Anyone else have a 16 year old not gain any GCSE 'C' grades this year?

gilly1964

tillycat123 wrote: »

The 2 college places he applied to have come back saying sorry cant do the course. One has offered him a Level 2 place for a year but has to pass with flying colours to get onto the next level. This course though is only an extended certificate so only worth 1 GCSE, so if fails that another year gone and no grades still.

This is the route our son took, he was assessed all the way through. I would think unless your son chooses something he is really not that bothered about he should be okay.

Hope this helps

gilly1964

EmmaBridgewater wrote: »

Wish I'd had a bursary, pasta gets real boring :rotfl:

You could try rice or noodles, our son would live on them

But perhaps that is because that is all he can or will cook :rotfl:

dibuzz

FatVonD wrote: »

Have just found out, since my last post, that my son has got the weekend job he interviewed for on the basis of having his level 1 catering NVQ He'll be doing 4 hours each day, Sat and Sunday as a catering assistant in a sheltered housing facility for £8 per hour, I am well chuffed (and so is he in a teenage boy couldn't possibly show it kind of way! :rotfl: )

£8 an hour is great for his age, my 17 yr old son gets £3.68 an hour for landscape gardening.

jayII wrote: »

He can't really just get a job, all 16-18 year olds must now be in education or training.

My 17 yr old son dropped out of college (he just wan't getting on with it at all and it was making him ill) and was sent on a course by Connexions which eventually led to him getting a job but its just a minimum wage job, not an apprenticeship.

Well done to your son OP, it can be awful when all their friends are boasting about their results and your child hasn't done as well.
I actually think we find it harder then they do at times

jayII

dibuzz wrote: »

My 17 yr old son dropped out of college (he just wan't getting on with it at all and it was making him ill) and was sent on a course by Connexions which eventually led to him getting a job but its just a minimum wage job, not an apprenticeship.

Well done to your son OP, it can be awful when all their friends are boasting about their results and your child hasn't done as well.
I actually think we find it harder then they do at times

Yes, he would have been old enough to leave at that point. If I remember correctly, it's compulsory for 16-17 year olds this academic year (20013-14) and will be increased to 17-18 year olds the following academic year.

I'm sure there will be exceptions based on individual circumstances, which is why I said the OP's son can't just get a job. It will take jumping through some hoops to work with or around the new regulations.

tillycat123

FatVonD wrote: »

Have just found out, since my last post, that my son has got the weekend job he interviewed for on the basis of having his level 1 catering NVQ He'll be doing 4 hours each day, Sat and Sunday as a catering assistant in a sheltered housing facility for £8 per hour, I am well chuffed (and so is he in a teenage boy couldn't possibly show it kind of way! :rotfl: )

So pleased for you. This has cheered me up.
Now just to sort my son out. Kids!

NervousHomeowner

jayII wrote: »

He can't really just get a job, all 16-18 year olds must now be in education or training.

No but he can get a part time job while retaking his maths & English or while he's looking for an apprenticeship. If he hasn't got the grades to go back to school or pursue an apprenticeship, I don't really see what else he can do but get a job and look for other options?

pollypenny

sukysue wrote: »

TC I know the school has failed your son big time but is there any way he could resit his GCSE'S ? This link may help you too
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-23440867
Good luck TC tell him it feels like the end of the world but it really isn't .

Why on earth has the school 'failed your son big time'?

OP said her son was borderline C/D in most subjects. She admits he is not academic.

Schools have been criticised for over-focus on that borderline, as it is crucial for individual pupils and the school itself.

Have you not read that exam marking is more severe this year?

FatVonD

Thank you everyone for their good wishes!

HappyMJ wrote: »

That''s great...does he want to continue with that and make it a level 2?

He starts his level 2 course on Monday but the head of department at that particular college insists that they must have a weekend job in the business alongside the course.

spacey2012 wrote: »

Great News and just think where this could lead, extra hours in a restaurant once they know he is in the game to a full time position and possibly even his own business in future, perhaps even a restaurant.

Thanks! We live close to a tourist attraction and, as well as the chains, there are a couple of pavement cafes that are always heaving with tourists and locals all year round. I'm really hoping he will eventually work in one of those and soak up their experience for a few years and hopefully be in the right place at the right time if one of them ever goes on the market.

There are lots of opportunities though. The chef who did his college interview seems like he could be quite inspirational. He was telling us how he's been around the world on his cheffing skills, he's cooked on every continent!

For level 3 he is interested in moving to another college where he'd only attend one day per week with the other days being live-in work placements. The course is sponsored by one of the big supermarkets and they have fantastic contacts with lots of the big London hotels. He definitely wouldn't be mature enough to live in this year but in a years time, who knows, plus we also live on the outskirts so he could commute in if he still wanted to do it.

dibuzz wrote: »

£8 an hour is great for his age, my 17 yr old son gets £3.68 an hour for landscape gardening.

It is fantastic, I know!

tillycat123 wrote: »

So pleased for you. This has cheered me up.
Now just to sort my son out. Kids!

Thank you, have faith, it will all work out in the end! We worried about my eldest stepson too (a different one to the guitar shop one!) he did much the same as middle stepson but has always been really good with computers and is now has a really good job making simulators for a sports company.

ViolaLass

pollypenny wrote: »

Why on earth has the school 'failed your son big time'?

There is an argument to be made that giving a bottom set exam year class an NQT means the school isn't doing its duty. However, I would like to know whether the OP raised this issue at any point during the year or is doing so only retrospectively.

pollypenny

Fair point. However, I don't imagine that bottom set would be C/D borderline either.

Back to OP. give the lad some time. He will find his niche.