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Original poster

DD's mocks results are a disaster - what can I do now?

238 replies

Earningsthread · 18/12/2013 23:44

Art target grade A* - mock grade - A/B
Biology target grade A* - mock grade - C
Chemistry target grade A* - mock grade - C
English Language target grade A* - mock grade - A
English Literature target grade A* - mock grade - A
French target grade A* - mock grade - D
History target grade A - mock grade - A
ICT target grade A - mock grade - A
Mathematics target grade A* - mock grade - A
Music target grade A* - mock grade - B
Physics target grade A* - mock grade - D

This girl is talented. So talented that her English teachers in every year have told me that she is the most gifted student they have ever seen. But just look at those mock results. They are APPALLING. She is underachieving in every subject bar 2. What should I do? What can I do? There are only six months between now and the exams. The school thought she was an Oxbridge banker. I know my rebellious DD and knew she would not work. But there is not working and not working. THose mock GCSE results are appalling.

What if anything, can I do to help at this late stage?

OP posts:
monet3 · 19/12/2013 07:39

The schools always mark the mocks harshly. You have 6 months to work on her sciences and French which is long enough to pull her grades up.

Is she doing double or triple?

If shes is doing triple I would think about just doing the double if science is not her strongest subject.

KrabbyPatty · 19/12/2013 07:53

I'm not surprised you're worried, OP.

My ds is predicted all A*, so I'd be really disappointed with those mock grades.

My god daughter failed 80% of her mocks last year & went on to do really well. The mock results gave her the fear!

I'd agree the CGP books are great. My ds doesn't rate BBC bitesize, but I think it's pretty good.

My ds is doing his last mock today. I am dreading the results!

Coconutty · 19/12/2013 08:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

stickysausages · 19/12/2013 08:00

Wow.

NearTheWindmill · 19/12/2013 08:05

Your poor dd. Being academically successful and successful otherwise is not just about grades. It's about the whole package. Is it possible that your dd has been talked up throughout her time as secondary school and that this has taken the edge of the fact that she is inclined to be lazy and therefore might not fulfil her potential.

My dd is projected 5A*s and 5A. We are amazed at that prediction. Her mocks are in January. If she comes home with results like your dd's we will be loving her, supporting her and trying to boost her a bit. That is our job and ultimately she is the daughter we have and we cherish her for what she is not for what we would like her to be.

RegainingUnconsciousness · 19/12/2013 08:12

Those grades are great Hmm

Perhaps focus on French and Physics.

Have you congratulated her on her performance?

bountyicecream · 19/12/2013 08:21

Was your dd shocked or disappointed too ?

With those predictions I'd have been disappointed at her age and that would have been the wake up call I needed. Had she revised at all or just coasted until now?

Those of you criticising the op saying they're great grades, surely it's all relative? To get a d or e when predicted to fail is fantastic. You've worked hard and done your best and surpasses your expectations. Whilst a b is not a 'bad' grade, if you're capable of an a* but laziness means you.ve done little work then IMO you've achieved less than the grade d student who was on course to fail.

Surely there's a difference between pressuring our dc and encouraging them to reach their potential.

homebythesea · 19/12/2013 08:21

How much revision did she do?

My DS has just had mocks but they did not have any specific revision time and were expected to complete normal prep unrelated to the exams in the run up to the mocks. This meant that his results fell short of his predicted A's and A*'s.

However if that was your scenario think of it like this- if she got those marks with little revision/exam practice, imagine what she can achieve after weeks of study leave!

But the most important message for you is to take a step back. You cannot force a 16 year old to work and constant nagging is counter productive IME. She needs to want to get better grades, she needs to want to revise, she needs to see FOR HERSELF the bigger picture (A levels, Uni etc).

circular · 19/12/2013 08:33

What do the teachers think?
If the mocks are past papers, and he course isn't finished, it may not be possible to get A*.
I remember last year when DD did hers, told in maths at least, that with the work covered, not possible to get higher than an A in the mock. She got a B, although predicted A but that was seen as 'right', prediction stayed same and she got her A in the real thing.

I would be concerned about the sciences - is she not getting how to answer the questions? Were there practicals included in these results or was it just the exams?
Possibly also French - was it all 4 elements being tested on? Is there a weak area?
Do you have a parents evening coming up where you can address concerns?

Will her oredictions remain the same?
This could be important in subjects she may want to do at A level, especially if applying to external 6th form.

FWIW, my DD (not straight A, and a bit lazy when it comes to revision) always performs better in the real thing. And its worse at the start of the AS courses when they come home with C's and below in subjects they did get A at GCSE in.

schmee · 19/12/2013 08:35

Op - I don't think you would be getting such a hard time if your dd had been predicted Cs and had a clutch of Fs in her mock results.

Yes, there is a big gap between her results and her potential, but I agree with posters who say this could be a great wake up call. Is the school willing to discuss a plan if action with you and her?

noblegiraffe · 19/12/2013 08:36

The As are fine, you'd expect to go up a grade between December mocks and the real thing. The C/Ds need a bit more attention. The teachers should have already given some advice to your DD about what is needed to be done to improve, but I would probably also phone the school and ask to speak to the individual teachers (unless a parents evening is upcoming). They should be able to tell you what the problem is and how best to address it. You could ask them about getting a tutor and what areas the tutor should focus on, and also whether there are any websites/books they recommend.

