Post 16 Study

Good Morning Folks

My son, who is in year 11, has now been told that he will not be able to attend the 6^th form at the school which he already attends. The decision was made on the basis that the staff feel he won’t be able to meet the minimum requirements. Naturally, my son and both my wife and myself, are quite disappointed.

He does not want to attend college and he doesn’t really want to do an apprenticeship. I will be going to an organisation called connexions next week to find out alternative routes to education post 16, but has anybody been in this situation before? What was the outcome?

Eventually my son wants to go into teaching and become a full time secondary school teacher or a university lecturer. Would that still be possible?

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Reply 1

geek84

Thanks Tree Of Dreams

Any further suggestions greatly appreciated.

Reply 2

3121

I didn't do great at GCSE and had far from the best track record with behaviour & attendance, I could say my sixth form taking me in was probably their best decision as I got AAB and I'm on track for A*AA and agreed to let my self-studied Economics go on their record, your son shouldn't feel disheartened by their decision as they made it with evidence but if he thinks he's capable and wants to do it don't let it stop him, find another sixth form and apply, if they all reject him take a year out and tell him to learn an AS and aim for an A (since he'll only be doing 1 it should be easy).

For now focus on getting his English and Maths grade to the highest possible as they're the ones that matter but if he's determined don't let GCSE performance put him off, I hated GCSEs since I hate doing a little of a lot and prefer doing a lot of a little (I'd rather study 3 subjects I enjoy in depth than briefly learn 9 I don't enjoy). he could go the BTEC route but I know a lot of people (me included) would rather do a levels

Reply 3

Rarest

Original post by geek84

Thanks Tree Of Dreams

Any further suggestions greatly appreciated.

There is still a few months before GCSE, so if your son is dedicated, there is time for improvement. For now, as someone else before me as said, the focus should be doing the best he can at GCSEs. If your son is struggling with certain subjects, post it here and we will do our best to give you good revision advice. Good luck :smile:

Reply 4

Michiyo

He should focus on getting C in English Language and Mathematics and try his hardest do well in his other GCSEs too.

If he does well in his GCSEs and meets their entry requirements, his school may rethink their decision.

If his school will not allow him to join their sixth form, he should apply to another sixth form or college. As long as he meets the minimum requirements, he is basically guaranteed to get in. I would recommend that he does A-levels or a level 3 BTEC and tries to meet the entry requirements for a university course, then does a PGCE if applicable.

Good luck!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 5

geek84

Hi Folks

Once again, many thanks for your valuable advice. Zayn008 mentioned that my son could take a year out. If he did that, what could he do the whole year? (sorry if it sounds like a silly question).

Also, Zayn008 mentioned studying an AS level subject. I presume you need the 5 GCSEs grades between A -C to do that? Would you suggest attending a college to do that? He does not want to go to college really since he is small in stature and says there will be 'big boys' attending college.

Without feeling disrespectful to the above suggestions, any further suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

Reply 6

fxlloutboyy

He could self study the one subject at home using text books and online resources- it'd just be a case of paying the exam fee and finding a centre (school) to sit the exam at.

Posted from TSR Mobile