GCSE results

[ClaraZ]

Am I the only person who is having a crisis over the GCSE results? My son did worse than expected. He passed everything except English Language (which is a huge surprise/shock) and is accepted back for sixth form but his grades are not a reflection of his ability and I seem to have taken it so personally. The last few years for me have been all about the GCSEs. Covid / lockdown was horrible and disruptive on so many levels. But we all battled through and I think his school and teachers adapted well and fast to online learning. I have always liked his school. I have always told my son that he has to do the work, no one else can do it for him. He has always been a communicative and cooperative child who enjoys school and learning, has friends, etc. I have been very lucky. This feels like the first hurdle and I feel that I have let him down. I am a full time working single parent, I deliberately chose a job that I felt I could be good at and could somewhat enjoy and pay the mortgage and bills, on my own, and only have to work 9 to 5, but really my work drains me and I am always having to prioritise it just to stay employed. There are a lot of positives and overall I would say I like my job. But the poor boy went to after school club 5 days a week from the age of 7 when the other mums were turning up at the school gates and taking the kids to the park after school. I feel I haven't been at home with him enough and I haven't done enough homework with him. I did read that you shouldn't assume you know how your child feels about their exam results. I know he's disappointed and he has gone a bit quiet, but he is accepted back for sixth form and it isn't a disaster. It's just that I feel I am falling apart right now. He is at a state school, which I think is worth mentioning, but that's another topic. One of his classmates who is one of his close friends got all 9s and one 8. And the few people I know with children at private schools all got loads of 9s. Funny, that. I'm sure I'm going to be shot down and people are going to accuse me of being some kind of snob and others will tell me it's not all about me and I'm self-centred but I'm posting here because I feel so desperate and I would love to know if anyone else feels what I'm feeling, or is it just me?

Maybe I should have put this in the Am I Being Unreasonable section, forgive me, I'm not a regular on this site.

No you should put it in the Secondary education section, where you will find several threads about gcse results.
But how did your son actually do? Are you talking respectable 5/6/7s? Or 4/5s? Do you think your son actually did enough revising? Some kids work very hard and a 5 might be a very good result for them. Or was he predicted higher in most subjects? How did he do at his mocks?
Results may not be a reflection if a child's ability, but it may be a result of effort if the expectation was much higher than the mark achieved.
And a snipe on private schools will get you nowhere - many are selective so one would expect good marks, and what do you think parents are paying for? The individual child still has to do the work though.
But regardless of above - it's not you. You seem supportive etc. it's your son and possibly his school if it has led you both to believe he would do much better than he has.

In the scheme of things his GCSE results won't matter at all. Sometimes people just don't so as well as expected but it really isn't the end of the world and what matters is what happens now. You say he has been accepted into sixth form? Is he able to do the subjects he wanted to? If so concentrate on supporting him through that. Many children with average GCSE results go onto get excellent A levels.
And you shouldn't blame yourself in any way. You sound very supportive. What matters is that your son knows you are on his side and it sounds as though he does

BUT he passed everything except Eng Lang so I am assuming he passed Lit?
AND he has been accepted into the 6th Form
Sounds good to me!

If he has been accepted to do his desired courses then that is 'good enough' for now.

But you/he do need to have a think about why he did worse than expected.
Did he not work? Was his work not effective? Did he need more support / testing? Is he poor at exams? This needs to be unpicked to enable success over the next 2 years.

One to really think about. Is he doing A levels? Should he be doing A levels, or would he be more suited to a BTEC style qualification instead. Better to do well at a BTEC than poorly at A levels.

Try not to worry. You haven’t let him down or been a bad full time single mum. A woman who works hard and provides. That’s the huge life lesson for him here. He has passed. Brilliant. He may, at some time reflect on it and think About how he can do better with his next course. Also remember, a chosen course he enjoys will inspire him and interest him. If he sees you down and fed up about it, that will reflect badly on him. Your job now is to pick him up. Be proud of him and move on to the next chapter. My daughter has to retake her maths again and all is good. She is on the course she wants. Has a clear career path and is excited regardless. Private schools normally have acceptance exams so children are naturally at a higher academic level from the get go before being accepted.
please draw a line under it and I hate to say this isn’t about you. Pick your son up and be proud and shout from the roof tops how well he has done. Don’t compare him to others, that puts him under unnecessary pressure. Well done both of you.

Thank you all for your responses and you have all made very good points which I have been reflecting on and which have given me food for thought.

His target grades were 7s for everything. He didn't achieve those in his mocks and what he ended up with is one 7, a 6, 3 fives, 3 fours and then the three for English Lang. So a mixed bag. I contacted school and we can ask for a re-mark for Eng Lang and he can re-sit in November. He is accepted for his chosen A levels.

I do know that there is more to life than exam results. I am very proud of him. And I still like, admire and respect his school and those hardworking and committed people who make it as good as it is.

Thanks again and have a lovely afternoon xx

What does he think about his results? Does he acknowledge that he could have tried a lot harder? Does he recognise that he is going to find A levels really tough with those grades? Would he think about a BTEC?

If he only got a 3 in the mocks it was not a forgone conclusion he would pass. Are you sure this school is right for him for sixth form as it seems he may struggle even having been accepted. Will others be resitting?

