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Original poster

GCSE Mocks

25 replies

hoping2016 · 08/12/2025 16:55

Please could someone give me some advice. My dd is at a grammar school and despite working very hard hasn’t achieved mock gcse grades she would like.

I’m a little confused as for two subjects (not got all back yet) she did 3 past papers on each and got in the region of 75%-80% but in the mock achieved around 50%.

she generally seemed confident going into the exams and wasn’t overly nervous from what I could see.

We have had a similar situation arise at the end of year 10 when her exam grades didn’t reflect the effort she was putting in.

Her parents evening was good, none of her teachers had any negative comments and most said how hardworking she is.

I’m a little lost & upset tbh as she is a model student, always does her homework, revises for assessments and has worked independently throughout her time at secondary school. I can’t really ask anymore of her tbh.

any advice/similar situations/next steps appreciated?

Thank you in advance!

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Snorlaxo · 08/12/2025 16:59

Around Easter when they’ve finished teaching the whole syllabus, school will start teaching exam technique which will hopefully turn her knowledge into grades. The marking is very rigid so hopefully this will help at lot.

I’m a little confused as for two subjects (not got all back yet) she did 3 past papers on each and got in the region of 75%-80% but in the mock achieved around 50%. Do you mean she was getting 75-80% in class or at home but got 50% in the mock? I’m guessing that she’s not been taught everything in the mock where as class tests are based on what she’s learned so she should get a higher percentage?

Snorlaxo · 08/12/2025 17:01

Also were her end of year 10 exams actual GCSEs? If so she had only learned half the syllabus so wouldn’t score as highly as she would once she’s learned everything.

clary · 08/12/2025 19:33

Yes when you say she did past papers, was that in class, or at home? If at home, were they marked to the mark scheme? The MS for GCSE can be quite rigid as to what is a correct answer if that makes sense.

What were the subjects?

And yes I agree it may be that the mock covered elements that have not been fully covered in class, or that are quite new and maybe not fully secure?

It could be that the mocks were marked quite strictly while previous past papers have been marked a bit more leniently as well?

Tbh I would raise it with her teachers, especially in subjects where she expected to do a lot better than she has. I would never mind a parent asking me what their DC could do to do better. But I also agree that exam and revision technique is a skill in itself and one that will be honed over the next months.

fluffythecat1 · 08/12/2025 20:12

Is she in Y11? My DS has just done his mocks, however is getting his results as grades, as you would for GCSEs themselves.

Original poster
hoping2016 · 08/12/2025 20:14

Thank you for your replies.

@Snorlaxo The past papers (Chemistry & Physics) were from Physics & Maths tutor and save my exams and she did these at home as part of her revision/exam prep. She said she marked them herself and used chat gpt to double check.

She has messaged her teacher and the teacher mentioned that perhaps when marking at home she may have been more lenient. This will be something to look out for going forward. The Physics teacher has agreed to meet with to make an ‘action plan’ not sure if I should drop her an email to say we are concerned and also to mention she has worked hard and wasn’t overly nervous or anything on the day.

The year 10 exams were gcse questions level but only on topics they’d covered.

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clary · 08/12/2025 20:21

She said she marked them herself and used chat gpt to double check.

I suspect that this is the issue. It’s so so easy to think "Ah well that’s what I meant to say” and give yourself the mark.

I suggest maybe getting the past papers done at home marked by the tutor or her teacher. Does she have a tutor bc she is struggling in those subjects? as 80% in physics GCSE is a strong grade 9, and same for chemistry. Suspect that she may be working below the % of her self-marked papers.

It’s great that she is working hard and was not nervous, but ofc those things in themselves do not mean you will get a high mark in the exam. How targeted is her revision? That's worth checking as it is easy for YP to stare at their books for an hour and think they have done a good stint of revision, but in fact they need to make sure they are learning what they need to know, topic by topic, and retaining it.

Did she do mocks in year 10? what kind of grades did she get? What are her PGs or target grades?

Muchtoomuchtodo · 08/12/2025 20:26

She might be clever and work hard, but she needs to learn to play the game to get the marks.

School will do this once they’ve covered the syllabus but she can start working on it herself and with her tutor.

