DD devastated with GCSE results

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DD3 is devesated.

Her target grades were 8-9 for all subjects except for Maths which were 6-7. She's revised a lot, every time I've seen her in her room she's cracked on with her revision and she's given up lunch times and even stopped her dance club for a year which she's been doing for 4 years just to revise.

Last night she seemed like she was confident that she'd reach her targets but in the car on the way to school she just broke down and started to cry. She said that she had a bad feeling.

She told me about a month ago she felt so nervous in her exams and all she could feel was knots in her stomach and she could barely even focus.

She's opened her results for a 6 in every subject except from Maths which was a 3 and a 4 in Geography.

Any advice I should give her? Most of today she's been up in her room crying and on her phone not talking to anyone.

I'm a University lecturer. Tell her from me that what is important from a University's perspective (if she wants to go that way) that what is important is effort, knowing how you personally study well, being able to reflect and learn if things didn't go well, and love of subject. It sounds as if she is doing really well, and if she can reflect on her study / exam experience in a little while she will probably be much stronger and better equipped for A levels than even peers who got higher grades. Learning isn't just about grades, but what you do about the experience (sorry not very eloquent, I'm off today and brain is fried).

Oh and I struggled with Maths, too!

The trouble is that, although she has a good solid set of GCSEs and can resit maths, and loads of people would be really happy with what she got, an A/A* student just isn’t going to be happy with that and no amount of reassurance and praise will change that. And it may mean she won’t be able to do what she planned to do next. I think you have to acknowledge her disappointment and not try and tell her she shouldn’t be disappointed. Let her feel what she feels. And tomorrow decide on her next move.

Aw that must be so upsetting for her not to reach her expected grades BUT I think 6 is equivalent to a B and considered a strong pass! Apparently 9s are above the old A*s so she was aiming very high, although if those were her expected grades then it shows that she is very intelligent and has the potential to do well at A level and at University.

She might prefer to retake her GCSE Maths as this might be an issue for some Unis but she's still achieved a strong set of GCSEs. Make sure that she realises that whatever she does in life her GCSEs really won't matter much past A level.

There is no point saying "well a B's good" because she was aiming higher. She knows it wasn't good for her.
She'll be worrying about things like "can I do what I wanted to in 6th form" "will I cope in Alevels if I can't cope with GCSEs" and a big one "what do I say when people ask me my results".
Sympathise and help her deal with those rather than try and pretend she should be pleased. She'll see straight through any attempt at that.

Have you checked the grade boundaries to see if it’s worth getting some remarked? I know DC that have gone up a grade doing this. Alternatively reassure her that when she moves to A levels she will only be studying 3 or 4 subjects and not 13. My eldest got mainly Bs in his GCSE and skipped out of A levels with A stars and is at uni.

M3lon, not a massively helpful post? Term hasn't started so it is a little early for teacher bashing...
OP, is she able to get any papers remarked/ reviewed or to get hold of them? It would be useful for her to see where she has gone wrong in some papers.
Obviously only you know the whole situation, but I am normally wary of over predicting because it is unfair on everyone and from a data perspective, it doesn't look great for departments. If she was massively over predicted, I think it would be useful to soeak to the school.
Those are great results but it depends what she wants. Would she consider resitting any of them? I've had students who have resat some during A Levels but it's tough.

Her grades would be more than good enough for computer science in the future I'd have thought, especially at an ex-poly. She'll just need to retake the maths, which is annoying but just a hurdle to get over.

A levels are much better as you get to focus on three subjects you really like instead of several you have to do!

My only advice (which you seem to be doing already) is to acknowledge her feelings. I remember being disappointed with one of my A Level marks in particular, but my parents both completely swept this aside with a lot of ‘nonsense, you’ve done very well!’. It was well meant, but at the time it really hurt that they couldn’t offer a bit of support because they were determined to celebrate instead.

I guess a key question is whether she was an A*/A grade student or not - did the school massively over-predict? If they did get it massively wrong (and the fact she dropped to a 6 in most subjects) suggests she perhaps wasn't the high flyer they suggested (op - was she predicted 8/9 across the board, including the maths where she got the 3 ow was it in a narrower range of subects) and they are at fault in building up unrealistic expectations - really unhelpful.

