Only 1 A Level - Music

[BrightBlueCast]

DS desperately wants to apply to college / conservatoire to study music. He's so far only doing 1 A level and that's in Music. Distance-learning. Equivalent of lower sixth so he'll take the exams next year. The idea was to do another A level via home-ed but nothing appeals. It looks very much like 2 A levels are a minimum for all the places he's looking at but I'm just wondering if there's any way at all of getting around that requirement. He's had a lot of bad luck and some bad things happen and he just wants to move on with the next chapter of his life - the thought of having to do another A level (he isn't interested in anything apart from Music) is getting him down.

Other (slightly daft) question is what would be the best A level to do, in addition to Music, which he could half-arse in a year and get an E. He's very bright and always did very well at school until he had a bit of a breakdown 18 months ago. GCSE results are very solid. But fundamentally doesn't like academic study.

could you maybe contact a conservatoire and have a chat?

What about some other art based subject - drama for instance. Or Music Technology (though I think that's quite difficult)

I think you need to contact the institutions directly. Or use a private university advisor - you can find them on Google.

Is there a music theory a level that he do alongside it? At least it will be something he enjoys and appropriate for his application.
Definitely ring where he's applying to and go online to see their requirements. Things are so up in the air in education they may be more flexible.

Film studies is meant to be easy. It depends what he's into. Is he quite arty? Photography ? Drama?

How about going to college this September and doing btec music performance or music technology/production extended diplomas they are 2 years and usually done instead of a levels, they are worth 3 A levels in UCAS points. He could carry on doing the distance learning music a level if he wanted?

When I went to a music conservatoire they had their own application system - not through UCAS. Is it a performance based course he's interested in playing an instrument? They might overlook the lack of qualifications in favour of raw talent. Best have a chat with admissions.

what would be the best A level to do, in addition to Music, which he could half-arse in a year and get an E.

Is he good at/does he enjoy maths? I know it has the reputation of being difficult, with the jump from GCSE to A Level, but musicians often have a facility with maths.

A friend's DD went to a conservatoire and I think she had to get two A-levels. It would be worth approaching individual institutions to see if this is a rigid requirement.
As for the second A-level, there would definitely be some subjects that would be do-able in a year. I know a girl who has done Art A-level in a year having switched at a late stage. But it's hard work. I suppose it just depends on what he is interested in.

What Grade is he expected to get?

Leeds Conservatoire offer an integrated Foundation Year with entry requirements of 64 UCAS points but that would still leave him some short. Does he have any ABRSM grades at Grade 6 or above as they will include those?

Trinity offer a Foundation Certificate but you can't get student finance for it.

@BrightBlueCast A level Music Tec can be done in a year. You and your son could look it now, and he could start it now, with the view of sitting the exam next year.

He could also do an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), which is worth half an A level. The Gant Chart / the process is just as important as the essay and artefact.

Thanks everyone for your help. I was hesitating posting as thought I could get my arse kicked out of town for being presumptuous that my son can actually get where he wants to go without the qualifications. I've done a fair bit of research myself (as has he) but it still seems to come down to needing 2 A levels minimum (and 3 for University, which completely rules that out). To respond:

• He's already got one Grade 8 Distinction in the bag for his first study. He could probably do another Grade 7 or 8 in a second study, which he might find the motivation for.
• There are no appropriate colleges nearby (and he's not willing to travel). So that rules out any BTech. A local comp does BTech but he refuses to go back to school.
• I think he's still too young to do the access to higher education diploma (although he's 18 in October, so maybe ...) and also the content looked like nothing he'd be interested in
• He could perhaps do Grade 6, 7 or 8 Music theory.
• I do wonder if all music qualifications will rule him out though, as generally the idea is he should show he has a basic standard of education which encompasses more than just A level. ie he could cobble together a load of UCAS points but they'd all be music exams!
• If he were to do another A level, he'd need to do it with a tutor or online or both (he won't go to college). He has a passing interest in politics but hates writing essays, so that rules that out. Ditto with English. Or anything arty like Film Studies or Drama - there's still a lot of writing.
• He's thought about Psychology but hasn't done any before so to go straight into A level would be hard. He might think it's interesting (based on his own experiences of mental illness) but there's a lot more to it than that.
• He's ok at Maths (middle of set 1 in Grammar school, so good but not the best). Got an 8 at GCSE. Doesn't really enjoy it and it doesn't necessarily come to him easily but he wouldn't have to write essays. And it's probably a subject you 'do' rather than a subject you revise for.
• Thought briefly about A level Economics as the maths content would be ok, and the essays required are, I understand, quite formulaic and short. But, again, a lot of content, and he's not really interested.

@Comefromaway he's currently predicted a C in his A level Music but this is based on him having done less than the minimum. He could get an A quite easily if he put his mind to it. But he says he's aiming for an E as that's all he needs (FGS...). He wouldn't want to go to Trinity as we live in London and he wants to get away. He's interested in Leeds but it looks like their offers are really high. He's planning to apply (if it's even worth it) to: Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester.

I will indeed contact these places and try to see what other routes are possible.

