What universities are these GCSEs good enough for?

[lawlawlaw]

Hello all,

We are very happy with our dd who did very well (imo) at her gcses and couldnt be more thrilled or proud of her.
She really wants to study history at uni,
DH and I were wondering what sort of university are they good enough for?

Oh, almost forgot to add what she had lol! She got 6a* and 6a from a comp.

Thanks:-)

Is this a stealth boast op. Obviously you know your dd did very well and could go to a decent uni providing she also does well in her A levels.

Just finished Year 12, urban. DC has investigated volunteering at various local history museums but they seem to want 18+ only.

I've never heard of history work experience before

ds is just about to start history at Exeter which always comes up very high in various league tables for the subject - I don't know what their take is on GCSEs (ds had a fairly standard mix of A*s and As) but they are very strict on meeting the requirements of their A-level offers which are almost always AAA - a couple of ds's friends dropped a grade (not in history) and had to make do with their insurance

History is one of those subjects where courses can vary enormously as to the emphasis and range of the modules offered. Ds ended up doing much better than he or the school thought he was going to and briefly toyed with the idea of 'trading up', but then looked at the courses in detail and realised that Exeter suited his interests much better

Oh I see - I asked because I thought if the DC was younger and you were in London then a number of the museums do have placement schemes for under 18s. A couple of mine went to the county records office in Y10 or 11, one was involved in a local history project and later on they each did a variety of placements in Eastern Europe - that was partly because the opportunities were very good and partly because the accommodation issues were easier for us than imposing on anyone in London (not overdoing requests for week long stays is tricky when there are eight DC needing beds in fairly rapid succession....). But as boys3 says, the other stuff is the critical stuff. If your DC is heading for Cambridge rather than Oxford then the grades must all be in place and it sounds as though the reading is good - so don't give work placements a thought!

Thanks, Molio - London museums would have been a good tip! And never thought of county records. Bit late now, I think, given the amount of work to do this term.

Grades in place, but failed by .1 to hit the 93% UMS mark to be automatically pooled so they are a bit disappointed with that. But I'm sure you are right that it is reading and thinking that will count.

@ ds had a fairly standard mix of As and As*

There are some superb stealth boasters on this thread.

I feel hugely reassured about my stance of not discussing the DC's exam results.

hatty I haven't specified my DCs results either .

But I think in the context of a thread like this it is important to give some specifics.

Sorry, just chuckling. It was the idea that a string of As and A*s are 'fairly standard' that finished me off. I'll try to muffle my giggling

Not standard in general terms, no. But standard for an Oxbridge application.

Also there's a bit of British underplaying I suspect. Not nice to brag. My line is ' the DC got what they wanted.'

Not standard in general terms, no. But standard for an Oxbridge application.

I'm not sure that makes it better Besides, I thought she meant Exeter Uni.

My line is ' the DC got what they wanted.'

Oh yes, much better; Much more English.

I just say they did well and they all have although none has got the 11A plenty of the best children at the best schools get who will then find their path eased to Oxbridge because rightly they have got the best grades. Half as and half A is not the brilliance you see amongst some.

However most of us know 50% of teenagers don't get A - C in 5 decent GCSEs and that the average UK IQ is 100 so compared to that As and A* is good, certainly.

Ridiculous stealth boast OP. Nothing wrong with being proud of your DC or even starting a thread to say, 'hey! everyone, DC got 6a* and 6A's and from a Comp!'. But don't insult our intelligence by pretending you don't have a clue which universities might accept a student with 12a's! and from a Comp (irrelevant piece of information).

What type of GCSEs do you think Universities normally accept? min 20a*s?

I know work experience is essential for medicine but is it really that important for a subject like history? DS is about to start a geography degree having had offers from everywhere he applied. He's never done a day's work in his life (apart from his compulsory year 10 work experience which had no relevance to geography whatsoever) but managed to put enough in his personal statement to demonstrate his genuine interest in his subject.

He's not lazy - he plays a lot of sport and his argument was that fitting a job in as well would impact on this and the amount of effort he could put into his studies.

I don't think my DC who did do placements (which is probably more accurate terminology than work experience) did them as a filler for a ps stonecircle. They did them because they had set weeks at school for placements in Y11 and Y12 and because they were interested. I'm quite sure they're not essential but they got a lot out of them which doesn't necessarily come from books.

Molio - I'm sure lots of young people get involved in work experience/placements or take on jobs for reasons other than to add to their ps. I was just responding to the suggestion from one or two people that it will help to secure a university place whereas from my ds's experience it didn't matter.

Well it's a moot point how much personal statements matter at the different universities in the first place stonecircle :)

Good results but remember A levels are a different matter so don't jump the gun just yet. Dd1 got nearly full marks for her A distinction GCSE physics but just a D at AS. Luckily she ended up with A A A A for her A2s ( state school). Sometimes it just doesn't go beyond GCSE (maths is a great example here - easy to get A if a fairly bright hard worker, no indicator of success when it gets harder at A level).

But goingmadinthecountry, not all kids with A*s and As at GCSE have actually worked that hard, Some get good results while being casual and then steam ahead at A2. It's not possible to say that OP's DD has reached her ceiling simply because another child worked his or her back off at GCSE and did less well comparatively at AS or A2. It's a completely false premise.

True of my lot. One said he should have had just Cs in his iGCSEs had they reflected the work (or lack of it) he'd put in!

True of my lot. One said he should have had just Cs in his iGCSEs had they reflected the work (or lack of it) he'd put in!

• and he may very well get what he deserves next time with that attitude, I might suggest.

DD1 got an A in Gcse maths and has just got an A at A level.
DD2's friend got an A* at Gcse and unfortunately has just got an E at AS level.
Their grades at Gcse do not always mean that they will do well at AS/A level.
DD1 did start her revision for the C4 unit at Xmas! She was really struggling at that point and knew she needed to work really hard.

I have similar experience HB. DS of a good friend achieved 10 A*'s (most of which in IGCSE rather than the easier GCSE) yet managed "only" BCC at A-level (Maths/Phys/Chem). His (lack of) work ethic played a large part but also the step from GCSE to A level can be a hefty one in certain subjects.

IGCSE are the easier exams in fact, mayfly66 - though the discussion has been done to death, so I won't rekindle it.

Obviously effort put in affects the result; I was merely responding to the snippy comment above where a poster implied the OP's DD had reached her ceiling whereas in fact she may well not have done at all. Maturity is another factor to chuck in. There are lots - it's not as simple as saying there'll be an inevitable relative decline, or at best a student will hold their position.

Also mayfly, some kids are quite funny, and they make things called jokes ....

IGCSE are the easier exams in fact

Is that actually a fact, Molio - or rather your opinion, which is what I was expressing? I'm sure you have the empirical evidence to counter the approach of many of the top Independents (and some State schools) who choose IGCSE for its rigour?

As for "jokes" I think I'd be pretty brassed off if my DC displayed that sort of attitude. Effort counts for rather a lot in my view and I don't find boasts of that nature particularly amusing

Yes, mayfly66, International-GCSE’s are the easier exams for the idiots and imbeciles of Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Poland, Canada and all places International. The much, much harder and vigorous GCSE’s are only for the brilliant and superb 93% British state school kids whilst their 3% imbecilic peers go to the private sector for IGCSE’s from where they go on to occupy 50%-ish (give or take a few %) Oxbridge and other sub-standard universities like the Russell Group.

And OP, with 6A*s and 6A’s GCSE’s I’m sure universities like the London Metropolitan, Hertforshire, Southampton Solent or even Sunderland might just offer her a place reading History.