Has anybody got positive stories of gcse results after woeful mocks?

Don’t let knowing where the gaps are stress you out. Just revise everything. The topics he knows well will just mean he doesn’t need to spend much time on them.
Get a copy of the specification of each subject and just go through it.
Some topics he’ll know well, some partly, and others he’ll be learning.
Don’t wait for teachers, just crack on.
Do you have textbook and resources for every subject?
The stuff my dn found useful as well as textbooks
free science lessons on you tube
Mr Bruff on YouTube for English
Corbett maths doing the 5 questions a day

Just came on to say many years ago I got an E in my English mock and managed to get it up to an A, not by revising but more about understanding how to answer questions and time management. Even though exams are very different now dd seemed to find the story quite reassuring.

Just to add it might be worth having a rethink about the further maths A level. If maths doesn't come very easily indeed it might be a bit much. Did he want it for computer science degree in future? I heard some universities insist on FM but some do not.

@Noth1ngtoseehere
At our school the teachers wouldn't mind if you emailed them. You could say that you know HofH will be contacting them at some point but you'd like some advice in the meantime on what DS can usefully do in the holidays so that he is ready for next term. Tell them what revision materials he has, any areas he feels are weak, ask what they think would be the best use of the next few weeks, any good revision tips or materials they think would help etc etc.
Good luck. Having had to do this last year on a smaller scale my advice is try to persuade him not to have any expectations about results - there is so much he can't control, like how hard the paper is. All he can do is work hard and whatever happens will be good enough. Your main job may well be to keep it all as low key and relaxed as possible!

Hey, I've had 1and a half weeks of mocks and have 2 days left, it's a stressful time and the results aren't always reflective of ability, I'm sure his exam technique will improve with time.
A thing I find really helpful is looking at old mark schemes and examiners reports to see what they want you to say, not what you feel like you should say.
Most of the time you can get a high regrade without knowing all the facts, if you know the style and what they're looking for e.g. Key words

Yes he will most definetly go up if he actually revises well and can deal with the stress. People in my school got 3s and 4s in their mocks and ended up with six 9s, and nothing below a 7 in gcse.

OP do you know what boards he’s doing?

If it’s AQA there is a woman called Primrose Kitten, as Sprout days above, who does the whole curriculum for three sciences online in bite size chunks.

If it’s IGCSE Edexcel there is “Science with Hazel” which is similar. DS found this brilliant.

If he’s doing IGCSE maths the Paper 2 was so ridiculously hard last year, they were getting grade 9s with about 40% or less. They were all in a state of shock when they came out of that one. Nothing else was like it. So if it is IGCSE maths he’s doing, do tell him not to get over anxious if he sees samples of the Paper 2. Everyone will be

Also. Is he doing any courses with a coursework element eg Music or Art or DT as this can take the pressure off a bit too when it comes to the exams?

I say last year, I mean the academic year so got results in August

How much is the school doing to help OP? My DSS did his GCSEs last year and the school after Christmas ramped the revision sessions up to the max. After school sessions, weekend sessions and holiday sessions ( average school in an average area).
He pulled his PE from a 3 in mocks to a 6, the rest he did well in as the school supported them so much and basically dragged them through their GCSEs.
The only problem is now he’s at a 6th form college (school didn’t have one),they don’t offer this level of support and wrap around pushieness to he is struggling at alevel.

Not terrible mocks but nothing exciting

English language 6 mock 8 GCSE
English Lit 5 mock 8 GCSE
Maths 6 mock 7 GCSE
Science 5/6 mock 8/8 GCSE
Geography 6 mock 8 GCSE
RS 4 mock 7 GCSE

Final grades were mainly 8 and 3 x 7. He worked his socks off using a combination of GCP, online tutorials and a tutor in English and science all while his dad was terminally ill. Couldn’t be prouder

And if you understand the new system you get an A* in statistics!

I think most schools and colleges require an 8 in GCSE Maths to do Further Maths. I'm sure @noblegiraffe will correct me if I'm wrong.

