hard worker, ?high achiever, didn't achieve as expected, clueless as to why!

[mindgone]

DS got his GCSE results today, and although they're really quite good,they are not what we were all expecting. He got 6As and 4Bs, but was expecting a few stars ,(so were we!). He had got nearly all A* s in his modular bits and coursework, including some really high marks, and he really worked his socks off! He is a determined hard worker, but maybe not as organized as he could be. He had decided recently that he would like to do medicine, but now we feel that is out. But better to know now than 2years down the line! Is anyone else just wondering what went wrong, or is it just meant to be?! Poor DS gutted and cried on way home in car!

Were his coursework grades dropped. My daughters were for history - from Bs to Cs and Ds - she missed out on a C by 2 percent! Her friends were as well so I think that was a whole school or national thing. Also Godsons French and Geography coursework and internal assessments were dropped from A to D!

Seems so wrong they can be out by sooooooooo much.

Can you see if that happened to your son?

Tell him not to worry 6As and 4Bs are still very good. That is what DD1(24) got when Dis her GCSE's. She did Zoology at university and got a first.
He will probably still be able to di medicine.
.

Have I entered some parallel universe where they are crap results? My mind is boggled with all these GCSE threads.

They are great grades, of course they are. However, when predictions are higher and the teachers have confidence you'll get higher and you work hard and think the papers went OK, you get left on results day with despondency.

Also, if you have a career you are working towards which is very competitive, it's also bound to feel like the end of the world.

Of course, the reality is he has done brilliantly. However, today, his perception is rather different!

I hope the grades fit with his A level plans.

Kez100 thanks, will try to find out a bit more from school tomorrow. Mumeeee, Thanks too, he did admit that he wasn't that passionate about medicine! Best t know now, it.'s something you really do need to be passionate about! He wanted to do english lit/Lang but they won't let him because he got Bs for English. So has decided to try economics instead! I think that this might be a whole new, positive direction for him. PLB, yes, it is weird and depressingly competitive out there, have you seen the mind-blowing results that other DC on here have got? I know he has good results and am very grateful for that, I just genuinely expected higher in view of loads of things really!

what were his A's in?

Kez100, thanks for all that, you really do understand, and that helps! Off to bed now, new day tomorrow!

A's in maths, chemistry, biology, physics,(all expected A*),also French (only positive surprise!), and RS. B's in English Lang and lit (expected A's), also history and DT. He is now going to do maths, chemistry, biology and economics in 6th form. Hope it won't be too heavy for him. Really off to bed now! Thanks all.

he can't get it wrong with this choice of A-level's

I would nudge him towards physics though as well
instead of biology

Mindgone. I'm surprised the school school won't let him do English Lit/Lang, a B is still a very good grade. It must have changed a lot in the passed few years. DD1 and 2 are now 24 and 21. When they did GCSEs they only had to get 5 A to C's to go into 6th form. DD3 is 19 and has learning difficulties so is behind others with her academic achievements. But this year she has passed BTECH First Diploma for IT Practitioners with a merit. Which is very good for.her. She had now enrolled on to the higher level course. So is finally got on to an A level equivalent course. She is at college. I
Feel sorry for all those young people who have tried very hard and only got DS and Es. These are still passes and it's not the end of the world.

Seems very harsh that the school will not allow him to study English - especially as he was predicted As and on target for them.
Is it worth pleading with the Head of English? At DS school they will consider individual cases if you fail to meet the overall requirement (but they only ask for a B anyway)

Mindgone, if his teachers are also surprised, I'd suggest asking about whether he should see an educational psychologist. My daughter's coursework was always a lot better than her exam results - to an extent, you'd expect this but her teachers were taken aback at how (relatively) badly she did in exams. We saw an EP and she was assessed as having significant problems with working memory relative to verbal and non-verbal reasoning abilities. She got 25% extra time in her exams and that helped a lot at A2 (too late for AS and GCSE, alas). In her case it is probably all part and parcel of having Asperger's but I know lots of borderline dyslexia cases have been identified as having not dissimilar issues.

If it isn't as bad as that, he probably just needs to work on his exam technique. Good luck anyway!

We accept anyone with a C or a good excuse for not having one onto the A level course at my school. Very rare that anyone fails.

Thanks everyone! School have said that they're being really strict on not letting anyone do sciences, maths or english without A at GCSE. Am grateful he can do his other subjects! He could have done English lit with his B, but didn't fancy that. I actually think he'll really enjoy economics. DH and I are gradually batting more positive about his results, and just had areally posh Sunday lunch to celebrate. It has been quite a shock to us and to our pride! I know that's un pc and I don't want to sound like a brat in view of the results he did get, but it's the way it is. It's hard to get our heads around things being different from the way we deep down believed. I think a big part of it was the plan to do medicine, we enjoyed the possibility while it lasted! DH is a doctor, and knows how bloody hard it is, but I think really liked the idea of sharing his profession with his son.
Now we need some good careers guidance! Does anyone know where to find any? We would be happy to send him for some private help and guidance, if such a service exists. It's so hard for a 16year old to know which direction to go in when they have had such limited life experience!
Londonmother, thanks for that idea, wouldn't have thought of that one, will ask DH what he thinks. Haven't had chance to talk in any detail to relevant teachers yet, but hope to talk to school more on Tuesday, and maybe get back some papers to at least find out where he went wrong, and to learn from it.