When/how do we find out 'predicted grades' please?

[Parsley65]

DD is in L6 and we are starting to think about uni visits.
It will be a lot easier when we know her predicted grades, so we know what sort of level to aim at.
She has mocks starting this week. Do the predicted A level grades come from these marks?

Your school should tell / have told you, but possibly, if these are the only exams she will be taking this year? DS2 is also in year 12, but his school still does AS exams in everything, so A level predictions for him will be based mainly on those. Have a look in the 'sixth form' section on your school's website, perhaps? Has your DD perhaps had it all explained to her but not passed the info on to you? DS2 does lots of 'post 18 planning' stuff at school, it would appear from what he occasionally mentions in passing.

How did she do at GCSE?

It will vary by school/college. Could you ask the head of sixth form?

Thank you Marching Frogs.
Dd is also doing AS levels this summer, but it's a long time to wait for those results!
She got 4 x 6's, 4 x 7's & 1 x 8 in GCSE's.

My DS didn’t get his predicted grades until 4th term of A levels. They did however exactly match what the school predicted he would get on arrival based on his GCSEs. On the basis of his predictions an 8 =A.
From what happened to friends of DS I think predictions went up from the GCSE starting point if in year performance exceeded expectations (which it didn’t in DS’s case).

It may be a long time to wait (and yes, if she wants to look at universities during the summer open day season, she needs to.have some idea of which ones would be most appropriate), but probably a little more accurate than predictions made only a term into 6th form, I suppose.
.
DS2 got 6x9, 3x8, a 7 and an A*(FM) in his GCSEs, is taking AS in three of his 9s and the 7 (Art) - and had the full range from A to D in one of the metrics on his first report of the year, I seem to remember. But AS predictions, aka, 'should be able to get...' of AAAB. He wants to do History of Art at university and so far has looked properly at Leeds (AAB) and UEA (ABB), with which, plus all things Norwich, he has been besotted since accompanying DD on her applicant day visit and which should be a safe bet. Even if he seems to be going down rather than up, though, there aren't an awful lot of universities offering his subject, especially once you have knocked out Oxbridge and anything not even remotely resembling a campus univetsity...

DS got his predicted grades after the summer exams in Y12. We went to see universities in the summer open day period without them so I wouldn't worry too much to be honest. Just go to open days and see where you get to.

DD had minimum expected grades based on her GCSE results throughout L6. Her predicted grades were discussed with her in July and confirmed in September. She didn'tvrake any AS levels, but I expect your DD's grades will be based on those.

DS didn’t get his UCAS predicted grades until late September in Y13, after his AS levels (his school still take them for all subjects) and by negotiation with his teachers. In Y12 all grade cards/reports were based on AS levels. It made it difficult to know which universities to aim for. We wasted some time looking at unsuitable unis in June/July of Y12. His UCAS predicted grades are fairly optimistic, but with it being a low birth rate year many can afford to be aspirational in their choices.

This time last year in Y12 it was really too early for the sixth form to have a good idea. His target grades based on GCSEs were quite low, but these weren’t based on their personal knowledge of him, (it was a new sixth form to him.)

He did fairly well in his AS levels, in 2 subjects at least and he dropped his lowest subject which was a borderline B/C (just scraped a B.) So in autumn term of Y13 we visited a few more unis and submitted his UCAS form at the end of October.

You should be getting some reports or grade cards this year with one course for’ grades or perhaps ‘current attainment’ grades. That should give you a good idea which unis you should be looking at. Usual advice is look at 1-2 aspirational, 2-3 realistic and 1-2 fall back.

UCAS predicted grades are usually different to and separate from actual attainment grades and even ‘on course for’ grades. Often erring slightly on the side of optimism.