Post GCSE choices for the non academic child

[jo1166]

My son's school ( he is going into Yr 11 in September) has told us that he will not be accepted into their sixth form for A Levels. He may scrape through with half a dozen GCSEs at Grade 4 or 5 , if he's lucky he might get a 6 or 7 in Drama or Geography and he is dyscalculic so won't get Maths, he works hard but is not an academic; the school require students to have at least a 7 to be able to study for A Level. The problem is he has always seen himself going on into 6th form with his peers and it's a shock. He is a gifted actor, a member of the NYT, and he is good at sport. To be honest the academic slog of A Levels probably doesn''t suit him but what other choices are there out there?

@jo1166
I have no idea where in the country you are, but round here all schools stop at year 11 and then all of the kids go to college

Some of the colleges are known for being academic
www.psc.ac.uk/courses/directory/l3adv
but because they allow all the local kids in, also cover practical skills
www.psc.ac.uk/courses/directory/l3voc
and because not all kids are academic, cover all options
www.psc.ac.uk/courses/directory/ahed

Other colleges do not offer A levels at all, but have really good employment outcomes
www.southampton-city.ac.uk/courses/?user=school-leaver
or
www.itchen.ac.uk/uk/
or
www.eastleigh.ac.uk/careers/
which shares a campus with
www.barton-peveril.ac.uk/courses/

There are FAR MORE options for Non A Level students
than for those with parents blinkered to the Russell Group

Let your son have a read and see what HE wants to do

@ta1kinpeace Thank you for all this information. We don't live in Hampshire but having looked into it our local area does have plenty of BTEC courses and choice for DS other than A Levels.
DS is an only child and so this is our first experience of post GCSE since we were at that age, we were naive and unprepared for the choice, we, nor he, certainly aren't hung up on a Russell Group university, or university at all, which it does appear many on MN are! ;)
DS is most disappointed about leaving his friendship group at this stage and the sixth form experience there that HE wanted, having envisaged staying on at school with them and to complete his school life along with them, this is what HE wanted.
However, life is full of disappointments and hopefully he will enjoy and thrive in a different environment than the one he expected.

jo1166
To some extent, getting the heads up now rather than with crash and burn results next summer gives him time to make the right decisions.

I am a tax accountant and I have more academic qualifications than many of my tax clients combined (at least one is illiterate)
but they all earn enough to pay me to deal with the Revenue for them

Even though my kids did A levels at their colleges, they made mostly new friends in years 12 and 13
your son will do the same

Horrible, trite saying, I know, but please encourage him to see it as an opportunity, not a disaster.

One hopes that his current friends won't drop him when he takes a different path from them (although unfortunately, he might do well to brace himself for a few disappointments there - onwards and upwards, though).

In a further twist, have been told by DS that 'BTEC' is a term of abuse or an insult in youth speak. A term for being stupid, or for something being not good enough!
eg ' Sam, you're so rubbish at this you're so BTEC', 'A BTEC mistake to make'.
This is something he has come out with, without us discussing about it being a choice for him. It may be bullying or banter, but this just shows the esteem these qualifications are held in in the group of people they are supposed to be for!
Are BTECs respected by employers?

On the plus side, I suppose the 'bullying and banter' is all good experience for the art of the actor! ;)

yes, this is widespread...

I took DS to an Opne Day and , despite his low grades, he said he did not want to attend that uni as it was 'a bit of a BTec university' ...

You have a great attitude, Jo1166 (sincerely said, honest). I'm sure you'll help your son find a good path.

Hi OP, my two DS (19 and 17) sound very similar to yours. Not particularly academic but not ready for an apprenticeship. They both decided to do Btecs in a subject they enjoy and are loving it. DS1 is off to uni in September. Hope it all works out for your DS.

Oh, thank you, VioletCharlotte, I am so pleased to hear about your boys, that they are happy most importantly and doing something they enjoy.

My BTEC students know that "BTEC" is an insult and they think it's hilarious. Two of them finished with me last year, got DDD* grades and are both off to top drama schools in October, having spent much of this year travelling on their gap year. They still use "you're so BTEC" to insult each other I guess they're doing it knowingly though, so it doesn't count.

