Degree options for a non academic child

[SwissAlps9]

I have started to think what options are there for DD2 who loves animals and is also very creative, has good long term memory and an eye for detail; however is behind academically, especially in maths and sciences.

How important is that she passes her GCSES and does A levels.? she said she would like to go to university.

She has an educational plan due to a speech and language disorder which is not severe but impacts the way she learns.

I have been thinking in something like graphic design, zoology, vet nurse?

She has mentioned actress, singer, interior designer, fashion designer; but I think these are jobs/careers which are competitive and difficult to get jobs

If there is a careers service at her school, get her to have a chat with them. Support her singing and acting passions with amateur dramatics as a hobby with local clubs or classes if they are in budget.

She's so young, as a Yr8, such a long way to go before you think about higher education.

She’s in yr 8. Why are you even thinking about this now?

University is for academic people. That’s that whole point of it. There’s lots of other options and I’m sure she have her own view on it in 5 years anyway.

The better she does in her GCSEs, the more options she will have.

L3 Animal management BTEC / T-Level is the obvious one to go for wrt animals, have a look at your local Agricultural College for that.

A friend's son who loves animals in doing an animal care course/apprentiship at a rescue charity which he started after his GCSE's.

In year 8 I didn't think my DS would suit academia.... He's now got Astars in maths, computer science and economics and is studying at uni.
Wait a few years

Not really. For a standard university degree in say paramedic sciences you generally need ABB. For degree apprenticeship in the same you don't even necessarily need A levels if you have work experience and a Trust has already taken you you and trained you to a certain level.

But the work experience element is very difficult to get. Its sort of a moot point anyway, as OP's DD is 12/13.

Wow op I assumed she was in yr 11! Yes plenty of time yet. Get her to focus on her studies as she needs to pass five GCSEs minimum with English and maths. Then see where she wants to go from there.

1. Her life, her choice. She chooses equine science with dance? That's her decision to make, not yours. She chooses NVQ barbering or to become an electrician? Also her choice.
2. As PPs have said, shoving a child at uni who isn't interested in self-directed learning is a bloody stupid idea. It will hobble their earning power because they will lose 3 years of getting established in a vocation and they'll have to go back as an adult and self-fund to retrain.
3. You only get one student loan (as of the changes in 2025). One. Ever. In your whole life. Why waste it on an unwanted degree at a young age when she might want to use it later in life to retrain in something once she's ready?
4. (And I can't stress this enough) YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY KNOW THAT A YEAR 8 CHILD IS NON-ACADEMIC. Their brains go through all sorts of changes by the time they are 18. This is what annoys me about the UK system. Children get pigeonholed with choices (from a limited pool of options that is a postcode lottery) from age 13 that affect their whole lives based on inaccurate and dated advice from people with no idea what they are talking about because the jobs landscape changes every decade or so.

Please don't saddle your child with £60k+ of lifelong debt for a pointless mickey mouse degree they didn't want to do just so you can tell your friends/family your child went to university or "feel proud" to see her in a square shaped hat or whatever (IDK why parents push kids into this). It's really not okay, and our generation need to do better with this than our parents did.

Honestly OP and with the greatest of respect you are overthinking this given the age of your DC.

So much changes in the coming years. All the assessment stages up to GCSE reward the academic all-rounders. (I happen to be one of those)

Post 16, whatever the pathway (A-level, Btec, uni, apprenticeship, FE) young people who are more able in specific areas come into their own, with the advantage that they have a clear view on what they really want to do. Whatever you do, try not to instil your view of what the right pathway is.

FWIW speaking as a parent of a child with dyslexic type SPLD who could have been dismissed as 'not academic' and a member of a family where many of us have dyslexic type SPLD to some degree.

Thank you. Some if your replies made me laugh. 😂

I like planning in advance, lol

Actually I think my main question is how important are GCSES and that she passes them which you have replied.

Thanks for the responses, this gives me ideas of what paths she could take.

Mickey Mouse degree 😂🤣 lol

Mickey Mouse Degree - my most hated term! Usually spouted by people with very little knowledge of the graduate labour market......

Her oldest sibling is thinking of university so that got her thinking and she asked me what she could do and that she couldn’t do what mummy or daddy do as she is not good with maths. Just to clarify we have never asked her to follow same path.

I told her she is very creative and good with animals and could do something related to that so she asked me what?

We are proud of both kids and definitely don’t want a degree to show off; as long as they are happy, healthy, enjoy what they are doing and can make a decent living to support themselves.

Anyway, we’ve better focus on getting her to pass the GCSEs

This is useful, wasn’t sure of what she needed to pass

Micky Mouse degrees do exist, sometimes it can be the same degree title just at a different institution who don’t provide good tuition or industry contacts.

but people often use the term to mean vocational subjects which actually often offer good graduate outcomes.

Micky Mouse degrees do exist, sometimes it can be the same degree title just at a different institution who don’t provide good tuition or industry contacts.

These aren't Mickey Mouse degrees though...they're low value degrees. When people are talking about MM degrees they are often judging a degree course based on it's title. They often don't even look as far as the institution, teaching quality or graduate outcomes.

but people often use the term to mean vocational subjects which actually often offer good graduate outcomes.

Yep, This is generally what people mean when they talk about MM degrees.

Why go to uni if not academic? Better to go into a trade.

This. What's the point in university.

Just seen she's 12-13. Try asking again in 3-4 years.

Five is really a bare minimum, not an aim. Most kids will do 8-10 and if looking at Level 3 (that's the level needed for uni entrance: eg A level, BTEC extended diploma, Access) courses that's what she needs to be aiming for (and note that refers to getting grades 4 - 9). Five scraped grade 4s would strongly suggest uni isn't an option for the time being.

I don't know where you're from but you should regard GCSEs as important as the school leaving certificate/high school diploma or whatever the equivalent for your country is.

I mean the true Micky Mouse degree is the one my local uni offer in Theme Park Management (proper title Visitor Attraction & Resort Management).

except it was developed with the UK’s biggest attraction company in response to an industry need and includes 250 hours PAID work placement with graduates going on to work for leading resort companies including the Mouse himself!

Oh yes! I'm familiar with that degree and I remember having a very robust discussion with someone on MN a few years about about this particular course.

I knew a student on this course who did their placement at Disney in Hong Kong....I mean , how amazing is that?!

Don't forget the one in Golf course management. Where grads work all over the world earning £££

Don't forget the one in Golf course management. Where grads work all over the world earning £££

I love it when people slate this course and I get to quote graduate outcomes back at them :)

I agree it’s too early to be thinking about it really and yes concentrate on GCSEs now. Why is she behind, what help can you get for this? Talk to the school. There’s loads of online resources, etc which might help her if she’s willing to put the effort in. If she isn’t prepared to work hard at this stage then possibly university might not be right for her (though I accept children mature from year 8 to year 13)

but one th8ng to possibly look at is an Foundation art and design diploma at your local FE college. They’re a year long course intended for creative kids who aren’t sure what to do next. They are 100% free if done straight after sixth form.

this sort of thing. https://www.nottinghamcollege.ac.uk/courses/foundation-studies-in-art-and-design-level-3-4

much better than a university foundation course which has tuition fees attached.