Sixth Form for charming, personable, dyslexic, sporty son

[behindthecurveithink]

Hi - would really appreciate any advice on where to move my very dyslexic son for sixth form. We live in the SE. Current SE coastal school only offers A level and I'm not sure many of the traditional subjects will really suit. Also 3 changes in SENCO in 3 years has not lead to a steady ship in that department! He currently goes to school to be in the A team for cricket, rugby and hockey! It's not a super sporty school, but this gets him out of bed in the mornings. I'm trying to get my head around BTECs and whether these really are better for those who do not do well in exams. Thinking of Millfield (getting mixed feedback), Milton Abbey (all the photos seem to be of girls - wondering what it is like for boys)... any other suggestions welcome. I'm just starting on my search and would be very grateful for any help - with thanks.

Would you not consider state colleges? You must have them and some of them will offer Sports or Outdoor Pursuits BTECs. They will have some sports teams, but there would be nothing to stop him joining external teams rather than relying on school ones. by staying local he would continue to be able to do sports in the holidays too.

Be warned that all Level 3 BTECs will have some level of written work, and also some exams. To get the very top grades you need good analysis skills but a steady worker can do well in my (limited) experience. You can go to university with BTECs.

You need to look for Level 3 Extended Diplomas. They are worth 3 A levels. They may require passes in English & Maths. Without the English pass he could start at Level 2 which would be a 1 year course and then progress from there for a further 2 years.

Bedes, Eastbourne College?

Seaford College, offers BTEC's and A levels and has good sports facilities. Also specialist dyslexia teachers?

Thank you indeed - yes looking at state too, but it was the lack of support in the state sector that drove us to independent in the first place. I think the moral of the story is ... It's up to us as parents to provide the support where ever you are - I'm not sure any school is really that clued up about it all - thank you again

You may (or may not) find that colleges are better at SEN support than primary or secondary schools. Colleges doing BTECs will have a significant number of students who have struggled with English and/or maths. I guess it depends how the dyslexia manifests itself and how much support your DS needs.

An extended Diploma 3 A level equivalent will keep his options open for as long as possible. Most universities will accept on it's own (Loughborough won't - or didn't a couple of years ago despite there being exams for a couple of units). If you are looking for good sports private will be the best option - Kings College Taunton, Milton Abbey both do the extended (Millfield do not). I would avoid mixing qualifications so standard diploma plus an A level for example - picking one learning style is going to be beneficial. Many colleges offer the extended diploma but most won't have great sports options and the units they cover plus the additional qualifications on offer at a private will be lacking (lifeguarding, RFU & ECB coaching qualifications). There are some higher & further education colleges generally the ones who also offer land based courses which have boarding which could be an option - Hartpury & one in Northampton. There are also some ultra targeted sports programmes which offer a BTEC along side - there was a cricket one in possibly Essex which I saw advertised just as my DS was finishing a couple of years ago, a school in Sevenoaks specialising in Rugby plus there's football apprenticeships with clubs offering Btec's for the academic side. It's really hard to find a comprehensive list of all places offering the qualification - search on BTEC level 3 extended diploma in sport and see what Google brings up.

Picking up a couple of points from @TheTeenageYears

Yes you definitely need to look into not only where the Extended BTECs are offered but which units they choose from the spec. There can be a large number of options but it will normally be the college that picks which ones are offered, not the student.

Re state land based colleges with boarding. Sparsholt in Hants (near Winchester) offers this and does do the Sports BTEC, but I think it is more Football based.

Pangbourne College?

Talented sporty children in our county often join a professional rugby club apprentice type programme where they do sporty courses in a local college and board there then train several times a week at the club. (Leic tigers). Also our local football team runs a similar programme. You could look into options near to you?

What does he want to do?

My sporty dyslexic dd had a real breakthrough at 15 and got decent GCSEs. Her sixth form offered excellent dyslexia support services and she got A's at a level, she's playing rugby at a very high level now

Wow - thank you for a wealth of knowledge. He enjoys his sport and it's what keeps him going - but I don't think he's good enough for him to be looking at that professionally. So I'm looking for somewhere that will support him academically so that he can go to College or Uni if he wants to. I fear that if we keep on the A level track he may not get enough points to really have his widest range of options later on. Thanks so much to you all for some great advice.