There are schools where over 80% of grades are at grade 8/9 and in a place like that, to get 6s really would be disappointing and doors to A Levels closed - happiness or disappointment is all contextual - in light of expectations and also the educational context you are in. It sounds like OP's school isn't like that though - perhaps the school struggled with the new GCSEs and struggled to accurately predict or were just using some kind of model based on SATs rather than teacher expertise which knows better who really is likely to be on track for top grades and who for more middling good passes.

Sorry to sound harsh but the school is at fault here

targets are given to teachers via FFT which is completely data driven and do not take into account the 'child'. As a teacher I argue every year with regards to the targets that my students are given but we are judged by Ofsted/League tables/parents/press on achieving these targets. (our pay progression is also based on exam results)

We are having more and more students who are targeted 8/9 (for the 9 this is ridiculous given the limited number awarded) for whom this is never going to be achievable (sometimes you think that someone else must have done their SATS for them). With some students however it is a suitable target, but you can never predict how a student will actually perform in that exam hall despite the revision, the hard work etc due to the number of factors that impact.

In terms of remarks - this has changed, whilst you can put in for a remark, papers are not marked again they are just checked to ensure that marks are added up correctly and that the mark scheme has been correctly adhered to. It is also very important to note that marks can go down

Sorry OP I've not read the whole thread so apologies if this has been mentioned

BTECS are an absolute godsend for children who get nervous in exams as they are mainly coursework based, they are very highly regarded. Please consider those in lieu of A levels, she could get into a very good uni with a BTEC in computer science.

If it helps, provided you have GCSE’s at a pass or above, it doesn’t affect anything you do in life. A levels matter far, far more when it comes to university places. GCSE’s really aren’t that important.

I say this as a FE tutor. I always tell my GCSE students to aim for a pass, anything higher is fantastic but they shouldn’t be disheartened by a 5 or 6 because they passed and that is all that matters. A levels or access course grades matter far more if university is the goal. By the time you have done a degree, all that really matters for most careers is how well you did in that degree.

My best GCSE result was an A* in English. The others were pretty crap tbh, I could’ve done better but I couldn’t be arsed. I did an access course and got merits and distinctions throughout. Went to uni, got a first. I now teach English because that was clearly my passion and strength.

OP. Sorry your DD is disappointed. Can she still do what she wants to next?

When the dust has settled, ask the school to obtain marked up copies of the exams in subjects she is continuing with. Then she can do a mini post mortem to try to understand what went wrong and why?

• did she know it but crack in the exams
• did she use poor technique and not answer questions clearly
• was her revision ineffective and if so what could she do differently another time
• was she really revising when she said

or whatever.

Op so your dd got what would be all Bs except Maths, that is fantastic results. You should celebrate this with your dd, find out what she wants to do, and explore the options.

“GCSE’s really aren’t that important.“

They are for some people who want to go to a particular 6th form.

GCSE grades DO matter....for a while....in some situations.

I used to work in medical school admissions for a top university and believe me, whilst A levels were the focus, we had sooo many applicants we did look at GCSEs.

But this does not appear to be the case here so DD should be fine.

I a little confused as the graphs by PP suggest 4 is an old C so surely she does not have to resit?

Poor girl. I got a few lower grades than I wanted at GCSE and it felt like the end of the world at the time. This was 20 + years ago when pressure and competition was so much less. It's tough it seems now

I hope if she is doing A levels she some how gets her anxiety under control . I had average GCSEs and 3 A levels and never went to university , but I now part own my own company . It seems like she just needs to concentrate on a path to a job she will enjoy and try and relax . It seems overwhelming now but in the world of work there are plenty of attributes that are more important than your grades .

People who predicted 8 and 9 grades were being stupid, because no one knew at that stage, not even the exam boards, how the grades were going to pan out. She'd be wise to resit her maths as she will need a C equivalent in that for most things she'll want to go on and do. But right now, I'd reassure her that she's done all she needs to do, that exam technique is something she can work on, and that GCSEs are just a hoop she has to jump through.

She's got good grades (C or above) in all of them except maths, and she can get that over the next two years. Try to stop her teachers making such unrealistic predictions - very, very few kids got 8s and 9s - these are equivalent to top As and A* and the numbers who get this are controlled by Ofqual. Poor girl. She's done really well, and only missed the maths by a whisker, and because of completely unrealistic predictions, she's feeling like a failure.