In maths, you probably need to be aiming for about 85% to get a 9.

POsting again as I messed it up

4 - Pass (lower end of C)
5 - Good Pass (higher end of C/lower B)
6 - (B)
7 - (A)
8 - (higher end of A lower end of A*)
9 - calculated as the top percentage upper end of A*)

5 should read higher C/lower B

Well the problem is that the new numbers don't correspond exactly with the old letters.

The new Grade 4 is referenced as being the lower end of an old C and we know that for the first few years at least the same percentage of students who got an old A or above will be getting a 7 or above so it's fairly safe to say a 7 is equivalent to an A.

So most tables end up something like

4 - Pass (lower end of C)
5 - Good Pass (higher end of B/lower B)
6 - (B)
7 - (A)
8 - (higher end of B lower end of A*)
9 - calculated as the top percentage upper end of A*)

I still don't really understand the new marking system - I understand the letters are now numbers but what's that in old money (%)?

I could give you a positive outcome of woeful GCSE results....my daughter failed the lot, despite working hard, due to the stress of it all.
She got into college on a slightly different course, and is doing fine now.

The school will offer revision sessions and these are great because they will really focus on what he needs to do - revision techniques and exam techniques. Mocks only reflect the real situation if revision has been optimal, which it has not been for your DS.

My DDs both improved on their mocks. DD2 did dramatically well, going from 3 to 7 in Chemistry, 4 to 6 in Physics, 5 to 7 in Maths, 6 to 8 in history and Geography. The only subject where there was no change was English where she stayed at 7 and 9 for lit and lang. Do not despair!

I think I must have had one of the only children on mumsnet whos mocks were exactly the same as her final GCSEs!

Dd's actual results were all 1-2 grades higher than her mocks, she got mostly 6/7 in her mocks and 7-9 in her actual exams.

Ds is going through mocks at the moment (he's another anxious one who walked out of/didn;t write a thing on his year 10 paper in some subjects). He gets a separate room/rest breaks etc.

Dd did her mocks and GCSE's 2 years ago.

Things I have learnt form having 2 kids in 2 different schools.

January mocks are much more accurate than November mocks. November mock revision is shoehorned in between normal school/extra curricular activities, rehearsing for christmas concerts, applying to college etc. January ones you get a whole 2 weeks of the christmas holidays to revise at a steadier pace and still have some down time.

Mocks shoehorned into 1/2 weeks are much more stressful than the real exams over 4 weeks with a week for half term in between.

Some teachers are not very accurate at grading papers with the new exams and grade boundaries.

At this point they won't have learnt exam technique.

DS is in this same position, OP. Did much worse than usual in mocks and now stressing (apart from computer science where he got 9s, he never gets anything else there - told him that could make him too complacent in that one!)

He usually gets 8 or so in maths, physics, chemistry, biology, and got a mixture from 5-7 so got himself in a tizz. In some ways it's a good thing because it has refocused him on revision,we've bought the CGP guides and he does these and past papers, then uses YouTube videos etc, assuring me that's how he learns best. Not sure if he's giving it his all - he'd prefer to be playing games - but he does seem to have doubled down. After Christmas we'll be upping the amount of time we expect him to spend revising, he's kind of on board with it. Sounds very similar in that he's always got excellent marks across the board, school predicting 8s etc based on sats results and now they are panicking he won't fulfil their value added stats so offering all manner of interventions etc. We do intend to take up all the extra revision classes on offer.

DD took her GCSEs 3 years ago and her mocks were fairly shambolic, but she pulled it out of the bag and exceeded expectations in most subjects so it can be done. I think it's a case of keeping on top of it all but also allowing them time to relax and breathe, and not piling on the pressure but being more of a gentle encourager. They get enough nagging from school. It's a hard balance to find though, especially when they are not working very hard...

Let's hope they get themselves sorted!

Me. I barely passed my mocks. Went on to get mostly A's and B's. Still got a d in Maths though and had to resit the bastard.