Do you have a Year 11 doing GCSE this summer?

[BertrandRussell]

There have been lots of threads, some quite heated, about the new grading. I thought it might be interesting for those of us with current year 11s to say what their predictions for English and maths, what they need and what sort of school they are at.

My ds is at a secondary modern. He is predicted 8 for English and 7 for maths. He needs a 7 for English and a 4 for maths.

Can I just very gently urge caution with English and English Literature 'results' from mocks and also predictions. There are no clear grade boundaries to go on,only last year's grade percentages nationally. Teachers (many of whom are examiners too)can use their professional experience to set internal grade boundaries but these will become 'fact'only after the exams have been marked in July/August 2017. I feel very sorry for current Y11s. I have taught through three significant changes to standards and this is the hardest time for pupils and staff alike.

Dd predicted a 5 for maths and a 6 for English but got a 4 and a 2 in her mocks. She needs a 5 and a 4 for sixth form.

Cat0115, which Eng Lang/ Lit spec do you teach. My children will follow AQA. Eng Lang is really hard, but I think the Lit paper is much, much harder.

Thank you cat yes the new grading is a bit of an unknown entity. I thought dd could relax about English having got 8s in the mocks but who knows?

Can I just very gently urge caution with English and English Literature 'results' from mocks and also predictions. There are no clear grade boundaries to go on,only last year's grade percentages nationally.

Hence Bert starting this thread, to try to see whether predictions and results match up at all! I think all of us here are very aware how inscrutable the process is this year.

Son got 4 in mocks for English and 7 for maths. Needs 5 and 8 for college (wants to do maths A level).

Out of interest, been looking at eng lit revision guides. Is it just me but the level they seem to require for A grade is what I'd expect for a reasonable A level standard (is it just me?)? Having said that I didn't do A level myself. But I'm not a complete dimbo and they seem to be expecting an awful lot in terms of insight and use of language.

He's working reasonably hard but not as much as some of his classmates I should imagine.

Does seem like a shed load of work, though. Feel for them!

Hopefully by next year they will have more of an idea of what they're doing....not that that helps our kids now.

What I don't understand is dds mock paper which was marked as a grade 2. Now I understand that they don't know where the grade boundaries will be but afaik they've been told that a 4 is basically equivalent to a c and a 5 is a low b (or whatever)......so dds teacher gave her a 2 but when her English tutor saw her paper (tutor is a working English teacher and examiner) she saw it and said it was a 5. Said it was high C, low B and that a 2 is equivalent to an F or an E. surely there's a lot of difference between an F and a C? So why do two teachers give two widely different grades?

Portico I teach AQA. I have also got extensive AQA and otger board GCSE examining experience. With reference to a pp who was confused about one teacher giving a grade 2 and and a tutor giving a grade 5 - without seeing the paper I can't say but will offer that no two English teachers agree marks. We agree levels usually (formerly known as bands) but can quibble for days about marks. What is important is rank order obtained by one marker doing a batch of marking. They can then say that X response is better than Y response and the reasons why. As long as your children are clear on what they need to improve upon then the grade they have been given is neither here not there.

And in response to the quality question: The scope/range of texts for Literature is broader than current AS/A2 Literature but resposes do not have to be so deep. For AQA English Paper 2 Section B writing (point of view) students' work needs to be of almost publishable quality in a broadsheet newspaper to get top marks. They need to have been regularly exposed to high quality broadsheet news (weekly great,once a month ok) and to understand the way points of view can be presented in writing.

Gosh Cat, that's interesting. I wish I'd known that ages ago - something quite simple for parents to help with, getting them to read an article or two a week and perhaps discuss it.

DD is doing A Level English Lit and has been helping DS a bit. She says he is being asked to do some of the stuff she has to do at A Level, like context, though perhaps not in quite as much depth.

This looks like a good site for the non poem side of the Eng Lit GCSE

www.litcharts.com

Sorry, I forgot to say that the above www.litcharts.com site does s not free.

