Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Year 12 mocks disaster

40 replies

Delphigirl · 21/06/2021 14:18

Don’t know what to do about DS. He is doing Geography Chemistry Biology having dropped his 4th subject, Physics, early on. I’ve been told since he was younger that he is a great geographer, he is v interested, wants to do geography or marine science or geoscience at uni and so Chem/bio fit well. I have encouraged him to look at courses with high fieldwork content (and realistic entry requirements) as that will suit his learning style - He has processing issues and gets full extra time in exams and doesn’t find lecture/book learning easy.
I have spent ages this term telling him how important the 12 exams are for predictions, possibly for CAGs if those are needed next year etc but he really hasn’t revised, brushed it all off. He came back from his exams pale, quiet and shellshocked and has been studying 3-4 hours a day on top of school ever since, so I was not expecting great things of the results.

I’ve just found out he got C in Geog, E in Chem and U in biology.

So, what now? He has asked to resit Chem and Bio and those are happening this week. I’m not sure how much improvement we are likely to see given the original exams were only about 2 weeks ago.

What is the best case scenario here? I really do not want him to repeat a year as he is a Sept birthday so old for his year anyway, and the school learning environment is really not the best for him. I think he is capable of getting good-enough A levels to do what he wants at uni -Bbb or BBC - but I’m concerned he is now too far behind. He doesn’t have any particular difficulties with the courses though - he understands them and follows them in class, so his teachers were a bit stunned by the E and U. If he gets into uni I think he will do well at the practical courses he has chosen as his most likely options.

Tutoring over the summer? Any other things he can do? Forget about uni until we have grades in hand? My instinct is that he needs SOMETHINGto aim fit to motivate him. Help.

OP posts:
TeenMinusTests · 21/06/2021 15:03

See how he gets on with the resits first?
If he did limited revision but then has been doing 3-4 hrs a day for 2 weeks, he should be considerably better second time around.
Maybe this has been the wakeup call he needed?

Bryonyshcmyony · 21/06/2021 15:08

Definitely see how he gets on with resits. Exactly the same happened with dd1 - she ended up repeating year 12, taking the subject she got a C in at the correct time then doing the extra year and taking 2 subjects and an epq. She ended up with BBB and an A in epq, went to a lower ranked uni which she's actually really loving and she's doing well.

User0ne · 21/06/2021 15:15

Secondary (and a level) teacher here. Sounds like he was being lazy and needed a wake up call.

See how his resits go. If he doesn't struggle with the content then what he needs is reinforcement of learning and exam practice therefore lots of practice exam papers would benefit him most. The best way to do them is to do the paper as an exam, then check and improve his answers using the mark scheme for guidance. It will also help him identify what the examiners are after.

He should speak to his teachers for guidance on sources of practice papers etc

Delphigirl · 21/06/2021 16:33

Thanks very much everyone. I will let you know when the resit results come out. I guess if he pulls things up from a U even to a D in a couple of weeks then maybe the scare will be sufficient to get him working, but let’s see. I’m thinking week long revision course to ID gaps followed by practice papers as you suggest @User0ne

So pleased to hear about your DD @Bryonyshcmyony, glad she is doing so well.

OP posts:
rbe78 · 21/06/2021 16:45

Take a look at foundation years at university too. They generally have fairly low entry requirements (e.g. the Geography and Geology foundation year at Keele asks for a minimum of 40 UCAS points, which he'd get from a C and an E). He can then use that qualification to move into a degree, rahter than resitting a year of school. The style of learning may also suit him better than school.

Bryonyshcmyony · 21/06/2021 16:58

@rbe78

Take a look at foundation years at university too. They generally have fairly low entry requirements (e.g. the Geography and Geology foundation year at Keele asks for a minimum of 40 UCAS points, which he'd get from a C and an E). He can then use that qualification to move into a degree, rahter than resitting a year of school. The style of learning may also suit him better than school.
Yes. An expensive way to do it though!
Delphigirl · 21/06/2021 17:54

I think that’s a really good idea @rbe78, thank you. He just has to get out of school - he would be so much better doing a foundation year with lots of fieldwork in an area which really interests him at university than being sadly kicked through another year of A levels, and being the only kid in U6th who is almost 20 😱😱😱... I think it would be money well spent in his case!

OP posts:
Bryonyshcmyony · 21/06/2021 17:58

Also having better A levels give him more choices - if you love archeology and Keele then it works, but aren't you tied in?

