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Original poster

GCSE grades

193 replies

UndertheCedartree · 18/01/2022 22:25

My DS is studying GCSE Maths and English at college. I'm just trying to figure out if he is doing ok as we haven't had much feedback. In the latest mock tests he got a level 4. He only started in September but will be taking the exams this Summer. What kind of grade could he be expected to get in his GCSE exams?

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Scarlettpixie · 19/01/2022 13:04

My DS is also home ed and year 10 and will be taking maths and computer science in the summer. It is common for home ed students to split their gcses and perfectly doable to cover everything in a year or less when you aren’t doing 8 or 9 other subjects at the same time.

DS is studying at home and we did a past paper recently where he scored just under a 5. He is hoping for a 6 or more by the time he has covered all the syllabus. With taking it in a year, when they do mocks they haven’t done some topics in sufficient depth yet to even attempt all the questions. It isn't that they scored lower because they don’t understand or remember something,

I am sure your DS will be fine.

Comefromaway · 19/01/2022 13:09

I guess if someone wants to be pernickety you could say that below a Grade 3 is a pass at Level 1 but generally when someone says they have passed their GCSE's they mean they have passed at Level 2 (Grade 4 and above) as that is what is needed to progress further.

TillyTopper · 19/01/2022 13:29

You are best off discussing with his teacher as it really depends how the test was set. I am not a teacher, but having recently been through this with 2 DS, I found there are two types of test that are set:

  1. Test on just what he knows. So it's a test on what he's covered, maybe with a stretch question or two at the end, but he should be able to do it.
  2. A test at exam (GCSE) level which he will take at the end of the course. A lot of it he won't be able to do and his grade will be way down. So, if he did type 1 he's probably not doing great, if it's type 2 he's probably fine. I found this very confusing until I discussed it, hope my explanation makes sense.
Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:05

@LucyOrli

Secondary school teacher here, teaching GCSE and A-level. If he wants to do English Literature A-level then a 4 or even a 5 won’t really cut it. Who is doing the teaching at home and what are their qualifications? Do they know the exam specifications? Which exam board is he doing? I think you need to get a lot more pushy with the college if you want him to make more progress. I would not be happy with no reply or vague “he’s fine”. Ask for a copy of his exam paper from his most recent assessment so you can see where he’s losing marks.

Regarding what unis think of GCSEs, the competitive ones do consider GCSE results and would expect 8s and 9s.

As I keep saying I have been in touch with our local 6th forms and a 5 will be fine. Although he is aiming higher than that.

I am teaching him Eng Lit at home (using a variety of resources) Yes, of course I know the exam spec!! He is doing AQA. He is also doing Sociology through a distance learning course.

Yes, I'll get onto the college some more.

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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:06

@Christmastreejoy

I would say in track for a 5 but like others have said, check he is entered for the higher paper. We home Ed and are doing maths as an external candidate which might be an option for you if the college only offers foundation.
Thanks for the advice.
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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:07

@lanthanum

I think you should check with the college what happens next year. If the bulk of the group are heading for vocational courses, then they may just be teaching Foundation tier, and entering them in year 10 so that those who get 4+ can stop worrying about it. Presumably in year 11 they will still be trying to get the weaker ones up to at least a level 4, and what you need to check is whether they will then be teaching the Higher tier material to the stronger ones.

If they are being entered for Foundation tier this summer, he won't be able to get more than a 5. If he is entered for Higher tier, but hasn't been taught the higher material, he's still going to be limited by that.

Thank you
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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:09

@Smileyaxolotl1

Please be careful with people on this thread commenting on stuff they know nothing about. Assuming you are in the UK for example there is no such thing as foundation and higher papers in English. It is also true that decent universities look unfavourably on students who took exams at different times and that he would need a 6 to do English at a level.
Yes, lots telling me he needs a 6 to do English at A level when this is not true! Also not the point of the thread!
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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:12

@Notdoingthis

Any grade 1-9 is a pass. 4 is a good pass You'd want a 6 to continue on to A Level in that subject. Most colleges will ask for 5 or 6 subjects at grade 4+ as a requirement to study there. I teach GCSE and A Level.
Not the case here. As I have said repeatedly they ask for 5 level 5s to do 3 A levels. He needs a 5 in Eng Lit to study it at A level. But again a complete digression of the thread!
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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:13

@Notdoingthis

Also, if he is getting 4 now, he might get 5, but would have to work hard to get more. In the mocks they usually include work that has been studied, so the grade is representative of what he would actually get at the end of the year.
This 'mock' was done 2 weeks into the course so not much had been studied!
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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:14

@Wejustdontknow

I’m surprised that the entry requirement for a levels is much lower than I have experienced with my ds. He is year 11 so has just picked and applied to the 6th forms/colleges he would like to go to. Entry requirements are 5 grade 5 or above GCSEs to include maths and English, with some subjects having additional requirements. He is planning on taking biology and needs at least a 7 to be accepted onto the a level course as students below this would struggle with the workload, same for most other sciences and maths subjects. He is also wanting to take history and criminology and these don’t have extra requirements above needing a grade 5 in 5 subjects
That is exactly the same as round here - 5 level 5s required.
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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:19

@Scarlettpixie

My DS is also home ed and year 10 and will be taking maths and computer science in the summer. It is common for home ed students to split their gcses and perfectly doable to cover everything in a year or less when you aren’t doing 8 or 9 other subjects at the same time.

DS is studying at home and we did a past paper recently where he scored just under a 5. He is hoping for a 6 or more by the time he has covered all the syllabus. With taking it in a year, when they do mocks they haven’t done some topics in sufficient depth yet to even attempt all the questions. It isn't that they scored lower because they don’t understand or remember something,

I am sure your DS will be fine.