Quick an to Cat0115.... Have you seen the Cambridge Press AQA GCSE Eng Lit books. Are they impressive, or are there any other publishers that are well- liked....Hodder, OUP.

Big Fully Mint:context at GCSE for AQA is worth getting right. They need to consider the context of production (time/culture of text's 'birth' for want of a better word)and reception...so how does a modern audience receive the universal issues explored in 'Macbeth' that are still true today (ambition but not at any cost for example) but also how attitudes might be different to,say,weird sisters. It goes beyond the old 'social/cultural/historical way of looking at things. I am sure your child's school will have covered this Assessment Objective. Just encourage use of key words like 'the audience' 'the reader'...

Also while I have it fresh in my mind,make sure they are coached to answer the question 'How...?'. The examiner wants to know by what methods the writer has communicated ideas to a reader/audience. This is where students need to use subject specific terminology to discuss method AND it's impact on the audience/reader. Many students chuck credit away by translating a quotation into modem English rather than analysing the technique employed by the writer. This is where the top marks are...

where does one find the subject specific terminology? Is there a list of "approved" terms? Is it ok for a candidate to have the gist of something or do they have to hit certain "Englishy" words like "convey" to get the marks?

Hi mousymary sorry for delay in replying. Find out the exam board your child is doing and go on their site for the subject you want. Type in the search bit subject specific language and you can get it like that. Alternately just type out subject specific language for new GCSE in.... (Whatever subject) and it will come up there as well in google or whatever search engine you use. Hope this has been a help.

I have just got the aqa booster books in maths and all sciences. They are great comprising exam questions for what grades you want. They do different grades too. They have the answers and worked questions that show you what is needed for full marks and lots of tips. They do for edexcel too and are by Collins. The reason I got these is because level 8 and 9 questions for my gdd in the revision guides do not have enough questions at this level. But like I said they do level 4 and 5 too.

Hi Sostenueto

I bought the Ed Excel one last week, for maths Higher that is. I am taking it back, as I do not have the student book. The practice book does not have any examples. I think I will keep the Pearson Higher and Extension books. I also have access to Active Teach, so may use the downloadable unit tests.

But, I do agree. It is very hard to find any descent maths book with questions pitched at the right level. Certainly, don't get any work solutions. Wish they would instead of final answers.

Thank you very much, Sostenueto.

I read somewhere (probably on here!) that ordinary schools do not have the time/expertise to focus on the extra twiddly bits needed for 8/9 grades in English which sounds alarming. Dd's school sets for Maths/Science, but not English. I can see for the school that to spend time on a few outliers would not be productive, so I feel it behoves me to step up to the plate and find out how to best help dd.

Hi all. Yes it is very difficult to find the right books and info for your children's abilities. Also to find extras like subject specific language etc. My gdd says the top sets get more info and help than the lower sets. She has friends in lower sets and she sometimes helps them by passing on extra help like SPL to help them. She does not pass on anything she shouldn't but she believes the more information you have the more chance you have to better yourself and she feels that everyone should have info about helpful books etc and I agree with her.

Hi Portico I agree with what you said, so difficult to get enough material at right level for all pupils. Oh for the days of one textbook being handed out lol! Good luck to all those sitting their exams in a few weeks. We have another year to wait. I know you will all do your best and at the end of the day don't worry just eat cake x

MOUSEMARY forgot to tell you to look up command words too for your child. These are words used in exams to tell you what they want you to do. You should find these on the exam boards sites too.

Subject specific words tend to relate to how a writer has conveyed an idea/portrayed a character etc. So: Metaphor is method, as is dramatic irony. It can also be grammar terms- lexical field, verb,complex or compound sentences...it's all about picking apart the writers' craft and looking at how they shape their work.

My gdd was told when analyzing texts to do it the classical way rather than modern way, I'm not sure what she means at all, whether she means classical language compared to modern? Doesn't make sense to me but then I'm not that intelligent.