Our experience of enrolling in College

[Mandapanda]

Hi

 

My eldest son starts college next week .

 

He didn't get all the results expected and 2 keys ones (Eng Lang & History) were D rather than C. At the start of the enrolment appointment they were saying he couldn't do any of the AS subjects he wanted because of those 2 Ds. He got B in Eng Lit but that doesn't count towards being able to do Eng Lang. This was rather stressful

 

It didn't help that he got A in Physics, and Bs in Biology and Chemistry and Eng Lit, but did not want to do them!!!! He doesn't like maths and this is what put him off Physics, and there was no changing his mind.

 

Well, lots of discussion, negotiation (and pleading by me ) and they have agreed that he can retake GCSE Eng Lang (one year course), and still do Early Modern History and Philosophy, and instead of Eng Lang and Russian he is doing Biology (hoorah!) and Applied ICT (designing websites etc - hoorah!). The enrolment tutor had to bring in the Head of Department who spent quite a long time with us and was very patient and understanding, but she did point out that he will now be doing a 'funny mixture' of subjects - I couldn't help saying "well he is a funny child" . I did go on to say that sometimes people have to do something different to do something special .

 

They insisted he accept some sort of support from Student Services (something he consistently refused at school), including assessments for things like dyslexia because of his problems organising his thoughts and difficulties with mental arithmetic. He seems OK about this but obviously thinks they won't find anything so he won't NEED any help .

 

All in all we came out of this very well indeed. I feel guilty that they sort of had to 'give in' and let him do things they didn't really want him to do (because they want him to achieve and not fail), and I have talked to him about the need for putting in extra effort to prove it was the right decision, but there was a point when he was getting negative and I was concerned he would decide he didn't want to go to college if he couldn't do what he wanted. It's a tightrope sometimes.

 

At least these days GCSEs aren't the end of the world, and he doesn't have to continue the courses if he really doesn't get on with them, and if he does really well in Eng Lang from the beginning the Head of Dept said they "might be able to sort something out", but in any event if he gets C or above in Eng Lang he can start Eng Lang AS next year.

 

What a relief - just hope he looks like he's putting in lots of effort on the courses (he's good at looking unenthusiastic and unmotivated, even if he is really keen!!).

 

Next trauma will be whether he can actually catch the bus on time after 2 1/2 months of lay-ins

 

PS: He finally appeared in something 'official' to do with school (after all these years ). He is in the Yearbook as having the Best Hair (it's very long, wild and ginger) . He is over the moon about this and I am very proud (although I'd love him to wash it more .

[Kathryn]

Well done for negotiating your way through all of that! It's not easy being a parent when a child gets to this level. I hope your son gets on well with the courses and enjoys them. Good luck to him for next week, my daughter starts the week after.

 

K x

[Tally]

A "funny mixture?" I would say that is a well-rounded selection of subjects which will keep his options open for the future.

 

Good luck for next week!

[Kazzen161]

I was very concerned that my youngest son would not do well in his Eng Lang GCSE (he got a U in his Mocks), but somehow he managed to get a B! It was a big relief, as I did not want him have to retake it, and he probably would have had to only do 3 ASs if he did.

 

He got into the local college and is happy. I would have felt better if he had gone to the college 15 miles away, as they are well known for being supportive (the local one is well known for not being supportive!).

 

Now I just need to get him to admit he needs help from Learning Support!

[Kathryn]

Well done to your son, Kazzen, and good luck to him.

 

K x

 

 

[Teresa]

Good luck to you and your son with starting college hope all goes wel .

T goes in tomorrow to enroll on her courses AS Japanese and Art A2, she's very sad at the moment as she didn't get the grade she needs in english langauge, have spoken to her teacher and he doesn't understand it either, he said she is better off doing maybe 2 resits but if this is the case she will not have a teacher support. T said she want's to redo the A2 english lang year again, but he's told her it's a different syllabus. So not sure what she's going to do, I'm going to try and get her some support, she's had more panic attacks this year then any other and missed a lot of classes, also if the classroom is full she wont enter and thats another lesson missed, and she won't ask for help as she finds the teachers intemadating.

 

Teresa

 

[Mandapanda]

UPDATE

 

Mj is going to be doing GCSE Eng Lan, Early Modern History AS, Philosophy AS, Biology AS, Applied ICT AS, and Japanese ASSET course (a basic course, supposedly equiv to GCSE but still won't enable him to do Russian after ).

 

I contacted school about retaking History and they 'don't do retakes'. I said "what if he can't do the course he wants because of low grade?". They said "he won't be the only one in that position". They said he could retake it next year, but then he would have had a year of no teaching. This makes no sense to me. I asked why college would say to speak to them about retakes if they don't do them and they said "you'll have to ask college that". I can't believe that if they don't get the grade they want they cannot retake it somehow. I'm going to call college again and perhaps speak to Connexions. Although he is still able to do the AS History, he wanted to get a better grade in the GCSE as it would look better if he wanted to take it further in future.