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A Levels At Home
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Foresthillboy


Posts: 36
Joined: Jan 2012
Post: #1
07-03-2012 12:22 PM

Hi

Can anyone of the good citizens of SE23 let me if you can leave 6th form, get a job, and still study for A levels at home, if yes, can they please advise how

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Cheeky


Posts: 215
Joined: May 2009
Post: #2
07-03-2012 02:21 PM

Evening Classes. I've no doubt a number of Educational Institutions around these parts will offer them

This post was last modified: 07-03-2012 02:23 PM by Cheeky.

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Foresthillboy


Posts: 36
Joined: Jan 2012
Post: #3
07-03-2012 02:25 PM

Thanks - thought as much yet my son was told you cant do it

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derbybill


Posts: 122
Joined: Jan 2010
Post: #4
07-03-2012 04:12 PM

Your son would need to look up where he could take the exams in the relevant A-levels - maybe his current school/6th form would be willing to provide for him as a "private candidate", for which the school might charge a hefty fee....
You would then need to organise a tutor for a few hours per week in each subject. Not cheap as A-level tutors charge at least £25 per hour. And then you have to get stocks of past papers for practice, and then you would need to know the calendar of exam dates, and deadlines for coursework, and practicals, eg for science subjects.
Why not get him to cost it all out, it would be a very good practical exercise.
It is not an impossible task, but getting good grades in A-levels is not quite as staightforward as the popular press implies. Most teachers of A-level subjects know that their students have part-time jobs, and a few hours work per week can actually make a student organise their time more effectively. Beyond a that number of hours the academic work suffers, and so do the results. I have taught many students who were torn between jobs and study, and sometimes the job was too important to the student because of the money that was needed to help the student's family.

Guess that it might be a lot more economical to stick it out in school! After all schools have reputations to maintain with their records of pass rates, so they are used to keeping the pressure on their students.

This post was last modified: 07-03-2012 04:21 PM by derbybill.

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Foresthillboy


Posts: 36
Joined: Jan 2012
Post: #5
08-03-2012 01:22 PM

Very true, howver he has been offered a classified sales exec job in a a big media company - yet he is having second thoughts, as he is worried about leaving school with only GCSE,s

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roz


Posts: 1,796
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #6
08-03-2012 08:23 PM

Id also be concerned about someone leaving school with only GCSES. Jobs like you describe are surely not that secure? However I know the funding to support children of that age in study is being withdrawn so I assume that this is the motivation for getting a job?

6th form is all about other things as well as A levels, interacting with your peer group, having fun, planning for the future with all the support of the schools careers service. Kids change their minds so much at that age and need careful guidance. Its also difficult with wishing to be independent and free of the constraints of school. However 6th forms tend to be more free than say 5th form and GCSEs.

I also wanted to leave school at 16 and do my A levels at the local Tech where it was all a bit more casual and I didnt have to go in full time. My parents fought against my doing it and in the end I agreed with the advice I was given and stayed on to do A levels. I wasnt very motivated but to be honest if Id relied on driving myself on at the Tech I dont think Id have got very far as my self motivation ( as proved in the first year of my degree course) wasnt exactly fantastic.

As unattractive as it seems , Id suggest that someone stays at school and try and get work on Saturdays (which I did) and school holidays if extra cash or work experience is needed.

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hillsideresident


Posts: 148
Joined: Jul 2010
Post: #7
08-03-2012 09:17 PM

"classified sales exec job"

Does this mean selling advertising space? If so, it's not secure at all, and the sort of job companies offer people without any risk to the company. If the person is good at it, great. If not, they lose the job. He could be out of work within weeks.

If this is all it is, in my opinion it would be mad to leave school with no A levels. Quite mad.

Many years ago I knew a girl who had a place at Sussex University to do Maths, but she turned it down because she had been offered a data-entry clerical job. Her family thought she should take the safe option of the job. What a mistake, and one she bitterly, bitterly regretted.

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Foresthillboy


Posts: 36
Joined: Jan 2012
Post: #8
09-03-2012 07:41 AM

Thanks all, think that last post will make him decide to stay at school

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Cheeky


Posts: 215
Joined: May 2009
Post: #9
09-03-2012 09:42 AM

Not all companies have the same working environment and of course everyone is different, it is very dependent on your personality, and it is this that is the significant factor in whether you thrive or not in a sales environment. My own personal experience of it though (8 months of my life I will never get back) was a bad one; hated every minute of it, and I class myself as a reasonably outgoing and sociable individual.

The longer you stay in sales the further you lead yourself up that career path and the harder it is to find something different should you decide it's not for you. But I guess you could say that for any career you choose.

Adding to the argument for staying on at school, I also took an A-Level evening class and found it very hard to motivate myself and concentrate on study and exams. I was in a slightly different situation though as I had already been to 6th form, had some A-Levels but decided on a change of direction as the choices I made at 16 weren't the best. All my A-Levels have stood me in good stead for where I find myself now however.

On the flipside of the coin, some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the world left school with few qualifications. These people are known to be highly driven and motivated though and their entrepreneurial spirit no doubt showed at an early age.

So I guess play to your strengths if you know what they are, decent guidance, a good understanding of what you want to achieve in the future and a lot of motivation to see it through are all very important factors for your son right now.

This post was last modified: 09-03-2012 09:45 AM by Cheeky.

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hillsideresident


Posts: 148
Joined: Jul 2010
Post: #10
09-03-2012 01:07 PM

My understanding is we're talking about a low-level sales job, the sort of thing that has been around since for ever, and will still be around in two years' time and twenty years' time if you want it.

I also think Cheeky's experience is realistic. I was thinking it would probably be very hard to remain motivated on A levels, while doing a tough day-job like that. Whereas at school you have no distractions (well, fewer!).

Any decision involves some degree of risk, but your best chance of things turning out well is to work hard to get the best qualifications you can, and then get out there.

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shzl400


Posts: 729
Joined: Oct 2007
Post: #11
09-03-2012 08:54 PM

Each to their own skills. Some people are just not academically inclined.

Many years ago, I worked in Selfridges one Christmas, where I met a young man (OK, I had a serious crush on him!), who had left school at 16 and had gone straight into the workplace. By his early 20's he was already a department manager at Selfridges, with ambitions - quite reasonably expected to be fulfilled - to be a buyer within just a couple of years. I was in awe of him - his head start in getting real world experience meant that he was streets ahead in any number of ways.

Conversely, I know people who have studied for years to achieve qualifications, who are relegated to the most menial of jobs, because the qualifications are just that - paper - and they don't have any idea how those relate to the real world of business.

Not all jobs need academic qualifications, and in some cases experience (and natural talent) outweighs any amount of paper qualifications.

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