It’s easier in STEM subjects than humanities ime but there is definitely a technique to be learned for each subject.

Original poster
hoping2016 · 08/12/2025 21:04

@fluffythecat1 yes y11 - they get their papers to look at now and grades in Jan

@clary She doesn’t currently have a tutor however like you say i need to look into it.

At the end of Year 10 she was predicted a grade 6 for Physics & a grade 7 for Chemistry.

At her pre mock parents evening her physics teacher said she thought she was capable of higher than a 6 but I think her end of y10 mock let her down.

She really enjoys Physics and has been hoping to take it at A Level however I realise we may have to re think things! :-(

OP posts:
Naala · 08/12/2025 21:20

hoping2016 · 08/12/2025 16:55

Please could someone give me some advice. My dd is at a grammar school and despite working very hard hasn’t achieved mock gcse grades she would like.

I’m a little confused as for two subjects (not got all back yet) she did 3 past papers on each and got in the region of 75%-80% but in the mock achieved around 50%.

she generally seemed confident going into the exams and wasn’t overly nervous from what I could see.

We have had a similar situation arise at the end of year 10 when her exam grades didn’t reflect the effort she was putting in.

Her parents evening was good, none of her teachers had any negative comments and most said how hardworking she is.

I’m a little lost & upset tbh as she is a model student, always does her homework, revises for assessments and has worked independently throughout her time at secondary school. I can’t really ask anymore of her tbh.

any advice/similar situations/next steps appreciated?

Thank you in advance!

Yeah, she wasn't getting 80% of it right. She was assuming she knew more than she does and not understanding what the exams require. She needs to look at the feedback and follow it.

clary · 08/12/2025 21:45

Ah sorry @hoping2016 I thought you meant her past papers were supplied by her tutor of physics and maths – but in fact you mean a website called Physics and Maths Tutor?

I am not suggesting she needs a tutor btw. If she were gaining 80% then certainly not. But it sounds as tho she has been proactive (great) and worked on some past papers but unfortunately overmarked them.

50% btw is a strong 6 in both chem and physics GCSE (based on previous years’ GBs) so that sounds about right.

Probably not ideal tho to take physics A level with a 6 at GCSE tho for sure some sixth forms will allow that. What is her PG in maths?

Original poster
hoping2016 · 09/12/2025 05:32

@clary Yes sorry for the confusion I do mean the website Physics & Maths tutor. My head is in a bit of a spin! Her prediction for maths is a grade 7 however her teacher has said to us that she should aim for a 8/9 and has suggested using the CGP book targeting an 8/9 from around March onwards.

Thank you for your clarification re 50% being a strong pass. Maybe there is still time to boost her grade? Although I feel very nervous now!

Dreading getting the rest of the results back. For the first time in her entire school career she said she doesn’t want to go to school! I guess it’s difficult being in a grammar. We will have to keep her morale up and not get stressed myself!

Thanks for everyone’s support with this, especially as I’m on new ground with GCSEs

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clary · 09/12/2025 06:34

Oh yes please do support her. I agree btw I would expect number grades from year 11 mocks rather than percentages as that makes more sense.

But you or she can look up past GBs as a general guide to get an idea.

8/9 in maths would be great and perfect for A level. Past paper and workbook practice is really helpful from now till exams, alongside targeted revision. And yes I think being at a grammar may make you feel more down on yourself, if others are getting highrr grades.

Original poster
hoping2016 · 09/12/2025 13:22

@clary Thanks so much for your helpful reply. At the moment they are starting to get their papers back and the number grades will follow early Jan.

Feel so sad as she has worked so hard both in preparation for the mocks but throughout her time at school. Let’s see where the others come out.

Thank you again and if anyone has any further tips

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Fifthtimelucky · 09/12/2025 13:31

It was at a similar stage that my daughter’s school suggested that we have her tested for dyslexia as her GCSE mock results were not consistent with the standard of her homework or her work in class.

We thought it was an odd suggestion, because her reading had always been good, but went ahead and it turned out that she did indeed have dyslexia (and that we had had a very poor understanding of what it involved)!

