Sometimes I think that getting an A* is all that matters....

Time is a great healer.

Sparkling DS2 was in Set 2 for Maths in Yr 10 and 11, he is still on course for either a high A or an A. Set 1 did linear maths, so have already done their GCSE, some got As or As, some got Bs. Some have retaken three times already to try to get an A.

DS2 is going to get at least an A, unless something goes drastically wrong on Monday when he does the last bit of his exam. At the last parents' evening the maths teacher said he thought they had got DS2 wrong in Yr9 and had put him in the wrong set. But in my mind, I reckon they got it right, that little bit of extra input that he has been given has really helped him, and a few others in the class, and as a result he will get his A, or A*. If he had have been out of his depth who knows what might have happened?

Unfortunately, to me it reads as if your DS may have incorrectly been placed in the top set when you joined the school. It is terrible when this happens - it has happened on occasion at my school when the ideal class was full and the choice is between the higher set or the lower set, usually it is decided that the student will fare better in the higher set. It also happens when the previous school doesn't provide data promptly.

That said, if this is important to your DS and you - it doesn't need to be a permanent move. Last year in July I was contacted by a parent (from a student at another school) after their DD was moved down to set 2. She had been struggling to keep up and her teachers had felt it was the best move. Now she is half way through year 10 and as of next week will be moving back up to top set after a recent test meant she scored better than half of the top set. Now I'm not suggesting you get a private tutor, but I am suggesting that an hour of dedicated time per week can make all the difference.

Yes, and I lived through it. I feel 100 years old

Sparkling DS1 is just doing his A levels now and he said to me the other day that no-one thinks or asks about GCSEs now. He worked his socks off, got all As and A*s, but says knowing what he knows now he would probably have not stressed as much.

He went for History, English, Law and Psychology at AS level and dropped Law as he went though to A2. He is predicted all A's but is saying he isn't going to Uni!

DS2 is doing his GCSEs now, he is working hard because he needs to get the grades to go through to 6th Form. He will be doing sciences at A level because he wants to be a nurse.

. If they want to do well, IMO they will. Your DS sounds like he does. As he goes through into Yr10 and 11 you might find his friendship group changes a bit and he joins up with youngsters of a similar mindset as him, I know my DSes did.

No, he pulled it off in the end, got all his exams.

He's doing History. Tells me all about Thatcher and the miners srtike

Why wasn't my ds like this. He only cared about getting top marks in Halo and World of Warcaft.

Now he's at uni he is better but still wants to be top in League of Legends

With ds and GCSEs last year, there seemed to be a definite feel amongst his swotty mates that only A counted - a bit like Olympic golds. He did really well, 9As and 2As (plus a couple of Bs) but had the hump for a few days as all his mates were only comparing how many A*s they'd got.
But of course, once Year 12 got going, they realised that it's the road ahead with A2s and A levels that really count.

Yes, of course. She is doing Maths and 3 sciences at A level. She's not sure what she wants to do - she will decide further when she gets her AS results.

Sparkling When DD was in years 10 and 11 there seemed to be less sharing of the marks than there had been in lower years, if that is any comfort to you. Perhaps it was because they were doing the 'real' stuff then.

DD is at the end of year 12 now. I agree that you need at least a B in a subject you want to take at A level, not only from the point of view that the school wouldn't let you take it (some schools specify at least a B), but the fact that you need the background and level of understanding in a subject at GCSE in order to be able to take it further, otherwise the jump to A level would be even greater than it already is.

So no, you don't have to have an A* in a subject if you want to do it at A level.

I've experience you need at least a B in any subject you want to do at A level. It is my experience that C grades struggle a bit.

There is some formula my school uses to decide who can do 2, 3 or 4 A levels, which is based on GCSE results but I don't know what it is. Something like an average of 8 b's or above to do 4

My DD, Y8, is already getting stressy about her choices. She was of the understanding that if she moved into the bottom set for maths she would not be able to take the higher level paper and could only get a C.

She managed 76% in her end of year exam. We were delighted but she pointed out she still came bottom. Someone has to!

Sparkling, your ds sounds lovely. As a teacher and a mother of a now grown teenage ds, it is my experience that a lot of boys just want to pass, never mind aim foe an A*

If he really wants it, he will be able to do it. The second set go at a slightly slower pace, but can get A* easily.

Now my ds was an A* candidate who happily settled for a B . It will all unfold magically during Y10,and it doesn't take over their life. < recalls ds's hours on x box live with no evidence of revision>. It is slightly different now, as all modules have been scrapped, so all the pressure will come at the end of Year 11.

As one who remembers O Levels, which were done in a similar manner, I seem to remember doing not very much until exam revision time