A level choices based on GCSE mocks

[Dangermouse100]

Name changed

I’m a little concerned about my dd’s mock results as they aren’t as high as I’d expected and am wondering what a levels she’ll realistically be able to do. Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Originally thinking of maths,physics & geography (interested in engineering). however I’m not sure if this is a good idea given her mock results. Also interested in psychology.

            Actual  Prediction

maths 7. 7
english lit. 6. 6
english lang 6. 6
chem. 6. 7
bio. 6. 6
physics. 6. 7
geo. 7. 8
comp s. 5. 7
Spanish. 5. 6
Business. 6. 6

she is currently at a grammar school and needs 5 7s or above to stay and also a 7-9 in the a level subject chosen. She would love to stay but looks like it maybe borderline.

She has a good work ethic and puts a lot of effort into her work however I’m having a wobble! She is working to bring her physics grade up and we’ve got her a tutor for English Lit and Lang as her predicted grade has dropped from a 7 in these.

any advice would be appreciated as it’s the first time we’re going through this and I’m feeling wobbly!

she needs a revision timetable and to be putting some serious work in. You can’t do it for her. It’s her business how well she does at GCSE and what A levels she chooses. It’s really nothing to do with you. Sorry to sound harsh but it’s true, it’s her life not yours.

having said that, if she wants to do engineering is she thinking an apprentice or Uni? She needs to look at what the requirements there are and work backwards to choose suitable A levels.

if she doesn’t know then she just needs to choose the subjects she enjoys most

From our child’s experience maths and physics are extremely hard a-levels, a big step up from GCSE’s and lots of work needed to just keep up.

Agree with that. I would only really consider it with an 8 in Maths. And Physics is just more be Maths. We learned the hard way.

I won't be the best person to advise here , but I can tell you DS got an A* in GCSE maths (as marked in those days ) and undertook it as a fourth subject at A level He dropped it ( with the agreement of teachers ) as the step up was too hard for him. (His other subjects were essay based subjects. ) So I can't really tell you , just anecdotal.

Agree with others, maths from a 7 at GCSE can be a tough call. DS took it with an 8 and got a hard-won B. If she wants to do engineering then yes, maths and physics are needed. Are those her favourite subjects?

The grades overall are pretty solid – if she puts in some targeted work (by that I mean revision that is focused, and work on exam technique – how to answer the questions to get the most marks) I would expect her to be able to go up a grade in each from her mock. There are lots of threads in sec ed with great revision ideas. She needs to find what works for her.

A level choices look fine to me for now, but I wouldn’t advise doing maths or physics (or chemistry) with less than a 7, so she does need to have a backup plan.
Business studies maybe if she can get a 7 in that?

Geography seems like her best subject so doing that for A level seems like a good idea, and if she doesn’t do as well as expected in the maths/physics there are good university options related to geography instead of engineering.

What else do the school offer for A level subjects? As well as psychology she could think about maybe computer science?

Geography, business studies and psychology/computer science would leave a lot of uni options open

They do say with effort students increase by an average of 1 grade between now and the summer. So she needs to power up but she can do it.

As a back up to not getting the grades to stay at her current school apply to another sixth form as back up.

I did maths and physics A level way back and they were not easy so I'd well believe you need atleast a 7 to get through them now. I got an A in old money for maths and physics GCSEs and got Bs at Alevel which was good enough to get into a top engineering uni. Now it's all As and A*s required at A level so probably an 8 at GCSE?

If the student works hard they can go up a grade between mocks and the real thing. Obviously hard work is required.

physics and maths a level overlap a bit. They are tough. Only for those who are prepared to work hard all two years.

some students do additional maths gcse which makes the transition easier.

My ds got a 7 in maths & physics at GCSE, and is forecast a B at a'level in both but his sixth form tutor group is two pupils so he's had almost individual tuition all the way through.

He got a C in both his a'level mocks, missing a B by one point in Maths and by two points in Physics.

He says a'level maths is brutally difficult - his words - although he seems to like that. He actively enjoys the challenge.

He has five good uni offers, all requiring a B in maths to read engineering.

What is your dd's passion in the end? What will drive her to succeed?

@wobblychristmastree she is thinking of university ideally.

@clary she enjoys geography the most but has a keen interest in f1 and likes physics/maths

@user2848502016 she hasnt really enjoyed computer science. Business isn’t an a level option but economics is. She wasn’t very keen on economics but may have to be a back up plan. Although geo/eco/psychol would be all essay based… is this correct?

@Meadowfinch that’s interesting to hear thank you for sharing. F1 is her passion however she is already working hard and I worry about maths/physics being too hard?

she is very good a reading people/situations which is why I suggested psychology as a ‘back up’

does anyone know how much biology is in psych? Would a 6 be ok in gcse biology to do a level psychology?

Thank you all for your comments very much appreciated!

