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Secondary education

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Original poster

Average (or lower) acheivers exam thread time?

299 replies

yolofish · 27/04/2015 00:57

Is it time for this? I mean those of us with kids who will not get 11 As in their GCSEs, or 4 As at A level.

I know most mumsnetters will not be in this particular boat Wink but quite frankly in this house we just have fingers crossed for a C at GCSE English language for DD2, so she can get into 6th form and dance to her heart's content, and for DD1 good enough results to get into Y14 to finish off her media studies A level (started too late in Y11 to finish this time round).

They are not knuckle draggers, or indeed thick as pig shit (both comments I have read on here). They work hard, are good kids - but a row of A*s will not be on the agenda.

Join me please if you feel the same!

OP posts:
TrollshaveLittleWillies · 30/04/2015 00:31

fwiw I've visited a lot of middle tariff Universities with my 'average' DD and have been very, very impressed with some of them. Although some MN's might not agree it really isn't the end of the world if your DC don't go to Oxbridge or a Russell Group Uni.

hellsbells99 · 30/04/2015 07:49

Yolofish - try looking at an Igcse maths paper and see if the way the questions are worded make more sense. They are a lot more straight forward imo. Good luck to your DCs.

dingit · 30/04/2015 07:54

I am on the other year11 support thread with my high flying dd.
However I will be here in two years with ds, who should come out with Bs and Cs, but is capable of As if he put in some effort now. As someone upthread said, you can drag a horse to water....

SunnyBaudelaire · 30/04/2015 08:35

" should come out with Bs and Cs "
really well that probably sounds more than OK to people on this thread...

dingit · 30/04/2015 09:03

It will be more Cs than Bs.
It's hard for him having to follow on from his sister. I've told him that I was much cleverer than my younger sister at school. She has done the best career wise by a country mile!

Mabelface · 30/04/2015 12:20

The holy grail C for maths is necessary for her to be able to do what she wants in year 12/13. If she doesn't get it, then she'll have to do a BTEC is health and social care, and she really doesn't want to do that. She wants to do Psychology, sociology, philosophy and English, all subjects that she does well in. I need to have a chat with the head of 6th form. Why waste her time doing a course that she doesn't want to do and is of no interest of her? It feels like "oh, she's not that bright, let her do care work or be a nursery nurse" is being foisted upon her. I'm not knocking either professions, btw, I used to work in a nursery and saw so many kids set up to fail in this profession.

SunnyBaudelaire · 30/04/2015 12:24

but are there no other BTEC courses that she might be interested in? Does she have to stay in school sixth form or could she go to FE college?
yes it does seem like the 'go to' option these days in the same way that 'unacademic' boys were once pushed to do catering.

TeenAndTween · 30/04/2015 13:34

We looked at loads of BTECs for my DD, and eventually found one at one particular college that has taken her fancy. It's hard to find a BTEC if you don't have a career in mind.
Frustrated with school at the moment the Drama write ups were done with out any practice and will therefore have pulled her down at least a grade I think compared with if they had actually done one in y10 to try, and they have been very late doing English Lit practice too.
I can measure DD's stress levels by her ability to do maths. Last night she was unable to add fractions (primary level) or add 6 and -6. I'm going to have to do something for when exams actually start I think.

rotaryairer · 30/04/2015 18:12

Here's something that really bugged me....

I logged onto Show My Homework, clicked on Mr X, Year 10 Maths without realising that he does both top and 3rd set. I had clicked on top set. Mocks were imminent. Top set had a link to a past paper and a rousing message from Mr X along the lines of "come on, let's see what it really takes to get an A or A*. I realised I was in the wrong place..... clicked on Set 3 where there was nothing!

DS got a C in the mock (predicted a D) and I can tell you that this meant more than the A he got for Core Science!

bigTillyMint · 30/04/2015 19:27

Marking my place for DS in 2 years - just had his Y9 long report and the grades aren't looking good!

I agree Trolls, I went to a polytechnic back in the Dark Ages, and I have had a very enjoyable and pretty well-paid career. It is DEFINITELY not the end of the world to not go to a RG uni (never mind Oxbridge) and infact, loads of the girls who I was at school with and went to RG/Oxbridge are now not using their degrees at all as they stopped doing the so-called "Top Jobs" that they obviously didn't like very much when they had DC. And some have changed careers from something more academic, to something more creative, which they could have done in the first place, had they not been shoe-horned into thinking academic achievement was everythingWink

bigTillyMint · 30/04/2015 19:28

And, it is also NOT the end of the world to not go to university

CointreauVersial · 30/04/2015 22:25

Northernsoul - I could have written your post word for word.

DS (Y10) is a bright boy but can't be arsed to do anything beyond the bare minimum, and is predicted Cs across the board (plus a D for French, which, fair enough, really isn't his forte). After 3+ years of coasting (and focusing on his social life), he has found himself in the lower sets for most subjects, which has come as a bit of a shock to him. He is doing Core Science GCSE in June. Threatened with only being allowed to do the Foundation level paper unless he performed in his mock exam earlier in the year, he actually knuckled down for the first time ever and totally aced the paper! I was proud of him, but it made me so mad - if he had put the effort in all round we would be looking at way better predictions.

I am hoping that I'm witnessing "green shoots", and he will start to turn things around, but I don't have much confidence at the moment. One issue is that he has absolutely no idea what he wants to do in life, doesn't even know what subjects to take to A level. It means he has no particular targets to aim at.

And I find it particularly difficult, having been top of the class throughout school, no grades below an A, Oxford degree etc. In a lot of ways I just can't relate.

On the plus side, he's popular, confident, sporty, and a generally lovely lad. He just needs to do some bloody work.

