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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Picking brains about Btec/Higher education problem
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Smudgie
Ship's Barnacle
# 2716
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Posted
We have a problem (for which prayer would also be appreciated)
My boy is 17 and has been completing a BTEC extended diploma with a view to going to university next year or, more likely, the year after.
Due to exceedingly extenuating circumstances affecting his mental and physical health, he has missed a chunk of his college course (in which he was doing really very well). He has now been told that he either has to complete the extended diploma this year - which will involved catching up everything he has missed and getting high grades in everything - or drop down to the basic diploma which he can easily complete but which means that he won't matriculate.
Although BTec itself allowed five years to complete, the college will not allow him to sit the missing units next year. It's now or never. And he has to decide by Friday.
We have contacted the university, but they are reluctant to take him with just the diploma. We have an appointment to talk to them on Saturday, but that's too late. We thought that he would be able to do an extra A Level at college next year in adult education, but college have told him that the university will not allow him to bump up his UCAS points with another qualification - it's the extended diploma this year, or nothing.
He is currently going into college two half days a week and I think that is as much stress as he is capable of managing in the short term, though he is much better than he was - I can't see him managing to go in full time after Easter AND making up all the seven weeks' work he's missed sufficiently to get the distinctions in every subject which he had been getting up until he became ill.
With the demise of any decent advice centres for students - come back, Connexions, all is forgiven - we don't know who to talk to or what to do. It seems so unfair that his whole future is blighted simply because he went through childhood trauma over which he had no control, despite his best efforts.
So does anyone know anyone who could offer us quick advice, know of a suitable website we could enquire on or know sufficient about the BTec or Higher Education system that could be helpful to us in making an informed decision. Surely he doesn't just have to throw it all in now after he's worked so hard to achieve his ambitions?
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Miss you, Erin.
Posts: 14382 | From: Under the duvet | Registered: Apr 2002
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
I can't advise on your specific question, I'm afraid, but depending on the circumstances of your boy's illness you might get some leverage / buy some time by waving the Equality Act 2010 at the college. IANAL but the refusal to let him complete next year might be construed as disability discrimination. Specifically, s 15 defines disability discrimination very widely:
quote:
15Discrimination arising from disability
(1)A person (A) discriminates against a disabled person (B) if—
(a)A treats B unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of B's disability, and
(b)A cannot show that the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
(2)Subsection (1) does not apply if A shows that A did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that B had the disability.
Note that it says 'treats unfavourably' and not 'treats less favourably than someone without a disability'. s6 defines 'disability' as
quote:
Disability
(1)A person (P) has a disability if—
(a)P has a physical or mental impairment, and
(b)the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on P's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Good luck!
[ 24. March 2015, 16:41: Message edited by: Albertus ]
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
quote:
know of a suitable website we could enquire on
Mumsnet have an education section, and their website is full of parents who know about the system.
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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Piglet
Islander
# 11803
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Posted
Are the college (and the University) authorities fully aware of all the extenuating circumstances?
When we lived in Northern Ireland I worked in the office of a university and it seemed to me that it wasn't that difficult to be permitted resits or repeats if you had a medical certificate. Also, it wasn't unknown for applicants to defer their entry by a year if they could claim "extenuating circumstances"; one that sticks in my mind was someone who had been offered a place on a course but was badly injured in a bomb explosion shortly before she was due to start.
Having said that, it was 12 years ago, and rules may have changed since then.
![[Votive]](graemlins/votive.gif) that you can get it all sorted out.
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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
No advice from me as our system is different - just lots of prayers
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
Has he set his heart on one particular University, or are there other possibilities? ISTM that quote:
college have told him that the university will not allow him to bump up his UCAS points with another qualification - it's the extended diploma this year, or nothing.
cannot possibly be true of every University.
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
My guess is he has an offer at a particular university based on expected BTec results, and some jobsworth has decided that they can't change the offer. Which would mean going through the UCAS application process again. Or, waiting to try to get in through clearing (which is probably another pile of stress that is undesirable). If he is going to take a further year before starting university, and nothing else works out, then going through the application process again may be the easiest option.
At the moment you want to get one of two different groups of administrator change their position. Either the college allowing him to sit the missing units next year (have they said why they won't, because other than this is the last year they're going to offer the course I can't think of a good reason), or the university to allow a variation on the UCAS points for admission.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
If he carries on with the course and completes it, even if he doesn't get quite the required grades are the uni likely to look on that favourably?
My son totally buggered up his first year at his first university. It was about 50% down to him and 50% down to them (told to do options he hadn't the background for, not enough support for his severe dyslexia). They refused to let him restart claiming it would give him an unfair advantage. Is this the sort of thing the college are saying?
I hope you get something sorted and prayers for you and the Smudglet during the process. The whole thing with my son was horrible, but in the end he went somewhere else and did well.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Smudgie
Ship's Barnacle
# 2716
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Posted
Thank you so much for all your responses. (Can you tell I'm a bit stressed?)
His college tutor is being extremely supportive, actually, and doing all that she can to help him achieve his potential. The two half days a week that he goes in to college are actually spent with her giving him 1:1 tuition.
It seems that the college policy is not to allow a resit year which seems to be down to the fact that it's a popular course and will be full. They said it was also to do with funding, despite me saying that we would pay the tuition fees.
Based on your comments, Albertus, I have emailed the college principal and also my MP, and later today I intend to contact the university and UCAS.... though it is frustrating as they will not willingly talk to me without WRITTEN permission from my boy. (I got round this when I first contacted them by telling them that that was fine, I would talk to them and they surely had no policy against listening without written permission!)
He's not up to talking to them at the moment, though he would be usually, and I am determined not to be a helicopter parent.
