National Curriculum Levels and how they predict GCSE grades

Back to update you all.

My daughter has got her GCSE Maths result today and got her Grade C!

She sat the foundation paper and now gets the choice of her Maths curriculum hours spent on other subjects or higher paper Maths study to sit that one in June.

I can't tell you how proud I am of her.

I don't think you can add to controlled assessments but you can resit a new question. Ours are running evening courses for English controlled assessment resits. They have the time to resit each once, I think, if they are prepared to give up their own time to attend the sessions.

I may be wrong, but I think thats the whole idea of controlled assessments. No continual redraft as happened with coursework.

My daughter is in a similar situation with the sixth form. In her case she is determined to get into an oversubscribed course (60/160 chosen last year) and she needs a portfoilo which the others are likely to have from school work but she doesn't because she didn't pick Art at GCSE (her talent has only shown itself in the past year).

What we have done is visit all the sixth form colleges where she would be able to sit the course and she has drawn up a list in order of preference. She is still working hard to meet the requirements of her chosen one but she has realised there is a second option she likes too, and a third which exists although she has a preference to not go there.

Maybe, if she saw the other options open to her, she might not worry so much. Still aim for the best grades, of course, she sounds diligent enough for that to be the case still, but also realise if her hard work does not produce the grades there are other options, and hopefully ones she likes.

The sixth forms often have open days in this term where you could visit.

Striving for the next grade is, I'd imagine, a perfectly normal response from a motivated teenager. It seems to me, starting assessments in year 10, they are all likely to struggle to get that 'best' grade because, if nothing else,they are 12 months younger than they will be at the end of the course. Still, that seems to be the way with it all currently. Teachers just don't have enough time to do all assessments in year 11.

Imagine though what its like to be constantly hitting D's and a couple of marks off a C. Where everyone considers you a fail. Where you - for the sake of a few percent - have not got a publically 'acceptable' grade. Where you may not even be able to do the 6th form course you want. All for a 2% loss of marks.

It sounds like your daughter needs some help in gaining perspective of where she is and going with the flow. It is great she is conscientious but it mustn't go so far as to destroy her self esteem.

Choices of foundation/higher are made by teachers and, I am sure, for good reason. My daughter is also in set 2 for science (its effectively set 3 because most of the good scientists all went off to do triple) and she is sitting foundation. I was also surprised but she is actually scoring C/D borderline in modules (even an E for ideas in context - a nasty paper), so I think their choice was a sound one. That's with lots of work! No point in sitting a higher if you are going to get no worthy grade.

Bumped for sixthchild

No, it wasn't cashed in on the results. Her full UMS marks for English will be out of 300. On the exam paper she got 68 UMS out of 120. (72 is Grade c).

The remaining 180 UMS marks come from a variety of controlled assessments. I assume she will need 112/180 62.2% UMS minimum to get a C in that plus make up for the lost UMS on the exam. Only the school can advise us.

Good luck for your daughter. Stick around this long standing thread and we can use it as a support for the C/D borderline candidate. One thing that has helped my daughter is the History GCSE in a year. I know she has just dipped out on a History Grade C and so, to some, it seems pointless, however the work involved was so demanding from a literacy point of view, I do think that has helped her English too. It also taught her how to work hard. It was very intensive.

She spoke to her History teacher yesterday, who said she was on the automatic radar for a remark because of the 2% and because of what he thought her coursework was worth. He thought her exam was good and I agree - better than I had expected (which is what makes it such a disappointment for her really) Hard workers on the C/D borderline need that bit of luck as they are constantly fighting to 'achieve'. I will follow this remark remark up when they return in September. Ensure the process is followed and it's not just empty words.

English, I will talk to the department and ask what the process is now with adding the controlled assessment grades. This department is absolutely excellent and whatever they say I would fully trust. I am hoping that they are good enough grades to just be added and give her the C but I know AQA were quite cagey about saying what grade levels controlled assessments were, and so the school may be reluctant to 'cash everything in' when someone is likely to be in the low-mid grade C when exam and assessments are fully banked. It's just too close if AQA call the grade levels differently.

I'm back! Results day.

She has just finished year 10, so just a few results.

English language - D but two marks (4ums) off a C. Her controlled assessments haven't yet been taken into account. She is doing AQA new syllabus, so schoolmate reluctant to give controlled assessment grades, however, they are C and B levels on the old system - just as an advisory. I have no idea what happens now - is that enough, or will she resit? Hopefully someone on here will guide me a bit, otherwise we wait to hear from the school.

History. Bit upset with this one at a D but it's how the cookie crumbles, I think. She had a great exam - very proud of her - it's a hard subject to do fully in one year. Her coursework was entered as a B according to her final year 10 school report but on the results she was given Cs and Ds and it dropped her to the 2 percent, 4 ums below the C. That change of coursework grades stripped her of the C.

My poor Godson had French and geography internal assessments dropped from A to D! Different school.

Her Science modules were a bit 'Meh' at Ds making her, currently, secure D on one of the double award and a C/D borderline for the other. She's not great at Science but does work very hard trying - loads of past papers etc, so I can't knock her for effort.

Hiya. I'm still here! My daughter is in year 10 and has just finished her history GCSE (the full one they do it in a year) and English (which they have all sat early). She has had modules for sciences 4 in total and one more next week. Thanks for asking! She is working very hard and we are really proud of her. I'll keep this threD updated with her results when they arrive.

Thanks for asking :)

Well, here we are, end of year 9. Daughter has applied herself with her normal attitude and had a great year. She has scored three level 5a in maths English and science at key stage 3. She is working now on level 6 work in all three but that's in the last half term so, I guess, that is why understandably she hasn't been allocated a 6. She has also scored 6 in her options of history, ict and drama and a 5 in her option choice of French. Very proud of her and delighted with the teaching she has received.

So, now to year 10. Well after she has had a nice long summer break!

What a lovely teacher my daughter has!

I have had a reply and she has said basically what mmrred says and is delighted with her progress. She mentions some things particular to my daughters English learning this year which, if she takes the opportunity, will help support her to her end of year target of 6C. She has given me details of where in her books to find her target work so we can be sure she is working on those things. I suspect, knowing my daughter she is fully aware of what they are and has it under control.

She has said wait until year 10 if we want to involve a private tutor due to all the things mentioned above.

Not yet heard on Maths which is a similar situation - working at 5b but, in Maths, she never performs in tests to her ability in Maths (got 4a last time when working at 5b) so she needs some support there - well, she has actually asked for that because it annoys her. Hopefully, I will hear from that teacher soon.

Thank you mmrred.

I am indeed proud of her - I'm always proud because of the level of effort she always puts in. I am very pleased to hear that it is paying off for her in your view. If anything, I'm sorry as a parent I don't know more about the levels.

Indeed the school have done well in their support too. They stopped her set in year 8 (the bottom set) from doing an extra language and gave over the extra time to extra literacy. It has really paid off for her as last year she gained three of the sub level gains and from her graded work this half term she appears to be a solid 5b.

I know she was upset this year not move up a set in English but, because of the way they did it, she cannot now jump on the second language because it's too late so she has to stay in the bottom set for year 9. However, she tells me today that her teacher is letting her and a friend working also at 5b to work together to extend their level within the set.

She is fine with the lack of second modern foreign language as she appreciated at the time, English was the most important and she can always do another language at evening class or college later if she wants.

Her French has remained fun as one lad in the bottom english set is french, so they always had plenty of quality extension work and oral work going on in French class.