Do grade 9s matter that much?

The very competitive unis and courses (so medicine in most places, economics in some (LSE), Oxford for most subjects, Cambridge for some, and Bristol, all look at GCSE grades.

What they do not expect is all 9s. Just as well, as per @MrsAvocet's excellent post, about 1300 students got all 9s this year. No way even just Oxford would be able to fill its student body with those.

The unis that look at grades (and it varies) will often look at the best 6 or best 8; they will usually look for 7+ or they may look for a grade average.

How horrible this school sounds and I am so sorry that your son had such an awful time and has come away with the feeling that he needs to put such pressure on himself. It has made me quite angry on his behalf.

I often see posts on MN where people speak blithley of their DC or others gaining "a string of 9s" as if it were common or easy. Maybe they don't mean to sound like that but anyway it bugs me bc in the real world so few students will gain those grades. And yet of course they can go on to massive success, be that working, apprenticeship, uni or yes, Oxford or LSE or Imperial or Cambridge. And in fact a suite of tip top grades does not guarantee great happiness, massive educational success or a huge six figure salary. As I have reason to know.

Hope your son finds that the therapy helps and all the very best to him with his hopes and dreams.

No, he's absolutely doing the right thing. Regurgitating the mark scheme is how you get straight 9s. GCSEs and A Levels are in my opinion a very boring and miserable slog and test your memory and speed. Such is the emphasis on mark schemes and scheme of work that kids can struggle with the fact those don't really exist at Uni and don't really know what they're supposed to do to revise.
If he wants 9s he needs to continue what he is doing. There will be lots of kids doing the same esp if he's on study tiktok etc. Wider reading and enjoyment doesn't really matter until you're applying for uni and onto courses that interview. His current situation can actually work in his favour if he ends up academically successful. An example of determination during a time of difficulty etc.

I always told my daughter to focus on the journey not the outcome. Education is about more than a grade at the end. It’s about gathering knowledge. Keep an eye on the stepping stones you need to level up, but otherwise just focus on learning things. At Nat 5 (GCSE) all she needs is enough to get her to the next level of learning (Highers). So build the foundations in all subjects, but focus on the structure more in the subjects you know you want to continue in. A 6 in geography is not important if you’re never going to study it again, but it gives you enough knowledge to take through your life. Her Highers are the key to her university admission so she’s taken the ones she needs, and the ones she loves.

Remind him that school don’t pressure the kids for the kids, it’s for themselves and their place in some league table. What’s more important that he does the best he is capable of at any given point. My daughter was on course for all As. But the day of her maths exam a whole load of things (external to her) conspired against her and in the end she missed it by one mark. She was gutted, but I pointed out that on that day, she couldn’t have done anything more, and that’s life.

In terms of future progression, getting 9s is unlikely to make a difference.

However, in terms of A Level, in many subjects, getting 8s and 9s gives the highest chance of getting an A/A*, which obviously is important for future progression.

I would perhaps try and put to focus onto preparation for the next stage - does he understand the content really thoroughly? Can he remember it easily? Can he take it beyond the exam spec and understand more complex concepts in the same area?

If he messes up due to exam technique or stress in the exam, getting anything above a 6 is likely to be fine for most next steps. Only understanding enough to get a 6 will mean he likely won't do as well at A Level if that is what he wants to do next. Perhaps changing the focus would help his stress and anxiety?

Well grades you actually have are different to grades you've been predicted, for offers.

Of course achieving the offer is what matters then.

Two different things.

I know you said Oxbridge is not the target but you don't even need 9s for Oxbridge. Plenty of people get in with 7s, 6s. Even 5s if doing their outreach schemes. A levels, wider reading, good interview and extra curriculars are far more important.

Thank you very much, Teen.
That answers my question from August very nicely about how unusual DS is with 9s in STEM subjects, and 6s in English. Looks like most do better, but he's not a complete wildcard.
I couldn't work out what to ask in Google to get an answer!

This may sound unfair towards the school, but the school was pushing that message because getting those 9s is a reflection on the school, not on the students, if you see what I mean.

I know it's not quite the same, but our primary did a lot of cramming for SETs at the end of y6 which was making my DC anxious and after I explained that the school wants you to do well so it reflects well on their teaching, not bc it matters to you, it helped them care less about the outcome.

It also is really important that DC have other things that give them self-worth, hobbies, sports, relationships, etc and that it's not all contingent on grades. We do a lot of talking about how those scores are not a measure of worth, or even of intelligence, it's just a marker of how you achieved on a particular day. (I'm sure you have that covered.)

I do agree with the commenter upthread though recommending CBT - it sounds like anxiety is a big issue for them and not to be negative but for some people living with anxiety it can be a constant. In other words, if they learn not to worry about GCSE grades, or they get all 9s, the anxiety just transfers to something else, like A level grades, or health concerns or anything. Wishing the best for you both 🌸

Secondary teacher here. It only matters for entry to very competitive universities: Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE etc.

Try getting in touch with people he admires or who are doing the job he wants and ask them what grades they got. It might show him success without top grades.

My eldest had mainly 8’s a couple of 7’s and a 5. He got a 2:1 in a very academic subject from a RG uni and walked into an amazing grad job. His cohort had similar grades, some quite a bit more mixed and they’re now doing a combination of finance, accountancy with the big 4, law training with magic circle firms and at bar school. Don’t worry about it

He needs to stop worrying about getting the full set of 9s. It's not really expected, or looked for. I can't even remember my DD's GCSE grades, and she graduated from Oxford in a highly in demand course with a tiny applicant success rate. But she got there with only a few grade 9s, the remainder being 8 and a couple even below that. She had offers from every university she applied to. So I honestly think your DS will be absolutely fine. And good for you for getting him out of the hyper exam factory. It sounds like a nightmare.

