DS1 thinks he has done badly in his GCSEs

Resitting anything apart from English lang and Maths at GCSE is normally unnecessary, these are the only ones generally offered by schools as resits that I am aware of. If he's struggling with his ADHD/GCSE's then A-levels probably won't be a great fit for him - and for a lot of colleges doing more hands on courses he may only need GCSE Maths and English Lang.

We have a number of students who put everything into their Maths and Eng lang GCSE's as they know those are the ones they really need. If he can pass those there will be lots of doors open to him and if he doesn't then a lot of colleges will let them retake alongside their college course or offer functional Eng and Maths alongside if GCSE's are out of reach. Failing isn't a disaster!

What does he want to do though is the big question? You haven't said what he's interested in but there are lots of opportunities apart from staying at the same school and continuing on there.

She is thankfully year 11 (NI) so still has 5th year. Waiting on five module results and hoping she won't need to repeat them all. She is predictably unpredictable.

Do you think this is just his worries about his grades manifesting as 'I've probably bombed'? Then he can pave the way for disappointment although he's probably done better than he thinks.

I would say I doubt he'd get lower grades than his mocks especially as he put more work in.

My DD is saying similar things. I think it's just a nervousness as they approach results day.

Obv you know your daughter but from my teacher side, it’s awful seeing students who thought they’d done ok being heartbroken because they didn’t even consider a plan b. Is there any way to make some alternative plans so it’s not all in a rush at the end of august? If it all has gone wrong you could end up chasing round institutions trying to sign up somewhere

What is he planning to do in September? If he is heading to college then he will be able to resit maths and English if needed. I would look at various options depending on results and be prepared. If he has a place at college then they should guide you. There is nothing you or he can do now. Just take a deep breath on results day and support him to find the best next step.

What does he want to do next?
Head of English here. General advice - it really depends what he wants to do. GCSEs are the most stepping-stone of exams; Maths and English matter a bit more for that.

Have two (or three!) plans in place for what to do. It’s heartbreaking when students have not thought about the negative alternative and are in tears and panicked. He’s mentioned it so take the opportunity to say ok so 1st plan is x, what’s the back up if this is true? Make sure you know where to pick the results up and where to go register for whatever courses he wants to do. He might also be downplaying it just in case if he’s starting to get nervous?

You can resit English and Maths in November. If you’re planning to do that then speak to the school exams officer by beginning of September and get copies of the papers to give guidance on what went wrong.

Other subjects it’d be sitting as independent candidate next summer - not ideal. The other option is ask for reviews of marking. If he’s close to boundaries in some, it might be worth it. They do cost per paper and it’s supposed to be a ‘review to check the mark scheme has been applied correctly’. I don’t know about other subjects but I regularly see significant increases; I suspect it’s more common in arts and humanities. If the grade overall changes you get money back. Teachers might be able to look at the paper and offer their opinions on how worth it it is, but depends if they’re available. the exams officer will have all that info. It’s absolutely not guaranteed to change though so it’s a balance between how he fared in mocks and felt he did on the day.

Ultimately try to get him to make his plans and then relax. What’s done is done; he’ll find his way and there’ll be something for him that suits him well and he’ll find a groove.

hope that helps

I am sitting here thinking the same about my daughter with adhd. Really couldn't call it so not going to do anything until we get the results.