@Soma the EPQ sounds interesting - hadn't thought of that. Can they be done independently? A level music tech is an idea, but I'm wondering how we'd sort it out logistically as I imagine there's a lot of assessment. Only worry, again, is that it's still all music.

He's a talented lad. But he's ASD, has had a mental breakdown, still very low, dropped out of school, useless CAMHS support. Desperately wants to move on with his life though. I'm pretty confident he would manage ok at college. But after 2 years sitting in his room, he's lost his motivation for anything that looks like school!

@BrightBlueCast I wrote a long reply and managed to lose it.
If your DS is doing his A level music as an external candidate somewhere, they may be able to help with with Tech. Trinity Laban has a distance learning A level and a BA in popular music, so maybe able to advise.

He could consider the following, if somewhat left field ideas:
bigcreative.education/music-performance/ - their courses attract UCAS point.
Point Blank have a 9 months diploma course, not sure if it attracts UCAS points. www.pointblankmusicschool.com/courses/london/music-production-courses/
www.icmp.ac.uk/course/cert-he-music-production-film-tv-and-games

@Soma - thank you I'll look at those. Son is actually doing the Trinity Laban distance learning A level (right now, in fact, - I've just chased him to his desk). It's very good but he's not very engaged. I could ask them for ideas but as he's not a good student right now, I've been keeping a low profile. I am actually overdue a conversation with them so this is timely.

We're all for left of field ideas - thank you!!

I looked up EPQs but it seems hard/impossible for home ed. Again, Trinity Laban could step in here but, again, they might not want to given his track record.

He might well perk up a bit if he could see a way forward which involved more music study and nothing else. It's having to study something else which is such a barrier at the moment.

My son's offer at Leeds Conservatoire is 64 UCAS points (that's the course with Foundation year which is aimed at those without the academic qualifications for their full degree OR those who have not quite reached the practical standard.

Their standard offer is 96 points.

If he could get an A in A level music that would give him 48 UCAS points whereas an E would only give him 16 so he needs to get a kick up the backside if this is what he wants to do.

His Grade 8 practical will give him 30 UCAS points so he could possibly be accepted with those

Many years ago my husband was accepted into Birmingham with an offer of EE and it does seem they still offer that and they also take non standard educational routes into account but to give himself the widest possible range of options he really needs to try and get as high a grade as possible in his A level.

My son is autistic too. He's a popular musician which makes things easier as most Btecs are popular based. He just about managed to get enough GCSE's to get into college and was a totally different child from then on.

My cousin had similar twenty years ago, the uni she really wanted to go to required her to get an a in music a level and per one other a level. This was in s sixth form that made all students do general studies GCSE in first year sixth form. She managed to negotiate getting a pass in an as level, and carried on with general studies and just scraped her pass. Flew with ease on her music a level and got into the uni of her choice, studying music did very well. But thanks to the unis insistence on more qualifications to study there has done her a favour as she now has more to fill out her CV and make her look like a more rounded individual.

My cousin had similar twenty years ago, the uni she really wanted to go to required her to get an a in music a level and per one other a level. This was in s sixth form that made all students do general studies GCSE in first year sixth form. She managed to negotiate getting a pass in an as level, and carried on with general studies and just scraped her pass. Flew with ease on her music a level and got into the uni of her choice, studying music did very well. But thanks to the unis insistence on more qualifications to study there has done her a favour as she now has more to fill out her CV and make her look like a more rounded individual.

@Comefromaway thank you. I played around with the UCAS points calculator and various combinations of a C at A level (which he could get - I don' t want him to feel he has to get an A, but to aim for an E is ridiculous), Grade 8 Distinction, another Grade / an EPQ etc, he could get his 64 points. Question is whether they would accept them all in Music.

Is your son taking up a place at Leeds? I'm sure I've seen your posts on other boards (small world, really, isn't it?) My son is quite keen on the Classical plus Jazz course. I think Leeds would be a nice place to study: lots going on but not too big. Birmingham would be good too. I think the RNCM is out of his league, and I'm not sure about RCS and RWCMD - very far away apart from anything else.

I would definitely recommend maths. What instruments does he play? I would be a bit concerned he’s not willing to travel as he’s going to have to do that if he goes on to higher education. I think it would be good for him to see what he’s really passionate about, maybe go to some open days. The interviews are all about your passion, and if he’s unwilling to commute now, or do further studies, in order to reach his goal, he may struggle with the workload if he does get into higher education.

DD is doing psychology A level and there is quite a bit of essay writing

@Doofas 2 years ago he was a high-flyer, in the top few students of his grammar school. Star student. Expected to apply for Oxbridge. He's a shadow of his former self but his love of music prevails and I swear it's the only thing he lives for. Ideally he'd have 3 A levels but, ideally, he wouldn't have had a massive mental breakdown. We are where we are. I really don't care about breadth of study now or what he might put on his CV. He's in an awful state of limbo and I truly think he'll be much better off once he can see a clear way ahead to studying what he loves.

I agree about open days. Taking ds to his first open day really focused him. He walked into one place and said this is what I want to do.

I've just realised, of course, that I've inadvertently changed user name in the course of this discussion. That's not awfully clever, is it?!! I'm replying on behalf of @BrightBlueCast