BTECs at college - Support thread 2

[TeenAndTween]

Following on from the 2015 thread to inform and support each other through the ups and downs of BTECs. Mainly aimed at y12/13 level, but BTECs alongside GCSEs more than welcome too. Plus anyone just considering BTECs and wanting information.

What I learned last year:

You have to hit the ground running as the very first piece of work may well count towards your final grade

DD's course has 3 options like this.

Subsidiary Diploma - 9 units (1 year, 9 units (5 units, then 4 more))
Diploma - 12 units total (2 year, 6 units each year)
Extended Diploma 18 units total (2 year, 9 units each year, 5 in first half of year, 4 in second half)

DD is doing the Diploma (2 A level equivalent), but the college ensures that they do all the 4 'compulsory' units in the first year so if someone drops out they can still qualify for the Subsidiary Diploma (1 A level equivalent?).

You pretty much have to pass every single unit in order to pass the whole thing. There are limited opportunities to re-submit, but there are some. The Pass criteria for DD's course are quite straightforward (if you can structure things properly which DD struggles with). The Merit criteria are harder, and the Distinction criteria need a good level of analysis (that DD doesn't have).

Each unit is made up of a number of Pass, Merit and Distinction criteria. To reach each level you have to meet all the criteria at that level. So if on your first assignment for a unit you miss a Merit criteria, you can't get higher than a pass for the unit (as far as I understand).

Each unit gives you a number of Points. For DD mainly it is 70 for a pass, 80 for a Merit and 90 for a Distinction. To Pass the whole thing she would need 12x70 points - 840, equivalent to EE A level grades. To get CC equivalent she needs 920 minimum. To get AA she would need 1000 points.

DD has up to 3 teachers at any time, each teaching a unit. They teach a bit, and then set an assignment. For a week or 2 they don't teach in some lessons and they use the time to get on with the assignment. Then more teaching and second assignment. Around 4 assignments per unit.

What you don't have to do is 'extra' exam practice, question practice etc. So all work is pretty much set. The students don't have to work out extras. (However exactly what is required for some criteria is about as clear as mud, and DD seems to get little/no feedback on assignments to help her improve for future ones. Sometimes there seem to be implicit requirements that DD doesn't catch on about.)

Disclaimer. I don't know if all BTECs are like DD's !

A couple of useful tables for reference:

Table showing UCAS points

A level equivalent UCAS

And finally the Pearson BTEC site from where you can find specs, unit descriptions, and pass/merit/distinction criteria.

(Praying for less of a roller-coaster this year).

Thanks all. Waves at Draylon.

Interesting. It also looks like my DS will be doing Sports BTEC and hopes to do well enough to get into university to do something sporty.

To be honest sport is ALL he has been motivated to do for thw last few years (he's a decent regional level volleyball player and has his first coaching badge) so it is probably a good fit. But he had hoped to go to Loughborough at one point and I don't know if they will accept a BTEC.

We'll see. With the attitude he is giving me at the moment, he might not live to consider university

from Loughborough university website

We will continue to accept students with relevant BTEC, Cambridge Technical and other vocational qualifications as well as more commonly, combinations of A Levels and vocational qualifications. We would advise potential applicants to look closely at the online prospectus to ensure they can meet all pre-requisite subject requirements.

so there is some help

hope not help !

ds considered Loughborough for sports but not for long - whilst they do accept the btec, the entry requirements for the sports course he looked at said he needed an extra A level (grade A) on top of the extended diploma

Yeah I read that they wanted an A level on top. Zero chance of persuading DS to think about that right now...

Friend's DS has a place in Sports Science at Cardiff Met, I thought it was University of South Wales but was mistaken.

A huge well to Fozzie's DD. Re Loughborough a friend's DS was offered a place, he was doing a double BTEC plus an A level. They offered Double distinction plus B in his A level. He turned it down in favour of an unconditional offer from somewhere else.

DD has dyspraxia and survived year 1 of a BTEC. It was a rocky start with her first project coming back with the comments of her having just scraped a pass. In her college they did 11 units so they didn't need to count 2 of them. Her first 4 units were passes then she got to grips with what was required of her and got 4 distinctions plus 2 merits giving her the 90 credit diploma at Distinction Merit which I am really pleased about.

