Re sitting/re doing GCSEs

[sampamsnan]

Following on from my post of school refusal, can anyone give me positive stories about their teens redoing GCSEs and turning things around?

Feeling hopeless for my dd's future right now and want to know it's possible.

My y11 (anxiety and depression, out of school & education since lockdown1) is currently looking to come out with 3 at grades 2/3 rather than the 8 at 4+ she was on track for before lockdown.
It's depressing.

We aren't going down the general resit route, but rather entering her planned vocational course at level 1 rather than 2 or 3 (and of course resitting maths & Eng Lang). College have said they'll be flexible and if she shows she is managing well at level 1 they might be able to bump her to level 2 after a month or so.

Can you work backwards? What was the aspiration? What routes are there to get there? e.g. Unis can allow access courses or foundation years as an alternative to A levels.
Will your local college allow onto A levels without requisite GCSEs?
Is there a BTEC route whilst resitting a couple of GCSEs privately?

Thanks for that, very helpful. I don't know the answer to those questions but it's given me the questions I need to find answers to which gives me somewhere to start!

I feel like I need to dedicate my emotions and energy in to getting her well again rather than stressing about her academic future and career. Her dad is of the mind that this is the end of her prospects/the world and it's adding so much stress to an already awful situation

If she isn't well then she can't do anything. That is the focus.
If doing some academic work helps or is neutral to recovery then we'll do it, otherwise we won't. I have to keep reminding myself that, (especially today).

There are routes other than the GCSEs->A levels->Uni, you just need to find them. You may find some guidance on the Home Ed board as their students don't generally take the traditional route.

Otherwise if you have a 6th form college that does A levels and other things, then ring them up and pick their brains. If you don't have one in your area, pick one elsewhere and phone them! (e.g. Barton Peveril in Southampton which is one of the ones local to me).

You can have 3 years funding at 6th form if needed.

That's so bizarre... I went to that college!

You've really reassured me and given me good for thought, thank you x

Small world. Good luck.

You're doing the right thing focussing on her and her emotional health. She needs to feel supported and get better. The academic stuff/ life stuff will come after that.
I hope you both get the support you need. You sound like a lovely parent

I'm currently trying to choose between giving attention to Biology (who say they can't give DD a grade at all) and Maths (who will only give her a 2 right now - she had been going to sit the higher paper).

Now, if DD could do enough biology to get a 3 it would be worth it (helpful for college).
If DD could do enough Maths to get a 3 it would be helpful but she'd still have to retake. She can't do both. Doesn't have the bandwidth right now.
Should be maths. But she finds maths harder when anxious...
And she isn't so rusty on Biology.

Sorry for the derail. You are not alone.

Thanks @EeeByeGummieBear

@TeenMinusTests sounds like biology might be a better confidence boost for her then she'll have that done and dusted ready for next year when she can resist maths... but it's difficult to decide to put maths on the back burner when there's such a focus on it. My DD struggles with maths too and it makes her feel hopeless when there are subjects she could do well in if she wasn't so bogged down by the maths. I hate the system in that sense

What's so frustrating for me, is we decided what to continue with based on sitting delayed exams in June, and picked 2 subjects she had started in y9 as she had done proportionately more of the syllabus.
Now they have brought forward assessments again, and the school can't take assessments done in y9 into account.

I resat my GCSE's at college did incredibly well. Ended up going uni and graduating. There are so many career routes these days though. What is ur daughters passion? Mayb she would prefer to pursue something she enjoys.