GCSEs

maybe science isn't so important for him then? better to aim for 4 and get it than be really stressed trying to get higher marks?

The Foundation papers consist of low demand questions aimed at grades 1 to 3 and standard demand questions aimed at grades 4 to 5. You cannot obtain more than a grade 5 because you haven't been tested on questions aimed at this level.
The Higher papers consist of standard level questions (grades 4 to 5) and higher demand questions (grades 6 to 9). If your mark is very low and you don't reach the standard for the 4-3 grade then you can be awarded a U where U is unclassified.

If staff are recommending that he does foundation tier it's because he is at risk of falling off the bottom of the higher tier and getting a U. It's really as simple as that, I'm afraid. Every single year there are students who beg and plead to be allowed to take higher, swearing that they will put the work in, until someone takes pity on them and lets them. So many of them end up with Us.

It's March. The exams are two months away. If his teachers had enough hard evidence that he could achieve a solid 6 then they wouldn't be insisting on foundation at this point. I'm sorry.

Could he try some practice papers now OP and see how he does?

You can't get more than a 5 on foundation.

How bad is bad on mocks?

I would make him sit all 6 higher papers and mark them. They are available on line.

If he is getting a 5 then stick to foundation. Only a high 6 would I consider swapping.

The exam boards advise foundation for grade 5 students. Definitely agree with this in my experience.

AQA goes up to a 5.

filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/science/AQA-GCSE-SCIENCE-TG-FH.PDF

this is categorically not what my son' biology teacher told me at parent's evening recently. she said generally speaking the most you can get is a 5 BUT if you got over 95% they would consider awarding a 6. this may not be true but it's what she said.

This is not the case. The highest grade you can obtain on the Foundation tier is grade 5.

Might he want to take science A levels tho, realistically? If not then F is the way. Max grade is a 5 but nothing on your certificate says you took F.

What were his mock grades? Is this combined or triple? If triple, can he take Fbin the weakest one(s)?

Science is not my subject but for MFL it’s a lot easier to get a 5 in F.

What grade did he get in mocks? He can probably pull it up by a grade or two if he works. It’s easier to get a 5 (strong pass which for most purposes would count as having a science GCSE) on a foundation paper than on a higher paper, so unless he realistically thinks he can get 6-7 then he’s better doing the foundation level.

They all say they didn't study properly.

Only some of them do actually start.

If he did sufficiently badly on the higher paper in the mocks that school want him to do foundation they think there's a very high chance he'll get nothing.

He'll have been entered already but it can be changed up until quite late.

Personally if I was you I wouldn't get involved. If he managed to do so badly in the mocks school want him on foundation then science a levels are probably a pretty much no go anyway (unless he was previously a top art student who did very well).

How much did he study for his mocks ? How close was he to passing if he failed ? Can he raise his grade enough to score the minimum grade for higher ?
I can see why the school is saying foundation is better so he doesn’t risk having no sciences. Has he ever sat a foundation test to see what he might score?

I think if you do foundation and you ace it, you can actually get a 6. was he hoping for higher than that?

It's possible to change tier up to quite late.

The danger with higher is that if he really struggles in the exam he might wind up with nothing at all as it's not possible to get grades 1 and 2 (and maybe 3? - I've been out of teaching for a bit).

If he's not going to be taking science further then foundation really is the safer option