[Clare~Bear]

Here's the situation . . . my friend has A2 exams in a few weeks time.

He has a part-time job at a supermarket with the option of doing extra hours (meaning he basically works full-time in the holidays.)

BUT he's saying that his parents take some of his money to pay for bills etc. They're currently short of money and are saying that my friend either needs to work extra hours and give them the extra money, or he can move out! He's on study leave at the moment so doesn't have to go to lessons, but he hasn't got much time for revision and when he does have spare time, he's too worn out from all the work he's doing!

He's tried explaining to them that he needs the time to revise else he'll fail. they say that it doesn't matter if he does fail cos he's not applied to uni. But still, having good a-levels will help him get a better job and alow him to go to uni in the future if he wants.

What can he do?

[Shelly_x]

He could revise after work, being 'too worn out' is an excuse. If he wants it badly enough then he'll have to do it.
Tbh it doesn't look like theres much he can do, hes tried talking to his parents about it but that didn't work. He could speak to his boss at work and say he doesnt want as many hours and then tell his parents they didn't have any hours to give him?

[Clare~Bear]

Wouldn't you be worn out after a 40 minute bike ride, an 8 hour shift then a 50 minute (uphill going home) bike ride home?

He's been there a couple of years and has always been able to get extra shifts in the holidays so I'm not sure if that would wash with his parents or not. But it was a good suggestion that he could try perhaps

[idiot_heart]

Could he say that he has to go to revision sessions at school and go there to revise instead?

[superwolf]

Might be an idea to speak to someone at school - sounds like his parents are being very short-sighted, but it's just possible that if someone in a position of authority came and discussed how important education can be (especially since your friend genuinely wants to do well) with them that they'd see reason. Or it might be that the school would be able to offer some other kind of solution - I know that universities offer hardship funds, so if his school does the same he might be able to convince them that he needs the money as rent to his parents, or he'll be made homeless.

[willbee]

Could you let him stay at yours for a brief period? In my family, as soon as you turn 16 you have to start contributing to the household income, because obviously it costs money to live on and you can have a job so you ought to be earning. So I understand where his family is coming from, but also in terms of the bigger picture they're not being fair. This is the only solution I can think of tbh, unless you get the school to intervene and that would probably be more trouble than it's worth. Would your family be okay if he stayed with you for a bit? It would be very generous on your part but some families are okay with that (mine would be, but they'd expect my friends to contribute which is the whole problem in the first place!). The other issue is that his parents might not seriously want him to move out, just be relying on him for money. If this is the case perhaps he could take a loan out or something?

IDK. Just spewing ideas here. It's one of the situations you can't really comprehend from a brief summary on the internet.

[longchamp]

if your friend was born in China, he can enjoy the priority to study.

[Pawsies]

It is probably a good thing as I know when I only have to revise, I will find other things to do. With a job you have to prioritise what is important so it stops you procrastinating.

[Aspiringlawstudent]

Why doesn't he just say 'no'?

[Clare~Bear]

(Original post by Aspiringlawstudent)
Why doesn't he just say 'no'?

Cos they'll kick him out and he has nowhere to go. Plus if he did then it would mean he could work less and revise more. But then he wouldn't have enough money to live off.