Thank you. From what I know my DS was close to a 5 in the 'mock' they did in November (in English not sure about Maths) so hopefully a 6 will be achievable. Good luck to your son too. Just out of interest - how much time does he spend studying?
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Comefromaway · 19/01/2022 14:19

Grade 5, not Level 5. Levels mean something different.

Statistically a student who gets a Grade 5 in GCSE would probably be expected to get a D/E grade at A level, some might be capable of a C if they are late developers and work hard or there were other mitigating circumstances.

Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:21

@TillyTopper

You are best off discussing with his teacher as it really depends how the test was set. I am not a teacher, but having recently been through this with 2 DS, I found there are two types of test that are set:
  1. Test on just what he knows. So it's a test on what he's covered, maybe with a stretch question or two at the end, but he should be able to do it.
  2. A test at exam (GCSE) level which he will take at the end of the course. A lot of it he won't be able to do and his grade will be way down. So, if he did type 1 he's probably not doing great, if it's type 2 he's probably fine. I found this very confusing until I discussed it, hope my explanation makes sense.
Yes, I understand. As far as I know it is type 2 as they call it a 'mock'. But yes, important to be sure.
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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:22

@Comefromaway

Grade 5, not Level 5. Levels mean something different.

Statistically a student who gets a Grade 5 in GCSE would probably be expected to get a D/E grade at A level, some might be capable of a C if they are late developers and work hard or there were other mitigating circumstances.

Oh yes of course not level 5!! That would be a lot to expect! Wink Why couldn't they keep the letters!
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Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 14:23

Thank you to everyone who has contributed - I've got the questions I need to ask sorted.

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LadyLazarus40 · 19/01/2022 14:26

@UndertheCedartree

I mean I'm not aware of those getting grade CS struggling at A level.
I agree with the other comments that they seem quite low entry requirements for 6th form. My childrens school requires them to have at least a 7 in anything they want to study at A level (or for subjects like Psychology which they haven’t studied previously a 7 in both an essay and science subject for eg)
Santiagopink · 19/01/2022 14:26

@UndertheCedartree

No, sorry he is in Y10. He is home-educated but now studying part time at college.
Mine too! Exactly same position except I don't know what grade he is predicted although I would guess 4. Are you in the North West by any chance?
OnceuponaRainbow18 · 19/01/2022 14:26

With hard work most the kids I teach more up between 1-3 grades after their mocks.

Grade 4 is the equivalent to an old school C grade

Fireflygal · 19/01/2022 14:41

@BaconMassive, competitive Unis look at GSCE grades.

Op, grade 5 is not an aspirational level so if he is bright you would want him to achieve higher. Generally 7 and above is a good standard to cope with the demands of A levels. Those children that achieve less than 6 generally aren't suited to A levels.

You mention he is able, how has that been assessed?

LucyOrli · 19/01/2022 14:48

If you’re content with him getting a 5 and he’s already on a 4 then I’m not sure what your initial concern was about…? Sounds like you’re actually happy enough with how he’s doing, regardless of what his college says.

Dottyteapot · 19/01/2022 14:51

As he’s doing them at college a year early, if he fails or gets a grade 2, he can redo them next year for free to get a better grade.

If he gets a grade 4, and wants to try and improve it next year, you’ll prob need to pay for it (approx £70). But as a 4 is a pass he won’t need to redo it.

The homeschool college students get more one-to-one lessons so only tend to need a year to do them.

They will be keeping him informed rather than you as they treat them like the adult students.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 19/01/2022 14:59

‘His class is not for re-sits or extra support!’

That may not be why he is there. But that is what the class is. I teach English in FE. It’s likely to be for 3 hours max per week. It’s considered a resit class. Though we try to cover basics the course content is pretty hefty. Not enough time really to do it justice. Of course this depends on what you’re going in with. It’s meant to be building on from previous years’ content. Also - I will just add - the course he is likely to be doing is English Language GCSE. So huge huge leap to A level lit which really does rely on prior learning at GCSE level… Eng Language doesn’t include poetry, even full books but unseen extracts. One more thing you need to check - if he gets his 4 this year will funding be available for him to redo for a higher grade? I believe it’s only available until you’ve got that 4.

Comefromaway · 19/01/2022 15:02

@Dontfuckingsaycheese

‘His class is not for re-sits or extra support!’

That may not be why he is there. But that is what the class is. I teach English in FE. It’s likely to be for 3 hours max per week. It’s considered a resit class. Though we try to cover basics the course content is pretty hefty. Not enough time really to do it justice. Of course this depends on what you’re going in with. It’s meant to be building on from previous years’ content. Also - I will just add - the course he is likely to be doing is English Language GCSE. So huge huge leap to A level lit which really does rely on prior learning at GCSE level… Eng Language doesn’t include poetry, even full books but unseen extracts. One more thing you need to check - if he gets his 4 this year will funding be available for him to redo for a higher grade? I believe it’s only available until you’ve got that 4.

Some colleges have special home education classes. It will be all 14-16 year olds in years 10 & 11 in the class, no post 16's.
toomuchlaundry · 19/01/2022 15:05

@Dontfuckingsaycheese I assume that is how they can have a mock in the first 2 weeks, as it is for students who have already studied the content

Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 19/01/2022 15:08

@LadyLazarus40 - we have the grammar schools and grammar streams that require higher grades for studying 4 A levels. Some of the subjects require a higher grade but Eng Lit is a 5.

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