Year 10 exam results- sense of perspective please

So she is on course to pass them all with some that will probably increase to 7/8s. However her sciences do not look as though they will be on course for the very high level she will need for medicine.

Now would be a goid time to talk about putting in proper effort for her mocks (Jan/Feb?) so she/you can gauge whether medicine is a reality or a pipedream. I had a DSS who got gcse grades at science but could not sustain them at A level so is now doing a geography degree. However he had already started volunteering at a care home and hospital from year 10 onwards with a view to doing medicine so she will need to be a bit more proactive on that front too if she is serious.

Good luck - motivation has to come from her... All you can do is ask her if she is serious about wanting to study medicine and then get her to research what she needs to do to achieve this - perhaps talking to a couple of able sixth formers on this track about how much revision they did etc.... and ask the school for their realistic assessments of how much revision/school work she should be doing each night next year.....and get her to tell you her plans and then help her stick to them.

I got a shock with year 10 exams just now, seeing how little revision DD has done (for a range of reasons) compared to her school mates - results coming in now... some stellar, like 96% on Eng lit... others average for her classes ... I'm going to be having these kinds of conversations with her as she is likewise an 8/9 across the board kind of girl... IF SHE WORKS.... and who knows what if she doesn't.....

ForforPour - You know that supposed 2 getting straight 9s was not correct. It is likely to be higher (possibly 300) for 9s across the board.

Also are they the grades (numerical rather than percentages) that your DD would get were she to sit an actual gcse today or were they the grades she got on an easier exam set specifically for year 10s?

Our year 10s sat last year's gcses as their year 10 paper so it is easy to see where they sat within last year's grade boundaries.

Yes she should be getting at least old gcse level b to study a levels.

If she wants to study medicine she should be getting work experience in her holidays and volunteeering. As has been said she needs to show motivation and commitment from now. And no, those grades are not good for year 10 if her friend is getting higher (some schools have capped year 10 results as we are making up grade boundaries as we frankly don't have a scooby).

Most schools and sixth forms I know of, expect at least an old B at GCSE in order to study that subject at a level. For sciences and maths, they expect a minimum grade A. The reason for this is because the jump from GCSE is so hard, in content, quantity and in the amount of self directed learning required. Someone who thinks they can coast in to sixth form on without putting in the effort will have a nasty shock. Even the brightest and most able often find it really hard to suddenly have to start really studying.
What has the school said about it?

Two of mine are medics. They both shared a passion and drive from quite an early age. They need more than straight As to get the offers.
Has she got any real idea of what medicine involves throughout course and as a junior doctor. Lying around on a sofa won't do the trick. Mine used to fret if they dropped so much as a mark in exams. Neither needed a metaphorical kick - the commitment to succeed had to come from them.
I would not have let mine sit around doing nothing. They had quite a structured life throughout secondary school and an expectation of revision timetables etc. Then extracurricular activities/work experience to build cv or actual work.
What extracurricular experience or achievement can she demonstrate?
Chemistry is by far the most important subject and she will need to be capable of A*s at A level or a 7 Higher in IB with reasonable ease.
It doesn't at moment sound like she's serious about medicine, so may need some careers advice about other options.

mmm... imho, "study medicine" is a little fantasy, not a real ambition. And it's fine to have a little flight of fancy idea. Besides, there are lots of other medical careers besides MBBS. Thing is, if now she truly wanted medicine... she'd be conniving how to kill herself to get there in 4 yrs.

Or maybe she'll get a different degree first & then her motivation will consolidate later & she'll enter medicine to study it late. But she's not really that keen to go there now. Just likes the idea of it.

You know teens. They try ideas on & off like clothing changes.

My daughter has done similarly and school have been in touch to offer support in revision techniques (I think switching off the wifi should do it), and whether any other support needed. I'm now intervening to nag her nicely into actually doing some revision and not just homework. Visiting school next week to discuss. Dd very pissed off but does want to do well so is going along with it (I'm more carroting than stick though).

I'd be worried at the school predicting 9s. That's just not going to happen. For more than 2 kids in the UK. Our school doesn't predict higher than 8s.

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Calyrical
Too much giraffe

not really, if she does want to study medicine, she won't be able to with those grades.

Her teachers may well be trying to give her a kick up the bum to be honest.

Still doesn't excuse the low marks.

She won't get into med school with a I work hard enough gubatvschool attitude. She needs not only to be academically able but to go the extra mile.

Assuming the science papers are the exam board issued Year 10 ones dd just did them. She is academically able but not med school celibate. She got 80% in biology. Her school gave her Grade 8 for that. She also got Grade 8 in chemistry & 7 in physics but grade boundaries haven't been set yet. However as you have a comparison with your dd's friend those results are worrying.

Your dd needs to either realise this or adjust her expectations.

I might be wrong ...

4/5 is a grade c gcse

5/6 is a b

7 is a basic a grade

8 is a A*

9 is a A*+

Presumably school won't let her take Chemistry A level without at least a 6 and she'd be advised to get a 7 in maths. Maybe a teacher could be asked to lay down the facts of life. I'm in a not dissimilar position with DD, (although she has complex issues) but at least for these last exams she finally seems to have understood the concept of revision to some extent and has got more or less straight 6s (needs 7s to stay at existing school for sixth form). Our response is "Did you work as hard as you could? Are those the results you want? Well in that case you are very lucky that the desired outcome is in your own hands"

At some point she will get a wake-up call, hopefully this is it.

It happened to me. I 'coasted' through O-levels with straight As, applied the same strategy to sixth form (mixed with boyfriends and going out) and then got the shock of my life when my predicted As at A-level turned into actual Ds. Couldn't get the university place I wanted and I watched all of my friends going away while I did retakes.

It remains the hardest lesson of my life. I thought I knew best and despite my parents telling me I needed to work I learned it the hard way.

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The grades aren't too bad, except for two of the sciences, but the attitude really is a problem. Yr 11 is a long hard slog, lots of revision and independent study is expected. I have a DD in yr9 who is getting 6-7 across the board at the moment. And no-one is predicting her all 9s either. She knows she can't get complacent with where she is now, she has to keep slogging away. She's seen DD1 do it.

Your DD needs an attitude adjustment.

You can't force them; you just have to do what you can to support them. You might need to limit her internet access if she lacks self discipline at the moment.

Hopefully this will be a wake up call for her.

I think this is a very common problem with bright but inherently lazy kids - I'm going through it myself with my 15 year old DS. He's clever enough to keep up at school with minimal work, but not clever enough to get the grades he's going to want without a fair amount of work. It's very frustrating - last parents' evening included lots of the word "coasting". If your DD is disappointed with these results, that may well be the rocket she needed - sometimes a good scare can be useful.

Results are fine- perfect in fact if they give her a kick up the arse to improve. They are exactly the opposite if she doesn't see them as motivating to work harder.

If she continues as she is Medicine will be beyond her.

Too much giraffe

Her teachers may well be trying to give her a kick up the bum to be honest.

Nobody is being predicted 9s at my (Yr10) dd's school. Just too many unknowns.

However, to my mind, it's not the actual grades that are worrying so much as the fact she hasn't done any work. She's not going to get a place to study medicine if she doesn't want to work. I suppose it depends if this is the surprise she needed to learn that most people can't just walk into an exam and come out with a top grade without breaking a sweat at some point.