Are 5/6 GCSE grades more suited to A levels or BTECS?

[NoToMisogyny]

Getting close to the 11th hour now - my daughter is waiting for her grades on Thursday and then (if she gets the minimum grades for both) has to decide between A Levels (media studies, drama, psychology) at her current school or BTECs (she’s keen on one subject - performing arts - but is finding it very hard to muster up any interest in any others) at a college where she has been offered a place.

She’s still totally unsure what she should do if she gets (as expected) a clutch of 5s and 6s. That would meet the minimum requirement for A Levels, but is that really good enough for A level study? Both of us worry about her being out of her depth if everyone else has 7-9s.

But before school closed she really upped her game and was getting 7s in her essays, particularly in English Lit. She’s leaning towards sixth form being her preference (and ultimately it will be her choice) but I really don’t want her to end up struggling.

Does anyone have any advice please? We don’t personally know anyone who is expecting similar grades - all her friends are super academic!

I teach literature and my current Y12 class ranges from 6-9 at GCSE. The best student academically is naturally gifted - but everyone else fits in well. My best student in terms of work got a 6 at GCSE - she works hard, asks all the right questions and is towards the top of the class as a result.
I don't know how much that helps though

I think it depends on the subject OP. In MFL (my subject) I wouldn't be happy taking a student with a 6 unless I knew that there was a good reason and they could/should have got a 7/8 if it hadn't been for some unforeseen diasaster.

Similar with maths for example, Someone in Ds2's A-level maths class got a 6 and they are really struggling.

OTOH a 6 in Eng Lit or History or a similar non-linear subject may be OK. You didn't enjoy Christmas Carol, say, or a topic in history.

Is she good at maths? A-level psychology is very maths-based apparently and not recommended at my DCs' school for anyone with less than a 6 in maths.

Thank you for both replies! Yes I’m dubious about psychology as she is not good at maths and will be lucky to get a 5. She is considering changing psychology for RE.

It’s difficult when you’re bang in the middle!

Does she have any thoughts about beyond sixth-form?

Also, are media studies and psychology new subjects to her? How much does she know about them?

5s and 6s fine for Psychology IMO. There isn't that much maths, and it's not scary maths. I think the ability to write clearly is more important.

She hasn’t thought much beyond sixth form, no. She’s certainly not desperate to go to university at present. She knows quite a lot about psychology as she has a severely autistic sibling (and close relatives with MH issues) and has read widely on the subject because it’s interested her so much. But there’s the maths side, so that will probably nix that subject for her anyhow.

Media studies is new to her but she is very keen to study it after looking at the curriculum. She feels it would link well with Drama too.

I just don’t know!

Thank you Fallen. From what she was told the maths in psychology is mostly statistics, which was her strongest area, but I want to be crystal clear what’s involved. I don’t want her dropping out and wasting a year

It really isn't high demand Maths. I teach maths, and am an A level psychology examiner. My DD is hoping to do psychology too, and she is not a Maths lover!

I’d say if mostly 5’s then Btec more suitable. If a fair sprinkling of 6’s then A levels are possible especially in arts subjects but be prepared for C grades at A level.

In terms of going on to uni, for performing arts type degrees even RG universities mostly take Btec and if she’s not highly academic she might find the style of assessment and more practical nature of a Btec easier to get more UCAS points in.

Thank you both. She is realistic about her chances of a performing arts career but is passionate about the subject!!

One problem with BTECs is that she has zero interest in any of the choices apart from Performing Arts. It would be a case of choosing the least worst, rather anything she actively wants to do.

But that doesn’t change the fact that if she’s more suited to Btecs then she’s more suited to Btecs!

My DD got all a mix of 5s and 6s and a 7. She started taking 2 a levels and 1 btec. After xmas she swapped A level PE to btec sport. It seems she really suits the coursework/continual assessment of the btecs and is looking at 2 D*s. That will give her a real chance at focussing on her 1 Alevel exam and getting a good grade there as well. Its definitely been the right path for her.

There's an applied psychology BTEC.

I’d agree with whoever said if she gets mainly 6s then A level is realistic; if predominantly 5S, then BTEC makes more sense.

Our 6th form is quite selective but (aside from maths and chemistry, which require a minimum 7) the minimum grade requirements for each subject are generally 6s. Psychology requires 6s in biology and one of the Englishes, along with a 5 in maths.

Thanks justgivemesomemorepeace, that’s really helpful. If she went to the college she’s currently down to do one A level and two BTECs.

Sadly Madonna, the college doesn’t do the psychology BTEC. It does very few BTECs which is a problem. She is very averse to being forced into health and social care or similar just because it’s the only realistic option

Thanks FlyingPandas - again, very helpful. Does it make a difference, do you think, if she gets 6s in the subjects she actually wants to study (not psychology but drama and RE?) rather than majority 6s?

It’s a very high achieving school but still comprehensive so they have to take anyone who meets the borough-wide minimum requirements, which are 5s in English and Maths for everything and 6 in anything that it was possible to do a GCSE in. For psychology they just want 5 in maths and English. For Drama they want 6 in both English and Drama GCSEs

Drama A level is quite academic. A lot of essay writing and analysis of texts and practitioners. Highly enjoyable though.

Yes I did note that - I think there’s no getting away from the fact that all A levels are academic!! She was doing so well in her English Lit essays on Shakespeare and Christmas Carol though..

I think BTECs are a great option for kids with those sort of grades. I’ve seen kids with 5s and 6s get respectable A Level grades of C-B but a lot of the BTEC students with similar GCSEs walk away with D*-D grades. At my school, on average, BTEC students with GCSE grades in the 5-6 range get higher grades and are usually end up at higher-ranked universities than students with similar grades who are on A Level courses. That doesn’t mean BTEC is the right option for everyone though. Sometimes “brighter” students, who have got through GCSEs by winging it without much revision or hard work, really struggle with the workload and every couple of years there will be one kid someone ends up flunking a unit and then failing the whole course where they would have at least passed an A Level. In my experience they work best for hard-working, middle-ability kids.

Thanks so much Madame, that’s really really helpful

There are many extended diploma performing arts btecs and OCRs that are equivalent to three A-levels. So no need for other subjects. Some are audition applications do sadly those places were sorted months ago, but some are grades based and may still be available.
We looked at 7 colleges two doing OCR and 5 doing BTEC, DD applied to four two audition and two standard application.

It’s too late now, sadly. Her only option is to do performing arts as one of her three choices. She knows she’s not likely to make a career out of PA, but loves if after doing it as an extra curricular activity for 8yrs

At DD's school the students needed a B to do that subject at A level (she took her GCSEs 4 years ago). I think that equates to a 6?

DD started with psychology in year 12 and hated it. She said it was boring and unchallenging. There is a lot of content, and you need to memorise a lot of evaluations/case studies conducted by people with unpronouncable names. Luckily, it was a fourth subject, so she dropped it after AS level.

I agree with PPs that if the results are mostly level 5s your DD will struggle with A levels. They are a big step up from GCSEs.

It depends on the child. My son hugely upped his game for A levels and having achieved 4s, 5s and 2 6s at GCSE came away with BBC at A level, so it can be done especially if a late bloomer. I’ll forever be grateful to his school for letting him do A level History with only a 4 at GCSE- they saw the potential in him 💗

Wow. Well done to your DS Railingsohno

Thanks both - and that’s amazing Railingsohno!!