My DD failed her GCSE miserably

[bassmonsteruk]

Hi all,

My DD didn't get a single pass in her GCSE exams. She got all 3s which caught us off guard and now we're not sure which way to turn. She's not academic but she got 5 when doing past papers in maths, English and science. She's had private tuition for all 3 subjects for the past year and a half. Her school does not allow resits.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

As she is in the school, can they not just keep her and teach her
Not English and doing another type of education sorry for the question

Not necessarily. Id always been bright at school, but surprisingly failed everything (I was arrogant and did no work as I was obsessed with my first boyfriend). I resat and went on to do a degree, and I now have two masters, and am a social worker, counsellor and autism assessor. She might still want to go down the A level route, its not closed to her. Shes so young afterall.

@Clearoutthecrap there’s different kinds of bright: academic, solving practical problems, being creative, having emotional intelligence.

As I tell my pupils, being academic is not the be all and end all. Having other skills is just as important. Being academic is not the be all and end all.

Kindness and approaching things tactfully are just as important in life.

Turn it into a positive. Unfortunately schools place all life expectancy into exam results. It’s madness. I’ve known folk with good degrees work as posties or bar staff (still!) and both good service occupations and known folk with few qualifications who end up being entrepreneurs or CEOs.
Think of it like this. If you were an employer and had two staff. A with few quals but who was hard working, on time, picked up new tasks quickly and easily, well liked by colleagues and customers and always willing to go the extra mile or B… MSc but the opposite of those traits which would you want to keep and promote!?
There’s a real disconnect between school and work that way.
Own DC bright but side tracked by impact of C19. Didn’t sit exams. Explained to them no wrong door. We regroup and find something they enjoy. Teaching resilience, kindness, confidence way more important. DC instead got their quals via College. False start or two but mind that’s normal - think sociologists call it a time between 16-26 to try out different identities… and now on road to Uni.
School exams are just one way to get to Uni but even then having a degree what with 4IR looming and AI that goes with it not going to be or mean in a lot of subjects what it once did.
I am sure you are beyond proud of your DD in other ways and her MH most important just now as she likely feels rubbish, like she’s a failure or let you down… some kids are broken by something as daft as not answering exam Qs right… life is hard, but getting her to learn from it, assure not to worry at all you love her and have her back best way to manage.
Plus they say too find a job even if you didn’t need the money. May be her dream job doesn’t need it.
Well done you too. Fact you even asking best way to navigate shows with great Mum in her corner this young lass going to do amazing. Exams/Shams.

Lots of college courses will do foundation maths and English alongside the courses. I work with a lot of apprentices and unfortunately maths and English is an absolute must at foundation level. If she isn’t far off a 4 I would consider having remarked. There are lots of options though. My dd had to resit maths and just scraped it.

Exactly, I have the most kind colleague in my job who is from a carer's background. He makes you happy and warmed up by just looking at you and greeting you ( not the man to woman !! ) way. This country still has all sorts of working needs

It may not feel it today but perhaps this is the best thing to happen to her.

Despite extra tuition she's still failed. It could be down to exam panic as much as inability but either way, it's not conducive to an academic pathway.

She will be good at other things. You both need to have a good think about what she might want to do instead.

The right practical college course could see her fly. Clinging onto a levels will dent her confidence and qualify her for very little.

Academia - reading tons and writing tons of essays
Bright - charismatic charmer with great practical sense for trading or commerce, the type that makes commercial empires from frying chickens

To give you some hope OP, my DSC was in this position 3 years ago.
Went to college and didn’t work for him there.
Tried a few jobs and hated them..
Thought about what he liked and went into a local place to ask about a job. Now quite a few months in, absolutely loves it. It definitely wasn’t in his plan, but it’s something he can work hard in, enjoy and keep gaining experience. He is surprised himself how much he enjoys it.
Today is a difficult day, but don’t lost heart. Tell your daughter that her time will come and she’ll look back and see that her upset was just in the moment, and there will be better things to come ❤️

OF course you can be bright but not academic. God, if you can't understand that you are not bright. People can be intelligent in practical ways - there are many ways to understand the world but not enjoy reading/ writing.

