How hard is it to get a 9 gcse grade

[LovelyYellowLabrador]

? Like how common

I believe it’s quite hard. Above an A* from our day.

In 2019 around 4.5% of pupils got a 9 grade (exam) That's about than 1 in 22.
In 2021 around 7.7% got a 9 grade (teacher assessment). That's about 1 in 12

Thank you that’s really helpful

Dunno but my daughter got quite a few as did her friends but they are a bright bunch ..

Very hard based on the work my son did this year (he's just finished year 11.)
When I did GCSEs there wasn't an A*, an A was the highest you could get. In comparison I think an A was quite easy to get.

We were given the impression when they came in that they would be a unicorn grade and rarely seen but in fact in our state school we see lots of 9s, a couple of kids each year with basically straight 9s and then lots of bright kids with a sprinkling. I am very anti 9s because they have devalued the grades below in the pupils eyes. So a strong pass of a 5 now seems a much lower grade as it is beneath 9/8/7/6- much further than a B/C used to feel from an A or even A* . Bright anxious kids are beating themselves up over ‘only getting an 8’. It’s really unnecessary. The grade boundary for a 9 in my subject wanders between about 68 and 74% year on year.

What is 1/22 x 100?

Lol @CiderJolly you need to do GCSE maths!

(1/22) * 100 = 4.5

They are approximately the same

It depends on the student.
For some a 9 will be easy for others impossible.

1/22 = 0.045454545454545

I’m guessing you didn’t get A / A* / 9 in maths?

@CiderJolly it's right

4.5% means 4.5/100 which is approx...
1/22 if you divide both numbers by 4.5

My son got 9s in 2019. Obviously they do have to be bright but I also think GCSEs are just a hard slog and to be fair he worked consistently all the way through years 10 and 11 and pretty solidly from the March onwards was revision. He’s well motivated and organised and did loads and loads of practice essays and answers not just in class but outside as well. He did do lots of other stuff during the year, sport, drama D of E etc but kept up with the work. So in short I would say it’s a lot about being consistent and also being able to keep up the momentum in exam week.

I can't answer your question OP but I just have to say I love your name on here - mine should be 'handsomeblacklabmummy' hahaha

The threshold for getting a 7 is the same as the threshold for an A used to be, and the 9s are 1/5 of these students. So imagine for every 100 kids getting to this threshold (and therefore deserve a 789) 20 get a 9, 40 an 8 and 40 a 7.

Haha labs are the best

Thanks for all this info
I never knew 9 used to be referred as unicorn grades
yes I agree for anxious kids this new system of upto 9 grades causes them more stress
rathe then the old a-e

It's worse when their predicted grades are all 9's like my daughters 🙄🙄.. I asked them to lower them many times as everything below is a failure !

It depends on the subject as to the percentage of kids getting a 9.

In 2019 (last proper exams) 2.9% of entries got a 9 in maths, 27.7% of entries in classical subjects got a 9. This is because the kids taking classics subjects tend to be more likely to get high grades in the first place.

Data here: www.bstubbs.co.uk/gcse.htm (don't forget 2020 and 2021 data is bobbins due to CAGS and TAGS).

The trick to it, aside from being bright and working hard is following all the guidance teachers give about exactly how to jump through the hoops to maximise marks. I'm my subject a really bright student can write a mature, considered nuanced essay but if it doesn't include the specific x,y,z elements of the marking rubric it can't get full marks.

I completely agree with Chisel that there is a formula to most of it and not only is it available by listening to the teachers but there is a wealth of information online including YouTube that will lay it out for you too. There are also past papers, mark schemes and examiners's reports that detail exactly what they want.

I think for maths it is about practise, work out what you struggle with/don't know, work on that and again a wealth of information online walking you through how to tackle it. But don't leave that until year 11, start on that as soon as you can. For science there are key words they want you to use, History there is a set way of answering the questions.

For English there are teachers online who will explain what the mark scheme means when it lays out what a level 6 should contain. I got DC from a bottom grade 5 to a top grade 7 in a couple of months just by going through mark schemes with him for the paper he just sat.

There has to be a general want of learning, applying themselves and understanding that the higher grades you get at GCSE usually means higher grades at A level which then give you choice for universities, so all are open to you rather than only these ones because your A level grades aren't good enough.

Many moons ago
9 O levels
Couple of CSEs
So GCSEs should be achievable

She's not asking how hard it is to get 9 gcse passes, but how hard is it to get a Level 9 in a gcse.

My girls both gained one or two 9s in their best subjects. They are bright kids and doing extremely well at uni. Their subjects that they got 9s at gained them A/Astar at A level.

But it was because those are the subjects they love and want to make a career of.