How much do grades typically improve between mocks and GCSEs?

DS got 1s and 2s in mocks, and 7s, 6s and 5s in the real thing. His 5s were in foundation papers so he got the maximum grades available at that level. Private tutoring, a cognito subscription, audio books for the lit paper and most importantly actually knuckling down to work did the trick.

My DD improved one grade in half her mocks and stayed the same in the others.

I’m glad he got in! His grades very similar to my dd (minus the 9!) - she’s taking A-levels too which I think will be hard but couldn’t find any btecs which interested her at all or were viable transport wise (live fairly rurally so limited access) - she changed schools mid GCSEs (long story) so we are actually very proud of her for getting this far as she changed exams boards too for 3 subjects which was tough mid-way through.

I hope he enjoys 6th form.

That's good news @winterrabbit glad the school has come round. Sounds like it will be a good place for him to continue.

Hope he is prepared to work hard! Best of luck to him esp in French which is a great A level to take!

Really pleased to hear the school saw sense.

Sounds like he needs to worka lot harder for his A levels Hopefully this is the wake up call he needs.

I'm not sure if I had posted already but DC had terrible mocks a few years ago.

Had had stretch grades of 8s (7 in Biology) but in the mocks scored a 3 in DT, 5 in Chemistry, 6 in Biology and a 7 in Geography. With some more focused revision from February onwards, managed to turn these into 8s.

I think in DC's case, they just hadn't done enough revision or in terms of focusing on active recall/past papers.

..... so that was a long-winded way of not saying what I'd meant to which was that it really depends why they got the mock grades and what they do in between. If your mocks were a fair reflection and you'd worked hard, there's less room for multiple grade improvement but if you've been terminally lazy and pull your finger out, there's more chance of some leaps.

Mine had pretty grim mocks : 2 "polite" 4s (ie technically 3s); 2 more 4s; 3 5s, one 6 and one 8. He did eventually knuckle down a bit and the one thing he did so was know religiously what he needed to do for the questions so ended up with 2 8s, 7 7s and 1 5. Two of the 7s were one mark off an 8 so with just a bit more revision...... He could probably have turned the 8 into a 9 but I said it was much better to leave that one and try and get the others up.

With a EHCP I would certainly push it, I would be very surprised if he was allowed a place if he has made the grades for the A levels.

I would certainly push the fact he has an ECHP in place with the school. It is a very arbitrary requirement 4 grade 6s - probably at least 2 of his 5s were almost a 6!

Are they massively oversubscribed?

I'm surprised that for a current student they aren't willing to be flexible. Seems very shortsighted.

@winterrabbit how did your boy do? I hope he got what he needed.

@Advicerequest not true. For many, many DC I know of.

actually sorry he went up 2-4 grades for most subjects - including being predicted a 5 for PE and ended up with a 9! It was a pleasant surprise.

some of it depends on the school's marking - most of my son's subjects went up 2-3 grades but I don't think that's normal. he opened his results and wondered if he had been sent the right paper! I think because of covid years / and the subsequent marking its been harder for schools to predict.

If you work your grades go up
my Daughter went from a five to a nine in one subject with effective revision

Grades can go up by one or two levels, between now and the exams proper, but the student does need to do the work. Generally schools put on revision sessions, which help, but it isn't enough. Consistent revision between now and the exams is what will make the difference.

I should add for the above that DC had been given stretch goals/predictions of mainly 8s and 9s.

It depends. DC did not do as much revision as they should have (and we went away for a bit over Christmas) for Jan mocks a couple of years ago

Mocks: 3, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9 in mocks (then worked v hard)

Actual grades: 6 x 8s and 4 x 9s

Went up 5 grades in DT, 3 in Chem, 2 in Biology and 1 in Maths!

Passed papers is your friend (assuming understanding)!!!

Yes I agree. School sometimes is a really hard enviroment for many children and they fly at college. I hate this whole thing of if you get a 6 at gcse you're looking at am E in A level etc...

Ds had a 2 in English Lit mock and 4 in Eng Lang mock but came out with 3 grades higher in each
A 5 and a 7. He didn't particularly work really hard between mocks and real exams, I do wonder whether they marked them down on purpose.
He however got an 8 in Biology mock and came our with a 7. Also got lower in Geography than mock.
Maths stayed the same.
A mixed bag really some higher, some lower.