GCSE C grade students - unlikely to go on to A-Levels??

As others have said, our 6th form won't take less than a 5 and for sciences or specialist subjects like art, languages etc it needs to be a 6.

That said, the other local school takes 4s.

We ask for 5 grade 5s as a minimum for A levels, and then the subjects have their own requirements; Sciences, Psychology, Geography, Englishs and Maths ask for at least 6s, 7 for Further Maths.

For BTECs we ask for 4s in English, Maths and Sciences and 1 more subject as a minimum; Engineering needs a 5 in Maths. If you do not get this we enter you for a foundation year to resit English, Maths, Science and subjects like ICT that will also boost employability and prospects elsewhere.

The reality is that a student who can't comfortably get 4s will struggle at level 3, and if they can't get 5s and 6s A levels are likely to be out of their reach; the jump is just too much.

DDs college wanted 6s in Maths and English as a minimum with 4s in at least 3 other subjects. They also asked for a 6 in the Alevel subject ste was going to study (the other 2 Alevels she didn’t do at GCSE)

You shouldn't be doing a level if a grade 4 was the best you could do (i.e., not you got a four because you suffered a bereavement in the run-up to exams , or similar).

You will find some schools that take students with low grades into a levels because they are undersubscribed and need bums on seats. However, a student who, on their best day, could only get a low pass at GCSE will be highly, highly unlikely to achieve more than a grade E at a level.

Ds's school you have to have a 6 in any subject you want to do (7 for maths and further maths) for A level. Bog standard comp

But, again, if you just scraped a pass at a level you'd be unlikely to do well at undergraduate level...

You'd struggle to pass an a level if you only got a 4 at gcse

It's a huge step up academically

Students achieveing a grade 4 at GCSE are unlikely to do well at A level unless there were extenuating circumstances when sitting GCSEs.

At DD's school they asked that the students achieved at least a B in the subject they were taking at A level (DD sat her GCSEs in 2016 under the old grading system). A levels are a huge step up from GCSEs, so anyone achieveing 4s across the board are discouraged from taking A levels.

Although Ds and Es at A level are technically a pass very few higher education institutions would be interested in taking on students with such low grades.

Some sixth forms ask for 5 x grade 4s (from the higher paper if exists), most ask for higher. Even ones that want grade 4s will usually though ask for higher grades if doing maths or sciences - grade 4s in those subjects usually don't pass A levels in those subjects.

4 - low c
5 - high c

So a 4 is just a pass

Dependant totally on the 6th form and the subject.

Ds1 applied to 3 x 6th forms for the same a level subjects. 2 x only needed 4s (including in a level subject gcse), the other needed 5s in maths and English and 6s at least in the a level subject gcse.

He went to the latter and did very well.

I'd be a) a bit unhappy at lack of aspiration for a 6th form that accepts 4s and b) what are their exam results like?

For maths, and biology in particular you really need 8s and 9s at gcse to cope with a level.

My kids school wont take people on to A level without a 5 or a 6 (7 in maths for maths, physics or computer science; 8 in maths for further maths).

Plenty of places will take grade 4 and above dor most subjects but the more academic institutions will only take 6 or above while the elite ones Will expect all 8/9s.

No where would recommend maths or physics to anyone with less than top GCSE grades the subjects.