If he wastes one of them at least he's had the opportunity.

A levels are hard! I don’t think the school is doing him any favours by bending the rules to let him onto the A level courses. A grade 3 isn’t even a pass at GCSE level. It’s a shame they haven’t told him no. I’d be inclined to ask them to tell him no, so he has to look at an alternative, which will be better in the long run.

Does he have a longer term goal - such as university or joining the police (I've chosen that based on his subject choices)?

I would let him try for a year and see how he fairs, sit down now and have him set goals along the way. For example, checking in with you every six months, what he'll do a year from now if it isn't going well. Having ideas and plans will help him if it does go wrong and it's easier to make them while his confidence is high than if he's feeling a failure.

Good luck to him.

My DS is doing criminology. The good thing is that they are assessed separately for the 4 modules, so he can do the first year and then at least if he decides its too difficult at least he can 'cash in' 2 modules and get half an A Level equivalent. Or he can resit modules. There is also a large 'law ' uelement so the criminal law nit will be stuff he covers in the Law A Level as well.

He has no idea what he wants to do.

Would like to look at forensics, crime, post mortem type stuff but has said doesn’t want to join the police and he’s not strong enough in maths and science to do the more medical/scientific route to it.

My son got slightly better results and he would not have been allowed to do A levels. He got one 8, 5 in Maths & English Lit, 4 in English Lang and Computer Science and then 2;s and 3's in the rest.

He did a Btec in the subject he got an 8 in and is now at university studying that subject. Unless there were extenuating circumstances I would advise against A levels for your son.

If he's set on sixth form, I'd leave him to try it. You've tried to guide him towards a more realistic path and he doesn't want to hear it- right now.
He gets 3 years of funding, so can have a rethink if year 12 at sixth form doesn't work out.