GCSE Eng grade 5 - worth re sitting for future uni application?

done not doesn’t

He just doesn’t his GCSEs so doesn’t know yet if he’s going to uni. He might decide to do something else.

Apart from a very few career fields, no one cares what your GCSE grades were when you have a degree.

Yes I did mean Lang. If most of his other grades are 7/8 there’s no reason he can’t achieve that in Eng Lang. It’s helpful for job applications not just uni.

Presume you mean Eng Lang?

I guess it is 'better' to have a higher mark, but other than getting into preferred uni is it really any more practical use to have a 6 rather than a 5?

Or do you mean the better mark is an indication of more fluency / ability in day to day speaking, report writing etc?

This isn’t just about uni, it’s better to have a better mark in Eng Lit full stop.

Absolutely re sit - DD1 did great in mocks etc, but got a 4 in English Language, but then re sat and got an 8 .

I'd find a tutor who is an examiner from the Examining Board and pay for them to look over the paper, and have a chat about the way forward.

To provide a bit of balance, not all uni courses need English lang at grade6.

Dd is doing fine studying Pharmacology at Bath (1st choice course at 1st choice uni) with a Grade 5.

Resit no question, won’t do him any harm.

I don't think this is the school's fault OP. There are all sorts of graphs, geeks and nerds online explaining how English this year has seen top grades fall far more than eg maths to 'readjust bell curves'. Even if the school was using 2019 grade boundaries to mark, it's a flawed system as they shift so much from year to year in English. Our school rank orders everyone and then applies grades (huge year groups so it does work) and this seems a good deal more accurate, bar a few outliers who seem to have not found themselves in their usual place in the rank order in real results. That's all that is done in exam marking - examiners mark to criteria , not grades. In another year your DS's mark could easily be a clear 7.

That aside, pending remark - put in for a November resit. If he is able he will be successful. In all likelihood.

Link if it helps.
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/courses/details/economics-ba/54978276#entry_requirement

I’m more in favour of managing his expectations.

He was predicted a 7 in English, so it was unrealistic to think he’s going to get into the #1 school for Economics in the U.K., which also happen to be in the top 10 in the world for Economics which is also one of the most competitive courses in existence.

There’s no point resitting for him to get that 6 or 7, he’s just not realistically going to go to LSE for Economics. That’s an aspiration for the kids that have 9s across the board in the core GCSEs English/Maths/Science and the A* and As to match.

A levels are MUCH harder than GCSEs. Tons of kids get a 9 in GCSE maths and a B in A level Maths.

Your DC is still very intelligent and hardworking, the fact this year will be known to be a harsh year for grades will work to his advantage as his entire cohort will be in the same position.

I’d just press on and have him cast his net wider to other RG and Ancient Unis that offer excellent Economics courses rather than keep him going for LSE. It’s too much pressure to put on him to keep pushing the #1 school in the U.K. and could drag down his A level grades.

An excellent Uni for Economics is Durham. No min grade on GCSEs, and it’s in the top 10 schools in the U.K.

To echo @titchy's observation re: step up from GCSE to A level Maths, noblegiraffe posted info in 2020 showing the interconnection between 2017 GCSEs and 2019 A levels (last pre-pandemic 'pairing') for Edexcel Maths. Whereas 81% of those achieving 9 in GCSE went on to secure A or above at A level two years later, only 36% of those achieving an 8 at GCSE did so (if I have read the data correctly).

An 8 at GCSE Maths is a fantastic achievement and a great springboard for securing excellent grades at A level but it is not a racing certainty so OP will need to be cautious of the school's rhetoric about likely A level grades (and/or DS's possibly assumptive interpretation of what has actually been said). DS will need to step up from day one and that needs to be factored in any decision regarding resit.

It also means it is sensible to have in view Econ courses that are not restricted to the likes of LSE, Warwick etc even if some of his peers are possibly talking about those destinations to the exclusion of others. As I posted above, there are many, many very good unis offering Econ with a 4 or 5 grade requirement in Eng Lit.

DC's school spent the whole of the GCSE years (one child pre Covid) telling the students that the grade boundaries varied from year to year, and just because your marks on a past paper would have been a grade x in that year, does not mean that it will be a grade x in your year. And that the best thing you could do was simply to try to get as many marks as possible.

Their mocks results were given as percentages on the paper. The school tentatively said that this might translate to a grade y, but it would depend on grade boundaries.

Sounds like this message is not universal across the board. And perhaps should be.

Another one agreeing with a November resit with a decent tutor.

I'd counsel a bit of caution over likely A level grades, an 8 for Maths usually translates to a B at A level. The school seems a bit gung-ho with its predictions so make sure he has plans B, C and D and works very very hard from the get-go!

Argh and I was so happy my son had got a 5 in Language (obviously had hoped for better, expected probably a 6 but thought a 5 was ok as not English focussed for the future) and now panicking, I hadn’t realised this at all! His school are making him resit English lit already to get at least a 5 as its an IB school and they do English lit as one of the subjects and he somehow got a 3 (to be fair he did not put enough work into this subject specifically I know as was spread quite thin). Did very well in maths and science type subjects. He isn’t sure what he wants to do for the future yet but something like economics isn’t out of the question. And planning to do economics in sixth form. But don’t think he can manage 2 resits as well as making a solid start in sixth form subjects.

OP in your situation then yes I would go for a resit I think.

There are some maths courses at uni that require a 6 in english language
I don't think eng lit is relevant

I understand that. DS is really disappointed too as he considered it one of his top subjects. We've asked for a review because he was 3 marks from a 6 but if it comes back unchanged we'll just move on.

Thanks v much. Sounds like we're right just to move on from the lit. She's upset about it as she'd a voracious reader and had always done really well in the subject but there we go.

I would say no unless the extra study on top of A Levels will be a breeze for her. Going by this thread if it was Eng Lang it would be worth it but if she goes on to STEM at uni then I can't imagine GCSE Lit mattering very much.

Will doing a resit damage her focus on her A Levels? That's probably the key question.

I wouldn’t bother with the Lit. If they’re doing STEM people will just assume Lit wasn’t for them.

Also that requires a lot more revision than Lang IMO.

You can only resit Lit in the summer series, and unless it's a subject of personal interest, I don't think I would bother.

Can I ask whether people would also recommend resitting for a 5 in English Lit? DD was always predicted 8/9 and obtained this in mock etc so it was a real surprise. Everything else is 7-9 (inc Eng Lang) and she is planning STEM A-levels. We're getting the paper back but if it is a clear 5 then I was thinking we'd just chalk it up to experience but reading this I am wondering about re-sits.