Failed my as levels miserably!

I've failed my AS levels MISERABLY and, as a result of this, I have been given two option's; 1- To either resit the year with entirely different subjects; this is due to government funding and therefore the Sixth Form cannot offer me a retake with the same subjects as the previous year.
2 - To make a swift exit from Sixth Form and enroll in college/apprenticeship.

I'm extremely worried. My dad was rightfully mad with me, although I had already beaten myself up about the matter. I was on holiday at the time of my results and thus lead to my brothers girlfriend having to collect them for me and deliver the misfortune via telephone. I was terribly upset with myself and, at the same time, angry to say the least. On top of this I was quite embarrassed because I'd hate people to look at me as though I'm not intelligent enough to sit through A levels, but I just cannot understand what went wrong. I was much more knowledgeable going into my exams than I had been throughout the year and then when I went into the exams and came out I felt confident in what I had produced. In spite of this the confidence rapidly retracted as I received the photo's of my results (Biology U, Psychology E, Physical Education U, ICT E).

In biology I always felt as though I was heading in a negative direction from the first couple of months, so I wasn't too surprised when I received a U (although I felt as though I'd achieved much better after I revised and sat the exam). I had also gotten an A in the coursework, yet that didn't seem to have pulled my grade up in the slightest. In psychology I started out the year with a U in the mock exam. As the year progressed I started achieving D's and then C's until up to the point I was getting A's before I sat the exam. I was extremely pleased with how the exam went as I felt revision went remotely well and I felt as though I knew more than I had all year long. In ICT the whole class has been getting good grades all year; that includes mocks and tests. I got A's in ICT all year with the exception of one B. However, our teacher was barely ever in class and when he was he would only teach us one load of the specification and then present us with an end of topic test. Nearly everyone in the class ended up with E's or D's when the results had arrived. Then finally PE. During the course of the year I had some ups and downs, PE revolved around 3 different sections of the spec and therefore I had 3 separate teachers educating me on the different area's of the spec. I had gotten a U, 2 C's and 3 B's by the time exams came. I had gotten a B in my practical assessment and again, I thought the exam went rather well, excluding some clear mistakes in one area of the spec.

So now, as I stated earlier, I have two options. No wait I apologise, I have one. I really don't fancy restarting a year with subjects that disinterest me. It looks likes I'm heading down the college/apprenticeship route, although I'm feeling slightly anxious towards the whole idea, I really don't appear to have much choice in the matter considering my grades. One reason I'm feeling so anxious towards the idea is that I've always had my plan stuck in my head, I was always going to go down the academic route. Finish A levels and go to university. However now my pathway has become less rigid and more clouded. As a result I've always had this kind of plan stuck in my head, I have never really considered an apprenticeship and, if you asked my dad when I started A levels I stated "Apprenticeships are for people who don't want to use their mind, I want to use my mind for something" which was actually how I felt at the time. This was probably due to the fact that the majority of less intelligent peers among us decided that route and therefore that stereotype has been concealed. I can honestly say I still feel like this in some form of disgusting way and I think the reason for this is because I am really unaware and blind to the opportunities that apprenticeships can offer. I guess I feel as though that I won't be able to earn as much money as I would in later life if I had done well in my A levels. I suppose that this is ignorant in a way and I should really do some research before I jump into these ridiculous conclusions but, that is how I am feeling right now because I feel panic'd, rushed and frightened to what my future is about to entail.

I think its relevant for the sake of my plead to mention that I was planning on going to do physiotherapy at university, however now that this ship has come to halt I am not entirely sure if I want to continue down the sport route (even though I am genuinely interested in sport and I am a sportsman myself). Maybe because I have an interest in computers and games I could pursue idea's and opportunities there? Or maybe it would be more beneficial to plummet into a solid work ethic such as plumbing for example.

Some solid advice would be most appreciated, please do with my dilemma what you will but I would appreciate it if your guidance was actually relevant.

Thanks, Liam

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

HollieAMarie

Hi Liam,
I hope that your Dad wasn't too hard on you and you weren't too hard on yourself!
Whilst your options seem limited, you may have more choices than you think. I would seriously consider moving to a new college or sixth form if this is at all possible. This way you may have a chance to study some of the same subjects or have a wider range of options. You could also enroll at a college to study a vocational course in something you're interested in. The apprenticeship option is there for you and I would look into it, just to see what is available to you! You may surprise yourself!
However, you strike me as the academic type and I would therefore suggest looking into new A-Levels and at potentially retaking them.
Good luck!