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Further education

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Original poster

Disapointing GCSE results

100 replies

happysunflour · 24/08/2023 19:23

So DS got three 9s, three 8s, a 7 and two 6s for his GCSEs and his disappointment is so huge that he doesn't come out of his room ALL DAY. He is regarded as an academic child and I can see he expected him to have done better. But are they that bad for an academic child?? OK he could have done better in some areas but I still think they are good enough and however the results I would like him to celebrate the end of the stressful year. Perhaps he has friends who got all 9s or something I don't know. How could I tell him he did just fine??

OP posts:
Araminta34 · 26/08/2023 10:33

You need to stress how really good those results are.
At his age, results can seem like a huge deal, but they're not. They're only useful for getting to the next stage in his education. Later on when he's working, no one will care what his GCSE results were.

Needmorelego · 26/08/2023 11:23

@Clymene my GCSE certificates that say I have 6 GCSEs must be imaginary then.
Below a 4/D is a GCSE. A lower grade one - but a GCSE. Not a fail.

Herefordhousewife · 26/08/2023 11:28

My daughter is also a bit disappointed with similar grades. Three 9s, four 8s, two 7s and a 6. Two of the 8s she was consistently predicted a 9 in - maths and stats. She wanted to do maths and further maths for a level and is now doubting if she’s cut out for that. The 6 she worked really hard to make into a 7 and was predicted a 7. I think they’re brilliant results overall but she has too friends who got all 9s and 8s who she thought she was on a par with. I think it will spur her on for A Levels and she can still do what she wants for A Levels. I’m really proud of her. After a couple of days she said she felt better especially hearing work friends dropped several grades from expected.

Clymene · 26/08/2023 14:36

Needmorelego · 26/08/2023 11:23

@Clymene my GCSE certificates that say I have 6 GCSEs must be imaginary then.
Below a 4/D is a GCSE. A lower grade one - but a GCSE. Not a fail.

My certificate also has a D on it @Needmorelego - I've always considered it as a fail

noblegiraffe · 26/08/2023 14:52

The only fail grade is a U.

Clymene · 26/08/2023 14:56

noblegiraffe · 26/08/2023 14:52

The only fail grade is a U.

So why is a 4 a pass and a 5 a strong pass @noblegiraffe?

noblegiraffe · 26/08/2023 14:57

Because the Tories are a bunch of shitheads.

1-3 are a Level 1 pass.
4-9 are a Level 2 pass.

Clymene · 26/08/2023 15:03

noblegiraffe · 26/08/2023 14:57

Because the Tories are a bunch of shitheads.

1-3 are a Level 1 pass.
4-9 are a Level 2 pass.



With you there!

I shall be proud of my D in music from now on! Apologies @Needmorelego

TheaBrandt · 26/08/2023 15:09

I think the “being in the entertainment business” was the reason. Dd1 got one 7 then five 9s the rest 8s but she basically gave everything else up from the jan of the gcse year onwards. Sport / Saturday job everything. My friends Dd who was the ultimate party girl did the same and got all 9s. Remember driving Dd to the library for when it opened in the Easter holiday and seeing my friends Dd striding there too. Our friends other children were all still all in bed. The teens who took a more relaxed approach despite maybe being as clever didn’t get above sevens. Not saying what is right or wrong but anecdotally to get the top results you need to be singular and focused.

Also agree those are great results and would have to bite my tongue if he keeps going with the weeping and wailing!

Needmorelego · 26/08/2023 15:11

@Clymene I get so annoyed at people being told that below a 4 is a "fail" and people refering to 7 and 11 year olds as "passing or failing" the SATS. You don't pass or fail - you get a score.
It puts horrible unneeded pressure on school children.
Congratulations on your GCSE music 🙂🎉

TheaBrandt · 26/08/2023 15:14

Below a 4 is a fail for gcse. You are in some difficultly if you don’t get 4 or above for English and maths and you would need to retake until you did. Even vocational courses require that. Most schools and colleges require at least a 6 to do that subject at A level.

Takoneko · 26/08/2023 15:27

@TheaBrandt Its already been explained more than once that a U is a fail, grades 1-3 are Level 1 passes and 4-9 are level 2 passes.

You are correct that to move on to Level 3 courses the entry criteria will usually be level 2 passes (and potentially higher) but that doesn’t make level 1 passes a fail.

noblegiraffe · 26/08/2023 15:30

When GCSEs were first introduced, they replaced O-levels and CSEs. A grade C or above was meant to represent the old O-level standard, and below that, the CSE standard.

The grade 4 being a 'pass' is a hangover from that because the 4 was pegged to the old C grade and people described C+ as a pass because of the O-level equivalence.

However, if you passed a CSE you wouldn't have described it as failing an O-level which is why it is unfair to describe students who get a level 1 pass as 'failing' a GCSE.

The grade 4 being needed to not have to resit GCSE maths and English is a government policy. When the 9-1 GCSEs were first introduced, the intention was that the 5, not the 4 should be the requirement for not having to resit.

It was only 5 weeks before the new GCSEs were being sat in maths and English before the government bottled it and said that the 4 would be acceptable - they realised that thousands of extra kids having to resit core subjects would not make for good headlines. That was the point where the 4 being a 'pass' and a 5 being a 'strong pass' was invented. The language is total balls.

