GCSE 2019 support thread 6

[DeRigueurMortis]

Hello All,

Welcome to thread 6 - results...

Last thread here:

Gcses 2019 support thread 5 http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3610608-gcses-2019-support-thread-5

It's been a fantastically supportive set of threads to date with a diverse set of expectations and challenges (for both parents and children).

I expect this thread may be the most emotive for us all (crikey how did the time fly!!)

Good luck everyone

AQA grade boundaries filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-GCSE-GDE-BDY-JUN-2019.PDF

I think DD might be one of the very few kids who actually got what she was predicted for both the AQA Englishes!

@mumma24 if there's one thing I've learned from my eldest DS, if things don't always go to plan ( they don't get into the school you want/they don't get the grades you hoped for) in the end it's OK, because while they can't continue on the path you expected, and are lead down another path, there's probably a reason for that, and lots of great things will happen for him anyway.

Email the school and ask for his mark and if they are close to grade boundaries.

tactum
Similar for DD. She got. 6 for Spanish. Her lowest paper was the reading. She got full marks for the speaking in yet can't really converse in Spanish at all. She was always terrible at the listening but fine at the reading and writing. She's happy with the 6 - it looked doubtful she'd scrape a 5 at some point, but it's odd that the reading paper stood out with the lower marks.

We've now had contact with the English teacher and they are going to recall DDs eng lang exam, which costs £14, and decide if something looks amiss in the marking. If yes, we'll go for a remark.

If the grade 6 stands then I'd say the exam is not fit for purpose. How can someone score a grade 9 in eng lit and RE and an 8 in history without having a good grasp of English? Plus she got a 5A in her English Sat's in Year 6. And she's someone who still reads books for pleasure and any interesting articles I send her way. What exactly is being measured?!

What exactly is being measured? Good question.

DS school is "famous" for coaching kids through the aqa English exam. It's all about exam technique, not much about reading/loving English. Sadly. It is cynical, but it works.

Wasrelaxing, but those are all passes! What grades did he need?

A friend's ds was a grade below what was required for the, relevant gcses and they still went to the interview, explained he did better normally (supported by letter subject teachers) and got him to do a bit of maths and English there and then.

And he got in.

How far below the needed grades is he? If it is one grade, you might still want to try

Morning!
Just spent ages catching up on the thread, so many lovely stories. Thank you all for such a supportive thread.

We spent wednesday doing the 16 hour trip back from south of France, definitely the way to avoid pre exam day stress!

Dropped ds off to collect results, with lots of - if you need me to come and support you talking to sixth form etc, just text. Got a text 5 minutes later 'amazing'
could have cried with relief.
3 x 8
4 x 7
1 x 6
1 x 5

The annoying thing is that in old money that is 3 A and 4 A but in the numbers it doesn't feel as high. Some of his friends disappointed they didn't get 9, but their 8 would ahve been A. All seems a bit unfair really.

He is delighted.

Got his 8 in maths which allows him to do further maths (he thought he had missed that)
Amazingly he got an 8 in Eng language, where he was predicted a 5 (and I have been worrying about all summer, really not a strong subject) Not AQA though.

Bit disappointed he didn't get his predicted in a couple of subjects, but overall, he is in to sixth form, he got his English, and even passed his French.
Somehow that 5 in French is as valuable as the 8 in maths!

fortyfifty we are in the same boat at igcse English. A 9 in literature and a 6 in language. Seems crazy doesn't it. Dd also got an 8 in drama and RS.

@steppemum I know what you mean! My DD feels her level 7's are a bit low, but when you realise that is an old fashioned A! Heck my DD got an A in Spanish (and most of the higher grades go to people with Spanish as a Mother tongue).

We got 7 (DT), 7x6 and 5 in maths. My son has never been overly strong in a classroom/exam setting but did work really hard for his GCSE's and it's paid off, he and I couldn't be happier for him. He's now enrolled for level 3 extended BTEC in engineering (aero engineering his ambition for as long as I can remember), all coursework and evidence based which plays to his big strengths. He'll be using commercial standard machines for the practical elements and is chomping at the bit. Hopes after for higher level apprenticeship with degree. Feel very excited for him.

Lovely to hear how well some dc have done.

I agree with pp...go for the remark if the grade seems way off predicted.
It's either the marking or the teaching/moderation! Either way = you need to know!

For those dc that didn't get what they needed or just started working a bit too late...resits are not the end of the world!
And I've often found in my life that a different path from that which was originally planned does not mean failure 💐

Ds1 is ok. It's been a long, hard road for him (some sen) and he worked his socks off. Very, very proud.

Enrollment yesterday and I can't really believe it's all over!

Thank you again for the support and advice over the past few months x

Re mock grades vs actual results, you are being tested against a different cohort to your own and it isn't the relentless slog of, in Ds1's case, 24 exams. It is a good indicator but never a guarantee. Ds improved all his mock grades or got the equivalents (9s) but did go down in English Lit.