It was undoubtedly a steep learning curve. They had 3 projects on the go, one with each lecturer. They were either 1 or 2 units each . 2 of the lecturers set weekly assignments, the other just gave the project overall so she had to be organised and there was a lot of stress at the end when it was due in. She's finished with the BTEC now sync donut an A level next year. I'm hoping the BTEC has given her some organisational skills.

DS1 has just finished a Level 3 BTEC in Engineering. We had to have a major crisis rethink this time 2 years ago when his GCSE's came back just miles off where they should have been (Aspergers - so could have gone either way). He didn't get into the school 6th Form and there was no help or advice on what to do next. I found a couple of colleges doing BTEC and we looked at IT, Business and Engineering - and it was Engineering that caught his enthusiasm. He thrived in a 6th form college rather than a school environment and really stepped up to the plate on having constant deadlines to meet, and also liked being taught by people who done real engineering jobs rather than simply knowing how to teach. He had to resit his English GCSE but did it at Easter in the first year and went up from a low D to a mid-B - bit of extra maturity helped but also different style of teaching. He got his results last week the same day as the A levels came out and got DDD, which is 400 UCAS tariff points (the same as AAA at A level). So next month we're waving him goodbye to a RG uni to read Civil Engineering. Crap GCSEs were the best thing that could have happened for him, although at the time it felt like the end of the world.

Having convinced me that the Level 3 Diploma was the best option for him, DS has (this morning) decided to go back to his original plan of A-levels.

There's a bit of that going on here TheSecond. We keep coming back to a 2 A-level/ BTEC combo (almost as a compromise, it seems) that I find more worrying than any of the other options, frankly.

Well, DS2 got what he needed to get on to his level 3 course! Really happy, here. Will be on this thread often, I'm sure.

oenophilia thank you, that gives me confidence. DS has just completed his Engineering level 2 at double merit. Unfortunately his GCSE English resit returned another D but the college are being great. Officially he is going onto the Engineering Level 3 certificate and resitting his English in November. However they have said that he will be able to move onto the Engineering Level 3 Diploma if he can pass his English resit.

Loughborough will accept the BTEC extended diploma on its own for Sport Psychology but not Sport and Exercise Science. I think Bath may be similar.

Ellen My DS is off to Cardiff Met for Sport and Exercise Science. Well done to your DS.

MirabelleTree GnomeDePlume and oenophilia Well done to your DC and I am sorry about the GCSE. My DS has refused to go into get his English result and wouldn't give me permission to go. We will have to wait for it to be posted.

TheSecond and Just5mins There is only so much you can do. Just remember if they change their mind there is the chance to start again on another course. Funding is for three years post GCSEs

True.

Thanks all: appreciate the advice about Sport/Loughborough. I think DS wants to do some kind of coaching/development anyhow, so maybe the Psych route will suit him.

Main issue is he is going to have to get his fingers out of his ears, stop going LALALALALALANOTLISTENING and start meeting deadlines, right?

He has also been told by the tutor allegedly that he will 'have two days off per week'. I went and said 'You mean 2 days STUDY time, right?' and he said nope, the tutor advised them to get a part-time job. Now I couldn't possibly think of my son as lying . Is he right? Isn't it a full time course?!

DS1 had one day off a week and a late start another day. But then in the second year a group of them did a major project with a high-profile corporate, which looked good on his personal statement. In fact, all the BTEC students who thought about their time from the personal statement angle have ended up with really good offers. A relevant part-time job where he could clearly show achievements and new skills could be useful.

I teach Btec courses at level 3 so maybe I can answer a couple of questions. If your son/daughter is is now going into year 13 they will be on the old course ie all coursework. If they are going into year 12 from September they may be on the new or old course depending on where they are studying.

If they are at a school sixth form they will be studying the new courses ie with exams and controlled assessment because this course counts on the league tables, but still counts for UCAS points. If they are at a sixth form college, they may still be studying the old course as league tables don't apply and UCAS points still count.

It is complicated but it is really important to check what course they ar studying, especially as the names of the courses - certificate, diploma etc have also changed from one course to another.

Just to add, if on the new courses and your son / daughter is doing the work experience option, there is a great booklet produced by Pearson to support both the centre and the student. A huge improvement on what did exist for this unit as there is space for targets, diary logs, reports etc.

