Missed GCSE grades but offered complete change of Alevels to business, PE & Sociology

[lechatnoir]

DS was meant to be doing PE, Biology & Psychology A Level but got a shock 5 in Biology (predicted 7). His school say hard no to Biology + Psychology and only agreed to PE as got a high 7 for this one and strong throughout the course.

They've offered him sociology and business studies (neither of which he did for GCSE) and he's keen to accept because he wants to stay at his school but it seems totally random and I'm worried he has little interest in either and will really struggle. Plus he didn't even do Business for GCSE and presumably most/all of the students will have this head start.
He's undecided about uni but keen to work in sports although clearly sport Physio that he had considered is now off the table.

Any thoughts?

Again, have they said why the no to psychology?

Or are they just trying to move students around to balance class sizes, irrespective of what the students longer term goals are?

It'll be the science grade. It's increasingly common for psychology to require a certain level of science at GCSE.

Yes, it does have a knock on effect post results ...

They want a minimum 6 in biology for Psychology and aren’t budging on that one (grammar so definitely less flex than non selective school) nor is DS interested in looking elsewhere. He was toying with sociology before his original choice so knows what it is and isn’t unhappy he’s doing it. Business is a complete unknown so we will be encouraging him to look at the syllabus. To be fair to the school, they were pretty accommodating given his results wouldn’t get him a place as an external candidate and they offered other options and this is where he ended up.

for those that asked, he didn’t do humanities as his preferred choice clashed with his other options - we were disappointed the school don’t insist on a humanity and with hindsight he wished he had stuck with history but that ship sailed long ago.

I suspect we’re going have to let him run with it and just hope it turns out to be a positive and if it’s a total disaster, he’ll just have to repeat year 12 elsewhere.

My son doing business studies A level and was one of the only ones who didn't do it for GCSE. He's been predicted A/A* - his highest grade by far.
He's also doing psychology and has struggled big time with this all of year 12. Got 5&6s for sciences so don't think it was the best choice for him. Good luck x

PE Apprentice to become a PE Teacher? Course at Uni. The lads at my school love it

If it’s a state school they’ll really want him to stay as it’s good for their funding. Maybe push a little harder on the biology esp as he was predicted much higher. It’ll go well with PE and align with potential physio career…suggest to the school he may have to leave otherwise. He could possibly get private tutoring in biology to help him if that’s an option.

Business and Sociology are easier and I think more common sense. I started biology and psychology and changed because I hated the teacher. I got an A in business studies after never studying it before. It was easy (for me) and it’s been useful in life.

A T Level in Health would get him to physio for degree or degree apprenticeship.

were you offered a remark for English? One mark can sometimes be found. The school look at it first and then if they think it’s worth a remark then you can apply for one and pay for it. Depends if the school have teachers with exam marking experience to look at it. You need to be quick though. But for one mark it might be worth it.

Our school would allow him to take psychology with a 5 in Biology, Maths and English. As a Biology teacher, I definitely wouldn’t advise Biology A level though with only a 5 at GCSE. Even a grade 6, which is what we allow, really is pushing it for a decent grade. AAQ Science would be the best option if he’s serious about Physio.

I would let him run with those options as he’s likely to get better grades overall.

Having had 2 kids who’ve gone through a’levels, both biology and psychology are pretty tough subjects!

Is there no way he can switch to a college and do a btec / T levels?

My DS just dropped Physics May of year 12 (this year) and took up Business Studies immediately after half term (he's doing Maths & Economics) he caught up the whole of year 12 syllabus before the end of year 12 finished plus says he finds it fairly easy. He didn't study Business at GCSE. HOWEVER, he wants to study Economics & Finance at Uni so he doesn't need Maths or Business. If your son has his heart set on Sports Physio or regular Physiotherapy as a degree he might want to find somewhere that does let him study Biology A Level. or at least look at the Unis for that course and see what they require.

First of all,definitely don’t discount physio!There are many ways to get there.
My daughter didn’t have the best GCSE grades after some health issues and undiagnosed dyslexia.She had no idea what she wanted to do,but has gone on to do BTec Sport as a 3 Alevel equivalent. She has now decided she’d like to be a sports physio. There are very few physio courses that will take BTec sport without a science Alevel as well,but she is considering doing a Foundation course before doing the degree.The other thing to do is look into sports therapy,as you can always do a masters in physio later.
Not doing as well as you expected is always disappointing, but it builds resilience and,like I say,just means you might need to take a slightly longer route to reach your goal!
Good luck to him!

My DD wants to do sports physio also. She’s planning on doing medical science and psychology at A level. A couple of days ago we found a course at our local college that would enable her to learn about health and fitness while also getting experience on sports physio. Maybe this would be something your DS would find beneficial? Show him that there are other options, as I never thought my DD would entertain college, but it has shown her there’s more out there that fits much better. An apprenticeship afterwards would mean that sports physio is definitely not off the table! 😊

It is worth him resitting the biology next summer so if yr12 doesn't go as planned he might have more opportunities to do what he prefers- there or somewhere else?

