why do A-Level Students Look Down on BTEC's?

Oh awesome hope you manage to get onto the course


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Hehhehe thanks, just need to get DDM for Health and Social Care but I think I'll achieve higher

Because BTECs are easier. At least that's what I heard from people doing both back in 6th form.

It's not something I'd judge someone for though.

Because BTECs are easier. At least that's what I heard from people doing both back in 6th form.

It's not something I'd judge someone for though.

Trust me they are not. One student in my current class did a-levels but failed so they decided to do BTEC HSC, and they said this is harder than a-levels I wish I did them instead. So unless you haven't done a BTEC yourself I wouldn't judge from what people say.

I've done a level 2 BTEC in ICT. Not quite the same but then again, GCSEs aren't A-levels. I'd say the BTEC content is just dull, not harder than, for example, GCSE English Literature.

That explains why it was dull and easy.

1. It was compulsory.
2. GCSEs aren't exactly hard either lol. They're harder than their BTEC counterparts though that's for sure (unless you're doing foundation level).

I've been told the same holds true for A-level by people that did both. That's all I'm trying to say.

1. Couldn't they teach GCSE ICT?
2. I'm fully aware.

Easier is just a relative term. I would've achieved higher grades had I gone on to do A-levels but I wanted a more practical approach to learning.

I asked them the same question. The response basically implied **** off.

Fair enough.

I've done a level 2 BTEC in ICT. Not quite the same but then again, GCSEs aren't A-levels. I'd say the BTEC content is just dull, not harder than, for example, GCSE English Literature.

We are talking about LEVEL 3 NOT LEVEL 2 THEY ARE VERY DIFFERENT. Not really, I wouldn't copy the same notes over and over again and memorise facts, I'd rather learn new things and put it in practice this way I'll gain more experience. It's a shame you can't do placement with A-levels, because I'm sure very student would have enjoyed it.

A-Levels are HARDER than Btec. It's simply a fact.

Something that I hate is that excellence scholarships are offered to Btec students with DDD and A-Level students with AAA. As if a Distinction is equivalent to an A in A-Level. An A is so much harder to obtain than Distinctions so that's not fair at all.

Should have done a **** Btec and got some extra money from it and still do the same course at the same University. What utter nonsense.

Having done both AS and coming to the end of my BTEC extended diploma in medical science I can safely say that none of this is true.

I left after a year of AS due to illness and bad quality teaching and as it was so late in the year I was not able to get into another sixth form for September entry, I was able to get a place on a BTEC course that would allow me to progress onto my chosen degree course.

Shortly after beginning my BTEC I discovered the limitations of A-levels. The syllabus is extremely limited and only really skims the surface of the subjects, you are not encouraged to learn and think for yourself as the main priority is getting you to churn out the same information as everyone else in the country in the exact same way the examiners want. A levels are not a test of knowledge but a test of how well you can regurgitate the syllabus.

I found that a BTEC challenged me much more, I was free to do background reading and research for assignments and I could make them as detailed and as complex as I wished them to be and I would not be penalized for it. My knowledge on the subject only grew and it quickly surpassed those of my peers still doing A-levels. My practical experience is far more detailed than those doing A levels, in A-levels the nice technician will set everything up for you and then at the end you are not even expected to write it up properly. I have been able to write professional, well-structured and properly researched lab reports (including referencing other scientific papers) r 2 years now whilst my peers that went to uni struggled with that aspect. The experiments are relatively basic with A-levels (mainly because the syllabus does not require complex experiments and the majority of schools are limited in terms of facilities) whereas the experiments are a lot more complex and are actually applicable in a real lab environment. Last year one of my modules involved us having to plan, write up and conduct our own experiments with no teacher involvement whatsoever, a lot of people I know doing A-levels would have struggled with this as there was no teacher safety net to tell them what to do. I ended up choosing a microbiology experiment (investigating antibiotic producing colonies in soil samples) that would not have been possible in a school environment, In a school lab I would not have been allowed to use E.coli or S.albus or to even open the plates that contained colonies of bacteria but because our labs have the necessary equipment and we are encouraged to work independently, I successfully completed the experiment and got the highest grade in the class.

The argument that we do just one subject is not entirely true, we just go into more depth and detail than an AS does in that particular subject. For instance the degree I have applied to do required A-levels in Chemistry, Biology and another science subject. The modules for my particular BTEC include Maths/statistics, Physics (including medical physics), Biology (Physiology, Genetics, Regulation of body systems, reproduction and we touched on many other subjects such as Biotechnology and immunology), Biochemistry, Chemistry, Health and safety in laboratories (applicable for the industry we are being prepared to go into), How these large scale scientific companies work and the processes behind how they are managed and run (so essentially we have done a little Business) and we've even done a little philosophy. So essentially I am quite well covered for my degree and I have a much broader and in-depth knowledge than when I did AS.
as a result I have 4 offers from Uni's (3 of which are Russell group universities) and i am well on my way to meeting these offers.