I failed half of my GCSE's and I'm doing fine ( I actually did a lot better at A level beceause it was subjects I'd chosen)

I would be wary of writing off any student for not coping with GCSE's - they may well be much , much better able to focus at A level - or at anything they have actually chosen

By the way, it's an absolute scandal you can have children from 4 to 16 years and not get them through exams that you ahve been cramming them for for 12 years. the goverment should be ashamed of themselves.

How can he be incredibly bright but not academic?

Oh come on!
Not everyone does well in exams. Doesn't mean they aren't bright!

Some amazing displays of academic snobbery on this thread

This reminds me of my friend who in between uni placements in Japan used to open shops, trade and make the money and off she goes

No a school in the UK can't just keep a student on their roll as they wouldn't get any funding for them unless they are doing a full time course which a couple of GCSE retakes wouldn't be considered full time.

College is the answer for this student.

if your dd starts looking up employment websites she’ll see how many jobs don’t require college/ university. Look at the amount of people who end up in jobs fully unrelated to their qualifications! Not the end of the world at all (telling you this from the viewpoint of someone who failed a course in my final college year and rang home bawling and my dad said ‘I thought something had happened to you! For goodness sake it’s only an exam!’ It gave me perspective!) Tell her congratulations for being done and you’ll all figure it out.

Well I'm very academic but thick as mince in normal life so I'd guess he's the opposite of me.

My eldest son is 'incredibly bright but not academic ', he sailed through exams with minimum effort ,did a year of A levels then left for an apprenticeship in a high in demand trade .
He went to night school to get further qualifications in a specialised area of his work.
Other than a brief period during covid he has never been unemployed ,he earns a lot of money and he is highly respected .
With his qualifications ,skill ,expertise and experience he will never be without a job.
Also he has not one penny of debt to pay back for his education.
I have a lot of respect for apprenticeships.

I doubt it.
School 6th Forms are pretty much for A-levels and maybe a couple of Btec courses might be offered if you're lucky.
What do you think they should be teaching her?

There's so many paths, and so many personalities. My brother failed all his O levels (as was then), went into a trade, went back in his late 20s and did O levels then to university. He now has a masters and is also doing an MBA. He went into business and earns multiples of my sad earnings, graduate that I am.

My dd, by contrast, got straight Us for her mocks. She is neither bright nor academic, but has many other qualities and my job is to support her in finding her path. Sadly, it seems that the traditionally male vocational jobs are a lot better rewarded than the traditionally female ones, and she is NOT interested in trades. Still, she has great people skills and I'm hopeful she will find her path.

This is incredibly wrong. My oldest brother got sod all marks in anything years ago. He did a YTS amd worked his way up. He out earns anyone I know now doing project management contracting work. Academia is not always the way to success!

Aw, sounds like she could be good in a caring job if she is good with people?

I know it's not very well paid though, unfortunately.

Tell me about it! I do actually enjoy being an academic but would have been so much happier, and wealthier, being an electrician. 😃
OP's daughter just needs to find her niche. It's better it happens now when colleges are geared up to support her with more vocational choices than to struggle through A levels.

Yes, I came to say the same thing.

OP, do you know what happened to make things go as they did?

Agreed.

She should take a year / 6months and resit gcses though.
Maths and English in particular are important.

How much studying was she actually doing from easter onwards?

I went on to do a vocational course after my gcses, then found my way back to academia when I was ready, I still dont have any a levels, but do have a masters. We do things in our own time, and that vocational training has meant I've not yet been unemployed.

By the way, it's an absolute scandal you can have children from 4 to 16 years and not get them through exams that you ahve been cramming them for for 12 years. the goverment should be ashamed of themselves.

The government, via the exam-awarding bodies, sets the pass mark for GCSEs such that a significant percentage of young people MUST score a 3 or lower. If schools and young people work harder and the marks go up, the ‘pass mark’ is adjusted so that the ‘right’ proportion fail.

’Passing’ (4 or higher) does not demonstrate that you have specific skills or know specific things. It says that you got a mark in the top x% of the cohort.