College preventing progression to Y13 due to poor attendance

[Wobbly75]

Can they do it?

Some have passed with a B missing more, and that was before there were as many online resources to help.

Local college expect Y12 students to sit AS levels. If they get bad grades they are out. Be grateful they are offering to restart Y12

This is a good lesson of reaping what you sow. Hopefully your son will learn from it.

Our local college do this.

You have to sit and pass AS to be allowed to continue on.

I would get him to really seriously consider alternatives such as BTECs here

Is there anything else he would rather be studying? Seems pointless to do A Levels if he's not going to go to university (and with that attitude it would be a complete waste).

What is he interested in?

A lot of colleges let you do A levels with a 4 at GCSE

It might be worth asking if they’d let him do year 12 AND 13. My sixth form allows that where timetables allow, so y13 students who are underperforming attend y12 lessons as well as their y13 ones.

But if they’ve said no then that’s that. How does he think he can “pull it off” if they literally won’t allow him to progress?

Well then they should know better.

I recall we once let a student take A level German with a C (back in the day) – wow what a nightmare, we had to can that after about four weeks.

A GCSE grade 4 (unless there were massive reasons for it such as illness mid-year 11), while a perfectly useful grade for college courses and apprenticeships, is in no way a prep for A level.

@Wobbly75 he doesn't have to be in education until 18 – just a role with some kind of training. Could he not refocus on something perhaps more practical or more directly related to a career?

Best to learn your lessons young

If you removed the first two months of non attendance what do his figures look like?

Sometimes with our students we look for improved attendance after their blip. But it would have to go hand in hand with good attitude to learning.

Would a T level be an option in business? Does he want to go to uni?
We sometimes let students start again with different subjects.

That’s what he has to-do then.

Has he finished all the work and or placements?

If you do the same thing again the same way you will get the same results.
Nothing you have said suggests a positive outcome.

I would suggest a hard look at the can't be bothered. Not interested? Lazy? Got behind so ignored the problem? Too much self directed work required? Journey long and complicated?

That will help you know what to change.

Failing at y12 A levels but succeeding with a restart with BTEC is a tale I have seen before here.

Have a read on the Further Education board.

I don't know if it helps but I messed up Yr12 as well. I always remember my Dad sitting me down for a stern word telling me to buckle down because if I failed again then he would no longer fund me. The thought that I would have to be getting a job to contribute to my room and board was enough to scare me into working hard to pass retakes and Yr13. Ultimately I realised study wasn't for me and I got a job whilst my friends went to uni.

It doesn't mean that life is over if it doesn't work just that it takes a different course. In my late 20s I headed for Uni and now have 2 degrees and a masters. At 17/18 yo it wasn't that I couldn't pass, I just wasn't ready for independent study.

Is there an alternative such as going back to school for sixth form? Though I suppose they might not have him?

guess his options are he he repeats the year or gets a job. But if he repeats the year it’ll be his last chance and they won’t let him do year 13 if he does the same again.

Just to address some of your comments, he has found the transition to college difficult. He's the youngest in the year group and the past six months have been extremely challenging both at home and college. He has now realised the consequences of some poor lifestyle choices he made earlier this year. He is still very immature and essentially unable to self discipline. He is a good kid and well supported and loved. He is intelligent and I have no doubt that once he finds his interest he will do well. As some of you said, life is a journey, everyone has to find their path in their own way. Anyway, whatever happens, I really hope for a fresh start as we are really battered as a family.

@Wobbly75 I am sorry he has had a tough time. Have those been the kinds of issues that he has now moved on from? I ask bc if so, then restarting year 12 with a better attitude may be a positive.
Your earlier posts made it sound as tho that was not the case and he wiuld just do the same again, but if not, her maybe has a lifeline.

If not I agree with others that a fresh start doing something completely different may be the way, But what does he want to do? You don't say but I think that is key. All the best to him.

Sending much support and understanding OP. Us old people have the perspective to know that young people often have wobbly paths towards adulthood, independence, qualifications, careers etc.

When you are young you can’t see that and the comparison with “higher achieving” peers can be brutal for their sense of self-esteem.

If you can reassure him that this is just a set back and it won’t matter in the long run, I hope he has the motivation and headspace to knuckle down from September.

Yes, he has moved on from those bad choices, having realised they were wrecking his life. He has no clear ideas about his future. What he wants is to stay at this college and have a chance to catch up and progress to Y13. Hates the idea of being a year behind his friends. Today he'll meet with the teachers, after long talks last night with us he's understood, perhaps not yet accepted, that he may not be allowed to move up. An alternative at that point might be a T level or BTech, but again this would mean an additional two years.

Thank you, there is hope, I think.

Great example for him of actions have consequences. The extra year will do him good to mature in that time, it’s not a negative overall. He’s also extremely fortunate to have been offered this as an option, to genuinely give him a second chance.

I had a rough journey through university then college then another university. My adult life has been much easier than my teenage life for sure. It sounds like he has some great support around him so hopefully he can find his way through.

Yes, though there is a protocol they are supposed to have gone through before this? ie they are supposed to have called you in, discussed attendance, set a minimum attendance thereafter, put the YP on a ‘warning’, clarified that the consequences of not meeting the criteria of the action plan would result in exclusion etc.

Did any of that happen? If not, then I think you have grounds to go back and appeal - but if YP is now so far behind, it might be better for them to consider redoing y12 (you have until 19 in free state ed, so restarting y12 in what would have been y13 is really common, but there would have to be an undertaking by yourselves and YP to address the behaviours etc). A move to a different college may be a better move and offer a fresh start, so also worth considering.

If his attendance improved after that false start then you could have an argument. But only if he likes those subjects.

We have lots of young people switch then thrive. Sometimes it’s subject choice, sometimes it’s style of learning.

Think about overall success. This is a blip that’s easily fixed. He could think about what his interests are. And if it is the same then a fresh start and attitude could work out. Otherwise pick something else.