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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

your Y8 top set children - what levels?

93 replies

kitnkaboodle · 29/12/2014 00:29

... in maths, English and science? ? Finally dug son's Christmas school report out of his bag. He's been coasting since starting secondary and is happy to do the minimum to get by. He did great at primary and got the academic prize when he left. Did level 6 ks2 sats etc. Current levels according to report are English 6a, Maths 7b, Science 7c. I know these are all really good, but I would have predicted him being a real high flyer and I think these are not exceptional for top sets. Please don't flame me. I can't exactly go around his peers' parents asking what they got - so trying to get a perspective on it here. He is very bookish n bright n I just want to be sure he's fulfilling his potential

OP posts:
pieceofpurplesky · 29/12/2014 00:33

Ignore the level 6 at primary - they have no connection with how a pupil will do at high school.
Year 8 working at 6/7s basically equates to A*/A at GCSE if he continues as he is. I assume year 9 will be 7/8s.

BackforGood · 29/12/2014 00:56

I cant remember exactly - I dont put that much store by '"levels" , tbh,, but dds sound similar to your ds's.
Her yr 6 sats were level 5s if that relevant.

circular · 29/12/2014 08:07

IIRC DD1s around that at end of yr 9 for Maths and sciences (English 5a) and she managed A in maths, A*/A/A in triple science and B in Englishes.
Also level 5 Sats, but they never did level 6 then.
Levels were my real bugbear, and much f the time felt they were plucked out of thin air at secondary. So glad they are going soon, DD2 in yr7.

18yearstooold · 29/12/2014 08:17

Dd yr 8 current levels

Maths 8c
Science 6a
English 7b

Her target levels are 1 sub level above her current levels

However i'm much more interested in her effort grades

Level 8 in maths is ridiculous and meaningless -there is no way she has covered the breadth of the curriculum for a level 8, just that in the topics she's done she can do the level 8 questions which is not the same thing at all

Hakluyt · 29/12/2014 08:18

Those levels are very good indeed for the first term in year 8. More importantly, what do his work books look like? What sort of homework does he get and what sort of comments does he get? What does he say when you ask him whether the work he does in class is hard or easy?

TheFirstOfHerName · 29/12/2014 08:21

Current levels according to report are English 6a, Maths 7b, Science 7c

DS2 is in Y8 and his levels are the same.

Stickerrocks · 29/12/2014 10:31

They all sound reasonable to me. Mine has 6s and 7s and she is in a high flying group within the top sets. Only 1 child seems to have achieved a level 8 in maths.

TalkinPeace · 29/12/2014 13:09

what are the targets ?
what are the effort marks?

what sort of school - impacts on the expectations

MissMillament · 29/12/2014 14:56

My Y8 DD is 7b across the board in her core subjects. As an English teacher myself, I would expect only one or two of my top set to be at L7 by Christmas; many more will have reached it by the summer.

tiggytape · 29/12/2014 15:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ShellingPeasAgain · 29/12/2014 18:12

I don't think you have too much to worry about. DS, now in year 11, had similar levels and definitely swing the lead in years 8 and 9, especially for subjects he had little interest in. He's at a 'super' selective grammar and having just done his GCSE mocks has got predominantly A*.

DD in year 8 at a comprehensive is working at 5a-6a level. She's in the top ability stream but not in top sets within that stream for everything.

IMO it's a bit pointless to worry about levels at this stage unless your DC is really underachieving. Year 8s are only 12/13 so a lot of time to have fluctuations in progress before it becomes an issue for concern.

KittiesInsane · 29/12/2014 18:38

Fives, sixes and sevens, I think (three different children, three different state comprehensive schools, god knows what relevance to their later life...)

KittiesInsane · 29/12/2014 18:45

OK, I've had a rummage.

DD has 7b for maths, 6a for science and English, and a rather surprising 7b for history -- although whether I've correctly disentangled the current grades from the targets, the predictions and the results of the last essay is anyone's guess.

Snailinashell123 · 29/12/2014 19:34

My Dd is an 8B in maths, 8c in English and a 7b in Science, after getting level 6s in English and Maths and a 5a in Science at the end of year 6. In the top sets at her school, which is a comprehensive, levels range from a 7 to an 8.

Hakluyt · 29/12/2014 19:35

You can only get an 8 in Maths...

KittiesInsane · 29/12/2014 20:43

Sometimes these are predictions for the end of the key stage rather than actual grades. Targets of 8 for end of year 9 would seem entirely reasonable.

KittiesInsane · 29/12/2014 20:45

Here you go for a quick explanation of why you can't get above a level 8 in year 9.

18yearstooold · 29/12/2014 21:10

Dd's targets are definitely yr8 targets

She was targeted 7a at the end of yr 7

18yearstooold · 29/12/2014 21:11

School used to start top group maths GCSE in yr9 then do further maths in yr 11

I'm not sure they've worked out what they are doing ref the new GCSEs but they are still doing options this year

mankyscotslass · 29/12/2014 21:23

DS1 is in YR8 at a local comp - they set from yr8 in most subjects but not all. He is in tops sets for everything that is set apart from PE.

His end of term report is English 6B, DT 7A, French 6B, Geography 6B, History 6B, ICT 6B, Maths 7C, Science 6B, Spanish (new this September) 3B.

His end of year targets for YR8 are a spread between 6B's and 7A's.

He has said he thinks he is in the top half of most of his classes. There aare a few boys he knows in his sets that have got 7A's across the board.

Notinaminutenow · 29/12/2014 21:34

'The highest is Level 8, which is attained by the most able pupils at the age of 14. There is also a description of ‘exceptional performance’ above Level 8, which only a very few pupils are expected to reach. Children move up through the levels at a rate of approximately one level for each two years of school....At year 9, the expected level is Level 5 or 6.'

Clearly most children of MNetters are way exceeding the levels quoted by the Nfer.

pieceofpurplesky · 29/12/2014 22:16

It does make me smile. Expected average grades are - Ks2 is a 4, KS3 a 5 and GCSE a C.
You never hear a parent on here saying 'my Level 4a DS is in year 8 will she get a L5 as is average in Year 9?'

Idiotdh · 29/12/2014 22:19

Yes..these levels are all extremely above average.

smokepole · 29/12/2014 22:24

Then again , there are very few average people on Mumsnet. It does not really cater for average parents, those without higher academic qualifications approx 70% of the population.

For the record DS (YR9) last year in year 8 was level 7 A or B in all subjects except French/ICT which was a "poor" 5B, 5C respectively.

18yearstooold · 29/12/2014 22:31

The thread title says 'top sets'?

If its any consolation dd is rubbish in her opinion at Spanish, drama, art and PE and is getting levels 3&4 in those subjects