A level results disaster

[LadySadMum]

DS was predicted CDD which was low and based on not doing much work in year 12. However he really started working much better in year 13 and seemed to be getting better marks in his results for mocks and class tests.

So we were hopeful that he would get better than the predicted grades. He seemed happy after each exam, completed all the questions. There were a few questions that he said were hard but this is normal, right?

Anyway he got CEU. Obviously he missed his firm and insurance but it’s not even enough for any foundation courses.

The C is fine and the E was in his worst subject so can understand that. But the U is unexpected and I feel it can’t be right as he wasn’t that bad at it!

We’ve asked for a review to make sure all the questions were marked correctly and if it changes to an E that would get him onto a foundation degree. We made a mistake as we didn’t ask for it at the time (we were shocked and didnt think to ask) and by the time we contacted the school again they had left.

The exam officer is not available until next Wednesday now so it’s an agonising wait.

The worst thing is we’ve had to lie to everyone that everything is OK and he’s been accepted into uni. His grandad is ill and would be devastated if we said he failed. We also don’t want to navigate all their questions and worries until we’ve worked out the next steps ourselves.

So now we’re getting congratulation messages from all the family and his uncle is also visiting later today, probably with a present. It’s all so so awful.

Take him out for lunch and say that no more talk about it until then

He is where he is at the moment. Just wait for the re- marked papers before helping him decide his next steps. They are his steps after all, and some guidance is fine, but pressure is probably not what he needs right now.

Don't go digging a deeper pit for your son - at the moment's maybe it's not too late to say he's not sure he wants to go just yet.

Also also check he really wants to go, and maybe given he may not be that academic that he considers studying a particular subject with vocational potential , s there a far fewer graduate level first jobs nowadays, ( and total cost is very high,) and isn't going just to please grandpa.

I would look if your local college has any vocational courses rather than a levels they might be more suited to him good luck!

So much focus is on A levels and going to university but there is a whole other world of courses and jobs out there that sixth forms don’t tend to bring to pupil’s attention. Quite a lot of young people find out about these alternatives only after they graduate with huge debt and find themselves unable to find work so look to retrain.

I get the impression the OP would rather walk over broken glass than for her son not to obtain a degree somewhere.

I would love to know his thoughts on it all.

I don’t think the OP has asked him

But that’s what first year is for… the grades achieved in first year, so long as you pass, don’t contribute to your final grade.

Please do bear in mind that the exams officer will be dealing with GCSE results in readiness for the following day so they may not be available to speak to when you are.

An alternative to a foundation year is to do an access to higher Ed course. It's much cheaper than a foundation year.

It is also important to remember that exams are set up so that a % of pupils will fail. He may have just not got as many marks as others so he fell into the U % . It doesn't mean he necessarily did terrible in the exam

I agree with this, his predictions weren’t that high, the actuals wouldn’t have got you into uni when I went. Much better to consider another path, not everyone is academic, nor do they need to be.

I know that a foundation year adds cost but it can be very beneficial.
My son accepted a foundation year before his mechanical engineering degree as he didn’t think his maths would be good enough. It was - he got an A - but he still did the foundation year and by the time he was starting on the full degree he had a real head start on his contemporaries.
He ended up doing a masters and now works for Cambridge University.

Gloucestershire! A boy from our village did computing there and now has an interesting job in an organisation nearby, which is so secret I'm not sure we're supposed to know he works there. Gloucester University might not have the cachet of better known institutions but it's the course that counts. Check it out and if he's really keen on cybersecurity get onto clearing ASAP. I wouldn't even wait until Wednesday.

Yes, but foundation year gives two years to practice before the assessments that count!

Foundation route students can outperform regular students.

Literally not the same at all

@LadySadMum

OP, make enquiries about this course in clearing (the one with a Foundation year).

By the way, if he understands another language and gets on this course, it could lead to some very interesting options after his course is complete.

Don't wait to enquire about this course in Clearing.

https://www.glos.ac.uk/courses/course/cys-bsc-cyber-security/

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No that’s wrong. They scrapped the national skills test.

But no government has decreed universities should not require exams as part of teaching degrees.

oh you just deleted it anyway

Primary ed degrees.

Now my turn to delete!

The trouble is there's only usually 3 years funding available for further education and her DS hss already used up 2 of them.

I have only read a few of the 300+ comments, so I may be repeating what others may have said, for which I will apologise in advance.

My son has racked up £00,000s of debt doing a degree. He is in the fortunate position of earning enough to be able to pay it off over time. I wish that I could have persuaded him to train for a blue collar job and set up his own business. Those who did are earning well, aren't threatened (mostly) by AI, and don't have huge outstanding debts that those who do may end up paying off for the rest of their lives.

Sorry for the temporary deletions, i just wanted to double check my assertions were correct.
Dd applied to Durham, and 4 other unis for primary ed bachelor degrees and none of them required sit down exams as a method of assessment, unless you chose optional modules that did.

I thought foundation years were for situations where candidates had the wrong A levels, or mature candidates who hadnt done A levels, rather than a second chance gor those who missed out on getting into the first year

Yes apologies