Btec or A levels

[Hopeful646]

My son is going into year 11 , his predicted grades for the end of year 11 are grade 5s apart from maths which we hope will be a 4 . He is very hard working but isn't likely to score 7/8's . I know the teachers are stabbing in the dark with predictions and they could go either way . We are obviously starting to think about colleges etc as there is no sixth form at his school . I feel a btec extended diploma in business would be more suitable for him rather than A levels , but he wants to find out about the possibility of doing A level business studies , law and sociology . Is it worthwhile looking into A levels with his predicted grades or would he find them too difficult with risk of failing / low grades . He wants to work in business of some sort long term .

I would appreciate your thoughts . Thanks

Absolutely a BTEC, I doubt he would even be accepted on an A level course.
He can still go to uni ,later if he gets at least DMM .

Our local 6th form was looking for 5s in maths and English - 7s in any subjects they would look doing. Me I'd go look at Sixth forms. Speak to the teachers and then be honest with your son and head to college.

Don't agree with aldi at all- my son has achieved all C's and B's and is certainly doing A levels. He absolutely would be be accepted with those results but which subjects he could do would depend on the actual subject grades.

With 5s he would be accepted to do A level, but I tend to be quite cautious before recommending a C grade / 5 grade student doing my subject because of the jump at A level.

I usually would be happier with students coming in with B/6 because I think iy gives them a much better foundation.

How is he like with deadlines coursework? BTEC business is a huge amount of coursework with new deadlines pretty much every week. I know at my school some students really struggled with the never ending stream of deadlines and once they fell behind it was really difficult for some of them to catch up.

Conversely, others thrived and finished their year 13 work by April.

Thanks you for all your advice . I also think a student getting grades 4/5 ( c grades ) will find it quite a jump to do some A levels. I'm not sure about the subjects he is thinking of as other than business he hasn't done law and sociology before but as they are essay subjects a good English GCSE grade would be needed I imagine .
For some reason he seems to be embarrassed about doing a Btec , he feels all his friends will do A levels .
He is very hard working and organised so I think the Btec coursework would be ideal for him .
Can you apply to do both options and decide when the GCSE results come out ?

Yes you can apply for both BTEC and A level options and finalise your options when results come out.
At dds sixth form college it is possible to take a mixture of A levels and BTECs. There are several BTEC options possible the "Extended" is equivalent to 3 A levels subjects, but perhaps he isn't ready to specialise in only one subject yet. The diploma is 2 A level equivalents so he may be able to take this and either Sociology or Law A levels. There is also a certificate which is equivalent to one A level subject.

I think it depends on what your 6th form colleges will accept for GCSE grades. In my area it would be a B/6 as a minimum. My daughter had the option of A levels or BTEC- she opted for BTEC as it's far more practical and gives her a clear pathway to do the degree she wants.

DS2 is also going into Y11. The sixth form is asking for six GCSEs with grade 6 (and at least grade 5 in English and Maths).

I would find out what the entry requirements are for your local sixth forms. He can apply to more than one establishment, so he could apply to do A-levels and also apply to do a BTEC somewhere else.

as they are essay subjects a good English GCSE grade would be needed I imagine

Yes, those subjects will probably have an entry requirement of a grade 6 in either English language or English literature.

Thanks everyone , will go and visit the local college and sixth form . Good to get some advice before we start .

I did a BTEC Subsidiary Diploma (equivalent to 1 a level) and 2 a levels. I would advise against doing a level law (I got top grades in GCSES and still only got a C at a level law, it's really really difficult to get a top grade). It really depends if he wants to go to uni and what for as they accept different qualifications for different courses and unis. He can definitely get an apprenticeship with a BTEC, or even one with just GCSEs. A levels are totally different to GCSEs and everyone chooses different routes he has nothing to worry about :)

OP - I've PM'd you

I would also say research and apply to both, it is what we did with DD. Things became a lot more clear in y11, so by the end we knew A levels weren't for her. But you can keep your options open, so why not, things can change in a year.