Access to Higher Education Course at 18

My daughter is in Year 13 at school , She has had a tough time in Sixth Form due to severe mental health issues (been under CAHMS Crisis team twice in past year) & missed a lot of school & after discussions with the school is seriously considering leaving & taking a few months break to concentrate on getting better & not sitting A levels.
She would like to go to University in the future (had planned a gap year anyway) & she has been looking at Access to Higher Education Courses as another route to Uni.
Is this a viable option for next year ? It’s not clear if you have to be 19 or if you can start straight after leaving year 13 ?
Either on line ? Or at local college ? (There are a few in our area that offer them )
Would universities look down on a student for starting it straight away ? She is interested in a Business Management degree so would do a Business related access course.
Any help appreciated ?

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

McGinger

20

No, they wouldn't 'look down' on an Access to HE qualification, BUT :
1) Its not an easy option. Its like trying to cram a 2 year A level course into 9 months and without all the support of school. This may not be ideal for anyone with MH issues, especially an 18 year old.
2) Unis will usually have very precise requirements for each degree course - ie. specific units within a specific Access course, and specific numbers of Distinction grades etc. Your daughter needs to check carefully with each Uni for exactly what they want before she enrols in any Access course.
3) She may find that doing 2 year A levels at college is an easier/better option that will give her more options later,

Reply 2

kathjb

OP

2

Thank You for responding , we are looking into various options at the moment but this is very helpful

Reply 3

jessepinkman123

7

Original post by kathjb

My daughter is in Year 13 at school , She has had a tough time in Sixth Form due to severe mental health issues (been under CAHMS Crisis team twice in past year) & missed a lot of school & after discussions with the school is seriously considering leaving & taking a few months break to concentrate on getting better & not sitting A levels.
She would like to go to University in the future (had planned a gap year anyway) & she has been looking at Access to Higher Education Courses as another route to Uni.
Is this a viable option for next year ? It’s not clear if you have to be 19 or if you can start straight after leaving year 13 ?
Either on line ? Or at local college ? (There are a few in our area that offer them )
Would universities look down on a student for starting it straight away ? She is interested in a Business Management degree so would do a Business related access course.
Any help appreciated ?

I had mental health issues during my post 16 education, I left sixth form after a year, went to college, then dropped out and worked full time at mcdonalds. I have nearly worked full time at mcdonalds for 2 years. My mental health has improved massively and I am due to start an access course in september.

I can not imagine starting an access course whilst doing not so well mentally.
There are tons of options for your daughter. If I was your daughter, I would drop out, get a part time job, and study what interests me for fun (business, if thats what she wants to do), then after a year or so perhaps when my mental health improves I would enroll onto an access course. You will have a lot of knowledge about business already that will be a massive boon for the access course. Perhaps find an access course she would like to do, look at the modules, and self teach the content contained in those modules in preparation.

Alternatively, there is the open university, where you dont actually need a levels to enroll. She could do a HNC in business, perhaps part time over 2 years (equivalent to the first year of a business degree) then find a brick uni which will let her directly transfer into the 2nd year.

There are apprenticeships out there as well. Simply email some workplaces and ask for work experience, then using that work experience apply for loads of apprenticeships.

Something to note, if she does sit her a levels, and does badly, not only will this negatively affect her mental health even more, she also wont be eligible for the advanced learner loan for an access course as she would have already had level 3 qualifications. It might be better off dropping out without sitting any a level exams so that she hasn't completed any level 3 qualifications, ensuring she can get an advanced learner loan if she chooses to do an access to he.
(I am 90% sure this is how it works, I am no expert however)

The world is your oyster, there are tons of options out there to explore, tons of routes to success and higher education. As a human we can do whatever we want to do, and that is why it is so fun to be human.

Access to Higher Education Course at 18

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