BTEC level 2 sport

Original post by Annabel84

Hi all,

Hoping someone can be of assistance. My son has just completed a level 2 BTEC sport course at college.

Unfortunately for one of the external exams (anatomy and physiology) he only managed a level 1 pass. Missed out on level 2 by ONE point!!

He passed the other external exam (sport and fitness) at level 2 along with all required units.

Because he's failed to make a level 2 pass in anatomy does this mean he has a level 1 pass in the course as a whole or could he still achieve a level 2 after points from all other units have been counted?

Was hoping to progress to level 3 in Sept but now fearful this might not be an option..

There a quite a few Level 2 BTEC Sports courses; do you know the full name of his qualification? For example, the following three all have two external exams, one called "Anatomy and Physiology for Sports Performance" and one called "Fitness for Sport and Exercise", which are a good match for what you've described above:
• Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Certificate in Sport
• Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Extended Certificate in Sport
• Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Diploma in Sport

The fact that your son achieve a Level 1 Pass in Unit 7 ("Anatomy and Physiology for Sports Performance") does not necessarily mean he will receive a Level 1 for the course as a whole - it depends on the grade he received in each of the other units. You say, "He passed the other external exam (sport and fitness) at level 2 along with all required units." Do you literally mean a "pass" grade? I ask as each unit can be graded as:
• Level 1
• Level 2 Pass
• Level 2 Merit
• Level 2 Distinction

The following statement applies to the Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Certificate in Sport:
A student who achieved a Level 2 Pass in every unit would achieve a Level 2 PP overall. If just one of those Level 2 Pass grades dropped to a Level 1 grade, then unfortunately the overall grade drops to a Level 1. However, if just one of those other units is actually a Level 2 Distinction, or if two of those other units were actually Level 2 Merit, then that's enough to "offset" the Level 1 grade in one unit and bring the overall grade back to to a Level 2 PP.

The following statement applies to the Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Extended Certificate in Sport and the the Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Diploma in Sport:
A student who achieved a Level 2 Pass in every unit would achieve a Level 2 PP overall. If just one of those Level 2 Pass grades dropped to a Level 1 grade, then unfortunately the overall grade drops to a Level 1. However, if just one of those other units is actually a Level 2 Merit, then that's enough to "offset" the Level 1 grade in one unit and bring the overall grade back to to a Level 2 PP.

So you need to (a) establish exactly what qualification he's taking, which is likely to be one of the three above, and (b) establish what grade he achieved in each of the other units.

Reply 2

OP

Thank you. Full name of course is BTEC level 1/2 Extended certificate in sport. Anatomy and physiology he only achieved a level 1 Pass. Sports and fitness he achieved L2 Pass. Frustratingly a few of his practical units have not been officially graded yet although he has 'done well' in his practicals so hoping for a Merit in at least 1 of those units but no official confirmation as of yet.

Reply 3

Original post by Annabel84

Thank you. Full name of course is BTEC level 1/2 Extended certificate in sport. Anatomy and physiology he only achieved a level 1 Pass. Sports and fitness he achieved L2 Pass. Frustratingly a few of his practical units have not been officially graded yet although he has 'done well' in his practicals so hoping for a Merit in at least 1 of those units but no official confirmation as of yet.

Thanks. With the Extended Certificate he only needs one of the coursework units to be a Level 2 Merit (rather than a Level 2 Pass) to "undo" the negative impact of that Level 1 grade in Unit 7 (Anatomy and Physiology for Sports Performance). So fingers crossed one of those he's "done well" in will result in a Level 2 Merit. :crossedf:

If not, his college may let him progress to the Level 3 course anyway. You said above that you were "now fearful this might not be an option". Does the college mandate a particular grade in the Level 1/2 Extended Certificate for access to the Level 3 course?

If there is such a requirement, as he was just one point away, he could consider resitting that one exam. Hopefully the college would let him progress whilst also doing the resit alongside the Level 3 course, given that he's so close.

Reply 4

OP

Course tutor was adamant he needed a level 2 in both anatomy and Sport to progress to level 2. Pass mark 22, actual mark 21. I want to cry. Although he was just off a merit for sport and fitness. He's ND so not the easiest to teach, I have the feeling they want rid of him. The practical units are frustrating- they've had many practical lecturers coming and going this last academic year so things that should've been signed off havnt been which is why grades for those practical units are unknown. Obviously this is out of my sons control and its incredibly unfair on him and fellow students. latest lecturer is only 19 himself!!

