GCSE retakes in an FE College

Andypandyboy

.Gigolo_Aunt wrote: »

Well the reason she didn't get 5 pass marks isn't entirely clear. All we know is that she just about scraped maths and English and that her home life isn't perfect.

She might simply not be very bright, academically, or she might be an intelligent girl who'd do well to get more O level passes at GCSE and then progress to A Levels.

The Aunty hasn't given much detail, except that she's proud of her for having done 'so well'.

I am not sure what your point is here, could you explain?

peachyprice

duchy wrote: »

Anyone got their PM yet ordering them to report me ?

No, but I did notice you were back m'dear.

SingleSue

.Gigolo_Aunt wrote: »

Well the reason she didn't get 5 pass marks isn't entirely clear. All we know is that she just about scraped maths and English and that her home life isn't perfect.

She might simply not be very bright, academically, or she might be an intelligent girl who'd do well to get more O level passes at GCSE and then progress to A Levels.

The Aunty hasn't given much detail, except that she's proud of her for having done 'so well'.

I was very proud of my son and his GCSE results. They were nothing like the two older ones who got 10 A-C GCSEs each but for him to have got them in the first place was an amazing feat.

He has disabilities, those disabilities meant that the prognosis for him educationally was not great, thus we were told he would never go to a main stream high school and would struggle with level 1 qualifications let alone level 2/GCSEs. Coupled with that, he didn't actually go to school full time until halfway through year 6 (when he was 11) and even then, his attendance was pretty dire due to hospital admissions etc.

Due to the less than required GCSEs being attained for his chosen level 3 course, he had to repeat a year and retake maths. He passed maths within 6 weeks of starting at the college and by the end of that retake year, he achieved Distinction* Distinction (equivalent to A* A at GCSE) in his level 2 course...which by the by, he had absolutely no interest in and actually didn't like, it was a means to an end to him.

Fast forward to now, he is now in the second year of his level 3 course, he finished the first year right at the top of his year group for his course beating all those around him who achieved higher and more GCSEs than him and is on course for 3 x Distinction* (equivalent to 3 x A* at A level) as he has received Distinctions for all modules completed so far.

He is off to university next year, his level 3 course qualification instead of A Levels being no hindrance to him going.

Edit - Thought it best to clarify, he is not doing an NVQ, he is doing a BTEC extended diploma comprising of 18 units.

.Gigolo_Aunt

peachyprice wrote: »

No, but I did notice you were back m'dear.

Ah. Suspicion confirmed.


And no, duchy, if your comment was aimed at me. I don't PM people, and I can't seriously imagine there's a 'PM ring' that's out to get you. You're not that important

If you are paranoid enough to think anonymous strangers on an internet forum are plotting against you, you've got a few bigger issues going on than being PPRed

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I hope the OP is able to take on board the helpful advice offered here, and ignore the obvious nonsense (the clue was in their mention of O Level in their first post).

There can be quite a gap in academic intensity between GCSE and A Level (or equivalent) so be sure to offer the niece plenty of encouragement if she finds it hard to start with.

duchy

To get high marks in NVQ three is no more difficult than getting them in A levels - both are demanding but I do think NVQ 3 suits some personalities better as it is modular and more encouraging as if you get a great mark in one module it spurs you on to the next and if it's not so great you know you need to work harder or smarter - rather than A levels with the weighting on end of year exams. I would have suited NVQ far better than A levels but my school was A level obsessed and NVQ was rather looked down on , which with hindsight was a pity as my parents totally bought into "the school must be right".

.Gigolo_Aunt

duchy wrote: »

I would have suited NVQ far better than A levels but my school was A level obsessed and NVQ was rather looked down on , which with hindsight was a pity as my parents totally bought into "the school must be right".

They are still referred to, unofficially, as Not Very Qualifieds.

Andypandyboy

.Gigolo_Aunt wrote: »

They are still referred to, unofficially, as Not Very Qualifieds.

Yes, perhaps at NVQ level 1 that may be true, but as you go higher up the courses become more demanding.

This is the table showing qualification comparisions:


https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/compare-different-qualification-levels

Spendless

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Sigh.....

She doesn't need to get more GCSEs Cs because she's already on a GCSE equivalent course, neither does she need to do A levels if you moves onto a level 3 vocational course.

This is actually the reason why we ruled out one of the FE colleges for DS, who is the same age as OP's Neice. They would not allow him to just take the level 3 extended diploma, they said he had to do an A level as well alongside. DS had no interest in doing one, if he had we'd have been looking at other options like school sixth forms. I saw no reason for him to be forced in to doing something that didn't appeal and thought it could be to the detriment of the course he actually wanted to do, so we sought out other places that didn't have the same rules.

zagubov

Spirit, I've only just spotted this thread. Well done for being so proud of your niece's progress.

She needs to concentrate on getting the grades on her level 2 to get onto the level 3 that will get her onto HE later on. The Cs in English and Maths are gatekeeper courses that will be necessary for HE.

It may well be she'll have no time to do a GCSE in evening classes and that the FE college may not offer other GCSE retakes (although they'll offer Maths and English to all who join without achieving a C).

This is because students tend to improve by about half a grade when they resit so many will be likely to fail again.

This is complicated by the fact that GCSEs are being changed, A levels are changing, and BTEC level 3s are changing - many would say they'd be getting harder.

I'd be keen to lavish praise and encourage her to engage fully with the course and ensure she progresses through these interesting educational times with the best outcome.