Try to show college requirements and job descriptions too - very few ask for anything above a c in maths and English!

There is also talk of GCSEs going back to letters in which case the numbers will always be translated to letters making a 9 and 8 pretty much the same.

I think what he needs to understand is it isn't about how well he performs but about how well everyone else performs too. What was a grade 8 one year is a grade 7 the next raw marks wise.

Simply put to get 9s he has to do better than the vast majority of other candidates. In concrete subjects like maths it is easier to mark than subjective subjects like English Lit, ie is this a level 4 or 5 for AO2? How they quantify that can be argued because they don't mark the whole paper just parts of the paper so there is no overall feel for the candidate's ability.

Most universities look at the best 8 grades they achieve at GCSE plus they categorise grades 8 and 9 together because they are both A star equivalent. Entry grades for RG unis are the lowest they will take an applicant in on which makes it competitive and easily oversubscribed. A lot will offer to the higher grades based on A levels alone because this is the level they are performing at all the time, ie 3 A stars or more. There are also subjects to consider too.

Your son needs to put grades into context that it is rare to get all 9s across the board as the linked .gov infographics shows. At a basic level this is about understanding what gets marks on GCSE papers so hitting all the AOs for English, using the correct terms in science. He also needs to be reassured that grades do not define you. No one goes around asking your GCSE grades once results day is over. They move on to A levels and BTECs or apprenticeships.

This might help put it in perspective - the average number of GCSE grade 9s, 8s, and 7s that Oxford University applicants and offer holders achieved. Spoiler alert! The average Oxford undergraduate doesn’t have straight 9 grades. I’m sure you can find the same stats for Cambridge, Imperial etc easily if you Google.

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/average_grade_of_gsce_applicants_2/response/3098310/attach/3/FOI%20202506%20662%20Data.xlsx?cookie_passthrough=1

It sounds like you made a very wise decision to remove him from that school OP. I am all for encouraging children to reach their potential but putting that degree of importance on getting all 9s in absolutely ridiculous.
As a PP said, maybe start with looking at the stats. I haven't seen data for 2025 but here is 2024.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infographic-gcse-results-2024/infographics-for-gcse-results-2024-accessible
Less than 0.2% of pupils got a full set of 9s. That puts the pressure into context doesn't it. 1270 pupils in the whole country achieved that. Are they the only ones who are worth anything and will make a success of their lives? Of course not!
My DC's former school told them that most universities only look at an applicants top 8 GCSE results and don't differentiate between 8s and 9s anyway. And not all of them even formally include GCSE results in their decision making progress. Some do, but for most it is the predicted A level grades that really matter more anyway, the GCSEs kind of just set the scene. I mean if an applicant was predicted all A stars at A level but got 5s at GCSE that would probably raise a few eyebrows in admissions as it's kind of unlikely unless there were some unusual mitigating circumstances. But a good set of grades across the subjects and good predicted A level grades will do nicely for most courses at most institutions. Virtually no doors will be closed to a pupil who hasn't got a full set of 9s, which is just as well, given how few actually achieve that. Society would collapse wouldn't it, if only that small number of pupils were able to go onto have successful careers?
I think really high achievers can be very self critical anyway and the school environment sounds toxic. I wonder if he might actually benefit from some formal mental health support to help him regain balance and self esteem? I don't know how practical that is but it might be worth asking your GP or whoever you're dealing with at the council. It sounds like he might need some professional support to help with the anxiety. He will probably intellectually accept the story that the data tells but genuinely believing it and undoing the harm done by the negative narrative he's been hearing at school may take a lot more.
I hope you get it sorted. He sounds like a lovely bright boy with a lot to offer the world.

In my opinion, this is is an emotional issue and won't be solved by statistics. Although the statistics are v interesting.

CBT might help?

Sounds like he has high expectations of himself and anxiety not helped by school.

Looking at the stats is a good idea if he’s logical. My ds liked looking at the marks needed for the grade boundaries and comparing that with what he got for his mocks. The grade boundaries for each subject are released shortly before results each year. Just look up the examining board. He knew that, for example, if he could mail the creative writing piece in English that would give him good marks so he could afford to slack (not quite the right word) on a bit of the paper he wasn’t so strong at. Some of the marks needed for a 9 are suprisingly low, particularly in the harder subjects and those which everyone sits like maths and English. For some reason he found that took the pressure off.

Also, if he is aiming to do engineering or computing or maths then the universities won’t be concerned by a lower GCSE grade in English or history as long as it meets their minimum requirements (Oxbridge may look at these but you say he’s not interning that). A level grades will be more important.

Getting an idea of what he needs to go on to college might help. It will almost certainly be not 9’s. Just support him closely if he needs it to do the best he can and praise, praise the effort he’s putting in. Give him little treats and reassurance about all of the different pathways there are whatever grades he ends up with.

Apprenticeship are competitive but they don’t assess on who has the highest grades (although there are minimum grades needed to apply). I would really encourage this route

Is he getting MH support? This level of concern is unhealthy long term.

This is interesting GCSE subject combinations and outcomes

This doesn't cover just 9s, but Infographics for GCSE results, 2024 (accessible) - GOV.UK