Brit school UAL level 2 diploma

[Britishcountryside]

DC wants to go to the Brit School for year 10. Does anyone have experience of the UAL level 2 diploma? What do you have to do to get the qualification? Is it difficult? He wants to study theatre.

Is this an useful/important qualification?

Hopeful bump

A UAL level 2 is equivalent to 4 GCSEs. It’s assessed through coursework - primarily the log books they keep on their strand work along with assessed performances. If they keep up to date with their logbooks, they’re likely to do very well as BRIT work them hard, but they don’t need to be academically brilliant to get great marks.

Alongside this they do the core GCSEs (maths, English lang and lit and double award science) and I think they take one other optional GCSE. So they come out with the equivalent of 10 GCSEs but with four of them based on their strand they don’t have the same breadth of subjects compared with doing 8/9 somewhere else.

Thank you. This is helpful. My DC friend is doing theatre and he said there are 5 big written portfolios they have to do throughout year 10 and 11 and pass each one to get the qualification. Maybe each strand is different. According to him the practical part doesn’t count towards the qualification; just the portfolios.

That sounds about right - 3 projects in y10 and 2 in Y11 which is shorter due to GCSEs.

My DC is in theatre but they’re in 6th form now so did 14+ before they change to the UAL L2 at the beginning of this academic year. So they may well be right about performance not being part of the assessment. The portfolios include logs of and reflections on their practical work though, so it’s all relevant.

Something DC has noted is that there has been a higher than usual drop out rate from the current Y10s in theatre, which they think is likely due to people getting worried about the risks involved in having so much invested in one subject and perhaps also for incorrectly assuming that it would mean a lighter workload than a standard GCSE portfolio. That said, they also (in regular ‘I love Brit’ diatribes) say that anyone who is really invested and motivated in their strand can do really well.

Interesting, and yes 4 GCSEs is a lot and there are no guarantees they will get the qualification. Apparently they have to pass each portfolio to complete the next one; and the last one is the one that decides whether they pass, fail, get a merit or distinction.

What was 14plus like?

Just wondering why they changed to the UAL level 2 diploma? I thought that was for 16 plus

My DC has loved every second of their time at Brit, a transformation to how they’ve felt about school in the past. They would have preferred the current set up with more theatre and fewer other subjects if they’d had the opportunity.

I would say as long as they’re putting in the work, they can guarantee the pass - it’s people who fall behind/ don’t submit / don’t ask for support if they need it (there’s loads available), who are at risk of failing

Thank you. That is good to hear

I don’t know exactly why they changed, but it might be so that all the strands offer the same qualification and to allow them to focus more & become more qualified in their chosen strand (DC ended up with less that a GCSE equivalent in theatre, which doesn’t matter in the long run but seems odd given it’s their passion). It also allows more consistency with 16+ where they do the UAL L3. I suspect there may also be financial benefits for the school in streamlining the GCSE offering.

Thanks. What GCSE did your child end week? I heard the maths department isn’t very good; and some people complain about grades slipping in other core subjects too.They seem to put most of the attention in the strands; more now they are worth 4 GCSE

DC is not naturally academic and has a - let’s just say - ‘quirky’ approach to studies, but did as well if not better than we would have imagined prior to starting Brit as they were so motivated there. They found maths and English were taught in ways that really suited them (ie neurodivergent/creative friendly), though Science was not as successful.

The main thing is though they’re on track to excel in their strand at 16+ (despite finding written work a massive challenge they have been consistently high scoring due to effort and commitment). So could well end up with a distinction / the equivalent to 3 x A*s at A Level. Which is well beyond what I ever imagined for them.

its worth saying as well that there are some academically excellent students there and the whole culture is one that really positively supports graft in all endeavours. Sure, there are some that don’t work hard despite this, but from DC’s point of view, there are not true BRIT people (many of whom were filtered out in the move to 6th form).

That’s very helpful. Thank you. Glad your child has loved his time at the Brit. This is what matters as they spend so much time in school,