Residential options for A levels or equivalent

[bendmeoverbackwards]

To cut a long story short, my 17.5 year old dd has been out of education for over a year due to anxiety. She is desparate to go back but can't get over the initial hurdle but won't accept any help either.

I have suggested alternatives to A levels - eg BTEC, job or apprenticeships all of which have been turned down by her.

Her peers are now in Year 13 and getting ready for the next stage, going to university etc.

I'm not so worried about education per se as it can be picked up at any stage, but I am worried about her mental state and seeing her friends move on with their lives makes her feel worse.

So to think outside the box, I'm wondering if there are any options for her living away from home while studying for A levels or equivalent? Not a boarding school but something equivalent to university where she can leave home and study.

Of course she probably won't be ready to do this by next year but I just want to investigate the options.

How much money do you have or want to spend on this? There are residential A level colleges that have been around for a long time, often catering to overseas students who want to transition into UK education but with more freedom, and to UK students who for whatever reason, are no longer attending their regular school. Here's one example:

https://www.mpw.ac.uk

Not looked into the logistics of this (and her being young with no income could be an issue), but she could rent a studio flat or room in a shared house anywhere, and apply to the college local to there?

If she’s wanting to go away could she look at doing an A level online then applying for a foundation degree on a points offer. Some universities have very low points entry for foundation degrees and will take any points - things like music/ballet/lifeguarding/first aid carry ucas points.
Other option if she’s wanting to go away is something like camp america.
Lots of her peers will be having gap year to work and build up funds, learn to drive etc and lots now commute to uni so it shouldn’t be all her friends leave in September.

Or DLD
https://www.dldcollege.co.uk/

Lots of long-established private sixth form colleges in Oxford.

I think she may be better looking to see if it's possible to skip the a level stage and perhaps look at a foundation courses? These can be done at universities, otherwise she may feel quite out of place starting A levels alongside 16 year olds at 19.

@immoreexcitedthanthekids I did wonder that but currently her only qualifications are 8 GCSEs. That’s not going to be enough for any foundation course is it?

If her MH is suffering why are you looking at options that involve her moving away?

Surely she's better at home being supported and hopefully getting better so she can move away and go to uni/work if that's what she wants.

An access course on-line might be a sensible route, enables her to get a L3 qual and work towards the next stage.

Lots of agricultural colleges do A levels plus BTECs etc eg Hartpury or Lacock and have accommodation

What about somewhere like Plumpton College? https://www.plumpton.ac.uk/16-courses/

@titchy yes I mostly agree with you and it’s probably unlikely that she’ll be ready to leave home in 10 months time. But also her ‘not doing things that her peers are doing’ affects her MH, the two are very much related.

I’ve suggested online courses to her so many times but she’s rejected this option on the grounds that it’s ’weird’. There’s a great 😊 line school where she could do A levels, even start with one, but at the moment she won’t.

I am just looking in to all the possible options.

A lot of her peers won't be leaving home next year though. They'll be having gap years to raise money for uni, going to a local uni, working with no intention of leaving home for a good few years, doing apprenticeships locally.

I guess half the problem with not being at college is that she doesn't actually know what people are doing and is imagining they're all shortly going to be leading this wonderful care free life independent of parents - the reality is very different!

Once she is 19 an in-person access course through a university or sixth form college might be worth a try. I don't know where you are or whether uni accommodation would be available, but she could study in person with eg 2 taught days a week, plus self study. They are pretty full on though, I think. If it's a uni town there will be lodgings and flat shares available, even if she is not eligible for accommodation.

I'd be encouraging her to live at home though until she has finished L3 at least though. It's easy to feel that "everyone" is going away and she is being left behind but that really isn't the case.

Thank you all. I suppose I’m not so worried about the residential aspect at this stage, but more about her feeling she’s ’behind’. I know that’s often not the case and many people take a different path but it’s about how she feels.

I did wonder if she could skip the A level stage somehow.

If stage you mean level 3 - then no, at least not unless she gets year of work experience with maybe some professional qualifications or evidence of ability to study at degree level. But this flexibility really only open to over 21s.

If you mean A levels - as I said before an Access course can be completed in one year, and there are on-line providers.

But, and I realise you know this, if she wont manage face to face A levels, she won't manage face to face degree level study.

I'd recommend access courses. Can be done online or with a registered college, completed in a year, and off to uni. Some colleges have rooms but otherwise a studio flat not too far away from home and attending the nearest college enrolled in the access course could work?

@titchy and @helloyoumums if she did an access course, are there any long term disadvantages of not having A levels?

My friends very bright DD struggled with college for similar reasons to yours and stopped attending. She did an online course equivalent to A levels and has now gone to uni and thriving. Does it depend on the online course? Or does she need to understand that actually LOTS of teens do this and it’s not remotely weird?

I’ll find out what the course was and get back to you.