A level student left in limbo

embob74

My daughter failed her AS levels and the school have told her she can't go back to 6th form and retake the year (even though other pupils have).
Unfortunately they only told her this on Friday so we're frantically applying for colleges near and far (and I mean FAR!!) so she can continue her studies to get where she wants to be in life.
Is there anything else she can do? It's so frustrating that she wants an education and is being prevented from getting it.

saintjammyswine

What is she looking to do?

Emmzi

job + night school to make up the grades would be fairly traditional.

A lot depends on why she failed though. if it was lack or effort or academic acumen, no matter how much she wants an education, other routes may be better. If it was personal circumstances, fair enough.

What does she want to do?

Wyndham

Has she been told why she can't go back?

CapJ

What does she want from life? I ask because as she has failed the AS - Levels once perhaps they are not for her... To be fair to the college I can't see how it would benefit your daughter to take the same AS-Levels in the same place (with probably the same teachers).

There are many different routes to career paths today, especially in the UK which is far more open than many countries. For people to help you they need to understand:
What does your daughter want? What are her goals?
Why did she fail her AS levles?

embob74

CapJ wrote: »

What does she want from life? I ask because as she has failed the AS - Levels once perhaps they are not for her... To be fair to the college I can't see how it would benefit your daughter to take the same AS-Levels in the same place (with probably the same teachers).

There are many different routes to career paths today, especially in the UK which is far more open than many countries. For people to help you they need to understand:
What does your daughter want? What are her goals?
Why did she fail her AS levles?

She had tonsillitis during exam time for which she got a letter from the doc which means one exam has just been deferred not graded yet and she passed one. But failed 2. She will admit she was complacent but we spoke to the school several times and hey always said it could be sorted.
She wants to go to uni and study genetics so it has to be A Levels and she got A grade GCSE's so she can do it. Seems a shame to write off her whole life for one bad exam.
School gave many reasons - told her it was too late (she missed first 2 weeks) even though others have returned after deciding college isn't for them. Also told her she would be more suited to college so she can wear what she want! Said they don't allow pupils to retake a year (other pupils are doing so) and that they don't think she is capable of achieving any better.
She will prove them wrong I know but may have to defer for a year.

CapJ

embob74 wrote: »

She had tonsillitis during exam time for which she got a letter from the doc which means one exam has just been deferred not graded yet and she passed one. But failed 2. She will admit she was complacent but we spoke to the school several times and hey always said it could be sorted.
She wants to go to uni and study genetics so it has to be A Levels and she got A grade GCSE's so she can do it. Seems a shame to write off her whole life for one bad exam.
School gave many reasons - told her it was too late (she missed first 2 weeks) even though others have returned after deciding college isn't for them. Also told her she would be more suited to college so she can wear what she want! Said they don't allow pupils to retake a year (other pupils are doing so) and that they don't think she is capable of achieving any better.
She will prove them wrong I know but may have to defer for a year.

She failed two? Is that as in didn't even get an E? What about the one she passed what grade is it? What were her predicted grades

What grades does she need for University? Because realisticallly its more than just going from failing to passing but it is going from failing to the grade she needs for university. Can she do this?

I don't know how the tonsilitis affected her, but I think there must be a reason the college didn't want to take her on.

If she has gone from an A student to not even an E student then perhaps the environment of the college didn't suit her? Was it more free?

In terms of options, there are always other options. There are other ways to university other than via A-Levels, even to study genetics.

phazed_2

There are other routes into jobs than just university, if she did well in her GCSE's but poorly in her A-Levels then that may have been because of the rule and environment change. When I was in sixthform, it was a lot more slack than years 7-11 and so I was not encouraged to work as much as I should have and in the end failed a couple of my exams (Us and Es) but passed others (As and Bs) at A2 level. I then felt university would be an even less slack environment and I wouldn't be encouraged to work at all and instead meet the stereotype of a student and just laze around, sleep, and go out at night without working. Maybe that's a similar situation to your daughter, education just isn't the thing, or the less amount of teacher's guidance and discipline affected her work.

There are other things that she could do, Apprenticeships, Open University, Volunteering/Work experience to get experience in the field she wants to do...maybe in a hospital or a chemist? Higher education may just not be for her, but if she really thinks it is, then she should definitely apply for college as soon as she can to do her A Levels, and ensure that this time around, she mustn't slack and must work extremely hard to get where she wants.

SarEl

phazed wrote: »

There are other routes into jobs than just university, if she did well in her GCSE's but poorly in her A-Levels then that may have been because of the rule and environment change. When I was in sixthform, it was a lot more slack than years 7-11 and so I was not encouraged to work as much as I should have and in the end failed a couple of my exams (Us and Es) but passed others (As and Bs) at A2 level. I then felt university would be an even less slack environment and I wouldn't be encouraged to work at all and instead meet the stereotype of a student and just laze around, sleep, and go out at night without working. Maybe that's a similar situation to your daughter, education just isn't the thing, or the less amount of teacher's guidance and discipline affected her work.

There are other things that she could do, Apprenticeships, Open University, Volunteering/Work experience to get experience in the field she wants to do...maybe in a hospital or a chemist? Higher education may just not be for her, but if she really thinks it is, then she should definitely apply for college as soon as she can to do her A Levels, and ensure that this time around, she mustn't slack and must work extremely hard to get where she wants.

I would agree. Unfortunately education is largely wasted on the young. If she cannot cope with the laid back attitude of sixth form, she will have no incentive at college or at univeristy - they are so laid back they are horizontal. You don't work hard - your problem. Personally, if you afford it /can arrange it, I would let her take a year out and ship her into the real world - a crappy job at a call centre, or some time volunteering with someone who really does have a hard life (abroad even!). My friends son was just the same - just no discipline to study and work for what he wanted, even though he wanted it. He just wanted it the asy way and there never is one. Six months working in a restaurant until 1 - 2 am for minimum wage, and six months in a refugee camp in Pakistan after the floods, and believe me, he is a different young man. Frankly, I think we all understand that at this age life has little perepective, and a year finding out how the other half live - or how she might live for the rest of her life - might be the impetus she also needs to re-evaluate. Being smart just isn't enough - it always takes application too, and unfortunately the mid and late teens are propnbably the worst point in life to expect it!

embob74

SarEl wrote: »

Unfortunately education is largely wasted on the young. Frankly, I think we all understand that at this age life has little perepective, and a year finding out how the other half live - or how she might live for the rest of her life - might be the impetus she also needs to re-evaluate. Being smart just isn't enough - it always takes application too, and unfortunately the mid and late teens are propnbably the worst point in life to expect it!

So true. My daughter will admit she was complacent as she always found school so easy. I did warn her A levels are a LOT harder but she had to find out the hard way.
Having failed 2 of the AS exams (she got a U) she realises she messed up big time and really wants another chance to put things right.
She is looking for a job now in order that she can earn some money in the coming year as due to the way her birthday falls she will 19 next year and therefore maybe liable for fees (about £1000) to do the A levels.
I absolutely agree she should have tried harder but we have all been young and made a mistake and I don't feel it should end her whole life choice. If the school had told her in time she could have applied for college at the same time as every other student, as it is so late she will most probably not get a place there.
I could agree with the schools decision if they had given an indication earlier but they always said it wasn't anything that couldn't get sorted out. And other pupils have been allowed to retake the year (same subjects as my daughter) and one has been allowed to return to school having decided college is not for them and that is 4 weeks after term start when the school told my daughter last week it was too late!

Emmzi

So it sounds like they just don't want her back. Have you asked them to tell you bluntly why?