Reply 5

Original post by Annabel84

Course tutor was adamant he needed a level 2 in both anatomy and Sport to progress to level 2. Pass mark 22, actual mark 21. I want to cry. Although he was just off a merit for sport and fitness. He's ND so not the easiest to teach, I have the feeling they want rid of him. The practical units are frustrating- they've had many practical lecturers coming and going this last academic year so things that should've been signed off havnt been which is why grades for those practical units are unknown. Obviously this is out of my sons control and its incredibly unfair on him and fellow students. latest lecturer is only 19 himself!!

Well, the college can make-up whatever rules they like to allow students access to the Pearson BTEC Level 3 National qualifications in Sport. However, if you check the specification, which covers the whole range of such qualifications, you will note that it does not list holding a Level 2 BTEC in Sport as a prerequisite. You will find the same if you check the Pearson BTEC Nationals in Sport Delivery Guide, which is aimed as colleges delivering the Level 3 course. But, if your son's college has a requirement of having attained the Level 2 qualification, then that's what your son will need to obtain.

As for the course tutor's assertion that your son, "needed a level 2 in both anatomy and Sport to progress to level 2", I suggest you ask them for evidence of that statement. Below I provide two separate pieces of evidence to demonstrate that they're talking nonsense.

Specification
You will find the specification for Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Extended Certificate in Sport here (the same specification covers the Certificate, the Extended Certificate, and the Diploma).

Section 10, "Awarding and reporting for the qualifications", says, beneath the "For the Extended Certificate" heading:
"To achieve a Level 2 qualification, learners must:

● complete and report an outcome for all units within the permitted combination (NB Unclassified is a permitted unit outcome) and
● achieve the minimum number of points at a grade threshold from the permitted combination, see the Calculation of qualification grade table."

So, you'll note that it's points based, and that "Unclassified is a permitted unit outcome" - so you can even get a U in a unit and still walk away with a Level 2 qualification overall. You just need to accumulate enough points. The next page tells you how many points you get, depending on your grade, per 10 guided learning hours (GLH):

BTEC Level 1 2 Fisrst - Points per grade per 10 guided learning hours.JPG

BTEC Level 1 2 Fisrst - Points per grade per 10 guided learning hours.JPG

The "Qualification structure of the Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Extended Certificate in Sport" section on page 18 makes it clear that the three mandatory units (including the two external units) are 30 guided learning hours (GLH) each. It also shows that most of the optional units are 30 GLH, and that each student must do 270 GLH of optional units in total. So 9 x 30 GLH units would do it, but a student could do fewer units if they opted for one or more of the 60 GLH units.

So, so we can turn to the Calculation of Qualification Grade table on page 49:
BTEC Level 1 2 Fisrst - Calculation of Qualification Grade.JPG

BTEC Level 1 2 Fisrst - Calculation of Qualification Grade.JPG

For a Level 2 PP in the Extended Certificate, your son needs 144 points. The first table above shows that a Level 2 Pass (P) in a 30 GLH unit earns 12 points (i.e. 3 times the numbers in the table, which are per 10 GLH). If we assume (for the sake of simplicity) that your son has take all 30 GLH units, then he'll have taken 12 units all together - 3 mandatory and 9 optional. 12 units at 12 points per unit (assuming a Level 2 Pass in each unit) gets 144 points - i.e. a Level 2 PP overall.

However, crucially, if one of those units were at a Level 1 Pass, only earning 6 points for the unit, then he'd just need to earn more points in another unit to offset that - like earning a Level 2 Merit (M) in another unit, to get 18 points.

The whole thing is points based. There are no "must pass" units. Challenge the course tutor to show you where in the specification it says that a Level 1 Pass in a particular unit causes the overall grade to be capped at a Level 1. (They won't be able to do so, as they're talking nonsense.)

BTEC Grade Calculator

You can download the official grade calculator from this page on the Pearson web site - you'll want the BTEC Firsts one. Note that it's a an Excel spreadsheet and requires that you enable macros.

If we try the above scenario - a Level 1 Pass for Unit 7 (which I've coloured red) and a Level 2 Merit for one of the optional units (which I've coloured green), then surprise, surprise, we get a Level 2 PP overall:

BTEC Firsts Extended Certificate - Sport - Annabel84 - PP.JPG

BTEC Firsts Extended Certificate - Sport - Annabel84 - PP.JPG

Your son may end up with a Level 1 grade overall, but it won't be simply down to having obtained a Level 1 Pass in one unit.