We will be trying one other university too, but there are not many places which do his particular choice of course and he's feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole situation, having set his heart on Coventry. The last thing I want at the moment is for him to lose his motivation and sink into despair.
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Miss you, Erin.
Posts: 14382 | From: Under the duvet | Registered: Apr 2002
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
Hope you and the Smudgelet manage to get it sorted out.
One-to-one tuition is much more intensive than sitting in a class with a lot of other people being lectured at, so two half-days a week of tuition may be enough to help him catch up with everyone else if he is well enough to work by himself when he's not in college.
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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*Leon*
Shipmate
# 3377
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Posted
Not knowing anything about the actual situation -
If you're prepared to pay tuition fees and your son is receiving 1:1 tuition, is there any option for moving to another college for the extra year. I'm wondering whether your college is obsessing about grades and so on, while there might be other institutions that are more flexible. In particular, would a private school be more interested in whether or not there's money on offer.
Posts: 831 | From: london | Registered: Oct 2002
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
Another thought -
I notice that you said the *college* told you the university wouldn't allow the Smudgelet to do an A-level next year to bump up his qualifications and you haven't talked to the university yet. It's possible that the university admissions office would be more flexible in practice, so it's definitely worth talking to the university on Saturday even if everything goes pear-shaped on Friday. Universities are being heavily 'encouraged' to make courses more accessible to students from a wide range of backgrounds and to accept qualifications other than the traditional three or four A levels. Wave the Disability Act at them too, if it seems appropriate.
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Smudgie
Ship's Barnacle
# 2716
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Posted
I have just come off the phone after a long talk with the RIGHT people at the university. They agree that the Smudgelet's circumstances are indeed extremely extenuating circumstances and are going to look into what they can do to ensure he has fair access to the course he already has an offer for. I am SO relieved. Thank you so much for your support (continued prayers very much appreciated!)
He worked at such a high level last year that, even if he only gets passes in the remaining three units for the diploma, he will still come out with the highest possible grades for that certification.
Leon, I'd already starting to look into the option of completing his extended diploma at another college, but there's nowhere around here that does it, apart from a college which is in much higher demand than the one he attends now.
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Miss you, Erin.
Posts: 14382 | From: Under the duvet | Registered: Apr 2002
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
That's good to hear, Smudgie.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
Smudgie: quote:
He worked at such a high level last year that, even if he only gets passes in the remaining three units for the diploma, he will still come out with the highest possible grades for that certification.
He sounds like the kind of student that the university will be bending over backwards to try and accommodate.
Continued prayers ascending...
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
Sound very positive.
for ongoing talking to people who want to help, and can.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
Glad you managed to talk to the right people. Prayers that things go well with the college on Friday.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Piglet
Islander
# 11803
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Posted
What AC, Sarasa and the rest said - prayers still ascending.
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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
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Marvin the Martian
Interplanetary
# 4360
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Smudgie:
I have just come off the phone after a long talk with the RIGHT people at the university. They agree that the Smudgelet's circumstances are indeed extremely extenuating circumstances and are going to look into what they can do to ensure he has fair access to the course he already has an offer for.
If they're struggling a bit with their Widening Participation targets and it's not a massively oversubscribed course then they may use those extenuating circumstances to make him a reduced offer, or even offer him a place unconditionally. If they do then they may need you/him to fill in some paperwork formally declaring the extenuating circumstances, so be prepared for that just in case.
On the subject of what will happen if they don't do that, I cannot believe that any university would just refuse to deal with him should he go on to get improved qualifications next year (unless they stop running the course). He'd have to reapply, but other than that there wouldn't be any bar that I can think of.
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Hail Gallaxhar
Posts: 30100 | From: Adrift on a sea of surreality | Registered: Apr 2003
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Smudgie
Ship's Barnacle
# 2716
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Posted
Having contacted Parent Partnership today, I am going to talk to them by phone tomorrow as they are going to look at supporting me in challenging the college about allowing him to complete the missing units for his Btec next year.
I am feeling so much calmer now and so much better placed to encourage him, so thank you for all your support in that respect. He's very very nervous about going to the university applicants' day on Saturday, but far less nervous than he would have been had we been less informed.
Marvin, does it make you feel old, imagining the Smudgelet as old enough for university? I don't think you've seen him since he was 11.
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Miss you, Erin.
Posts: 14382 | From: Under the duvet | Registered: Apr 2002
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Marvin the Martian
Interplanetary
# 4360
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Smudgie:
Marvin, does it make you feel old, imagining the Smudgelet as old enough for university? I don't think you've seen him since he was 11.
It can't be that long, can it?
*thinks*
Wow, maybe it can. Well, I wasn't feeling old before but I sure am now!
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Hail Gallaxhar
Posts: 30100 | From: Adrift on a sea of surreality | Registered: Apr 2003
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
You think you feel old... my niece is almost old enough to apply for a driving licence!
Glad to hear you're both feeling more positive, Smudgie.
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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Sioni Sais
Shipmate
# 5713
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Posted
Thanks to a brother 18 years older I was an uncle at the age of six, so 'old' has always been a flexible term. While I am a great-uncle thrice now Mrs Sioni is a great-great-aunt twice (and a great-aunt fourteen times!).
It was only standing in church when my own son married that I realised that there was no going back, and that middle age had definitely arrived. That was more than ten years ago!
nb: the relevant bit is that five of them have Higher BTecs, plus two of my own. Their college was very accomodating in resits and the like. Maybe the Smudgelet's college is looking after its own targets rather than its students.
[ 26. March 2015, 12:18: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
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"He isn't Doctor Who, he's The Doctor"
(Paul Sinha, BBC)
Posts: 24276 | From: Newport, Wales | Registered: Apr 2004
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