Why did my son get these results?

Hello,

I have just left sixth form and was also predicted very good grades but did not get what was expected (similar results to your son) at my school we only needed 5 GCSES to go to sixth form, If I counted correctly your son did have 5? Could you ring around other sixth forms nearby and see if they have a lower threshold for the amount of GCSES needed for sixth form?

also the reason why his results may not have been as expected may be because of pressure of the exams(sometimes I think parents don't realise just how much pressure is put on kids by teachers to perform well in their GCSEs), a bad nights sleep before exams and maybe not enough revision?(even though I know you said he worked very hard)

hope this helps and I hope your son is happy in whatever he ends up doingxx

It must be very disappointing for your DS.

I could be completely wrong but are predicted GCSE grades based on ks2 SATS? If these were inflated/incorrect then predicted grades would also be inflated/incorrect and, in the current climate, I imagine teachers would be reluctant to adjust them downwards. Also it is possible that your DS did not know how to revise effectively. Have you spoken to the school?

Grade boundaries have changed so those who would have got Cs got Ds instead.

Could have been exam stress.

I performed badly in my exams in comparison to my predicted grades, (predicted A*s but got Bs and Cs). I simply can't do exams I had similar results in my AS levels, moved on to a 100% coursework BTEC and got the highest marks. So that might suit him better.

Many Sixth forms do a year where students do Level 2 courses to resist their gCSEs it's not unusual

Do you know how other children at the school did? It would be worth establishing whether this is solely down to your DS or whether there are any issues around teaching standards or the way the staff make their grade predictions.

He will be able to resit Eng Lang and Maths in November at school or college and get results in Jan. The good news is that his Controlled Conditions marks should roll over for any subject where this was a component. I suggest that you book an appointment with the Head of Year 11 or the Exams Officer so you can get a picture of his CC marks and exam marks profile. He needs to know which questions he scored well on and where he didn't and if he missed out questions- certainly for AQA GCSEs this info is all available now. You also need to know what the grade boundaries were for his subjects because it may be that the goalposts have shifted this year. They certainly have this summer in my subject, English and Eng Lit in particular.
There should also be a member of staff who advises on careers info (this could be a bought in service rather than a teacher) or contact the council to see who advises on 16-18 education matters ( formerly Connexions). They can give you info about Level 2 and 3 college courses which might be his best bet for a year until he brings his GCSEs for the subjects he wants to continue to A Level up to at least a C ( and most institutions want a B).
Best wishes- I know that he and you must be very upset at the moment.

If you go to the exam boards they have a list of the grade boundaries, and on his results most of the exams should have the individual papers with the raw marks and grading next to them as well as overall UMS mark on one side. For example 46 is a UMS B for Ds, whereas 40 is a UMS C. That B could be made up of a 3 papers one marked 68, one marked 66 and one marked 45 (raw marks) added together they make (I cannot remember) but it just added up to the total which was on B boundary for Music that year, whereas the UMS total is the same year after year.

Statistics not my strong point.

Aw bless him. It's horrible when results are worse than you expect without any clear reason why. I'm a private tutor in science and maths. I often work with students who work really hard but miss their grades through poor exam technique-not answering the question that's asked, not showing working, not using key words etc... It could easily be something like that that's caught him out.

I agree a good talk with the school about his options is what's needed. Remarks might be worthwhile if he's close to grade boundaries. The school will have these. Really good luck to him.

We had the same situation op.
My son had a few definite A's but got 2 b's and a few C's
His 6th form won't let him do his choice of A levels so he's going down the Btec route now.
We are not really sure what happened.

For a start I would query why the school put him in for three sciences instead of combined. At least next year's students will not have the same heartache is someone is held to account for setting inflated target grades. Was he put in for Foundation or Higher? My ds got Cs in his science but that is because he was put in for Foundation half way through the course, I'm sure if he had set Higher Triple he would have got D's. Same with Spanish,Foundation secured Ds his C.

I feel more grateful having read your story that Ds was put in for Foundation in some subjects; I felt he was being shortchanged at the time but maybe it helps.

My DS also did worse than he was expecting to and is having to do non-academic type A levels as he didn't make B grades for biology and chemistry.

The key thing a lot of courses/apprenticeships seem to require is 5 GCSEs A-C grade including Maths and English so maybe your son could concentrate on Maths/English resits this year to help him get those 2, maybe a longside a level 2 Btech course?

Then he could move onto to different courses the following year.

I think that GCSEs are hard for teens who struggle with the pressure of exams and is not always a reflection of their intelligence or how hard they have worked.

I would try and get in to see someone (who knows him) in school - see if they can offer any pointers.

hore sadly it's a very different world now and there isn't the same second chances that there used to be.

wish did you speak to his head of year today? Roughly where are you based- there are some colleges that offer a foundation year to retake in exceptional circumstances.

Does your son suffer from anxiety? Was it exam nerves/stress? If it is across different exam boards and subjects this doesn't sound like a blip, rather a melt down at the exams? Or terrible over marking on behalf of the school.

Do you have the breakdowns of the marking in front of you? Can you see which exams were the ones that suffered the most? Was coursework disproportionately high in comparison to the exams in English, for example?

I do know someone's son who this happened to. He went off to a (state) retake centre for a year and re-took the ones he cared about, got B's across the board (having got D's previously) and THEN started his A levels, a year later. If he has failed Maths and English, he will have to retake them anyway in November. Would it be both leaving the establishment he is at, writing them all off, and starting afresh? After all you have an extra year paid for by gov, up till 19 years. Why not do it at this end rather than adding an access course at the other end or year's delay going to uni at the other?

Can't he re sit them?

Sometimes you can work really hard but not revise in the right way. Results depend on quality smart revision. Look at your local college, find courses he may be interested in and hit the phones, maybe a btec with maths and english retakes. All is not lost he is young, can work hard and is a smart hardworking young man. Good luck

Do you know how any of his classmates did?

Have you looked at the actual marks? Are any close to the grade boundary? Is do it may be worth getting some remarked.
My DD was quite shocked with unexpectedly lie English language and literature results. (Although still OK to what she wants)

Oh an colleges do offer the exams so he could take another year and re-do?

Well I don't know what you can do but I just wanted to say I didn't even get to sit these exams because my mocks were so crap. I did fine, I went to college then joined an agency and worked my way up from there and have a good job now. I'm sure he will manage to get into college on those results, hell..I did and I had nothing.
He will be fine, absolutely fine.

I share your pain. My DS was forecast mostly As, a couple of A* and 1 B. He has Cs and Bs. Supposed to be going out celebrating tonight but I just want to sit down and ask him why he couldn't be bothered to work and does he regret it now. He will be accepted into 6th form but not to do the A levels he wanted to.

Hubby is a teacher and he said this morning nationally marks have been low but I'm not sure why that is.

How does he feel he did - does he think he worked as hard as he could?

Is he willing to retake them next year? Does he have a particular career path in mind and is there a different way around to it?