How important is grade for compulsory BTEC?

[circular]

Yr 11 Dd1 taking 9 good GCSEs (Predicted 1A*, 5A, 2B), already has B in Eng Lang.
Also A in ICT equiv not included in the 9.

They all do compulsory BTEC sport, which she was aiming for at least a B equiv in, has produced some pieces of the work at a higher standard, but grades slipping and work behind. Mainly due to missed lessons for medical appointments and other subject assessments. There is the possibility of catch up sessions, but she would rather spend the time on other subject revision, as determined to beat her predictions.

Her 6th form applications were only interested in GCSE subjects.
Will the BTEC result be included on same certificate as GCSEs with the same board, or can she "lose it" completely? If not, will it look back on Uni Apps if she ends up with a scraped pass or even a fail?

She will have been entered for this qualification ages ago and therefore unless she is withdrawn officially it will appear on her results. You should also be aware that the school would have already completed their references for the 6th forms and would have included her target grade for the BTEC Sport.

I would advise that she manages her time to complete all subjects; what is she planning on doing over Easter for example? It does raise questions if on a sheet of results there is an obvious 'dip'

Yes aware sixth form refs done, already getting offers through, none want more than 8 A* to Cs, with A/B min. In 4 chosen subjects. Aware chosen school will see result slip containing BTEC, but as long as she meets requirements that shouldn't matter.

What we are concerned about is whether it will appear on the same certificate as her Edexcel GCSEs which she may have to show in the future. or whether the Unis will care about it f they do have to see it. A bit of a shame if it ends up being her only below B grade. But not as bad as any of her other grades dropping.

She will complete the course, but doesn't want to put extra time into it at the expense of something more important. First week of Easter hols she will be attending revision classes for three subjects and some Eng Lit catch up. Will be revising at home most of 2nd week, but if there is anything for the BTEC she can do at home within reason, then she will.

I am pretty certain you get an individual certificate for a BTEC and a separate one for GCSEs but I'm not sure if they appear on the same results slip.

www.edexcel.com/i-am-a/student/results/Pages/GCSE-Certificate.aspx

www.edexcel.com/i-am-a/student/results/Pages/btec-certificate.aspx

I'm sure it won't be a problem if it turns out to be a low grade as it isn't very relevant to an academic university course.

it won't appear on certificates as the BTEC is separate - it does appear on the merged results slip she receives in August to take to the college

I forgot to mention that as she has already been entered then her results will be available to UCAS.

What are her unit grades at the moment? If she has gained a Distinction already in some units, then due to the points calculation she may only need a pass on the remaining units so it would be advisable to speak to her teacher asap before making a decision to ask for her to be officially withdrawn

BTEC is marked and moderated differently to GCE. It is all marked by the teachers.

Some things she will not be able to do at home, the practical stuff. Some of it she will and some it depends on how the teacher has structured the unit.

Eg for the health and safety (I teach HSC but most BTECs have health and safety) you can ask students to write an essay or answer questions or do a practical.

I always do the practical, it's quick, students get their results instantly and enjoy it.

What level and which award is she entered for? GCSE students normally take level 2, but it can be an award, a certificate or a diploma.

These depend on the number and combination of units taken. She should aim to get the award at least. Have a look at Edexcel's website for what she needs to complete.

Also don't underestimate it, it is more like a uni course than a GCSE in the way it is set up, valuable practice.

As an admissions tutor I see hundreds of applications and it is really common for students to have one or two subjects at GCSE that they did worse at relative to the others.

As long as the uni course she is applying for is not related to the BTEC, then the majority of unis will not care about about this result.

The idea that you need all stellar passes at GCSE to get into a good uni is pretty much a MN myth.

DD2 has a low grade for dance GCSE that is out of synch with her others (there are long and boring reasons why she got a lower grade than expected related to health and lots of other things) but it hasn't made the slightest bit of difference to her.

She's in her second year at a very good university and has just got a work placement for next year. Neither the university or her new employer have been worried about it especially as her maths A levels and the content of her maths degree trump a bit of dance choreography that didn't get finished

Thanks Cricketballs, must check with her about individual module marks/grades. All very confusing as she only mentioned a few weeks ago that they would be doing the double award, as she wanted to know if I would count the 2 grades in with the "GCSE bribe" lol..

Not sure what you mean about UCAS being able to see it - if she was to withdraw, would they see a withdrawn entry? Expect they would care, though she will be going for CUKAS as well.

Having said that, can't see school allowing her to withdraw, even if she wanted to.. With just a pass in that together with the ICT, early Eng Lang and Maths (result in April) magic 5 are in the bag before the main GCSEs in May/June.

If you find and download the spec on the Edexcel website, you can see how many points are needed for Merit or Distinction for a Level 2 Certificate, which is what she's doing, I think. School will also be able to give her this info. I'm doing Level
2 Diploma (4 GCSEs) with my yr 11s and they only have one unit left to complete. If any of them need more time, or want to go back and improve previous units, there will be time. It might be worth checking with the school - BTEC marks don't have to be submitted until quite late in the school year so there's likely to be time for her to complete it to M standard, as was the plan.

To add to evils comment, the standard required is not that high. If she is an able student (as evidenced by her other predictions) then if she works hard in the remaining lessons then she should be able to make merit. Would ot even require any/much work out of lessons, but a considered focus within them. How many assignments is she behind on?

I think what was meant about UCAS is you are supposed to submit on the form all external qualifications you have- you can't just leave off any GCSEs you get less than a C in, for example. I believe if you actually fail, it can be left off, as it's not a qualification.

I doubt it would matter very much to the university, provided all her GCSE results were good, and the subject she wanted to take was unrelated to the BTec subject. Most sixth forms won't care about poor grades in other subjects so long as she gets the 5 A*-C and whatever grades they want for particular A levels- usually a B or above.

Equally, withdrawing at this stage probably wouldn't cause many issues.

Btec PE - if she's heading for PE teacher /trainer/coach type job it will be of no use as she will need sport specific qualification ie life-gaurd certificate, A level anatomy for PE PGCE etc.

If she has no interest in PE for a job and is only doing it because it's in the school timetable then its woarse than useless, quickest way to put a child off of sport for life is to make then do school PE.

She really should be supported to bunk-off this nonsense, as for crap grades appearing on certificates, isn't that what tip-ex is for ?

Just came back to quickly update.
They had until this week to improve and/or complete work. She put a bit of time in, as was pressurised to do so, hopefully its not at the expense of anything else.

Now told that she has 2 A* equivalent - taking that with a pinch of salt lol.
Not sure if I will laugh or cry if they are the only 'A*' she gets.