Leap from GCSE to A levels if a student gets 6s and 7s

[RoseTulips2023]

My daughter got a mixture of 6s and 7s in her GCSEs which we were delighted by as she feared she had failed a couple of them. Her current choices for A level are Eng Lit, Politics and Psychology. However, she only got a 6 in Eng Lit which upset her as she was predicted a 7 and hoped for an 8. She has mild to moderate dyslexia. She is now considering dropping English and doing 3 out of Politics, Psychology, Business Studies and Sociology. She doesn't know what she wants to do later in life. Friends of mine whose children have got 8s and 9s have said that the leap from GCSE to A level is huge so I hope it's not going to be too much of a struggle for her. I'm now talking to friends who are suggesting backup plans - why we didn't look into this in more detail before I don't know. Some have talked about combining say 2 A levels with a BTec. I just wondered what the experience of your children was if they got 6s and 7s - how did they find the A level workload? Also, any thoughts on Politics, Psychology, Business Studies and Sociology - would any 3 of them be a good combination? Thanks.

6s and 7s are equivalent to As and Bs so I think you're over thinking this. It is a big jump up but it shouldn't be beyond her.

I think the more pertinent issue is if/how her dyslexia is being addressed.

If you feel that had an impact of her English Lit marks, there is a lot of reading at A level and even more at uni, assuming she wants to go down that route.

It sounds like she is perfectly able academically but would benefit from additional support with her reading issues.

It also seems a shame for her to drop English lit mainly on the basis that she got a lower than predicted grade if she loves the subject.

She should do the subjects she finds interesting so that includes English Lit. She may absolutely flourish at college. She has 6s and 7s, they are really good GCSEs, bloody Gove and his crème de la crème with his top 4% grade 9s. Yes it is a bit of a jump but who is saying she can't handle that? Your "friends" who presumably have no teaching experience at A level?

Go into this positive, get her to talk to her teachers so that if she gets a low grade then she is guided on how to improve it. We were told at sixth form open evening that those that have 8s and 9s may suddenly get Cs and Ds but use that as a learning experience on how can I get that grade higher for that piece of work? They have 2 years to nail it.

As has been noted on another thread about grades at A level, you can have students come in on all 9s and tank all their A levels, you can have some come in on 6s and ace it out. A lot of it comes down to resilience and attitude to learning. You can support her through that.

When I worked at a sixth form we expected most students to drop a grade from GCSEs to A level. It's a different type of studying that suits some people but doesn't suit others, more independent learning. It also comes at a time when they have to learn how to manage their time between independent studying and weekend jobs, performing at County level or above in sports or higher grades on other extra curriculars.

The great thing about BTECs is that they allow for coursework which works really well for student who struggle with exams and their memory. Being able to 'bank' grades as they go through the btec keeps them on target whereas putting all of your hopes into regurgitating 2 years of information into an exam paper is much more difficult for a lot of students.

The Gramnar School my dc went to stipulate a 6 for English to do the A Level course. Even for Maths, which is meant to be one of the worst leaps from GCSE to A Level, they ‘only’ require a 7. I would advise your dd there’s no need to change her plans, if she’s got the entry requirements for the course!

I think she would be fine with those grades. They are As and Bs at GCSE which are good grades. She might be less likely to get As and A*s at A level but she doesn't need them for most courses.

She should pick three A levels she thinks she will enjoy most and go for it making sure she is getting proper support for her dyslexia.

They are mostly essay based subjects so if that's her strength and she is actually interested in the topics she will be ok. These are good grades OP.

Stop listening to your friends and their stupid advice

If your DDs college are happy with her results then just let her do the subjects she likes best

It depends if they're realistic about their outcomes. A lot of kids who get 8s at GCSE are surprised not to get easy As at A Level, and this is what they mean by the "step up".

A mixture of 6s and 7s at GCSE would probably be looking at Ds and Es at A Level, possibly Cs if they work hard. Of course kids are all different, and some absolutely thrive on focusing purely on subjects they're genuinely interested in.

My son got good C grades for most exams and so took (very successfully) a BTEC IT pathway. The college wouldn't allow him to do STEM A levels. I think he would have been a 5 grade in new money.

Two of his best mates did better with a variety of A, mainly Bs and Cs. They started on A levels and gave up at the end of year one and moved onto the course my son took. I'm guessing they would have been grade 7,6, 5s now?

That's my only experience

That's just not correct. Students with 6s and 7s usually progress to As , Bs and Cs at A level. The Ds and Es often arise from low prior attainment, poor work ethic, and/or poor subject choice. The students I teach who just got Ds and Es generally had other issues but the majority had an average GCSE grade of 5 or less.

