BTEC Guidelines
Information you must know about your Sixth Form child’s BTEC course
BTEC courses are terrific and our students do superbly at them but BTEC assessment requirements can trip students up. There are some risks attached to BTECs which aren't quite the same as the ones attached to A-levels. These risks are detailed below.
Risk 1: Failing the BTEC Exam
Almost every BTEC subject now has at least one formal exam every year. Few retake opportunities are available for each exam and for some unit a retake is not possible. For Year 13 students, the retake opportunity may well be in the summer the year after they have left Tallis, preventing them from going on to university for a year. If a student fails the exam component they will usually fail the whole BTEC qualification, regardless of how well they have done in the other coursework components. As far as passing grades go, students can obtain a Pass (P), Merit (M) or Distinction (D) in the exam component, but it is now also possible to obtain a Near Pass (N) grade in the exam, which can mean that the BTEC qualification is awarded, but at a greatly reduced grade, even if the other coursework components are at Merit or Distinction level.
We do not want our students to be in this position! We will therefore teach them effectively towards the exam each year, show them how to revise for examinations, and arrange suitable revision sessions. However, we cannot revise for your child: each BTEC student must be sure to put the right amount of time into exam preparation before each formal exam. Your support with this is vital.
Risk 2: Plagiarism and copying work
BTEC courses are partially assessed through the submission of coursework. When writing coursework some students can be tempted to copy or plagiarise the words, ideas and work of others without acknowledgement. However it occurs, in whole or in part, deliberately or inadvertently, academic plagiarism is not acceptable at Tallis.
We are very clear with students from the beginning that they must not copy work. In addition, BTEC students sign a declaration as each piece of coursework is submitted that all the work submitted for the assignment is their own, so they are reminded each time.
Tallis has a ‘two strikes and you’re out’ policy about single instances of plagiarism and in more serious cases we will immediately permanently exclude students. We will do this mid-year if we have to.
We have explained this to your child. Please reinforce our policy about plagiarism to them so that there can be no confusion about it.
Risk 3: Failing to meet BTEC Deadlines
Each of your child’s BTEC units is made up of a number of pieces of coursework and we are required by the exam board, Pearson, to write a calendar of deadlines for this coursework to be submitted. The calendar for these assessments is posted to tallispost16.com and we must also send it to Pearson.
BTEC deadlines have two stages. An initial deadline is set by staff prior to a final deadline three weeks later. Students who meet the initial deadline can receive feedback from staff and use it to improve their work to passing standard if their work does not pass first time. They must then resubmit it by the final deadline. Nearly all students at Tallis produce work to the right standard first time round.
Students who do not meet the initial deadline cannot resubmit work: if it fails, they fail the module. In addition, students who do not submit work of a passing standard by the second and final deadline fail the module. It is not possible at Tallis to retake units.
Failing a unit dramatically limits a student’s final grade. Some units are ‘Core Units’ and failing a Core Unit means that a student fails the entire BTEC course. There is then no reason for them to remain a student in our sixth form.
This happens at Tallis from time to time because students choose not to meet deadlines.
Please help us to prevent this from happening. It is important that your child meets all deadlines for their BTEC work, and that you contact us immediately should a problem arise.
How we manage deadlines
Tallis has a simple method to make sure all written work is handed in by deadline. In general, work must be submitted to the Exams Office in Block 5 by 11.20 sharp – the end of break – on the day of the deadline. It is then time and date-stamped before being passed on to staff. The only occasional exceptions to this rule are Art and Media BTEC courses – for these courses, completed work must sometimes be handed in to a senior member of staff. This has been explained to your child.
Asking for more time
We are allowed to authorise extensions to deadlines only if a student has a good reason such as a serious illness supported by medical evidence. Being ill on the day of the deadline does not count. To ask for more time, our online Extenuating Circumstances Form must be filled in before a deadline is reached.
More details of how BTEC courses work
Course Leaders for each BTEC programme
Please contact the course leaders if you have more specific questions you want to ask.
