Apprenticeship or 6th form ????

[maree t]

Help has anyone done one in a non racing yard ?
My 16 year old daughter has been working in a yard part time over the summer holidays with the intention of going to 6 th form next month . She wants to work with horses but had planned on A levels first . Today they have offered her an apprenticeship with training towards her bhs exams .
It is a very good yard with lots of opportunities for the future . She will still be able to work there part time if she goes back to school but she may miss out on being in the right place at the right time . We are so torn and dont know what will be for the best so looking for experience please .

 

[Theocat]

Can she do A Levels in her spare time via distance learning, perhaps with some tutor support?

 

[Malibu_Stacy]

Biased opinion here (teacher!) but I'd say it'd be much easier to find an equivalent apprenticeship in 2 years time once A Levels completed then coming back to do A Levels in a couple of years time (or potentially longer).

The more formal academic education she gets now, the wider her options are if later in life she decides to move away from working with horses. It is also perfectly possible to wait and still get on in the equestrian industry - I know someone who freelances, including grooming for a Team GB rider, having started in the equestrian industry after completing her degree (at Oxbridge, no less!).

 

[sport horse]

I am an employer and I do take on apprentices. I would strongly suggest that if she is academic enough to take her A levels she does so. She can then do horses but have the security of sufficiently good exams to get into college should she change her mind or (god forbid) have an accident ( sadly our sport does have a risk factor).

 

[Mike007]

Not entirely sure I agree. The hard graft of working in a yard is a great preparation for life. Slightly at a tangent ,but I think relevant. I went back to study ,age 50. One of my younger colleagues said that it was easy for me because I had seen all this stuff before. I explained that although my grades might suggest it , it was as new to me as to him. The only difference was that when I found somthing I didnt understand , I worked at it till I did understand. Hard work in a good yard will teach the work ethic better than anything. You are never too old to go back to college.

 

[Horseymum13]

I wonder if you could talk to the yard manager/ owner and explain your dilemma? It might be that they could keep the opportunity open until next summer when the A levels are over? It's not that far away, especially if she can still work there part-time. Imagine if she does the apprenticeship but it doesn't work out (happened to a friend of mine)

 

[Mooseontheloose]

I work with apprentices and certainly the 18 year olds who come in at level three find the assignments and portfolio work much easier as they are used to using resources and finding things out independently. She could use the time til then upgrading all her riding and horsecare skills, maybe through PC exams to B test and above plus BHS riding and road safety etc which could then be Accredited Prior Learning so she can start at level 3.
I'm not sure about funding but I think she needs to be signed up before she's nineteen to make sure the full funding can be available, although I expect it varies from area to area.

 

[Tnavas]

Not entirely sure I agree. The hard graft of working in a yard is a great preparation for life. Slightly at a tangent ,but I think relevant. I went back to study ,age 50. One of my younger colleagues said that it was easy for me because I had seen all this stuff before. I explained that although my grades might suggest it , it was as new to me as to him. The only difference was that when I found somthing I didnt understand , I worked at it till I did understand. Hard work in a good yard will teach the work ethic better than anything. You are never too old to go back to college.

Totally agree with Mike here - I returned to study aged 50 after decades in the equestrian industry. The Pre-requisites for O & A levels generally drops once you reach 21 so its no big deal if she doesn't have A levels. I only have an A level in Art but went on to do a Bachelor of Business Degree by correspondence, continuing to work at the same time. Worked out really well.

As she has been offered an Apprenticeship at a good yard with Professional Exams as part of the goal, I'd let her go for it. Life is for living. Let her go for her dreams.

 

[Shay]

It isn't completely an "either / or". Might there be an option for her to work at a yard for a year, get as far in the BHS exams as she can? (She will probably only make it to Stage 2 if she is starting from scratch.) She can then go back to school, effectively a year late, and do her A levels with a bit of real life behind her. Alternatively she can do A levels part time at a local college, or through distance learning and still work at the yard. (PM me if needed my daughter is home educated and there are loads of resources.) Alternatively she can go to 6th form and work on her BHS exams outside. And / or do 6th form now and take a year out before any further education.

Life is going to be a lot easier in the long run if she does have A levels - but there are loads of ways to achieve that outside the conventional box if needed!

