Has anybody got positive stories of gcse results after woeful mocks?

[Noth1ngtoseehere]

It’s going to be a loooooong 6 months otherwise.😩

Ds v anxious. Screwed up his revision and ended up covering very little, had a meltdown midweek. Supposed to get 8s/9s but got a range from 3 to 7.

We could both do with some positivity.😬

He can improve between November and the summer because school will have covered exam technique as well as the theory by then.

However he needs a plan for the anxiety and the screwing up. The real thing is over 6/7 weeks (with half term in between) where as I'm guessing mocks were over a week and might not have been every paper for every subject?

I think that the 8/9 predictions are hard to cope with. He needs reassuring about how inaccurate predictions can be and he's not letting anyone down if he gets lower in any subject.

It's good that he's not at his peak yet because he can't sustain that until the summer.

Why is there a vote thing on this?So don’t want any voting.😬That’s encouraging. Thank you.He knows none of us expect or want 8s/9s, just what he needs although it is frustrating.

No idea what to do re the screwing up although he’s just starting counselling. Bloody hope it works, no guarantees.

The whole point of mocks is really to flag where your revision wasn't good enough. So he should know now whether it was technique or knowledge gaps or both and can now focus.

Lots of past papers. Lots of practice. Face up to the things he finds hardest and prioritise, rather than stick to old familiars. Self quizzing, little and often.

So he could pull up several grades by covering everything he needs too? He was wading through massive text books trying to condense. Ran way out of time, didn’t do any past papers or cover a lot of what he needed to.

I found mocks to be pretty spot on unfortunately. I'm so sorry, I know that isnt what you want to hear. Despite lots and lots of revision after rubbish mocks (mostly 4s and 5s) my son scraped through with mostly 4s and 5s.

BUT you do have lots of time. You honestly cannot begin revision too early so at least he has time.

Why is he wading through massive textbooks?

My DS did mocks after October half term and has written his revision timetable focusing on the subjects where he needs to improve.

School seemed to think it was pretty feasible to go up 2 grades from mocks to the real thing provided effort put in.

But he isn't trying to condense textbooks at this stage - the work has been covered and he is using revision notes/past papers.

They will also be doing loads of revision at school between now and the exams.

Personally I don't even look at predicted grades - I think they are dangerous. And doing too well in mocks can lead to complacency.

Meant to say, his revision timetable for Christmas holidays - not excessive but 3 hours a day.

How about a tutor that could with, say, one subject a week for an hour, if you can afford it? I've seen good tutors turn things around. Gives the student a chance to be honest and say "I just don't understand this" in a 1:1 setting

He didn’t really know how to revise and notes not great.

Is there an education adviser or study skills department at school?

Practically, what does he need to take the next step?

Don’t think so, will ask.

I got the old ungraded in two of my mocks (9% in maths) for me it was the kick I needed. I attended revision sessions and worked hard improved to B.

Has he done many exams in the past?

DS has done formal end of year exams since yr 7 and we have received quite a lot of guidance from the school on the best ways to revise. Obviously so much is dependant upon the individual but from my understanding just reading textbooks is not terribly effective - revision is meant to hurt a bit.

So for many students, smallish chunks of revision with regular breaks works well. Writing down key things helps which is why past papers are so useful.

My DS finds it helpful for me to test him but I know that doesn't work for everyone.

DS1’s teacher just wanted him to at least pass English and after his Easter mocks he was predicted 5s and 6s. He got a 9 in English and only 8s or 9s across the board.

He did it again in A level mock got a U in chemistry for Easter, but a B in the actual exam.

I failed my A level chemistry mock then ended up with a B, almost an A.
I got the curriculum and learnt everything I needed to know from textbooks, used revision guides and past papers.
Six months is enough time but he has to be serious (and not let all the other subjects slip)

I agree that the timing of mocks is totally different to the real exams. I don't know how intense your DS's were but some days mine had three different subjects with very little time between papers. As PP have said, this isn't a true reflection of the real exams which tend to be much more spread out so you can properly prepare for each one. Sounds like this might help your DS?

Personally I wouldn't be too worried at this stage. He's clearly a capable lad who should use the months available to prepare thoroughly. There's a plethora of great resources online, subject teachers should be able to advise a course of action.

That’s what I wanted to hear Bearded.

I’ve been teaching 23 years. In my experience students always improve on the real thing. The point of a mock is to learn how not to do it wrong.

Also does the school offer 'clinics' or whatever they are called. So DS can go to eg Spanish clinic after school one night a week and go through anything he is struggling with. As one of his teachers pointed out to me - this is free for him where as if I was using her as a tutor I would be spending £50 an hour - so worth exploring that as an option.

Did he leave his revising to th week before? I don't understand the has a meltdown mid week comment, mid what week!

It does sound like he left it to the last minute, didn't have a plan then panicked. Sorry if I'm interpreting it wrong.

Of course he can improve enough to achieve well but I'd be concerned his results indicate he fundamentally doesn't know it.

He needs to come up with a plan, review it with his teachers and then stick to it.

No started revising in reasonable time but sooooo much to cover, found it hard to focus and revised wrong. Melt down during revision and a big one during mock week.

At least we know what not to do I guess.

What does he need to take the next step?