I’ve seen some people say their children got better than their predictions and just as many say their kids got less than their predictions. I think it will depend on the child’s strengths and weakness. Two kids might be predicted a 7 but if they have different strengths/weakness then it’s just luck if they get the questions that play to their strengths.

You have absolutely not let him down!

You have not let him down but the school clearly is poor on assessment if they predicted 7s all round from not great mocks. That doesn’t sound credible. You also need to understand that 8/9 grades are only possible for bright DC in those subjects. The vast majority do not get them.

I would also echo that a 7 and a 6 snd 5s are not suitable for A levels unless he really works hard. Lots of schools want 7s in the A level subjects because they know how hard it is to jump from a 5 to even a C at A level. So I would re-evaluate what he’s doing in 6th form. Or more lower grades might be on the horizon.

According to UCAS he has got the grades to do A levels.
According to the GCSE equivalent charts, he has got an A, a B and a handful of C's.

What GCSE grades are needed for a level?

What grades do I need to take A levels? You normally need: at least five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4/A to C*. at least grade 6 in the specific subject(s) you want to study.

www.ucas.com › levels
Understand what A-levels are & what you can do with them - UCAS

An A, B and some Cs? He has done very well- I feel a bit sorry for him really, you should be happy and celebrating not feeling sad about it all. This generation have lost out on a lot of education due to Covid. They have had it tough. It will affect them all differently.

@orangeblosssom
UCAS has nothing to do with school policies on who can go forward for A levels. Some are ok with 6 but some are not snd it depends on the subject. Maths wouldn’t be a great idea. Media studies might. Most schools recognise a big jump from GCSEs to A levels. Therefore if DCs have 6s or lower and a very low grade in English, what A levels are truly realistic? Very few if a C or above is the target. So look at other possibilities as well as A levels.

Same. My son was predicted 6s and 7s.

He got all 5s.

He can't do what he wnated at college now, but has found something else and seems happy.

I have major guilt that I didn't mkae him study more.

He's alright though. It's not the end of the world.
He's happy and healthy.

I would say first thing that the past two years have been a struggle for both students and parents alike and that nobody can be blamed for any small disappointments. I would highly recommend getting private tutoring for kids that are just slightly below their target to stop the problem from spiraling. At the end of year 10 my son got pretty much all 3's, 4's and 5's but after a year of tutoring this ensured he passed all of his subjects and even got a couple of 7's! Although his grades weren't the best and probably not enough for university the tutoring built up his confidence and when everybody is happy and healthy it is hard to complain!

When your son fees ready to talk, ask him if he knows why he didn't get the grades he was predicted. Were his predictions too high? Did he revise enough? Does he know how to revise? I know the last one sounds really obvious but I didn't really know how to revise when I did GCSEs - I just copied my notes out over and over.

If they've accepted him for A-levels with those grades, then either the school is confident he can do better, or they're desperate for bums on seats. Hopefully it's the former! Most schools want at least 6 and preferably 7 in the A-level subjects - although that can't apply for "new" subjects, they are going to be similarly difficult.

Do you sense that he's realised he's going to have to put some very serious effort in to succeed at A-level?
Have you considered non-A-level options at all? Things like BTecs often work better for some of the slightly less academic kids.

Please don't blame yourself. You've done your best for him, and for all you know, you could have been there for him straight after school every day and he wouldn't have done any better. Mine wouldn't accept any of the help offered! You've said he's communicative and cooperative, which is a great thing, and if he's underachieved at this stage, he's had the chance to realise the effort needed, and hopefully he can pull the academics round.

I think at A level you can play to your strengths. So the 7 subject might have something similar at A level. Eg: History at grade 7 would be ok for politics or sociology.

@ClaraZ Right, you cannot change the past so it doesn't matter if he went to after school club or attended a state school as most children do but you can help him put his best foot forward. When he starts sixth form there is usually a session at the end of the day where teachers are available for advice, help and guidance. He needs to access that if he needs it. Use any free periods to start any homework he has been given and have a set time at home to get on with any additional homework and start it that night whilst it is still fresh in his head. Was he planning to go to university? Then he needs to pull his socks up and get stuck into his school work.

As a 16 year old he should be capable of preparing a few evening meals a week, it shouldn't all fall down to you. After all he will finish sixth form day hours before you finish your work day. He can also do some laundry if he doesn't do that already and some other chores. That will free up some time for you to maybe help him out, or guide him homework wise or just get him to talk to you about what he has been doing etc.

And you have been there for him, you have worked to clothe and feed him, provide him with a roof over his head. He has had a shock with his results but he can learn to dust himself down and get back up. You haven't failed him, he isn't in jail for drug dealing or human trafficking. He has achieved a good set of GCSE results that have enabled him to move onto sixth form. He is still in the running.

You mention the 7s were "target grades" - how were these presented? Different schools use a variety of terminology, and those "targets" may have only ever been that, something to aim for, quite different to "predictions" that "we think this is the grade you will get". Definitely worth a discussion with the school and your son around his A level choices, alternative choices, how he likely to achieve based on results so far, and what "doing his best" will require him to do.

Aren't the target grades based on KS2 results?

Depends if you mean what the school has assessed him to be capable of. Sats isn’t accurate!

My son got similar GCSE grades but passed English with a 4. He got 3 B's at A level with previous 6 & 7 in those subjects, history and geography He was also diagnosed with dyslexia which made a huge difference. Have the school screened for learning issues. All Sixth form colleges do its how his was picked up.