 

[crabbymare]

I would say to get good grade A levels while she is still in the study mindset and work on getting the bhs stage one done part time or weekends while she is doing that. then when she has that she can do some work towards stage 2 and when the a levels are done she can crack on and do horse stuff. once she has her exams they are out of the way and with her for life and will be there for whatever jobs she wants to do or can be used for entry to uni or college if thats what she wants. at 16 it seems exciting to have offers but realistically its easier and better to get the exams done and then decide on further education or work or gap year

 

[*hic*]

Is she likely to get really good grades? If not i'd suggest the apprenticeship.

 

[oldie48]

IMO education up to the age of 18 is about keeping as many doors open as you can. What someone dreams about doing when they are 16 is so often different to what they end up doing when they are older. I'd encourage her to take "A" levels and make sure she has at least a grade C in English and maths at GCSE. Let her continue helping out at the yard, if she's good then I'm sure they will be keen to keep her and whilst she is doing her "A" levels, do some research with her to find out what sort of jobs would suit her. Encourage her to be open minded and without being completely negative, ensure she understands how hard and financially unrewarding it is to work with horses (unless you are very lucky). She may settle for working with horses but at least she will be doing it with her eyes open and in that case, I'd definitely go for an apprenticeship as I don't see much evidence that a 3 year degree course really prepares people for working in the industry and you end up with a lot of debt!

 

[Cocorules]

If she is good enough to get good grades at A level I would suggest she banks those now and works part time with horses. I worked from a young age with horses and loved it. My dad also told me from a young age that working with horses is low paid and it was better to get a job that pays well and keep horses the way I would want to.

In general I think he was right because although there are some jobs in the equine industry that do pay fine I do not think I would have ended up in one as my riding skills were not as good as they needed to be for that. I now have a professional career I dislike but it pays well and I have time to ride and can afford to keep my horses the way I want to. It also means I have my own home and do not have to suffer from not having enough cash to have options on life.

At this stage it would be good for her to keep her options open and it is far easier to do A levels first and work part time than the other way round.

 

[Asha]

Agree with the others, if she is academic and is Likely to get good grades, then A levels all the way. Working with horses is hard work and low paid. Perhaps she can work part time at the weekends to keep her hand in, and when she's finished her a levels reassess. It's important to keep all the options open, she may feel very different in two years. Unless she's ultra talented , I would try and keep horses as a hobby. Making a living out of horses isn't easy.

 

[Tnavas]

Come and work with horses in New Zealand! Pay is good, I have a house, horse, car and lorry all bought while I was working in the racing industry.

 

[Piaffe123]

I'm another vote for getting your A levels and then go explore more.

I was dead set on becoming a lawyer when I was 16 - I'm now 22 and about to go do a masters so I can work in conservation! You change your mind SO easily and so quickly at that age, getting A levels will give her much broader opportunities and horses will always be there.

 

[Dubsie]

Keeping options open is definitely the best way. Is she already in the Pony Club? My daughter had her heart set on going to the local agricultural college and doing the equine course there, she'd been planning this for years - but on the open day she discovered that she'd only be studying to the level of what she had already done for her B test last summer, so felt she'd find it boring. Having gained some excellent GCSEs she's happily signed up for 6th form and will keep the horse stuff going - she can eventually do coaching within Pony Club and keep up with that side of things as well as come away with A levels -and she still doesn't know what she wants to do.

 

[SecretAgentBilly]

I'm 17, and I thought about giving up school to work with horses - so glad I didn't now because having a levels open up so many more options. If your daughter ever wants to move out of horses, a levels will offer lots more job opportunities - this is eventually was persuaded me as I wasn't sure I'd want to me working with horses my whole life.
Although it isn't easy doing A levels and having horses I'd definitely say it's worth doing them in the long run.

 

[AppyLover]

depends what level of apprenticeships she would be doing a level 2 is equivalent to GCSE and a level 3 is the equivalent of A levels. If I had known about apprenticeships 8 years ago at school leaving age I prob would have gone with that instead of Alevels. I now work in adult education And know the ins and outs of apprenticeships and they drive me mental on a daily basis lol 😊