But don't say to your DD that all her results are appalling, because that's not true and will probably make her just switch off, or become completely overwhelmed. Focus on the problem areas and come up with a plan of action. See it as a problem to be solved rather than simply berating her for wasting her potential.

NearTheWindmill · 19/12/2013 08:38

I'd be worried if the school my dd attended had not completed the teaching of the GCSE course by the time of the mocks to be fair. Jan - April should be about reinforcement at school and exam technique. That's what they did when I was at school; that's what they did when DS was doing this three years ago and that's what dd's school does. If a school is doing different I'd be asking serious questions. Very serious questions. How can schools possible predict and judge if they haven't covered the course work.

noblegiraffe · 19/12/2013 08:38

Btw, it's 6 subjects she's not underachieving in, not 2. You don't expect students to get their target grade 6 months before the exam.

LIZS · 19/12/2013 08:39

If she is predicted a A* in say French does the D include an assessment of orals/CAs which may have already been submitted ? Often mocks are marked quite harshly and given the grade boundary issues of recent years there is much to be gained by erring on the side of caution rather than letting students get complacent. Mocks are designed to show up weaker areas, maybe lower grades will make her realise she needs to put more effort in and what to revise. There will also be an element of learning exam technique.

senua · 19/12/2013 08:47

"what can I do now?"

Not a lot. It's down to her.
Talk to her about the exams, her motivations, her dreams, try to find out what's going on in her head. You can facilitate, but your efforts only count for so much - it has to come from her. You can take a horse to water ...

wordfactory · 19/12/2013 08:47

OP , first of all calm Wink.

Yes, I do think these grades show underachievement. Ignore the posters saying you are being daft. It's not about the actual grades, is it? It's the gap between what someone is capable of and what someone actually gets that's galling.

Nothing worse than an underachiever? Give me a child with avertage grades who did their level best any day of the week.

All that said, it's early days!

Mocks are often used as a wake up call. At DS school the year 11s have just had their results back and some of them were crap. And this is a school that doesn't do crap results! It gives everyone an (often much needed) kick up the arse.

FWIW I wouldn't worry about the As. They will lift to an A* with some graft.

This leaves French, music and the sciences.

What your DD needs to know (and I do think it should come from her in the first instance) is what went wrong. She needs to ask her teachers to go throughthe papers and find the weak spots. She also needs to ask herself if she really did do enough work.

gordonpym · 19/12/2013 08:51

For what concerns science, let her watch some of the Khan Academy video-lessons . Here the link for physics [http://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics].

Maybe she doesn't like these subjects or doesn't understand them and for that the Khan Academy is just great. Give it a try or have a look at them yourself. The lessons are shorts, around 10 min.

gordonpym · 19/12/2013 08:51

Oops Link www.khanacademy.org/science/physics

noddyholder · 19/12/2013 08:53

That's not appalling imo

BabyHaribo · 19/12/2013 08:54

You do understand that these are MOCKS???

Poor girl I really feel for her if you are putting loads of pressure on her. Hmm

Talk to her see what she feels. I don't think I bothered with much revision for my mocks but for the real exams it's different most people work much harder.

Do you think those grades much encourage her to work harder to get the grades she wants? What does she want? Does she actually want to aim for Oxbridge?

saidthecattothemouse · 19/12/2013 08:55

Hi, first time posting on Mumsnet.

I had a wake up call with my A level mocks. I had partied and enjoyed myself rather too much. It was a horrid shock. My parents were not pleased.

It gave me the serious panics and I worked really hard up to the final exams. I was very afraid I had ruined my chances of a good university. I cried a lot in the run up to the exams. My Mum was fantastic, she used to hug me and tell me that nothing was the end of the world and I really felt that they loved me anyway. Happily the work had paid off and I got straight A grades.

So whatever else you decide to do OP, I would just urge you to let your daughter know that you love her anyway, whatever happens. It really helped me to know that.

basildonbond · 19/12/2013 09:02

Ds was predicted all A*s but his mock results were pretty mediocre - he hadn't revised at all however so not that surprising...

He did work a bit harder from then on in and all his results went up by the time of the real exams - the two he was proudest of were history which went from a low C to an A* (with 100% in one paper) and Physics which he managed to pull up to an A from a D

However he still didn't get his straight A*s which was a bit of a shock to him, though not to us ...
I'd love to be able to report that he's learned his lesson and is now working his socks off in sixth form but unfortunately that would be a lie ...

Creamycoolerwithcream · 19/12/2013 09:02

It seems like it's the sciences your DD is having trouble with. Would you consider getting a tutor for those subjects?

noddyholder · 19/12/2013 09:07

I don't get the tutor thing at all. If you are predicted an A star then the school must see you as capable of that ad a lower grade is just a lack of revision. I feel sorry for her

Theas18 · 19/12/2013 09:07

Deep breath ...

This is what mocks are for.

The first thing is to change your mindset. The title is " what can I do" and that's the wrong question...it's her problem not yours, and SHE needs to formulate a plan if action, ok with help and guidance but it is her problem.

What does she want post GCSE? Are these current results in line with that? And how do we get from here to there?