If the biology was a genuine surprise he could look to resit but you may need to find a private tutor and pay to sit the exam. (I am tutoring a student who is currently doing this). Pain at the moment but might open more doors for him im the long run.

Otherwise, it's maybe a good reminder that not everyone (or perhaps hardly anyone) has a career plan mapped out that they follow rigidly anyway. Most of us bumble along picking what seems like the best opportunity at the time and end up in jobs we had never originally considered / didn't know existed previously. So perhaps this is the unexpected path henis meant to take all along.

unfortunately, BTech aren’t an option

At his school. It really does sound that there isn't a good fit subjectwise for him if he stays.

Why is the idea of going to 6th form college so abhorrent to him?

As other pp have stated, the step up to biology A level from GCSe is hard. DD achieved an A* at GCSe and found biology hard. The issue with biology at GCSE and A level is the specific mark scheme. The students have to answer the questions the way the examiner wants them to, and this catches a lot of young people out.

@lechatnoiri think it sounds fine! My DD got similar grades last year and had to quickly pivot her a-level options in a similar way to take 2 entirely new subjects (sociology and criminology WJEC) but actually it’s been great and she really enjoys them.
I think his combo sounds fine for what he wants to do - and personally I’d prefer a child who was happy in their school with all their friends than going for a different college they didn’t want to go to, even if the subject options might seem more suitable. Happiness is key.

Hi OP, I’m a physio who did a physiotherapy degree with humanity A levels (although this was a little while ago now). I just wanted to say that although Biology is often preferred it is not always necessary as previous posters have said. What most physio degrees look for is a solid understanding of all of the areas of physiotherapy, e.g respiratory, neuro, orthoeaidcs and paediatrics as well as sports and msk. There is also the option of doing sports therapy or a sports degree and converting to physiotherapy from here. My advice would be to get some good volounteer or work experience in this area and not panic yet!

I suspect we’re going have to let him run with it and just hope it turns out to be a positive and if it’s a total disaster, he’ll just have to repeat year 12 elsewhere.

Yes if he's desperate to stay at his school then you may just have to let him do it. Worst comes to the worst he can go to college next year.

This really gets me so angry at the moment with our education system and the disparity between options for 'high achievers' academically and a decent mid-tier student. I'm honestly finding the options are getting more and more limiting. On the surface - yes, they can do Btecs. I don't have a problem with this. My problem is that the choices are far more limiting and they are forcing students either to just 'pick something' and picking up a subject they've never done before or have no interest in (such as your DS) instead of an option for a subject they are passionate about. Or alternatively they end up having to essentially 'specialise' and very early before they really know what they want to do.

For example - plenty of A Level students are still assessing their options and they might do a humanity and a science that they've already done and know they succeed in and maybe pick up a new subject they have interest in. They have the breadth across 3 subjects as well. At my DDs school there's a choice of 23 A levels, but only a choice of 9 BTecs. And from those 9, a lot can be quite similar in nature, can't be taken together due to subject blocks and also some are worth 2 A levels so they would essentially study two different subjects. So their choice is massively reduced. Or they go to college and it's generally then an extended BTec so they only choose one subject. And yes they can go on to uni with that, but they can they only really go and study a very related subject at uni.

I think we are really failing a massive amount of teenagers with this system. My DD has been the same and locked out of some options, mainly due to 1 mark which is frustrating because they won't give any leniency as the course is oversubscribed. So instead, she is going to be very specialised. Luckily, she does have an idea on what she wants to do and the options do fit in with it but I know a lot of others who aren't in this situation. And I do worry (as does she) that if she changes her mind on her uni/career options, she won't have a choice. At 16, that's a lot.

Our conversation with the head of 6th form went in a similar way .e.g. well she could pick up Btec Business and that would allow her to stay on. Well, she has no interest at all in business and it's rubbish that the options being presented are so limited for the students in the grade 4-6 brackets. No issue with more vocational courses and that A levels aren't necessarily right. But I do have an issue with how this limits their subject choices. The head of sixth form essentially agreed. But obviously nothing they can do!

Sorry for the rant!

Schools don't have the size / capacity to run full BTECs, that is what colleges are for.

I think Business could be a good A level to have with PE. Now that physio is off the table, he may want to go into some sort of sports admin (finance, management etc) and Business is a good subject for that.

Thanks again to all. Totally agree that the current A level system doesn’t suit the many many middle achievers. My DS’s school don’t even offer BTec - literally just very standard A levels. There is a sixth form college but it’s all too often viewed as the place to go if you flunk your GCSE’s which is such a shame given the breadth of courses they offer.

He’s 100% set on staying and having read the syllabus for business is now quite keen or at least doing a good show of it so fingers crossed. His physio aspirations are not set in stone more something he liked the sound of and in truth it was more the sports therapy side he was interested in and a Quick Look at clearing suggests this is still an option with just PE if that’s something he still wants to pursue.

I completely get where you’re coming from with the attitude that the colleges are for those that have ‘flunked’. Which is crazy. They have all passed and often very strong passes but it’s now seen that A level is essentially for A grade students and then they can stay on and choose from a variety of subjects. I really hope they reform the system soon!
I hope your son gets on brilliantly with his new courses!!