Ds was disappointed in his AQA English lit as he got a 7 (8 in the mocks) and really felt like he should have got an 8. He got an 8 in English Lang, 9 in History so is good at writing, he knew the books and poems inside out, plus themes, plus comparisons, watched hours and hours of YouTube. His teacher was also surprised too. I think the school are looking into it but his A levels are maths, further maths, physics and computer science which he got 9s in so I don't know whether we would risk a remark.

But as with PP it is an A, I wish I had got a sniff at As when I was at school.

@Wasrelaxing I am late coming to this but lots of sixth forms are open for registration today. So my son attends technically a feeder secondary school (part of the same trust) so he registered at his school yesterday. But anyone not in the school's trust has to register this morning. It wasn't available to them yesterday.

@strongthighedbargeman my DS is doing the same, he wants to do auto engineering though.

@JuniperOakPark they take the highest mark as I understand it so no risk assumed

We're off out for brunch later today; I've promised ds a huge pile of pancakes with maple syrup and bacon. He was partying last night but came back at 1am sober and sensible

College enrolment next week. It's been thrown into a bit of disarray due to the surprise 9s in English Language and History and the one-mark-off-a-7 in Spanish. He still has the grades to do his original choices (geog, politics and media) but is now wondering if he should swap some around. Hopefully college will be able to advise accordingly. At least now perhaps he can see the wisdom of his mum's nagging about doing well enough to give yourself options!

It's a crying shame there's no such thing as English Language A-level though. It's always seemed odd to me that it's essential at GCSE and available at degree level, but almost ignored at A-level in favour of Lit.

There's English Lang AND lit?

Yes but that's too much Lit and not enough Lang for him 😄

MaudBaileysGreenTurban
Many congratulations to your DS.
Just wondering if it is worth him rethinking choices anyway, on the theme of keeping his options really open..
With Geog Media Politics he only has one facilitating subject which might cause him problems if his uni preferences change? (I'm married to a sixth form tutor who is scarred by having to tell distraught y12s that they aren't eligible to apply for the course they have discovered is their perfect choice...)
university.which.co.uk/advice/a-level-choices/six-things-you-need-to-know-before-making-your-a-level-choices

There is an Eng Lang A'level but it's more linguistics than Creative writing (but so are most Eng Lang degrees).

@Maydayredalert I think the BTEC is a fantastic path - good luck to your boy!

@strongthighedbargeman thanks. I hope it will suit him more, he has never been hugely academic and really struggled with school at times so hopefully a fresh start and a change of scene will do him the world of good.

Sorry, it was daft of me to say there's 'no such thing' as English Lang A-level. It's just that it's not available anywhere local to us.

latenight I have had the facilitating subjects conversation many times with ds over the last couple of years! But he is dead-set on Politics and Media and in the end he needs to do those subjects that most interest him and that he will engage with and succeed in. The third will always be a 'facilitating subject' anyway (geog/hist/spanish), Politics always considered a 'respectable' choice and tbh I have moved from being very fairly sceptical about Media Studies to feeling that it's probably quite important in this day and age!

However given that the FS list now been scrapped by RG universities I'm not sure it's such an issue in any case.

@strongthighedbargeman
@maydayredalert

Regarding the BTec enginnering, I for one would say fantastic !

Upthread, I have mentioned that my DS on his results day got kicked out from doing A’levels at his 6th form because of his ‘failure’ grades ?

He went onto do the Extended BTec in Enginnering (started with A level maths alongside, gave that up after 2 terms).
His final result was D D D * - which was the best he could of acheived ( became his college pin up boy on website ).
This gave him the UCAS points for many choices at Uni.
Instead he took up a 5 Year Degree Apprenticeship (after a gruelling application process). He is halfway through his degree , loving the work, has so many opportunities, has a raft of industry qualifications outside of his degree.
Weekly he is headhunted by over firms wanting him to go to them, this week he was offered a ridiclous sum of money to do so. (staying where he is until whole apprenticeship & qualification happened at least).
'failing' (he never failed but not top grades) his GCSE's and not doing A'levels was the BEST thing for him, it gave an 'alternative path' that has led to him being in such a strong position to his peers (now mostly away at Uni).
Not many offer the Btec Enginneering so I'm wondering if we're local 😂
Good luck to both your boys and their choices.

JuniperOakPark

My DS is also interested in Mathys, further Maths, Physics and Computing but his college advises him to take only 3 of those 4 subjects.

They say that all Uni's (including the top ones) are happy with 3 A levels. And adding a 4th is unnecessary, and it's better to fully focus on 3.

Saying that, my DS did not get 9s, but he did get 8s for Maths and Physics.

Just curious if it is your DS or the College/6th form advising to do 4 A levels?

It's hard for DS to choose between further maths and computing that's why I ask!

Just a note on re-marks, as mentioned upthread. My dds friend got an exam remarked last year. She had a 6, wanted a 7. It went down to a 5. So it does happen.