Drama GCSE yesterday

[Mika22]

Hi my son wants to follow a career in drama.
He has a level 9 in the practical but took the written exam yesterday and despite preparing like mad and being confident he had brain freeze and found it hard to write much.
He's so upset, has anyone got any words of encouragement for him. I don't think it's the end of the world and he could still get into a good uni/drama school but he's pretty devastated ☹️
Thanks.

[LIZS]

I don't think drama schools require gcse since entry is usually by audition. A range of experience is far more valuable. What does he plan to take next year?

[LARLARLAND]

How does he know he got level 9 in the practical? Students aren't supposed to be informed before results day. That's so unprofessional of the teacher and could've contributed to your ds getting brain freeze. Did he manage to write anything at all? As the PP has said, his result in the written aspect of his GCSE Drama won't have an impact on his career as an actor.

[Mika22]

He plans to do drama a level plus 2 more.
Apparently they were all told the practical score as the teacher was required to tell them.

[LIZS]

Dd was told her practical scores last year but grade boundaries can shift.

[LARLARLAND]

I am not sure I believe that.

[Oratory1]

Drama gcse wont impact on future career and drama school entry is by audition. And h may not as badly as badly as he thought. Does he need certain grades to get into sixth form ?

[LARLARLAND]

How can any teacher know a student has performed at level 9 when nobody knows what a level 9 currently looks like?

[Ionacat]

They should have been told their mark for their practical e.g. 44/90 but no one knows what mark is required for what grade yet as it gets decided after all the work is in and has been moderated with nothing to go on - I’m surprised that a teacher gave out a grade as it is only his/her guess. A 9 will only be awarded to the top percent getting an A* so impossible to predict.

There are plenty of options post 16 and 18 for drama and with the exam quality is more important than quantity so he may have done better than he thinks especially if he had very high expectations of himself. (I’ve had one former student become a pro and he didn’t do GCSE or A-Level drama as he was all about music at the time although did musicals and came to it once he finished school.) Another did a politics degree and then went and did vocational training afterwards. So his future career is not going to be written off due to one exam.

[LARLARLAND]

AQA mark the performance element and I can't grasp how they would would know before all the performances are completed where the grade boundaries lie?

[Mika22]

Larlarland, perhaps he got the top mark 90/90, who knows.

Thank you for the encouraging replies, it's so hard trying to buck up a downhearted teenager right in the middle of exams.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

As others have said Drama school is on audition, many that offer 16-18 courses are still open for audition could that be an alternative route to A levels.

[LARLARLAND]

Well I suppose that if he got full marks he will have a 9 but anything less than it's anyone's guess.

[Mika22]

My word larlarland your positivity is so helpful, thank you.

[LARLARLAND]

I am just being truthful. No student knows what they have before the boundaries are set but you clearly don't want to hear that

[sandybayley]

To be fair @LARLARLAND does have a point. If 9 is the top x% then you can't know if you're in that group until everyone else has been marked. You can have a best guess that you will be but you can't know for sure.

[BoneyBackJefferson]

LARLARLAND

Under the new JCQ regulations any results from NEA should be told to the pupils, this so that they can appeal the marks through the school before moderation.

[LARLARLAND]

I know this relates to the practical (performance). If your DS has gained full marks then that’s brilliant. Hopefully they are wrong about the written exam and have done far better than they think they have.

[LARLARLAND]

I also thought that AQA marked the performance so not sure how this would be moderated?

[Mika22]

Thank you everyone, your comments have cheered him up. 😊
Fingers crossed he has done better than he thought. x

[EvilTwins]

His GCSE grades won’t make a diference. If he’s set on Drama School, he should make sure he chooses 6th form courses carefully. A Level 3 BTEC, if done well, is better prep than 3 A Levels. Depends where you are in the country and what’s on offer.

[BubblesBuddy]

When my DDs did GCSE Drama the examiner was an audience member. It’s perfectly possible to get full marks or just one under full marks in the practical. My DDs got 120 and 119 out of 120 respectively. So of course they would have sat on a 9 in today’s currency.

I agree with others though. Drama school is all about the practical so auditions are key. Just make sure, when the time comes, that he has ace tuition for these.

[farangatang]

If it helps, OP, the strong coursework component will make up for any 'dip' on the written paper.
I was convinced I'd bombed my final History paper but ended up with the 6th highest score for History in that year's exams.
Hope that reassures him!

And to be honest, Drama schools won't give two hoots about GCSE Drama anyway!

[LIZS]

I think the emphasis has changed to 40:60 practical to written paper, so the days of good practical scores offsetting an average exam are no longer.