Wilf BTEC is classed as a full-time course even when they are only there for 3 days. I don't doubt that the tutor has said about getting a job. My DS was offered a place at a very well thought of college (hasten to add that we ended up with plan b) and even they said that they accepted that in this day and age students had to work.

Won't hurt especially if it is sport related. My DS is a football ref and thankfully (not long before applying for uni so it looked better on the personal statement) also got a job in a sports centre. He is on a zero hour contract so was able to say no to too many hours when he had assignments due and work more inbetween or during holidays.

My DS went straight from GCSEs to BTEC. At school his attitude was appalling and I was surprised he passed anything (did fail english). What a change once at college. All subjects revolve around sport and he found it much more interesting than studying religious studies. You will probably find your DS will feel the same - he's sounds very sports orientated.

My DS's final grades based on his GCSEs were no more than MMM and he has come out with DDD so it can be done. In fact it should have been D D D but we had a huge wobble the last few weeks.

I know it is easier said than done but try and be a bit laid back until he starts. Give him a chance to proof himself. Will he be ok with you asking question? It is different to A levels so maybe you can try and keep up with how he is doing by asking how the criteria works. Also remember not all assignments will be able to attract a distinction grade so no point going mad when he can;t get any better than a merit.

Hopefully the thought of Loughborough will be a motivation. By the way he thought of anywhere else. Some places offer coaching degrees. He may change his mind as the course progresses. My DS was going down that route, then went with his fellow students to a nearby uni for a visit and found the sport and exercise science so fascinating that he has gone for that instead/

Sorry this is a bit of a essay bit I hope it has given you (and others) some hope. Feel like I am bragging a bit but have say it all to show it can work out

Wilf I agree that it definitely can work out. ds3 got very mediocre grades for his GCSEs but got D D D for his btec. In the first year he had 2 days off, in the second he had one for the first trimester and then none for the second.

He had 2 part time jobs while at college, one was pizza express on a zero hours contract so he could choose when to work and one was for a sports company that goes into schools delivering PE and after school sport clubs. As Gas said, having a job in a related field is really helpful for writing the personal statement when applying to unis. ds also found coaching made some aspects of the course much easier eg when they had to deliver practicals for the rest of the group.

If college offer any add on qualifications eg coaching awards, referee exams, personal trainer quals etc - go for all of them, they boost the CV and save you £££s.

Gas was the English result ok?

Thanks gas and eyv

We live very near a sports centre and have been on at DS about trying to ask about work experience or placements there.

Thanks for the helpful guidance. Good to know. Yes I think simmering down a bit and letting him prove himself is a good idea. He loves his sport, already coaches and has his L1 coaching badge so some of the BTEC stuff should be fine. He's part of the talented athlete programme at college (which is why he wouldn't consider restarting somewhere else) and he is hoping to choose a university course ENTIRELY based on his assessment of whether he'd make the volleyball first team there

And a part time job could really help him. I don't think he has any idea what work is really like so it will be a timely life lesson.

eat Thanks for asking and I'll let you know when we find out! He said there is no rush as uni is not conditional on it.

He wouldn't give me permission to go either. College will post the result. He is sat here telling me about which of his friends have passed.

user147... that's very useful, thanks. I think DS2 is jammy to be doing the old course in its last year and at college.

Oh joy. Rant alert.

Emailed college querying why DD has been set up for A2 despite failing the AS. Response back saying probably admin, will look into it. Then saying 'as you are aware she'll have to do something other than just her Diploma to fill her timetable'. No we flipping well were not aware. We raised this yonks ago when she dropped the extended and kept the AS despite it being risky and were given the impression would be OK. We asked at the end of last term about picking up extra BTEC units if Spanish went AWOL and were told would not possible, but nothing about 'by the way you will have to find something else to do'. No info from college since AS results out last week, so we assumed all OK.

In general DD is an emotional wreck (though she doesn't recognise it).
I am an emotional wreck and a bit of a physical one too.

The best thing for her would be to clean start the second year at a different college (have emailed to ask possibility) but I don't think DD will agree as she has made whole life revolve around harmless but totally-not-good-for-her boyfriend, ignoring / pushing away friends, family & hobbies.

A year ago things were looking so hopeful for her. This year has been like watching a car crash in slow motion.

Sorry.

But why on earth has it taken until today (and only when I queried something) for college to tell us this rather vital piece of information???