Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Increasing Physics GCSE grade to do a level physics

28 replies

timeforsomethingnew · 01/02/2017 11:00

DD got a C in physics mocks in Nov. She is predicted B and wasn't too worried as she said she felt like she had room to revise more thoroughly and hadn't put as much time into that science during mock revision.

She is making a level choices now and our research shows that given her current career interests (architecture, product design, industrial design) she ought to do physics or maths. Maths is ok (she should get an A or A*) but school have generally advised not to take at a level for her set given the significant stretch. So she was thinking she would like to do physics .

She's speaking to the physics teacher this week to get more feedback on whether it is realistic or not but anyone have experience of lifting grades with concerted effort?

She is v well organised and hard working but she is dyslexic, and needs to work hard to understand what questions are asking for and make sure she answers longer questions accurately. I imagine her C is a combination of knowledge/revision and also exam technique .

OP posts:
Original poster
timeforsomethingnew · 01/02/2017 11:34

Hi newiideas - thanks for your response. Yes she has ed psych report. What is it about architecture that you think may be a struggle given she's dyslexic?

Speaking to school about it all too so will definitely get good input from them and also good support at GCSE and A level whatever she chooses. They have said that taking maths with physics not essential as they run additional clinics and teach the required maths as they go through. It's 40% maths based so they do require A/A* for both maths and physics.shes predicted A in maths and her teacher said that could be A if she continues to work hard.

Overall she is predicted to get a good set of GCSEs with a mix of A*, mostly As and a couple of Bs. So this is more a question of picking right choices .

OP posts:
TeenAndTween · 01/02/2017 11:27

Personally I would think that if she can't get an A (or close to it) for physics GCSE then A level would be a real struggle. A B that just misses an expected A is very different from a B that is just better than a C.

DD1 got the grade for her P2 paper up from Cs in practices to A in the real thing by virtue of finally getting the hang of plugging numbers into equations, rearranging and solving accurately. It was amazing how many marks there were for that, and she didn't need to understand the physics all that well, just pick the correct equation from the start of the booklet.

I think you / your DD need to look at papers she has done and understand where marks are being lost, and go from there.

NewIdeasToday · 01/02/2017 11:12

Has she had a full assessment for dyslexia by an educational psychologist and if so did that give any suggestions about future career opportunities? I'm just wondering if Architecture would be a good choice in the circumstances?

It sounds like you and your daughter need to sit down with someone from the school (Head of sixth form?) and discuss choices that will build on her strengths. Many sixth forms expect you to have A / A* in the relevant subject at GCSE to take an A level, as the step up for A level is significant. Also physics A level includes a lot of maths - so not taking maths could be a disadvantage.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.