Year 10 exam results- sense of perspective please

[Swarskid2184]

My DD has always been academically able and at the end of year 9 was predicted 9's for all of her GCSE's. I was concerned at the time that was unrealistic.

So fast forward to now. DD has spent all of her time when at home in year 10 sat on the sofa, on line browsing on phone and iPad. No revision and no prep for year 10 formal exams. Her argument is that she works hard at school.

So, her aim is to study medicine - planning on doing A levels in Biology, Chemistry, maths and either history or music.

Just got her exam results, she got:

English: 6
Maths: 6-
Biology: 6
Chemistry: 4
Physics: 4
French: 5
Geography: 7
History: 7
Music: 6-
RE: 3+

She is also doing further maths- but didn't do an exam in that.

So... should I be worried? Slightly odd that she is doing best in subjects she is not planning (or possibly considering as an AS in the case of history )??

Views please.

Her best friend has 7's and 8's across the board- and DD has always been in a similar situation to her.
Thanks

They are fair for this stage. I understand your concerns though . did her teachers mark them?

Kids don't get to study medicine by sitting on their arses all day. She can probably kiss that ambition goodbye if she isn't planning on pulling her finger out pretty sharpish.

What does she think of her results?

She does no HW at all? Did you not challenge the "I work at school so that's enough" attitude before the exams?!

Assume was teachers marking. Completely get the being 15 thing, but think that she has just assumed that she will always do well without working hard. She thinks these results are fine and that she knew she had done badly in chemistry as paper was on stuff they hadn't learnt....but she did literally no revision!!

Did Her friend do badly in chemistry?

Wolfe- yes I did. She does her homework, and gets an 'E' (exceptional) for all homework- but did literally no revision. Don't know if I am being harsh as we get letters from school commending her for hard work- but i don't know think that this is sustainable into next year without some focused study...

Nobody is being predicted 9s at my (Yr10) dd's school. Just too many unknowns.

However, to my mind, it's not the actual grades that are worrying so much as the fact she hasn't done any work. She's not going to get a place to study medicine if she doesn't want to work. I suppose it depends if this is the surprise she needed to learn that most people can't just walk into an exam and come out with a top grade without breaking a sweat at some point.

Too much giraffe

Her teachers may well be trying to give her a kick up the bum to be honest.

Results are fine- perfect in fact if they give her a kick up the arse to improve. They are exactly the opposite if she doesn't see them as motivating to work harder.

If she continues as she is Medicine will be beyond her.

I think this is a very common problem with bright but inherently lazy kids - I'm going through it myself with my 15 year old DS. He's clever enough to keep up at school with minimal work, but not clever enough to get the grades he's going to want without a fair amount of work. It's very frustrating - last parents' evening included lots of the word "coasting". If your DD is disappointed with these results, that may well be the rocket she needed - sometimes a good scare can be useful.

Nope- DD got 55% in Chemistry and friend got 80%, but friend spent whole of waster hols reading the study guides....

How much can you force them to study?

She is just focusing on how well she did in history and geography!!!

And talking about the day trip to oxford uni for gifted mathematicians coming up- which she is going on!!

You can't force them; you just have to do what you can to support them. You might need to limit her internet access if she lacks self discipline at the moment.

Hopefully this will be a wake up call for her.

The grades aren't too bad, except for two of the sciences, but the attitude really is a problem. Yr 11 is a long hard slog, lots of revision and independent study is expected. I have a DD in yr9 who is getting 6-7 across the board at the moment. And no-one is predicting her all 9s either. She knows she can't get complacent with where she is now, she has to keep slogging away. She's seen DD1 do it.

Your DD needs an attitude adjustment.

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At some point she will get a wake-up call, hopefully this is it.

It happened to me. I 'coasted' through O-levels with straight As, applied the same strategy to sixth form (mixed with boyfriends and going out) and then got the shock of my life when my predicted As at A-level turned into actual Ds. Couldn't get the university place I wanted and I watched all of my friends going away while I did retakes.

It remains the hardest lesson of my life. I thought I knew best and despite my parents telling me I needed to work I learned it the hard way.

Presumably school won't let her take Chemistry A level without at least a 6 and she'd be advised to get a 7 in maths. Maybe a teacher could be asked to lay down the facts of life. I'm in a not dissimilar position with DD, (although she has complex issues) but at least for these last exams she finally seems to have understood the concept of revision to some extent and has got more or less straight 6s (needs 7s to stay at existing school for sixth form). Our response is "Did you work as hard as you could? Are those the results you want? Well in that case you are very lucky that the desired outcome is in your own hands"

I might be wrong ...

4/5 is a grade c gcse

5/6 is a b

7 is a basic a grade

8 is a A*

9 is a A*+

She won't get into med school with a I work hard enough gubatvschool attitude. She needs not only to be academically able but to go the extra mile.

Assuming the science papers are the exam board issued Year 10 ones dd just did them. She is academically able but not med school celibate. She got 80% in biology. Her school gave her Grade 8 for that. She also got Grade 8 in chemistry & 7 in physics but grade boundaries haven't been set yet. However as you have a comparison with your dd's friend those results are worrying.

Your dd needs to either realise this or adjust her expectations.

Calyrical
Too much giraffe

not really, if she does want to study medicine, she won't be able to with those grades.

Her teachers may well be trying to give her a kick up the bum to be honest.

Still doesn't excuse the low marks.

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My daughter has done similarly and school have been in touch to offer support in revision techniques (I think switching off the wifi should do it), and whether any other support needed. I'm now intervening to nag her nicely into actually doing some revision and not just homework. Visiting school next week to discuss. Dd very pissed off but does want to do well so is going along with it (I'm more carroting than stick though).

I'd be worried at the school predicting 9s. That's just not going to happen. For more than 2 kids in the UK. Our school doesn't predict higher than 8s.

mmm... imho, "study medicine" is a little fantasy, not a real ambition. And it's fine to have a little flight of fancy idea. Besides, there are lots of other medical careers besides MBBS. Thing is, if now she truly wanted medicine... she'd be conniving how to kill herself to get there in 4 yrs.

Or maybe she'll get a different degree first & then her motivation will consolidate later & she'll enter medicine to study it late. But she's not really that keen to go there now. Just likes the idea of it.

You know teens. They try ideas on & off like clothing changes.

Two of mine are medics. They both shared a passion and drive from quite an early age. They need more than straight As to get the offers.
Has she got any real idea of what medicine involves throughout course and as a junior doctor. Lying around on a sofa won't do the trick. Mine used to fret if they dropped so much as a mark in exams. Neither needed a metaphorical kick - the commitment to succeed had to come from them.
I would not have let mine sit around doing nothing. They had quite a structured life throughout secondary school and an expectation of revision timetables etc. Then extracurricular activities/work experience to build cv or actual work.
What extracurricular experience or achievement can she demonstrate?
Chemistry is by far the most important subject and she will need to be capable of A*s at A level or a 7 Higher in IB with reasonable ease.
It doesn't at moment sound like she's serious about medicine, so may need some careers advice about other options.

Most schools and sixth forms I know of, expect at least an old B at GCSE in order to study that subject at a level. For sciences and maths, they expect a minimum grade A. The reason for this is because the jump from GCSE is so hard, in content, quantity and in the amount of self directed learning required. Someone who thinks they can coast in to sixth form on without putting in the effort will have a nasty shock. Even the brightest and most able often find it really hard to suddenly have to start really studying.
What has the school said about it?