SuperiorM · 26/08/2023 15:35

If any are close to grade boundaries the School will probably contact you to suggest remarking.

I understand how he feels but the results are actually a really good set.

Regarding university applications, they don’t take much notice of the GCSE results. Predicted A level grades and how sixth form goes in Yr12 is the important thing.

Clymene · 26/08/2023 16:01

Needmorelego · 26/08/2023 15:11

@Clymene I get so annoyed at people being told that below a 4 is a "fail" and people refering to 7 and 11 year olds as "passing or failing" the SATS. You don't pass or fail - you get a score.
It puts horrible unneeded pressure on school children.
Congratulations on your GCSE music 🙂🎉

And congratulations on your 6 GCSEs! 🎉👏🏼

Needmorelego · 26/08/2023 16:33

@Clymene thanks 🙂

Lampzade · 26/08/2023 16:55

My nephew ( who I am close to ) rang me crying when he received his results.
He received 5x8’s 4x7 and 1x6.
He was upset because he expected a clean sweep of 8 and 9’s.
His parents were thrilled with his results, so they are not the issue. They are fantastic parents and have never pressured any of their dcs.
Just give your ds time to process the results.

Totallyterrific · 26/08/2023 16:57

Those are fabulous results. Better than my so called academic child got. And what I got in the 90s. I worked my socks off, was always regarded as clever but "only" got two As three Bs and three Cs.

TheaBrandt · 26/08/2023 17:10

Also - happy to be corrected I’m not a teacher - any thing above a 7 is an A so if they got their results in 1993 it would be pretty much all As ? No one would know if it was a “low A” 7 equivalent or a top tier 9.

MargaretThursday · 26/08/2023 19:38

Thing is we can't say they're wonderful results. We don't know him.

Dd1 was a bit disappointed with her English language: She was predicted a 7 and got a 6.
Ds was thrilled with his English language: He was predicted a 4- and got a 6.
(different years)

Something that can be a wonderful achievement with one child can be disappointing for another.

It's not fair to invalidate his feelings by saying he shouldn't be disappointed; they are his results and if he feels he didn't do as well as expected then that he is allowed his feelings on the matter. If he starts saying to friends who scraped their 4s, that he's got rubbish results, then you need to step in and tell him not to be tactless, but if he's just feeling low in himself then you support him.

Have you asked him what exactly he is disappointed with? Why is it disappointing? Does he feel that it will stop him doing something? Does he feel that maybe he should have done more?
That's what I would chat to him about.

If you tell him they're wonderful results when he feels they're not, then next time when he does get wonderful results he'll be wondering if you mean it.

Zoda8 · 27/08/2023 01:02

noblegiraffe · 26/08/2023 15:30

When GCSEs were first introduced, they replaced O-levels and CSEs. A grade C or above was meant to represent the old O-level standard, and below that, the CSE standard.

The grade 4 being a 'pass' is a hangover from that because the 4 was pegged to the old C grade and people described C+ as a pass because of the O-level equivalence.

However, if you passed a CSE you wouldn't have described it as failing an O-level which is why it is unfair to describe students who get a level 1 pass as 'failing' a GCSE.

The grade 4 being needed to not have to resit GCSE maths and English is a government policy. When the 9-1 GCSEs were first introduced, the intention was that the 5, not the 4 should be the requirement for not having to resit.

It was only 5 weeks before the new GCSEs were being sat in maths and English before the government bottled it and said that the 4 would be acceptable - they realised that thousands of extra kids having to resit core subjects would not make for good headlines. That was the point where the 4 being a 'pass' and a 5 being a 'strong pass' was invented. The language is total balls.

This is beautifully reasoned. Ultimately a 2 is a pass because the government defines it as a pass, but this reasoning shows how to describe every child working diligently at CSE level as a failure would betray the promise that this was a merger of two systems for all children, not an opportunity to humiliate all children working at CSE level by rebranding them as failures.

BonnieLisbon · 27/08/2023 01:31

Yes, that's a really good point. Dd has a few friends who think they've only passed 1 GCSE and are probably feeling pretty crap about it, whereas in the past they wouldn't have felt their lower grades were fails, but varying levels of achievement and wouldn't have been left wondering why they bothered to try.

TheaBrandt · 27/08/2023 05:48

Yes but practically speaking it’s difficult to progress to other courses without at least 4s in maths and English? It’s semantics to pretend otherwise.

Takoneko · 27/08/2023 08:32

@TheaBrandt It’s difficult to move to Level 3 courses without a Level 2 (grade 4-9) pass or better, nobody has denied that. But there are significant numbers of students who do not move onto level 3 courses after GSCE.

Their level 1 (grade 1-3) passes are important for being accepted into college for level 2 courses. Locally, colleges require a certain number of passes at level 1, sometimes at grade 3 or better to do those courses.

Those courses mean that they can spend a year on a level 2 course and then progress onto level 3 the following year. Without that they’d have to do Entry Level or Level 1 Courses which would not qualify them for entry onto Level 3 courses when they finish. Having level 1 passes can be the difference between being able to secure A Level equivalents by the time they are 19 or not.

pompomdaisy · 27/08/2023 08:38

So 20,000 more students failed gcse maths this year! That tells you something about grade boundaries. He may have been working to what they were last year. That's not his fault and doesn't make him less academic.