Dammit - the grades were DDD* (bold fail - not sure that will work either) triple Distinction Star

Ha - no. Didn't work. 3xD* in both cases.

@jo1166
'BTEC' is a term of abuse or an insult in youth speak. A term for being stupid, or for something being not good enough!
Yes, sorry, its the way.

DD used to get the bus to Symonds with BTEC Pete
its a standard derogatory term
BUT
its often turned on its head by the no £50k debt jokes

Your son sill have to get a thicker skin, but he will come out with good BTECs and an income while his former friends are clocking up debt

With your help he'll be just fine

It always used to irk me that DD's options were dancing or BTec cookery/social care/childcare or the heady heights of tourism!

There are literally hundreds of courses out there and colleges need to think about what they can offer apart from the 'normal' ones

Teenagers can be so horrible sometimes! However I bet OP's DS will impress if he says he's leaving school to pursue his acting career!

It's also a little odd that the school is saying this with year 11 coming up now. They might reasonably say it is unlikely that he will pass the 6th form bar unless he improves massively, but to say he will not be accepted at all is a bit off at this stage. It sounds like you certainly need to look at other options, but in the end this decision can only really be made around in August next year. Teachers can be awful at predicting final grades. There are also some great BTECs out there.

@roguedad , I prompted the discussion about the sixth form when I had concerns about them 'flogging a dead horse' in respect of the Maths. In many ways as some others have said earlier in the thread it is a good thing to be told or rather warned this early A levels may not be the right path for him. And as I reflect I am quite grateful we aren't dealing with this next August in a panic, and we have time to contemplate, explore options etc. Someone also mentioned in an earlier post that DS needs to develop a thicker skin, in fact it is not him but me who needs to do that, he is fine with the 'BTEC = thick' thing. As someone who has never been an academic high achiever he is used to being called 'thick' (or similar), by some of his peers who think they are cleverer than him, and that entitles them to judge and name call, I have never come to terms with it though. Interesting I'm more of a 'snowflake' than he is! :)

This may be a bit left field, but have you considered a vocational school for sixth form? Talented male actors are in a minority!
Take a look at Tring Park or Arts Ed, certainly at Tring there are no minimum academic requirements and the school still scores extremely well in their A level results.

You can get on the career ladder and start earning far more quickly than those who do core humanities subjects at RG unis with vocational subjects.

Re. Theatre, might also want to think about backstage work and qualifications. Post BTEC, there are diplomas in stage management and technical theatre. It could be a good way of supporting an acting career in a related field.

The problem with Tring & Arts Ed (& Hammond) is there is no government funding for 6th Form drama unlilke for dance. There are some school bursaries available but for example at Arts Ed there are four available for the whole school 1 each for dance, drama, music & academic). Hammond have been known to offer up to 50% bursaries.

I would definately investigate the local Btec drama options. They are variable quality depending where you live but they can be a good stepping stone to drama school or uni at 18.

That’s v interesting Alexander, DaDa funding for drama is for over 18s only. However, some school bursaries can be v generous, obviously these relate to both talent snd family income, but we know of drama students on more than 50% bursaries at Tring. As always the best policy would be to contact the school directly and talk to the bursar.

I teach BTEC Drama at level 2 and 3 as well as GCSE and A Level. With those grades and his more vocational interests, he would be well suited to BTEC Level 3.
Kids do use it as an insult but that's because it's less book-learning/writing (although there are log books to complete and a year 12 written paper at BTEC) but loads of kids at my 6th form do a mix of academic and vocational and it's all light hearted.
Employers do see the worth of BTEC because there are different skills at play - and it can still be a pathway to higher ed if he wanted to do an HND - which is the equivalent of the first two years of a degree.

Performing arts schools and colleges (depending on which ones) will often base intake on audition and not in exam results

We investigated the btec dance/MT route for dd in case she didn't get offered a Dada place and there are some great ones out there but also some awful ones.

When we researched level 3 BTECs, one of the biggest surprises for us was the difference in the number of contact hours each week between the providers.