Best Sixth form options, if possibly only here until February 2020

[Wannago]

Any thoughts on Mumsnet about which courses are best if one might be in the UK only short term?
DS is 16 and doing his GCSEs this year. He is expected to do well. In the normal course he would be going on to do A levels in sciences/maths. However, we are seriously thinking of relocating to the southern hemisphere in around February 2020. However he is supposed to be in education and training in September, and so we are contemplating sixth form options. While it is possible we might not move, if the odds are on us doing so, what would be better to do.
The problem with A Levels is that they are linear, and there doesn't seem much point having studied an A level until February of the first year.
So might it be better to have DS in something in which he would be motivated anyway (thinking of performing arts, he does this extra-curricular now and loves it for its own sake), rather than A Levels, where he will have nothing to show for it. But if we don't move, I think we would want to then shift to A Levels (although I guess that could be after the full year, if he got a diploma). Also I think performing arts diplomas are continuously assessed, which gives more motivation to work.

Any thoughts though on what might be best. Ultimately he probably wants a science/medicine career, but it might not be in this country.

Can he not apply for both?

As he would not start until sep-19 surely you would know by then whether you were going or not?

Some sixth forms allow you to study both a BTEC and A levels alongside it. Could that be an option?
Or stick with A levels that have an AS qualification at the end of first year with DS saying in uk to finish the academic year, could that work?

What’s the plan after you move? No additional education at all? It’s a no brainer: carry on as you would have done without the prospect of moving because it’s not a certainty from what you’ve said, and to start one course then change to A levels later if the plan to move doesn’t happen is hugely disruptive (as would be a move mid academic year!)

It wouldn't be great to take a year "out" doing something non scientific, if your DS is planning to do science/medicine. It would make things a lot harder for him.

Does anywhere near you offer the IB? Then, if you stay, he just continues the course. If you relocate, you should be able to find an international school that offers the IB.

Although when does the school year start where you are relocating to? Is it September or January? If it is January, he would be able to start over, regardless of what he does for one term.

VanCleefArpels certainly not no additional education at all.

If we move to Victoria, Australia (the most likely) we would presumably be looking at him sitting the VCE at the end of the 2020 school year (the school year starts 28 January 2020 and exam are in November). Based on his results from that, he would then be eligible to go on to university in Victoria. Similarly with NSW, he would presumably take and finish the HSC in that year.
However, as VCE and the HSC are two year courses, there is a chance that in fact he would need to start Year 11 in 2020, taking the VCE in 2021. My sense is that good results at GCSE ought to allow him to go into Year 12, but I could be wrong. Not sure how a bit of three A levels would help though.
runoutofnamechanges if we went, it would not be a year out, only a term or so out, really, but if we didn't and we let him finish the year, then yes it would be a year out of sciences. But is that so bad? Lots of people take gaps years post A Levels and then go on to high level university courses in science/medicine. Wouldn't it be easier to do this than to do that?

Obviously, if you move, it isn't a problem if he has spent a term studying something different. It would probably be a great opportunity.

If you stay here, it could be a problem. I doubt many schools would let him start different A-levels after a term and, even if they did, he will have missed 20% of the course in 3 or 4 subjects. It will be hard to catch up and possibly cost him a grade. If he starts afresh in 2020, he will be a year behind his friends, and will be at a disadvantage because he will have forgotten a lot of the syllabus from GCSE. If he is considering Oxbridge science or Medicine anywhere, I would strongly advise speaking to the admissions team about how they would view it too.

I deferred my place by a year to go travelling and I was shocked how much I had forgotten, particularly the maths/statistics side. It was a bit of a slog to catch back up the first term. DC didn't take a year out but, despite doing biology, chemistry and maths, they found they had to go back to their GCSE books for the BMAT exam because they had forgotten stuff. It's not impossible but it will make life harder...