Reply 6

OP

Thank you so much. I really appreciate this.

Reply 7

OP

UPDATE: my son has today received a text message from our local youth employability service explaining that the college have referred him because he's not returning in sept(?!) He is now registered as NEET (not in employment or training) I am raging!!! To not even tell us directly....and final results don't even come through until Aug.

Reply 8

Original post by Annabel84

UPDATE: my son has today received a text message from our local youth employability service explaining that the college have referred him because he's not returning in sept(?!) He is now registered as NEET (not in employment or training) I am raging!!! To not even tell us directly....and final results don't even come through until Aug.

Does your son need to formally apply to return to college, or explicitly enroll for the second year, or anything like that? Or does all that only happen on or after results day?

If he gets the Level 2 qualification, and so attempts to enroll on the Level 3 course in September, can the college simply say "No, sorry, we're full", or are they obliged to accept him?

Also, how come he's considered to be NEET, given that it's the summer holidays? Is someone who's doing A levels, and who's between Year 12 and Year 13 technically NEET during July and August? No. So it makes no sense that your son would be either.

Reply 9

OP

Original post by DataVenia

Does your son need to formally apply to return to college, or explicitly enroll for the second year, or anything like that? Or does all that only happen on or after results day?
If he gets the Level 2 qualification, and so attempts to enroll on the Level 3 course in September, can the college simply say "No, sorry, we're full", or are they obliged to accept him?
Also, how come he's considered to be NEET, given that it's the summer holidays? Is someone who's doing A levels, and who's between Year 12 and Year 13 technically NEET during July and August? No. So it makes no sense that your son would be either.

Because he was already a student I was told numerous times that he didn't need to formally apply for sept - applications would be internal. Not enrolled yet I was under the impression they/we are waiting for the final results in August. I was under the impression it is dependent on final results of Level 2 and English GCSE results. The course is never over subscribed as far as I know there are still places. Text stated the college have informed them he won't be returning in September. But college have not said that to me or my son or as yet officially refused his place.

Reply 10

Original post by Annabel84

Because he was already a student I was told numerous times that he didn't need to formally apply for sept - applications would be internal. Not enrolled yet I was under the impression they/we are waiting for the final results in August. I was under the impression it is dependent on final results of Level 2 and English GCSE results. The course is never over subscribed as far as I know there are still places. Text stated the college have informed them he won't be returning in September. But college have not said that to me or my son or as yet officially refused his place.

How very strange. I suggest that your contact the college in writing (email is fine) and inform them that that your son will be enrolling on the Level 3 course (subject to obtaining Level 2 Sport and English GCSE).

The college is presumably closed right now, but at least this makes your intentions clear. Hopefully someone be around over the summer (although perhaps not until results day) to respond.

Reply 11

OP

Original post by DataVenia

How very strange. I suggest that your contact the college in writing (email is fine) and inform them that that your son will be enrolling on the Level 3 course (subject to obtaining Level 2 Sport and English GCSE).
The college is presumably closed right now, but at least this makes your intentions clear. Hopefully someone be around over the summer (although perhaps not until results day) to respond.

Thank you, I feel its strange. Staff are there tomorrow and Friday so I will definitely try and get through in the morning. They've not replied to my request of grades for other units either. I am hoping that somebody in the admissions room contacted the employability service as routine because they cab see he's not enrolled yet. Or that it's a case of the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing - in this case the left and right hands being different staff members. Thank you for replying so late.

Reply 12

OP

Original post by Annabel84

Thank you, I feel its strange. Staff are there tomorrow and Friday so I will definitely try and get through in the morning. They've not replied to my request of grades for other units either. I am hoping that somebody in the admissions room contacted the employability service as routine because they cab see he's not enrolled yet. Or that it's a case of the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing - in this case the left and right hands being different staff members. Thank you for replying so late.

Reply 13

OP

Original post by Annabel84

Screenshot_20240711_053713_Samsung Notes.jpg

sorry one more thing. Adding up unit scores. If its showing as P 1 - 6, M 1 - 3 and D1 what will the unit score be? Do we need all merits to earn a M? This particular unit is worth 60.

Reply 14