Original poster
yolofish · 30/04/2015 23:01

Neither of mine have an idea of what they want to do in life - DD1 says no to uni, she's had enough of education so her plan is to finish off media studies A level part time in Y14, and get a part time job (and she WILL get a bloody job, any job, because I'm not having her loafing around the house if she's only at school 10 hours a week). DD2 wants to dance or work in fashion - she's very skinny and very beautiful, I live in fear that she will be model-spotted.

On the plus side, they both work very hard, they are both generally lovely (teen spats aside), and every adult that ever comes across them adores them - nice manners etc.

cointreau although I got nowhere as good grades as you (coz I'm a lazy sod) I can relate to what you say about it being particularly difficult to relate to low(er) achievement. Coping with DD1's dyslexia was hard for me, and I still find being asked to spell the same basic word over and over again a challenge (I write for my living).

Still, chin up, Friday tomorrow and then a Bank Holiday w/e! My 2 are spending the w/e on course work while I attempt to fight back the jungle laughingly known as a garden and DH will cook lovely meals...

OP posts:
Mabelface · 30/04/2015 23:06

DD wants to have a gap year before uni to work and earn some money. She's looked at the Btec options and really wants to go with the subjects she's chosen. She's also been offered a place at another college, but she has to have the C grade to take it. She's actually a triplet and her brothers are higher achievers than her, which makes it frustrating for her. One of her brothers is set on uni, the other wants to look at an apprenticeship once he's finished his A Levels.

CointreauVersial · 30/04/2015 23:11

Triplets - crikey! Three times the exam stress. Shock

Original poster
yolofish · 30/04/2015 23:47

dear god madlizzy triplets... here have Wine Wine Wine

OP posts:
SugarPlumTree · 01/05/2015 07:21

I am on the other year 11 thread but should probably be here ! Madlizzy my friend has triplets and has two who are high Achievers and one who isn't . She's working her backside off to make sure everyone's needs are accommodated, not helped by fact that two of the AS subjects have chunks of uncovered modules at this worrying close time to exams. Huge sympathy and Wine to you.

DD wants to go to a non RG university and has found a course she wants to do so we are working backwards and current aim is to get enough for 6th form. Think C in Maths not happening this time round which will mean resitting next year and not being able to do 4 at A level, which quite frankly I think would be a blessing.

She is in rabbit in headlight mode and first exam next Tuesday .

SunnyBaudelaire · 01/05/2015 08:51

thank you yolo, your dd sounds great too. Thank you for starting this thread, most mumsnet threads are only about 'high achievers' and RG uni etc.....

Frikadellen · 01/05/2015 09:45

Dd1 is doing hr AS levels hoping for B or C grades. I she gave up MathA level simply found it to hard. So is doing 3 A levels.

dd2 is in year 10 and sitting her GCSE over 2 years I have to say I loathe this set up abd think it puts more pressure on the children not less. Thankfully my younger 2 wont have this set up as different schools to dd1 &2 dd2 is hoping for a C in English ahe is so dyslexic abd really struggles. Reality is a D is more likely hoeever her teachers are really rallying to help her all want her to get this much deserved C her attitude to learning in English is outstanding it is simply the dyslexia holding her back.

she is around B in math and most other subjects with a real chance of a in geography and History so for her it is a real mixed bag we are looking at. I think the one that will mean the most woild be a C English.

Then ds is in year 8 and we sre looking at him picking options next year feels like thos exam stuff never ends.

Original poster
yolofish · 01/05/2015 16:09

frik my dyslexic DD1 got her english C for IGCSE so there is plenty of hope! maths of course is another matter in this house. I agree with you about pressure over the years, but both yours are on course for wonderful grades - dont knock the Bs and Cs, I think for many of us on this thread C is the magic letter, anything else would be a frankly magnificent bonus.

DD2's solos for dance this morning were 'good' apparently. she still at school finishing up textile course work, so have to pick her up at 6pm (sigh; that will be 3rd trip to school today, with DD1 having finished at 1.30. bloody rural area and crap buses!)

OP posts:
Madsometimes · 01/05/2015 16:47

Can anyone tell me how double science works? I know they get two grades, is it for core and additional? I think that each grade is an average of all three sciences? If a child is particularly good at one science and weak at another, is there any way in the grading for their stronger result to show through?

My dd will take all her science exams in Y11. Her teachers have said they don't take modules in Y10 and then resit in Y11 if marks are poor. I don't know how this will work for dd. She is bad at chemistry but ok and bio and physics. She needs BB for any science or psychology A' Level. I think chemistry will pull this down. Students who take triple are allowed to progress with a C.

dingit · 01/05/2015 16:54

My dd took her double science in year 10. She got a grade for each science on her results slip. On her college applications she has used an overall grade, but she got the same for each, so I'm not sure how it would have worked if they were different. I know they carry points too. That's not much help is it?

bigTillyMint · 01/05/2015 17:08

At my DC's school (and lots of others that her friends go to), all the students doing double science take core in Y10 and get a grade and then the additional in Y11 and get the second grade. It is all 3 sciences - so Physics 1, Biology 1 and Chemistry 1 in Y10, Physics 2, Biology 2 and Chemistry 2 in Y10. So sadly they cannot drop the one they are least confident with.

SugarPlumTree · 01/05/2015 17:15

DD did core in year 10 and got a D. Individual grades were something like C Biology and assessment, D physics and E Chemistry. For some reason she is doing additional this year and likely to get another D.

For Psychology A level I would be prepared to argue the toss if Biology grade ok but overall grade pulled down by physics or chemistry as I think someone who did ok in Biology would be fine to do A Level.

bigTillyMint · 01/05/2015 17:48

DD wants to do Psychology A level, but I don't think they have stipulated that she needs a particular grade in Biology - think it rests on English and Maths?