Post 16 study - what if your child doesn't like anything?

[RedskyLastNight]

Starting to look at Post 16 options for DS.

He would like to do Geography A Level.
And that's it.

I've pointed out if he does A Levels, he needs to do 2 more.

He ummed and ahhed for an age and said "Maybe Physics". DS has spent the last 2 years telling me how much he hates physics (though to be fair some of that is the teacher).
I point out if he does Physics, he will need to do maths. He pulls a face and says that would probably be ok.

He's not interested in the other sciences. He hates writing essays so anything that involves volume of writing is out. He would consider Computer Science but that's not offered in many places (and not at his current school, where he'd quite like to stay).

He's not interested in any BTec subjects. He has no idea what he might do as a future job.

He "should" (if he puts in the volume of work required) get a mix of 4-7s at GCSE. But he's lazy and disinclined to work.

Help!

The issue we have is that he has worked erratically up to now so his test results are all over the place so it's hard for teachers to predict (he has assured me this will change, and indeed his marks this term have all been pretty good so far).

For example, in Computer Science his test scores range from 2-8. The majority were at the top end of the range, but because he got the 2 in his end of Year 10 exam, his teacher is now predicting him a 4 (personally I think the teacher looked at his test results and thought "WTF - well he should at least pass - I'll predict 4"). I have no idea what happened in his end of year exam, but if he can work consistently at the level he's worked at for 60%+ of the course (bearing in mind that they've finished the course already so this year is all revision once they've done the programming task) he could be looking at getting a 7. It's pretty similar in several other subjects (although Geography and maths are actually the 2 subjects his grades have been consistently at 6/7/8 throughout). So we're in a bit of a dilemma - if he works to the top end of what he's capable of, he should be an A Level student; if he majorly loses the plot and doesn't work he probably shouldn't be. At this stage in Year 11, and as Open Days are before he'll get mock results we have to look at the whole range of options.

Thanks very much for responses so far, lots to think about.

Yep sympathise OP, I have twins who will sit GCSEs in Y11. Not motivated and totally disengaged with school.... I've been looking into College and apprenticeships, marching them into College open day in a couple of weeks time. Hoping that will inspire them

Interesting comments about dyslexia, it's never been suggested but I think they could be.....

So Dyslexia...
Some kids just work hard and manage to get along in primary school. Their learning to read journey might be a bit convoluted, or they might have seemed a bit resistant, but hey, they got there in the end so that’s ok, isn’t it?

Dyslexia is something to look for when Someone ,through verbal means, really is functioning at a much higher level than what they can produce in writing, and this is more noticeable the older kids get.
This is why dyslexia assessment is not carried out before age 7. And why so many young people don't get diagnosed until uni.

There are an awful lot of boys who don’t like writing but do like talking. It’s not necessarily a sign of dyslexia, merely an early preference that then causes difficulties later on due to lack of engagement and practice.