How do we apply for college if we don’t know grades. Fashion Retail Academy

[Lightinthestars]

DD going into year 11 and want to apply for Fashion Retail Academy for 2027.

Predicted grades are:

English Language: 4 WAG 4
English literature: 4 WAG 4
Maths: 3, WAG 2
Science: 4,4 WAG 5,5

We don’t know whether to apply for Level 2 or 3 at the Fashion Retail Academy. Requirements;

Level 2: 4 GCSE at 3, including English and Maths. Limited spaces for resisting. 1 year course.

Level 3: 4 GCSE at 4 including English and Maths. 2 year course,

We don’t know what grades she is going to get; so how do we choose the course?

You may be able to apply for both, then just accept the correct one once she has her results.

My daughter has applied for level 3 courses for next year, currently sitting her gcses - her English is slightly uncertain but we think she should be able to get the 4 she needs so has only applied for level 3. The college said there will be room for movement on results day if she doesn't get the grade she needs.

Thank you. I hope that is the case. They have limited spaces for resitting so that is a worry

Good Luck to your daughter. What colleges is she applying for?

When is the best time to apply?

With vocational courses there is often room for movement. I'd apply for the level 2, as even if she beats the predictions but can't go up, a year at level 2 before level 3 won't do any harm.

Not sure if you choose the resitting option when you apply.?

We are in London. What other colleges should we be looking at?

I guess it depends on the form, but they will see the predicted grades after all. You have to resit if you don't get a 4+.

I honestly suspect you are over thinking. Can you go to an open day and just ask someone? At both DDs' colleges there was movement and flexibility on course levels even after the start of term.

Colleges are used to students who are borderline pass/fail on maths & English. They will have a way of coping if someone does better/worse than anticipated.

If you have to choose I'd apply for Level 2 with resit maths, as that is where her predictions are at currently.

Thanks.

We missed the open day this year as DD was unwell that day unfortunately.

I am probably overthinking it but I am not English and not familiar with the education system,

If she does level 2 and wants to move to level 3. Will she still get the funding for level 3? Her birthday is in Nov. Will be nearly 17 when she starts

Yes there are 3 years of funding for 6th form, if needed.
Doing a year at level 2 then moving up to level 3 for another 2 years is very standard.

Resitting at college is a right pain though and pass rates for resits aren't great.

Anything you can do to support your DD in passing first time around would be valuable. Whether that is a tutor, asking school to provide work, or just getting her to put in some extra hours this summer to really come to grips with things. There are some good websites around to help. If you wanted to do a separate post on that for recommendations I'm sure people would help.

are there any non-core subjects she is taking? Usually you would apply for level 3 on the assumption of passing the minimum and discuss level 2 if not. Is there any opportunity for support to boost those grades to secure the entry grades for level 3?

Both of my children applied for level 3. My eldest didn’t meet the grade criteria but was still given a place based on her portfolio and had to retake maths alongside her course.

Thank you,

We need to try to get those passes and apply for level 3. Maths is the main concern.

Yes, we are going to have to get more support specially in maths.

That is good to know.

She is currently working at a grade 2 in maths, and predicted a 3. That is quite a long way from a 4. Grade boundaries for Edexcel Foundation tier last year (out of 240):
5 - 175
4 - 144
3 - 105
2 - 67
1 - 29

It doesn’t sound good. We may have to get a maths tutor

Or would Functional Skills be accepted as an alternative?

For Maths? Not sure how this works; the college doesn’t mention it

I looked briefly at FS maths but I wasn't convinced it was going to be any easier for my DD than the GCSE. It left out some of the topics she was better at (e.g. algebra). The school almost definitely won't support it, and doing it privately alongside GCSEs would be hard.
In my opinion probably better to throw everything at passing the GCSE.

Yes, looks like we are going to have to throw everything at getting those 4 passes, including money on tutoring, encouraging and supporting DD.

We still got a year, I think she has a chance if she put the effort into it.

What other colleges should we look at in London? I have no clue. I assume we should apply for other ones.

@Lightinthestars it’s hard to answer that without knowing where you are – what does your DD want to do – and is the qualification available at other colleges? You could look up which colleges are easily accessible by tube or bus or walking and check what they offer.

I agree with others tho, it is unlikely (and tbf I don't know the college) to be the case that the college refuses her if she doesn't get a 4 in maths. Much more likely, as happened with my DS1 who struggled with English, that they will offer her a place on the lower-level course and a chance to resit maths, plus the possibility of moving up to the higher-level course.

I also agree tho that the best thing if possible is to get 4s in maths and English at school, aged 16. It's tough to pass via college resits. So yes, maybe a tutor, certainly lots of practice and maths work.

If she is currently year 10, so starting the course September 2027 it may be too early to apply.

May vary per college, but I would expect then to be focussed on those starting in September 2026 at the moment.

You said you missed the open day but I would expect there to be more open days later in the year, once the new intake have settled. You might find that there website shows historic news/announcements, or ypu can scroll through the Facebook page and find info about when in 2025 they started holding them for the current year 7s.
Whether you apply for others may depend on what colleges are within travelling distance and offer the course she wants to do.
We have one fe college with 6 campuses.
The comprehensive schools each have a 6 form, but offer a lower number of subjects than the fe college.
There are other fe colleges further away, in a different city, but not looked into those because the local one offers what is wanted.