BTECs set you up far better for later life and as a result I have learnt a lot of skills that will help me at uni. I am able to work independently and do not require a teacher to tell or show me what to do. I am able to think for myself. I have more practical experience and my skills in the laboratory are far more developed than those doing A levels. I am also hugely effective at managing my time (having 4 assignments due in one one day and having 2 weeks to complete them all is common).

In response to the BTECS being easy argument all I can say is they are as hard as you want them to be. Some people in my class do not care for their final grade so they do minimal effort whereas the people that want to work hard constantly work hard throughout the 2 years instead of in the weeks leading up to exams. Timing is very tight and in order to do well you have to work hard, far harder than I worked at AS. The majority of my assignments are over 10,000 words which is practically a dissertation whereas the homework I got for AS was a couple of pages at most. Generally, I do not find the work difficult but I am a dedicated student who puts in a lot of hours to background reading and research and have worked hard from the beginning. However, some of the content in the modules was touched on briefly at AS so perhaps that is why I don't find it difficult as I have already done it before.

I just find it funny how I and many other people I know doing BTECS are easily getting uni offers including those from Russell group universities whereas the majority of people I went to school with not only missed their firm but their insurance choice too.

Why shouldn't we be allowed to go to Russell group uni's? We are not against working hard, we are very much used to it. Perhaps more than you A-levels lot are. Just because we are dedicated and able to succeed does not mean we should be penalized because we are going about it the alternative way. We haven't taken the 'easy way out'! All this whinging about us stealing your university places is ridiculous! either be quiet or go work harder to improve your grades, just like we have worked hard to improve ours.

A levels are a walk in the park really

tl;dr.

But the fact that you said you dropped out of AS for reasons and then say 'a levels are a walk in the park' just goes to show. You know nothing about A-Levels lmao.

Secondly, I'm not whinging and I've already done my A-Levels (A*A*A) so why don't YOU go and improve your grades. You can't blame your school for having 'bad quality teaching' you clearly weren't smart enough to succeed after AS.

Also tell me, does Oxbridge accept Btec students?

tl;dr.

But the fact that you said you dropped out of AS for reasons and then say 'a levels are a walk in the park' just goes to show. You know nothing about A-Levels lmao.

Secondly, I'm not whinging and I've already done my A-Levels (A*A*A) so why don't YOU go and improve your grades. You can't blame your school for having 'bad quality teaching' you clearly weren't smart enough to succeed after AS.

Also tell me, does Oxbridge accept Btec students?

I was unwell which caused me to miss a lot of school, I would have been happy to resit AS and start again but as it was too late in the year I had to go down the BTEC route. I do know A-levels thank you very much, yes they have their difficulties too but it doesn't make them any better or any harder than a BTEC. Do you even know anything about BTECS either? I take it you don't...

The fact that my whole year failed their A-levels is probably a good sign that the standard of teaching was not good at my school. Whilst we all got good grades at GCSE and the teaching was sufficient, at A-level the teaching was minimal.

Why would I need to go an improve my grades if I got D*D* last year and well on my way to getting a D* this year? It's not possible for me to get any higher grades. I put a lot of effort in and as a result I get the grades to reflect that.

Oxbridge does not accept BTECS but it is not the end of the world. There are plenty of well respected universities that hold the same if not a more respected reputation for certain areas of research. There are plenty of people in the country that did not go to Oxbridge but have managed to get a good degree and a well paid job. These people have been highly successful in life and just because they did not study at a certain institution does mean they are of a lesser standard than those who did.

If I had done A-levels I still would not have chosen to apply for Oxbridge as for the course I want to do there are other universities that hold a much better reputation within the industry based on their research which is perhaps the most important factor to consider. The name of the university is no where near as important as the reputation of the university within the specific industry you are wanting to go in to.

My father is a prime example of this, He did not do particularly well with his A-levels (he simply chose not to work) and ended up going to a polytechnic university (which wasn't prestigious in anyway shape or form), he graduated successfully and then went on to do his PhD at a Russell Group University. Now he is one of the most respected people in his area of expertise and the fact that he did not go to Oxbridge or even a Russell group university has not hindered him in any way. His business partners in the States or China could not care less that he did not attend Oxbridge, what they care about is his professionalism and his knowledge. His work and research has allowed for many Key developments within his field of work hence why he and his work is so well respected. Looking back he has actually been the most successful out of everyone he went to school with, and the reason behind that is because he was not afraid to work hard.

That is the key thing behind all this. You will never get anywhere without working hard and just because we are not doing A levels does not make us of any less importance than you. We deserve to go to university because we have worked tirelessly non stop. You do not have to go to Oxbridge or do A-levels to be successful in life, there are plenty of people in life to show this.

This stigma surrounding BTECs and the superior and self righteous attitude of A-level students needs to stop. You are no better or more intelligent than us just because your piece of paper has AQA etc written at the top. Yes there may be some A-level students who may be more intelligent than some BTEC students but there are an awful lot of BTEC students who are more intelligent than some A-level Students. We deserve to be succeed too, we work hard so why shouldn't we get the benefits too?