gcse results for university

[morpurgoo]

To ask what a strong set of GCSE results would be to get into a Russell Group university? Obviously a string of 9s would be great but would a mix of 7s, 8s and a couple of 9s be sufficient? DD is going into Y11 and wondering and things have changed since my day in University

You need Alevels or Highers before university will consider you. GCSEs are just thr stepping stone, so relatively irrelevant.

Yes, the UCAS points system is based on A level grades - so as long as your GCSEs are good enough to get you onto the courses you want then that's ok

It’s the A-Level grades that are important

They dont generally care unless your DC does phenomenally poorly in maths and english, and even then they still probably wont care if the A levels are fine.

Some uni's do take GCSE results into account, not just A level predictions. If you look at the entry requirements for courses you're interested in that will show whether or not GCSE results are taken into account when deciding who to offer.

As long as you have the required Cs or equivalent in Maths and English.... then what you need are good A levels.... in relevant subjects to what you want to do, or strong numerate subjects, which will allow you do a wider range of courses....

But.... good GCSEs will be an indicator of how you are likely to do at A level and will show an educationally rounded individual.... so yes they need to be as strong as possible

So if someone failed every single GCSE except English and Maths and then they did well in A levels they wouldn’t be considered any different to someone who did the same at A levels but really good at Gcse level too?

I'm going to take another view.

First, a bunch of 7s shows someone is perfectly good enough for most universities.

If you could have got a bunch of 7s but ended up with 5s & 6s then does it matter? You're still capable, right?

But, force majeure aside (illness, death of relative), if you didn't get the grades then either you weren't capable, or you didn't work.
If you didn't work then who says you are going to work at A level?

OP, just ask your DC to try his best, and then he'll know what he is capable of. You don't get credit for 'I could have done better if...'

So if someone failed every single GCSE except English and Maths and then they did well in A levels they wouldn’t be considered any different to someone who did the same at A levels but really good at Gcse level too?

It would depend on the course they're applying for - applying for a Physics degree having got a grade 3 Physics at GCSE, and being predicted an A for A level physics would be unexpected, but if the reference explained why the A level prediction was sound, then yes they'd be looked at just as favourably as someone with a string of 8s.

Anything grade 5 GCSE and above will be fine for RG though, with very few exceptions.

Most universities look primarily at the predicted A-level grades.

Many do also look at the GCSE grades, but usually in the light of the average GCSE grades at that school.
E.g. they will compare the Attainment 8 with the average Attainment 8 at the school where the GCSEs were taken.
So 99887766 from a mixed ability school is seen as better than 99887766 from a highly selective school.

Some subject departments will openly share which weighting they give the above two aspects of the application.

I think people are saying don’t get too worried about the GCSE’s and overly stress about them. They are obviously important but DD has just been accepted onto year 2 of a Modern Language degree at a RG with 4 GCSE’s, she doesn’t have Maths,

I’m a Head of Sixth. For the most competitive courses/universities it makes a massive difference as (like you said) they don’t have A Level results, and GCSE scores are the best indictation of A Level grades.

Mix of 7s, 8s and 9s usually good enough for most courses. Some particularly competitive courses e.g engineering at Imperial or economics at the LSE may look for slightly higher, but straight 7s (old As) are widely accepted as a good indication of academic ability for most Russell Group courses.

Having said that about DD, I am hoping DS does do well at GCSE’s as DD’s path has been a touch complicated and I would like it to be more straightforward for DS plus I want him to have wider choice than DD had.

If you haven’t already seen it there is a thread running for those doing GCSE’s next summer.

For example, a friend recently visited a Russell Group university where that particular subject department gave predicted A-level grades and GCSE grades a 80:20 weighting. I'm afraid I can't remember which university or even which subject, but that's not relevant as they all have their own individual way of using grades to select applicants.

Plus, you never know what might happen at 6th form in terms of life, mental health, teenage know-it-allness. So GCSEs might become important to show ability if it all goes wrong later.

So if someone failed every single GCSE except English and Maths and then they did well in A levels they wouldn’t be considered any different to someone who did the same at A levels but really good at Gcse level too?
I’m not suggesting that this couldn’t happen but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

It's only a levels that matter really!

don’t have A Level results, and GCSE scores are the best indictation of A Level grades.

Errrrr the predicted grades in the UCAS form are the best indication of A level grades

Most courses at most universities, including the Russell Group will make offers solely on the basis of the predicted A level grades being in the right ball park for that course.

I studied Econ at UCL.
My GCSE's were: 6 A's 2 B's 2A*'s
A-Levels: 3 A's

Pretty average for my grammar school.
I was discouraged from applying to the top top unis.

Wouldn't predicted A level grades usually be in line with GCSE results?

Someone with mostly Bs and Cs (in old money) is unlikely to be predicted A/A* at A level unless there had been extenuating circumstances.

Bunnylove83 is correct in saying that the admissions officers for the most competitive courses/universities do look at GCSE results. They certainly do for medicine, and I imagine Oxbridge does.

@morpurgoo no, in my day you could not take a levels unless you’d passed a certain amount of GCSEs- they are stepping stones.

So if someone failed every single GCSE except English and Maths and then they did well in A levels they wouldn’t be considered any different to someone who did the same at A levels but really good at Gcse level too?

No - I think it would matter. It's a level grades that get you into university but if decided between two equally qualified a-level candidates, the university likely would look at GCSEs.

if decided between two equally qualified a-level candidates, the university likely would look at GCSEs.

They'd make an offer to both candidates!

Some courses might have a specific gcse requirement - but in relevant subjects if they'd not been taken at A level.
Here's an example - but this is not typical.

www.sheffield.ac.uk/prospectus/courseDetails.do?id=H2T92020

Anyway, 'would a mix of 7s, 8s and a couple of 9s be sufficient?' - yes, and I'd have thought more than sufficient for most RGs.