Can you take a year off between GCSE and A levels?

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Will this have an impact if DC wants to go to Sixth Form School?

Yes you can. They should still apply for sixth form and accept a place. Then you work with the sixth form to defer for a year. If it’s for medical reasons, child benefit can continue as can free prescriptions as it’s a medical leave of absence. If it’s a gap year to work, then child benefit stops and prescriptions are no longer free for the year between GCSEs and A levels. If they reach their 20th birthday before the start of a term, then a tuition fee would be due to the sixth form for all terms that start after they turn 20.

Thank you

What subjects though? If they are planning A levels in linear subjects such as maths, science to some extent, MFL for sure, then they should make sure they take on some kind of bridging or revision work over the year to keep up their relevant skills. If we are talking topic-based A levels such as history or sociology then it's not such an issue.

Assuming England, kids are supposed to be doing some sort of education or training after GCSEs, so a year off to work wouldn’t cut it. What would be the plan?

There is no fee if your child turns 20 and they have an EHCP.

Good point!

As others have said, funding for these Level 3 qualifications only lasts until they're 19 - effectively you get three years to complete them. Having a gap year would mean you don't have any leeway if something goes wrong - get ill, don't like your A level subjects, decide you want to do another year after A levels if something eg an art foundation etc

Also it might not be easy for a 16 year old to find a job as technically they should be in education. What are the plans for the gap year? If it's for health reasons or travel or something then fine, but slopping around at home looking for work is very demoralising.

They can’t just have a year off. They need to do something in that year that is educational or employment that contains a training element.

Perhaps check local colleges, if you don’t think your dc would be ready for level 3 qualifications straight away they often offer level 2 (same level as gcse) or even level 1 courses. Spending 3 years at ks5 is really common with kids doing lower level courses before starting level 3 ones.

Bur as others have said, you need to be done by the summer they turn 19 (unless there’s an EHCP).

Definitely talk to the colleges first to see what they say. We found college to be very inflexible with accommodating exceptional circumstances, but perhaps that’s just our local one.

Why would they do that, unless there is a health need? A levels are challenging. You could lose momentum and knowledge. It would mean being with younger peers. I don’t think it’s a positive move.

Depending on the A levels, mine were given summer work by the sixth form to keep their brains ticking over as it was a 10 week summer from the end of GCSEs to starting A levels as they finish mid June. My children did maths and further maths and loved maths enough that they were doing it daily anyway.

I would worry that the jump from GCSEs to A levels would be even harder if there was a gap year in between as they fall out of the routine of studying. What are their plans?

Is it for a complete break, or for retaikes, or for a different reason? There are various colleges that will offer non-A-Level courses to keep kids who aren't up to doing A-Levels in education until age 19, who define "full time education" as only about 15 hours a week often doing something creative or practical rather than classroom learning ,and it's fine to do a year at one of those and then reapply to sixth forms for the following September.

@KindlySurfiingPlatypus has a good suggestion there that has reminded me of a friend of one of my children who took a year to go to acting school before taking two a levels and continuing on to Uni. The acting school qualification had UCAS pts that were equivalent to an a level.

To clarify what @TurmericTansy said it’s not until they are 19, it is until the term after their 20th birthday so a young person has three years post16 to do college or A levels or a bit of both. It’s not a bad idea for some to go to a college and get a BTEC, then switch to sixth form for A levels. For university, it’s about the UCAS pts, the grades and the right a level for the degree course.

Why does a 16 year old need a year off? Unless it's medical I'd say it's a bad idea. That would be especially so if they are planning to do A levels that relate to GCSE subjects they've just sat. They'll forget a lot in a year.

Taking a year out at 18 makes much more sense.

Some kids are totally burned out by y11 and diving straight into the onslaught of A-Levels is courting disaster even if they do have the intellectual capacity for them

That's a medical need then.

However, I'd still advise against a year of doing nothing. It makes it much harder to restart again.

A year of lower demand though is understandable. Maybe an online course, personal development of some kind, learning to drive if 17, some part time work, volunteering etc.

My eldest has ADHD and autism. I have first hand experience of the devastation of burnout. Keeping something ticking over though at a manageable level is really important.

What would be their plan for the year? I mean these days people are expected to be in some form of education until at least 18, but obviously there is no hard a fast qualification route after GCSEs so no rush to do the next step. What do they want to work on? Why don't they want to continue in education?

They would need to complete an accredited part time course for 20% of their time.

Our council certainly email every year to check enrolment and what they are up to in Y12 and Y13.

If for medical reasons it may be different, but a gap year like post A levels you would need to discuss with the council.