Can she drop any subjects so her other grades improve? Does she need Spanish and/or business studies? She might just have too much to revise. I did maths, physics and geography A levels back in the day.
Doing maths and physics together made the maths easier I think. My A level maths teacher said I was better at A level than GCSE so I think something just twigged and I got an A quite easily. I only got a B for geography GCSE and found A level fine.

Went through similar pressures last year in Y11 at grammar too.

Make sure you have a robust backup plan for another school—my DS was borderline the entire time, and missed one grade by 3 marks, causing him to lose his place at grammar. You don’t want to be scrambling around for a place, not having applied anywhere else, on results day.

We put through for a remark, as the paper was an essay subject, so we had little to lose (although they do say that a remark can result in a grade drop, but when you’re at the top of a grade boundary, it doesn’t seem likely, and a grade drop wouldn’t have affected his spot in his backup school). He ended up going to the new school for a week, and the remark not only put him over the boundary, but put him firmly in the middle of the grade bracket above. He was allowed back in with his remark. The system stinks. Have a contingency plan.

If F1 is her passion then 2 x Cs in Maths and Physics (plus a C in something else) would get her into the BEng, then hopefully able to transfer to MEng: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/motorsport-engineering-beng-or-meng

Soonds achievable with work?

@bakedai. Yes I was also thinking about dropping Spanish (although she isn’t doing much for it anyway - quiet quit!). I did float the idea past her but I think she feels a bit embarrassed. School haven’t suggested anything to her/us.

@ThatsCute Im glad it all worked out in the end and thank you for sharing your experience.

@titchy this looks really good thanks so much for sharing!! Do you know anyone who has done this/similar course?

A lot of the F1 focussed students do mechanical or aeronautical engineering. And a lot of engineering courses / unis have a “formula student” team as an extra-curricular

https://www.global-formula-racing.com/en/formula-student/
eg the one at Portsmouth https://www.port.ac.uk/about-us/our-facilities/resources/formula-student

Most engineering courses we went to look at had something like this as an extracurricular option / club that you could take part in. Looked amazing!

@ThatsCute It’s hard going when at a grammar isn’t it? A lot of her friends study less and are predicted 8 & 9s. I’m trying so very hard not to ask too many questions as this puts extra pressure on her but inevitably do end up asking some as I’m worried.

She loves her school & friends!

keep trying to tell myself what will be will be! I need to do better though. Nerve wracking all of this to be honest 😫

I don’t know anyone no (The Student Room website should though), but their Auto does have a good reputation (other courses not so much admittedly).

DS got a 9 in maths and 8 in physics and went on to get 2 B's - he got 70% overall in his maths A-level and that was still only a B. He A starred comp sci and was ok with the step up in maths and physics (there is also a little bit of overlap) but the way the questions are asked in the exams he found very difficult - just trying to work out how what he knew fitted into what he was being asked.

At DS's school you would not be allowed to drop a subject so you could concentrate on others as they wouldn't have anywhere for you to go. If she hasn't already got them I'd really recommend the CGP books to help with revision - everything is laid out really clearly especially for maths and sciences. English is a bit weaker though IMO. There are also some good Youtube channels The GCSE Maths tutor, Primrose Kitten, Mr Bruff/Mr Salles.

Has she applied elsewhere with less stringent entry requirements?

I would be tempted to drop the computer science / Spanish / business studies..

Agree with the above. Maths and sciences should be 8s and above to not struggle at A level and have a fighting chance of a good A level grade.

Is she honest about the amount of work she is doing?

Yes I think she is honest about the amount of work she does. She is very focussed and works hard it just doesn’t always show in her results!

yes we are looking at back ups as well

People often suggest on threads like this that a student should drop xyz GCSEs but realistically that's not usually possible IME. A student has to be somewhere in those 2-3 hours a week and it’s unlikely that there will be any supervised setting that they can be in that time.

Also tbh if a student's worst year 11 mock grade is a 5, there really is no need to drop that subject. If she ends up with grades 8777766666 (as predicted) then that is more than acceptable – after all in old money that's AstarAAAABBBBB.

ETA: I also meant to say – is her revision actually targeted? as in, is she looking at what her answers were and what would have got a better mark? I have known many students say "but miss I wrote three sides" for an English exam, but much of the written work was not answering the question.

@clary I will check this with her.

i think Geography is a definite and possibly maths (currently score very high grade 7 so hoping this will tip into an 8 making it more realistic as an a level choice). and then see what happens with physics as currently close to a 7 but not there yet!

Still not sure if a 7 is ‘enough’ to get a decent grade at a level. May have to decide if she’d be happier doing the Oxford Brookes degree or if it would be better to drop the Engineering idea and go towards geography career instead. Possibly picking up psychology instead of physics.

Time will tell I guess! It’s been so helpful being on this forum, my thoughts are much clearer now than they were a few days ago! Thank you all

My DD went up three grades from her first mocks to actual grade in maths, your DD has good grades already and can easily improve those with a bit of work. If she wants to.

Otherwise, I would be pleased with those grades anyway, remember that a 6 is a B in old money and that's a good grade.