No 1 son has just informed me that it's unlikely he will get enough credits to get pass his first year at university.  I strongly suspect too little discipline and effort and too much social life.  He's hoping to retake the year - has anyone any experience of this - either themselves or their children? 
Any advice would be welcomed.

My sister dropped out in her first year as she just wasn't suited to the Uni life :)

I think that unless he is 100% committed to it he might as well cut his losses and have a rethink :) Perhaps a gap year to decide what he really wants to do might be a good idea :) A break sometimes does help re focus ;) He may then decide to apply himself to so hard work :)

Lucy
xx

My son took his exams again in the summer holidays in his 2nd year and passed, as all his friends had gone home he thought that he would be the only person there, as it happened he met up with other students in the same position they were in other halls, it was lonely for him but there were other students about that he befriended. We had to pay for him to take his exams again. But the experience made him work much harder in his 3rd year.

If your son retakes his 1st year again, he will be older mentally than the first years who are just starting, but it might make him wake up, and make him get on with his work this time.

Its very hard for them when they are away, as there is no one to remind them to get on with their work, like there is at home.
But its a wonderful experience for them, and it makes them very mature when they leave after 3 years.
I hope everything works out well for your son.

Thanks for your replies. 
He was going to take a gap year, but partly because he's doing a maths based degree, and partly the increase in tuition fees, decided against it.  His current lab partner is retaking his first year, so I just hope this will be a lesson for him and he will put the effort in next year.

He will have to sit down and think very hard about whether or not he's suited to university - the first year is easy compared to the rest :( It is completely different to school and college, you have to focus yourself and want to study as no one is going to chase you up - when I did my degree, a few people failed the first year and dropped out as they couldn't find the motivation to work on their own. Saying that, I do know some people that barely scraped through their first year and did settle down and concentrate more on their studies. By the time you get to your final year, you're lucky if you have any time to go out at all :p