All are essay based subjects anyway so I wouldn't necessarily be binning off English to do one of the others.

This is simply not the case. Students are actually studying their chosen subjects at Alevel rather than being forced to do science or maths and other subjects that they are not engaged with. Taking 27 or so papers for GCSE where students focus and time is stretched thin is a lot different to taking 9 papers for 3 Alevels. There is also the issue of maturity and the fact that they now have exam experience in high all helps them get better at tackling papers.

All 6s and 7s wouldn't equal Ds and Es in my subject at A-level either, as long as students are willing to work hard. The ones getting Ds and Es are normally those who coasted at GCSE, and aren't putting the work in OR the ones who got more like 5s and 6s, with maybe the odd 4 thrown in.

There is a step up- and A-levels often use different skills to GCSEs- it isn't always a given that students who get 9s at GCSE get A*- in my subject it's very possible to get an 8 or a 9 at GCSE essentially learning things off by heart. In theory, there's application and evaluation, but you can learn the evaluation points off by heart too. At A-level, you have to learn to apply your knowledge and how to evaluate in unfamiliar contexts, and really understand what the question is asking you- so that can be a challenge for some students.

As long as she works hard, she'll be fine.

A mixture of 6s and 7s at GCSE would probably be looking at Ds and Es at A Level, possibly Cs if they work hard.

I’m sorry to be so blunt, but that’s complete rubbish! In my experience of 3dc and their friends having gone through the whole GCSE/A Level/Uni process over the years, that’s just not the case.

The local state Grammar School stipulates minimum grades for certain subjects at A Level, but never higher than a 7, and they pride themselves on their stellar reputation!

But when they say students need a 7 to take that subject, what they mean is that they are likely to fail if they have a 6 or lower.

I do teach maths which is seemingly much harder than other A level subjects, but a huge amount of national data shows that, in maths, the most likely outcome from a Grade 7 at GCSE is a D at A Level, and from a 6 it's an E. I'm afraid I don't have the equivalent data from other subjects.

I can tell you from years of teaching not maths that we have a grade 5 entry requirement in Eng Lit for my subject and no student has ever failed. In fact, it's rare to see a D or E. Students with 5s don't tend to get the top two grades but anything else is up for grabs.

You have to wonder whether it's too'easy' to get a grade 7 in maths with those kind of outcomes. I don't think it means the A level is harder,so much as the GCSE grade is misleading....potentially.

And the OP's DS isn't choosing maths...

A mixture of 6s and 7s at GCSE would probably be looking at Ds and Es at A Level, possibly Cs if they work hard.

Absolute nonsense.

noblegiraffe posted an illuminating table that shows the correlation between attainment at GCSE and 'A' level in maths. It's a very striking correlation between a top maths grade at GCSE and a good 'A' level grade.

No-one has suggested that that can be extrapolated across all subjects.

My DS got 6s & 7s and for his year 11 mocks he’s got ABB.

Yes it’s a big jump and yes the kids have to work hard and put the effort in but ignore those who say they’re looking at lower grades. Remember they’re As and Bs

I should say that doing 3 Alevels rather than 4 is better for my DS. His school teach in blocks which mean he has a couple of days where he’s not in until 12. Handy for when he needs a bit extra teen sleep.

The table for Maths I saw suggested that there is a relationship, but that more top grade students for Maths did well. However, it also suggested that a substantial minority of grade 7 students did quite well.

In other subjects I think there's plenty of scope especially with good teaching to improve on a 7 or even a 6. Also, this year's GCSE cohort have had to contend with various disruptions from year 8 on. I don't want to speculate but at optimistic moments but I do hope that the next two years might be a little better.

My dd did English lit A level, she got a 9 in GCSE, English had always been her best subject. She got a B in A level but she was one of the ones who didn’t sit GCSE’s due to covid. She got A in computing and a C in maths. For her the hardest A level was Maths, she got a 8 at GCSE level.

Shes now at uni studying English lit and creative writing.

A level is a big jump from GSCE but remember they are only studying 3 subjects rather than 7/8.

Same here (6s, 7s and 1 x 8)
End of term 1 Y12 BBD
Mocks end of Y12 A*BB

@RoseTulips2023 My concern would not necessarily be the grades she got, but the subjects you list are surely all new to her. I’m guessing she did not take politics, sociology, psychology or business studies at GCSE. This is a bit of a risk as she has no prior knowledge of any of them.

Therefore I might stick with the known subject of English Lit and two others. This would give her more time for the required reading. She could also usefully talk to her teacher about where she might have lost marks at gcse. This means she can focus on a better outcome at A level.