Might be worth considering, even if only to rule it out.

Blubell46 · 10/12/2025 06:53

Hi my dd and ds were both in grammar schools. They mark all the papers more harshly. When my dd was in year 10 her grades were not good not getting higher than a 6 and in the real exams all her results were 8/9.

Gcse - the key to maths is practice- maths genie go through every topic.

science - make sure you understand the principles. The skill is using key words in your answer. Maybe take one of the papers she has completed and marked and show her teacher- so she can verify the mark she gave compared to what they think she would of been given.

English- refer to mr buff- he is amazing! For both language and lit!

does she do a language?

my dd used both save my exams and maths and physics. She is doing the right approach- the key is not to give up and about structuring her answers.

Original poster
hoping2016 · 15/12/2025 21:24

@Blubell46 thank you so much for all this useful information. I also wondered about marking being harsher. She is doing Spanish

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Blubell46 · 16/12/2025 05:47

Hi- my dd did Spanish too….she got a grade 2 in year 10 which as you can imagine for a top selective grammar was not good- year 11 mocks grade 6 and then real exam grade 8 . She went on to do Spanish A level and got 3As.

Do not give up- keep giving her confidence and have things to look forward too. Grammar schools can be a too intensive and seems the be all and end all …make sure she is talking to you. Happy to help where I can.

Spanish flash cards helped and it is a lot of work so start early

WonderingWanda · 16/12/2025 06:02

I've got many years experience and had lots of training with the exam board and even worked alongside colleagues who write the exams and the mark scheme. However, students will always query our marking and misunderstand the mark scheme especially where levels apply rather than just point marked questions. It sounds like your dd's mock performance was in line with where she was in year 10. Most students do better in the real exams than the mock. The idea that she has been getting 9's based on her own self marking suggests that her marking is unreliable and as others have said she is probably giving marks for lots of implied meaning where she thinks she has explained something. And finally, hard work alone doesn't equal top grades, students can spend hours doing the wrong thing when revising. She needed to listen to and act on the specific feed back her teachers give.

I always get my students to go through their papers and identify where they are losing marks e.g. is it low tarrif or high tarrif questions is it timing, is it lack of using case studies, is it skills etc. Then give advice on how to fix that issue.

fluffythecat1 · 16/12/2025 08:13

My DS got his Y11 mock marks yesterday, 4-8 in grades. The 4 was for English Literature in which he misunderstood the paper and only answered half the questions, so hopefully that has been addressed and he got 8s for English Language and Computer Science. 5s for Geography and History which he wants to do at A level and which he is predicted 8s for. Interesting point about the mark scheme- his History teacher has said that he needs to put detail, depth and key points in his answers in order to gain those extra marks, so we’ll be working on that.

Original poster
hoping2016 · 22/12/2025 00:11

@Blubell46 Thank you, appreciate your supportive words, hopefully it’ll all work out. We did get an email from her maths teacher to say she had done well in her mock and he stated she had improved a lot. Hopefully some of the others will fall in place too.

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Blubell46 · 22/12/2025 08:26

@hoping2016you are most welcome and I know this time is very stressful and it can seem that there is no hope but honestly she didn’t get into a grammar by sheer luck- she has it in her and just needs the confidence! Plus they are a lot stricter marking - both kids went to different grammar school. GOODLUCK to you both! Pace yourself - GCSEs are all about stamina!

Original poster
hoping2016 · 22/12/2025 09:13

@Blubell46 Your support has been gratefully received, thank you. Yes she is planning to take the first week off but wants to get back to it in week 2 of the hols! I’m trying not to think about it but to be honest struggling….will try harder though

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas break

Enjoy!

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Blubell46 · 22/12/2025 09:29

@hoping2016 have a lovely break too…happy to help and be supportive if you need anything.

This forum has been wonderful when my kids went through it and sometimes I found it tough! Very normal! My ds is on his placement year in Uni and my daughter finished her A levels last year and has decided to defer her entry to Bristol and take on Apprenticeship.

so please reach out anytime and am happy to help .x

Original poster
hoping2016 · 22/12/2025 09:37

@Blubell46 I’ve sent you a PM x

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