Art & Design: Ms. Philips - sphillips@thomastallis.org.uk
Media: Ms McGrath – smcgrath@thomastallis.org.uk
Business: Mr Henderson – shenderson@thomastallis.org.uk
ICT: Ms Russell - srussell@thomastallis.org.uk
Health & Social Care: Ms Goodrum – kgoodrum@thomastallis.org.uk
Sport: Mr Springall – jspringall@thomastallis.org.uk
Risk 1: Failing the BTEC Exam
Almost every BTEC subject now has at least one formal exam every year. Few retake opportunities are available for each exam and for some unit a retake is not possible. For Year 13 students, the retake opportunity may well be in the summer the year after they have left Tallis, preventing them from going on to university for a year. If a student fails the exam component they will usually fail the whole BTEC qualification, regardless of how well they have done in the other coursework components. As far as passing grades go, students can obtain a Pass (P), Merit (M) or Distinction (D) in the exam component, but it is now also possible to obtain a Near Pass (N) grade in the exam, which can mean that the BTEC qualification is awarded, but at a greatly reduced grade, even if the other coursework components are at Merit or Distinction level.
We do not want our students to be in this position! We will therefore teach them effectively towards the exam each year, show them how to revise for examinations, and arrange suitable revision sessions. However, we cannot revise for your child: each BTEC student must be sure to put the right amount of time into exam preparation before each formal exam. Your support with this is vital.
Risk 2: Plagiarism and copying work
BTEC courses are partially assessed through the submission of coursework. When writing coursework some students can be tempted to copy or plagiarise the words, ideas and work of others without acknowledgement. However it occurs, in whole or in part, deliberately or inadvertently, academic plagiarism is not acceptable at Tallis.
We are very clear with students from the beginning that they must not copy work. In addition, BTEC students sign a declaration as each piece of coursework is submitted that all the work submitted for the assignment is their own, so they are reminded each time.
Tallis has a ‘two strikes and you’re out’ policy about single instances of plagiarism and in more serious cases we will immediately permanently exclude students. We will do this mid-year if we have to.
We have explained this to your child. Please reinforce our policy about plagiarism to them so that there can be no confusion about it.
Risk 3: Failing to meet BTEC Deadlines
Each of your child’s BTEC units is made up of a number of pieces of coursework and we are required by the exam board, Pearson, to write a calendar of deadlines for this coursework to be submitted. The calendar for these assessments is posted to tallispost16.com and we must also send it to Pearson.
BTEC deadlines have two stages. An initial deadline is set by staff prior to a final deadline three weeks later. Students who meet the initial deadline can receive feedback from staff and use it to improve their work to passing standard if their work does not pass first time. They must then resubmit it by the final deadline. Nearly all students at Tallis produce work to the right standard first time round.
Students who do not meet the initial deadline cannot resubmit work: if it fails, they fail the module. In addition, students who do not submit work of a passing standard by the second and final deadline fail the module. It is not possible at Tallis to retake units.
Failing a unit dramatically limits a student’s final grade. Some units are ‘Core Units’ and failing a Core Unit means that a student fails the entire BTEC course. There is then no reason for them to remain a student in our sixth form.
This happens at Tallis from time to time because students choose not to meet deadlines.
Please help us to prevent this from happening. It is important that your child meets all deadlines for their BTEC work, and that you contact us immediately should a problem arise.
How we manage deadlines
Tallis has a simple method to make sure all written work is handed in by deadline. In general, work must be submitted to the Exams Office in Block 5 by 11.20 sharp – the end of break – on the day of the deadline. It is then time and date-stamped before being passed on to staff. The only occasional exceptions to this rule are Art and Media BTEC courses – for these courses, completed work must sometimes be handed in to a senior member of staff. This has been explained to your child.
Asking for more time
We are allowed to authorise extensions to deadlines only if a student has a good reason such as a serious illness supported by medical evidence. Being ill on the day of the deadline does not count. To ask for more time, our online Extenuating Circumstances Form must be filled in before a deadline is reached.
More details of how BTEC courses work
- We can only give feedback on preparatory work, not assessment tasks.
- During ‘live’ assessment tasks we can only give general guidance and we are not permitted to confirm a grade a student is working at until a piece is handed in.
Course Leaders for each BTEC programme
Please contact the course leaders if you have more specific questions you want to ask.
Art & Design: Ms. Philips - sphillips@thomastallis.org.uk
Media: Ms McGrath – smcgrath@thomastallis.org.uk
Business: Mr Henderson – shenderson@thomastallis.org.uk
ICT: Ms Russell - srussell@thomastallis.org.uk
Health & Social Care: Ms Goodrum – kgoodrum@thomastallis.org.uk
Sport: Mr Springall – jspringall@thomastallis.org.uk