Enforced gap year due to ill health - success stories

[sunburntfizz]

As the title says I would love to hear some success stories where DC have had to take a gap year due to ill health/things not going as planned during 6th form.

DD has been ill and missed a lot of school this year. Is likely to not do very well with predicted grades and has a better chance with applying after final exams. This was however never the plan and feels a bit scary. Also don't know how to deal with other students/parents/acquaintances asking why the sudden decision for gap year. Also doesn't help that she doesn't know what she wants to do as has been too sick to progress that.

Really need to hear the success stories for when the inner doubts surface.

You really don’t need to worry about what other people think. If you do feel the need to explain saying DD has been unwell should help them understand.
Hope your DD feels better soon.

Have pm’d.

Thank you for all the private messages with your experiences. Am so grateful to read all these.

My DS has had a this year at home as he didn’t do as well in his A levels as he’d hoped. Mind you last year he really didn’t know what he wanted to do, so he hadn’t made a university application.
He’s been self studying at home and sees a tutor 2 times a week, he has also just completed some Easter revision courses.
Positives have been, his tutor has really inspired him, his tutor is working in the field my son is interested in and tutors in the evening/weekend, he’s managed to get DS work experience placements and has made him much more aspirational.
We’ve had lots of time to go to visit unis, go to offer days etc. It’s been a lovely bonding experience for us both.
DS has been quite bored and is now much keener to go to university and get away from home.
The downsides are I don’t really know how he is doing, if he is working hard enough or using methods that work, we get some feedback from his tutor but it’s not like the feedback we got from school, but we just have to believe in him, I know he will go to university as his current grades aren’t far off what he needs for his insurance.
DS is quite young and I don’t think being a year behind will be an issue to him at all.
He’s got plans to do some travelling in Europe once he’s finished his exams, so he will get to do a few things apart from study.
I realise that it’s very different from being ill, but I think once you get out of the school system, the pressure is less intense.

DS had a lot of his first term of 6th form off, recovering from surgery. When he did apply to universities he discovered that most had extenuating circumstance forms to detail what had happened. You may find speaking to admissions at the universities she is interested in may give you a more optimistic view of her chances of getting in.
Admissions have been very helpful in my experience.
In the end DS didn't have a gap year, DD did as she was rejected by the university she wanted. She turned all other offers down.
This year she has worked, visited friends and attended a part time course for her subject. Her friends understand the gap year and we're not concerned about nosey neighbours!
I hope she's recovering well, good luck.