Bryonyshcmyony · 21/06/2021 18:03

Although completely understand about not wanting to be the oldest at school! I was really proud of dd for going for it anyway. The school were supportive I'm not sure if they even got funding for her

rbe78 · 22/06/2021 09:14

@Bryonyshcmyony

Also having better A levels give him more choices - if you love archeology and Keele then it works, but aren't you tied in?
No - you can stay on at the same university for your proper degree, but you can also move onto another institution once you've gained your foundation year qualification.
Seeline · 22/06/2021 09:19

My DDs school allows re-sits after the summer break to allow for further adjustments in their UCAS predictions - is that a possibility? A summer of serious study sounds as though it would really help.

ViewFromTheSteeple · 22/06/2021 12:42

Realistically he could easily commit to a school day's worth of work/revision over the summer holidays to recap and refresh. Sixth form for Ds was 5 hours a day, considering he is awake for around 14 hours it is incredibly easy to put that time to good use.

There are lots of online resources for free, YouTube being one of them. He can pull his grade up but he has to be committed to engaging with the work.

Delphigirl · 22/06/2021 15:42

Poor lad failed his driving test this morning which was the kick in the teeth he didn’t need this week. Aurgh.
Thanks all. He says the resits went “100x” better than the original mocks so I await the results with bated breath. I’ve booked him on a 5 day summer revision course to focus on Chem and Bio only. He is getting together as many past papers and questions that he can in all three subjects to do over the summer (his school director of studies is helping him with that). We had a talk last night and he said, convincingly, that he is totally committed to turning it around and doing well and I’ve told him he has to work as hard as he did in the last 10 days for basically the next year and he is adamant he can do it. We’ve discussed that it is his life, not mine, so it is up to him. I think these grades totally shocked him so let’s see.

He has got another full set of mocks end Sept/early Oct so these were almost practice mocks. So he can get predictions based on the next set which is good.

I think I just have to wait and see what 10-14 ate of serious revision has achieved before I can do anything else.... fingers crossed.

OP posts:
Delphigirl · 23/06/2021 16:33

So the result of the “100% better” resit in which he thought he would get a C was.... an E.
Sigh.
Still, an improvement with 10 days revision.
Tutor says he has good knowledge but isn’t putting it down in a way which gets the marks.
Eurgh

OP posts:
Delphigirl · 23/06/2021 16:41

Ps that was biology. Chemistry resit is now next week

OP posts:
Bryonyshcmyony · 23/06/2021 16:44

Biology is infuriating. You have to use the words on the mark scheme or no marks. You have my sympathy - been there done that!!

Delphigirl · 23/06/2021 17:10

Really? But that has nothing to do with learning! God it’s like training a monkey

OP posts:
Bryonyshcmyony · 23/06/2021 17:15

I know. It doesn't matter if they show they know it. They have to use the right words. Dd did PE instead after a year of Biology. It was far more interesting and she's about to start training as a physio.

Iknowtheanswer · 23/06/2021 17:19

My ds and his friends found this set of exams a huge shock. It's basically the first set of exams that they have done since February 2020 and they were hugely out of practice.

Issues with timing, handwriting and Cramp (they've been using laptops since lockdown). DS was utterly shaken by thrm.

School tell me that they're also planning on adding at least one further set of exams because they've realised just how much the students are struggling.

Delphigirl · 23/06/2021 18:05

I’m just so sorry for him. He keeps saying “I’m not an idiot”. If he can get a U/E while having good knowledge and understanding then there is something wrong with the exam

OP posts:
Bryonyshcmyony · 23/06/2021 18:07

Science A levels are stupidly, stupidly difficult. It's a bug bear of mine. They absolutely do not have to be as hard as they are.

Delphigirl · 23/06/2021 18:07

Yes @Iknowtheanswer it is really tough on them. Eurgh

OP posts:
EwwSprouts · 23/06/2021 19:54

Biology is infuriating. You have to use the words on the mark scheme or no marks.

DS did exams straight after half-term. His conclusion was the biology mark scheme is ridiculous.

Delphigirl · 30/06/2021 15:30

He resat his chemistry and got a U (30%)
I just don’t know how he is going to rescue two subjects over the summer
Pretty much anything he wants to do will require no less than BCC (and that’s with some leniency) and he is currently holding CUU as mock results.
I’m wondering if he should start sixth form again with different subjects. He will be 18 in October though.
Or BTEC?

OP posts:
TeenMinusTests · 30/06/2021 15:35

He needs to talk with school to see if they will even let him progress to y13 with those results.
If they will, and they think he has chances of success, then a tutor now over the summer and lots of hard work, and maybe resit just before start of term to check is improving.

If they won't let him continue or he decides it's not worth it then he could

  • choose other A levels (but would his heart be in it)
  • consider BTECs - eg there is one in Applied Science

I'd definitely be researching the BTEC options just in case.

Swipe left for the next trending thread