To want 9s not 7s for my child in their GCSEs?

[ZeldaFighter]

Child is a model student and no problems with behaviour or attendance. Definitely seems intelligent and diligently completes homework, often without prompting.

Report is 6s and 7s. Husband is pleased and says they're As and Bs. He thinks only kids in private schools doing extended papers get 9s.

I got As, Bs and Cs many years ago but I always strived for As. AIBU to think they should be getting 9s or at least striving for them?

In not sure what the percentage who get all 9s is really relevant.

Every DC should be aiming and working for the best grade they can get in each subject. That clearly isn’t happening in this case as the OP’s DC is doing virtually no work.

Is there a figure for what percentage achieve a 9 within their results? If 8-10% (ish) achieve it in each subject, those with at least 1 or 2 at 9 will be a much larger number than that 8-10%.

Lower more like 5% then another 7-9% 8

the grade boundaries are allocated once marked rather than being a set mark so the top 5 or so percent get allocated as a 9

the number of all 9s is incredibly low

He is Year 10 not 11

www.ocr.org.uk/about/policy-and-public-affairs/articles/results-trends-2024-gcses/#:~:text=More%20than%205.6%20million%20GCSE,students%20in%20England%20this%20summer.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/infographic-gcse-results-2024/infographics-for-gcse-results-2024-accessible

You can want all you like; doesn't mean it's going to happen.

He is still doing virtually no work. If he is getting 7s with no effort, he is more than capable of 9s if he puts in the hours. That should be the expectation.

I want my son to play rugby for England!

0.2% get all 9s? And every single one of their mothers is on Mumsnet! What are the chances🤣

5% of GCSE Grades were a 9, out of 670,000 students and over 5.6miillion entries...

So 33,000 students got at least one 9.

ifwww.statista.com/statistics/282422/gcse-grades-in-england/

Yes it's like 1200 students ... Out of 670,000.

OK as a teacher I would say be pleased for your child. They are doing really well and will still make further progress. Back off before you cause mental health issues for your kids. Not everyone gets a 9 and their grades are perfectly fine for them to progress. Prioritise their mental health, well being and let them enjoy life. Let them have some fun, they are clearly working well in school. Your husband is right and you need to stop with the pressure.

They should just have left the old grades, 'A' being highest and 'E' the lowest.

My husband is like this, he thinks daughters predicted grades are amazing, mixture of 7's 8's and 9's. I am a bit more yes well done but they should be that, I got 4 a's and b's you should really be better than me, and I had also difficult home life. He didn't do any revision at all in school ,and got poor results, he could have done a lot better. I worked hard so I think that shapes your thoughts. Both her best friends are predicted 9's across the board. She's at a grammar. Obviously neither of us have shared any of these thoughts with her!

There are a number of videos on YouTube and TikTok of year 11s who got all 9s giving advice, so the guidance is there for those who want it.

Here are a few for those whose DC aren’t content with mediocrity😉:

Henry Brand- what has getting all 9s done for me?

Henry Brand 2

Udoka Fintelmann

JSPark

What are you talking about, of course state school children get 9's and their isn't a private school gcse exam paper. Those 2 facts are true.

It's not about you and your wants! They will do their best no doubt and if that's not a 9, it's not a 9.

No, a 7 is benchmarked at the lower end at the old A. A 7 is not a B/A, it’s a low A.

An 8 is the upper end of A/lower end of A. 9 is the higher end of the old A.

OP, it’s fine to encourage and support, but not to push. If your DC understands that you’re expecting very high grades you will do them some serious damage if they don’t get them.

You don’t mention if they’re happy, healthy have a good friendship group sleep well

YABVU

Firstly these are your child’s exams, not yours. And their life, don’t blur the boundaries.

I hope you are aware of the mental health crisis that this generation are going through? Partly to blame is this culture and pressure to achieve top grades.

GCSE grades are just a stepping stone to the next stage and are soon forgotten about. If a child wants to push themselves to achieve higher than what’s needed that’s up to them. But personally I’d love to see more students taking a more relaxed approach to their studies and a healthier long term outlook.

Even if you haven’t explicitly said anything, she will pick up on your attitude. Kids pick up on everything not matter how hard you try to hide it.

How incredibly sad that parents are disappointed with a mixture of 7s 8s and 9s.

It’s not really a healthy long term outlook though, as all the studies show that better GCSE grades = higher happiness in later life.

They are right to be disappointed if the DC is capable of better!

It is no different to being unhappy that your DC only got a 3 when they could’ve got a 5.

You can want whatever you want but your children will achieve the results they are willing to study for. Sometimes the results are expected sometimes they aren’t, either way, be happy with their achievements.

How do you know the children are not "striving for 9s"?

Encourage them to do their best by all means but for God's sake don't give them the slightest impression that you "expect" them to achieve 9's......