Secondary Education in England - Mainstream versus Special Schools

There are other forms of education to consider. Hotel california mentions Open University, which is a sound well recognised qualification. They are however quite demanding, in terms of coursework content, the amount of information supplied (often to very high standards but a lot to take in, including some of their simulations), the rigour of the phase tests, and exams taken in unusual central venues. And that's a long term option beyond GCSE/ A'Level.

There was an initiative to create a work experience practical based option to GCSE and A Level called 14-19 Diploma, although it seems to have been allowed to fall apart under the present Government. The UK unlike much of Europe, lacks practical work based courses, but UK schools did not support the idea. It would have given pupils options that were less 'academic' and more employer orientated, and the initiative was driven by industry, especially engineering.

There may be ongoing 14-19 diplomas around, but it varied a lot with local authority.

Another approach is Higher National Diplomas and Certificates, which either mean attending at a Further Education College or doing distance learning (like Open University). These lie between A Level equivalent and first year university - an HNC can usually be topped up to a degree by completing second and third year modules.

A further option are Foundation Degrees (not to be confused with foundation courses pre-University) which equate to completing a second year at University, and can be topped up to a full degree with one year's further study.

Then there are vocation based courses under City & Guilds.

I mention these because some local authorities' ideas on special schools is to place autistic spectrum kids in classes mainly orientated to learning disabled or mental health, where they are unconnected with their peers, and where sometimes the number of A Levels available to study is small.

But also, whether in mainstream or special school, if a child runs into difficulties at A'Level there is a terrible barrier that rears its head that all chances of going to university are thwarted.

This is not necessarily the case, as there are other pathways, such as HNCs and Foundation Degrees. The problem is these are outside the normal scope offered by schools, that are rather blinkered towards the A Level then University rat race (also the options don't suit their performance table expectations).

The best way to find out about the options is to look at the Learning Skills Councils (the Government has changed the system a bit but they read across to new websites). These relate to the longer term career area. So, for example Construction & Built Environment caters for the building and construction industry.

I think there needs to be more help and flexibility towards career path options from people on the spectrum for whom the conventional do A Levels then go to University may not work out favourably.

There are other forms of education to consider. Hotel california mentions Open University, which is a sound well recognised qualification. They are however quite demanding, in terms of coursework content, the amount of information supplied (often to very high standards but a lot to take in, including some of their simulations), the rigour of the phase tests, and exams taken in unusual central venues. And that's a long term option beyond GCSE/ A'Level.

There was an initiative to create a work experience practical based option to GCSE and A Level called 14-19 Diploma, although it seems to have been allowed to fall apart under the present Government. The UK unlike much of Europe, lacks practical work based courses, but UK schools did not support the idea. It would have given pupils options that were less 'academic' and more employer orientated, and the initiative was driven by industry, especially engineering.

There may be ongoing 14-19 diplomas around, but it varied a lot with local authority.

Another approach is Higher National Diplomas and Certificates, which either mean attending at a Further Education College or doing distance learning (like Open University). These lie between A Level equivalent and first year university - an HNC can usually be topped up to a degree by completing second and third year modules.

A further option are Foundation Degrees (not to be confused with foundation courses pre-University) which equate to completing a second year at University, and can be topped up to a full degree with one year's further study.

Then there are vocation based courses under City & Guilds.

I mention these because some local authorities' ideas on special schools is to place autistic spectrum kids in classes mainly orientated to learning disabled or mental health, where they are unconnected with their peers, and where sometimes the number of A Levels available to study is small.

But also, whether in mainstream or special school, if a child runs into difficulties at A'Level there is a terrible barrier that rears its head that all chances of going to university are thwarted.

This is not necessarily the case, as there are other pathways, such as HNCs and Foundation Degrees. The problem is these are outside the normal scope offered by schools, that are rather blinkered towards the A Level then University rat race (also the options don't suit their performance table expectations).

The best way to find out about the options is to look at the Learning Skills Councils (the Government has changed the system a bit but they read across to new websites). These relate to the longer term career area. So, for example Construction & Built Environment caters for the building and construction industry.

I think there needs to be more help and flexibility towards career path options from people on the spectrum for whom the conventional do A Levels then go to University may not work out favourably.