Try to stop her teachers making such unrealistic predictions - very, very few kids got 8s and 9s

The targets are nothing to do with the teachers. Targets aren't predictions. The target represents the statistical average attainment might be expected of a child who has achieved X level at KS2. The prediction from the teacher is separate to that.

If the OP's DD was predicted 8s and 9s then either the predictions were out, or she under-performed in the real exams compared to her mocks.

I think you’ve said absolutely the right thing - we need to tell our kids that in exams and in life an honest effort is way more important than results. Hope she feels better tomorrow.

a 6 is a high B not a low B.
A 6 is much better than a good pass, (which a 5)
My ds1 got only 3 Bs and the rest Cs two years ago, and one of those B's would be considered a low B or a 5, nowadays.

He is just off to uni to study music, achieved 3 A level grades at C and has definitely not been limited by this setback during his gsces. He got much worse than your dd at Gsce.

Possibly some of those 6's could be remarked too, if they are on the boundary? Bringing her up to a 7 in perhaps one or more subjects?

Please please congratulate her on her 6s and remember you have to work very hard to get sixes, they are not easy. My dd worked very hard for eng lit and ended up with 4!! sometimes it is bad luck or bad marking.

which is why I would definitely recommend you check how near the boundary she is for some subjects. Also what did everyone else in her class get in that subject - is there a pattern appearing?

If OP's DD had been considering studying A Levels at a highly selective 6th Form, shoe would have needed 7s or even 8s in the subjects she wished to do at A Level - in this case, her grades would have mattered. Likewise, if she had her heart set on medicine or law or another competitive course at a top Russell Group uni, it would matter because admissions look at both A Level predictions (which are also often too generous) and also GCSEs and only give offers to those with strings of high GCSEs. In these cases, GCSE grades really can matter. Again, graduate scheme jobs will often look at GCSEs too if there are lots of applicants.

It is absolutely true that OP's DD cN go onto study A Levels, to re-sit maths and to get onto a good degree and have a successful career and life - and perhaps more successful than many with higher grades) but to suggest that the GCSEs don't matter at all and every single door will be open to her with 6s which would have been open with 8s/9s just isn't true. For many people, who want to study course or pursue careers where a set of solid GCSEs or solid - Levels is required, instead of stellar ones, it probably won't matter, and perhaps many posters on this thread haven't felt their great or mediocre grades have affected them much, but the reality is, that for some aspirations, it can matter and if OP's DD was Hugh,y aspirational she might now be having to recalibrate her future expectations - hard but necessary. If everyone just says 'you should be thrilled - you did better than I did 25 years ago' or 'B is great, what are you complaining about' or 'GCSEs don't count at all once you've got A Levels' it really is t helpful or actually very honest. It should be possible to both commiserate and acknowledge her disappointment and the possible impact later, whilst also helping her start to make a plan for moving forward, which allows her to be hopeful for the next stage and beyond.

My Dsis was predicted/ target of a full set of As back in the dark ages of O levels ( equivalent of A* ) based on mock results. She then relaxed and took her eye off the ball, she still worked hard but didn’t end up with her full set of As. This had a knock on effect when applying for her chosen career and wasn’t able to apply based on her predicted A level results. Anyway she nailed her Alevels took a year out and applied for her chosen career. She was offered 4 places at uni and hasn’t looked back.
Although it’s not the best time to face what she feels is failure ( no way are 6s failure) when she has had time to reflect on it it may well be the motivation she needs to do well at A level.

Hi OP!

Firstly I would like to congratulate your DD on her GCSE Results, exams aren't easy and nerves get the better of us all sometimes. I was in the same position as your DD back around 6 years ago. I was predicted all A's and A*'s and ended up with mainly C's and a scattering of A's and B's, It was absolutely awful and I felt so ashamed but then I went to college and found I did better at the subjects I liked (shock horror eh) and got myself a place at Cambridge for university. This isn't a stealth boost but a reminder that no one looks at GCSES really, the 6's are still a good result and its all part of a learning curve.

Oh, poor thing 😕. It’s tough when she given up stuff and out a lot of effort in. Hopefully her resit with get her a decent grade for maths.

What I would focus on now, is telling her that you will find someone who can help her with exam stress. That’s clearly where it all went downhill. Not her ability, not the studying, not her focus. Simply the exams. There will be someone who can help her, but it might take trying a couple of people.