Can you take A-levels with 4s or 5s at GCSE?

[HarveyLouis]

Is it possible,, or advisable, to take A-Level Geography or A-Level 3D design if you get a 4 or 5 in the relevant subject at GCSE? DD currently in year 10 and is looking at 6th form options. She is on course for 3s to 5s at GCSE and has an EHCP for dyslexia and ADHD. She may want to take a Business BTEC but not sure of other choices. Geography is her strongest GCSE subject but there don't seem to be any vocational options in Geography. We were suggesting Travel and Tourism to her as a possibility but her favourite 6th form doesn't offer it. She needs to apply to as many colleges as possible and her EHCP will be sent to them. I have no idea what happens at this stage really, do we pick a preference or does she wait until results day to make her final choice? To add, we don't think she is on course for uni, potentially an apprenticeship at 18. Getting Cs in A-levels would be an achievement for her.

I admit, I am getting quite addicted to ChatGPT but it is swayed by trying to give me the answers it thinks I want to hear when I change what I ask. It tries to please I think 🤔

Hehe, maybe stick to Mumsnet then!

Does she have any idea what she might like to do afterwards?

It is normal at this age to not have the answer but important to start asking the question. Then you can start to rule out/ in different courses.

A levels tend to lead somewhere rather than a destination of their own. So to need to ask what is the benefit of doing this course? Sometimes the answer is to gain 2 more years in education, to grown up some more and to have longer to think things through (perfectly legitimate reason).

We would take 4s and 5s. Those kids can often get Cs at A level in our place (secondary comp). 4 isn't really advised, but they can cope of they do a mix of A level and Btec and we often have kids who are resittjng maths or Eng.

Geography is often more accessible than History or Eng Lit, but a combined course or Eng lang can often yield decent grades. You can learn some of the essays for Lang.

A grade C has not been fine for A levels for many years.

We had a student start A level in MFL with a C a GCSE at the school I taught at (this was about 12 years ago) and they had to quite after about a month as it became obvious they were going to struggle too much.

4/5 is pegged at an equivalent level to a C, yes. 7 is pegged at a similar level to an old A.

@HarveyLouis as others say and you agree, I really don't think this is a good idea unless, as PPs note, there is some concrete reason for the grades 4/5 such as very poor teaching or meltdown on exam day. My DD took geog A level with an A at GCSE (last year of letters) and was predicted a B; she had a disaster on one paper and got a C.

Nothing wrong with 4s and 5s at GCSE especially if they were gained by hard work by the student. But they are a better prep for a different kind of course. Is geography a choice bc she expects a better GCSE grade or bc she enjoys it? I would hunt around for possible college courses tbh. Is she interested in management and admin? A role in public services? Construction and the built environment? Land and wildlife management? All offered at my local college.

I agree BTECs sound a better bet.
My DD1 did T&T at level 3, and DD2 ended up with a level 2 animal care.

Find your local agricultural college.
Better a slightly longer commute than the wrong course.
Will only be 4 or possibly 3 days per week.

https://www.sparsholt.ac.uk/subject/conservation-countryside-and-the-environment/?f=full-time

Maybe too far, should be something nearer.

If she is up to it, some agricultural colleges offer boarding houses.

A level 3 extended BTEC diploma i think is less complicated than 3 subjects as assignments are a bit more structured so more even workload.

The BTECs in Business we have found seem to be 1 A-Level equivalent. So, she was wondering initially about BTECs in Business, Travel & Tourism and then Geography A-Level as that seemed to fit. We will look at some FE colleges to see whether they do different level BTECs as then she may only need to chose 1 subject. Its difficult to choose a vocational course when you don't have a vocation in mind!

That's the same Business course we teach. It's divided into modules (schools can choose from a wide variety), some examined and some coursework. I think that plus a second BTEC plus the Geography A-level could work well if she can realistically meet the entry requirements for the A-level. How does she feel about fieldwork?

She loves fieldwork and project type work, the issue is slow processing speed and ability to pass exams. She enjoys school and has a love of learning but traditional style exams at the end of 2 years are not good for her. She struggles to revise large amounts but gets involved in lessons and then gets disappointed with her results.

https://www.bca.ac.uk/subjects/

This seems to be near you. They may well run a bus. Next open day 3rd October.
Suggest you look at courses and go to see it together, even if you rule it out.

Thanks, but over 2 hours on public transport each way. Looks good, wish there were more places like this.

How early in year 12 would she turn 17? Any chance she could learn to drive and increase options or you give a lift partway to a bus/train route?

Would the college bus be quicker or take just as long?

Summer birthday unfortunately and the nearest bus stop looks to be quite a distance as well.

What about looking at an apprenticeship? More practical and interesting but still get qualifications

link to RGS info here
https://www.rgs.org/choose-geography/apprenticeships

So that place Google said was 32 mins from Virginia Water, so presumably you are on the wrong side, there may be another closer? How long would driving direct take?

I'm not quite sure where you are, would Sparsholt College near Winchester be easier? (You may be on a zippy train line to there, then a bus out).

If you find a course you think is good, it would be worth really investigating whether you could make it work.

(I appreciate we are lucky, 25mins direct drive, which we were able to do for the first year as DD couldn't cope with the bus)

I don't really understand how apprenticeships work, especially at age 16. I assume you have to find an apprenticeship first but there don't seem to be any on the gov search site. Some colleges mention apprenticeships in their list of courses but then they seem to direct you to the gov search site. Maybe easier to find if you can get help from a college at age 18?

https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/apprentices/browse-apprenticeships

This is the website - put in your postcode and an area of interest. I just did a Virginia water postcode and an interest in business and found quite a few options.

I actually think an apprenticeship might be a better idea for your DD. What is she going to do post-18 if not uni? Apprenticeships IME are more likely to be post-16 than post-18.

ETA: I don't mean to imply that there are no other options after A levels apart from uni; but like I say, I have seen a lot more apprenticeships offered with GCSEs than with A levels. Obvs if you can get on to a post-18 one then great.

Thanks for the link. There are more apprenticeships showing than when we have looked previously, there must be a good time of year to check. They all want GCSE Maths and Eng grade 4 and above, one wants an A-Level grade B and they mention previous skills and experience. They don't necessarily sound like they are aimed at a just turned 16 year old who has never had a job. We will keep an eye on them.

Really appreciate all the advice and suggestions, it has given me a lot to think about.

You're best to check with tutors, but just wanted to say that some people do badly at GCSE yet much better at sixth form, because often school classes are full of people who disrupt the lesson, so kids who aren't in the top sets say they get very little teaching compared to at college. So there are people who get top grades at A-level who had loe GCSEs, not sure obviously if it applies to your school.