What’s going to happen with A’levels? Unfinished GCSEs syllabus

[Billythegreat]

DS did brilliantly in the subjects he’s talking for A’levels - 8s and 9. He hasn’t finished the syllabus for any of the subjects though especially the sciences and I believe they’re quite difficult subjects, Chemistry, Biology and geography. He’s going to a college for A’levels as his school doesn’t go beyond GCSEs so I’m worried they won’t know where his gaps are. Will this be a problem?

Thanks for the advice. We had no idea schools were approaching the GCSEs so differently and assumed they were all doing smaller tests not full on GCSE style exams. Did many schools do this? I do wonder how my ds would have coped with this and having no idea what he was going to be tested on, but surely teachers wouldn’t have given him 8s and 9s if he wasn’t that level.

But of course it’s easier to get 8 s and 9s if he only had only a couple of topics to learn and was told the questions in advance. But would he realistically have got those marks if he had had to learn a whole two-year syllabus with an exam at the end and no prior knowledge of what might be asked?

DS got 9s in a ‘normal’ year in all the subjects he took at A level, and still found the step up a struggle. There’s no coasting to be done even if you’ve covered the full syllabus.

Op why do you have two identical threads running where you are posting identical copied and pasted posts. It’s really confusing

We were thinking because he got 8s and a 9 he’d be at a big advantage

I think you’ll find most kids taking an a level will have an A grade (either an A or A* or a 7,8,9 depending on the exam board). Your ds won’t be at an advantage as such and if he’s missed out chunks of the syllabus and only been assessed on pre practiced mini tests then at least in the sciences he could be at a disadvantage.

He will know what subjects he’s really the best at and he should do those

We finished all the syllabi at our school in all subjects and examined the students with full papers even though we are an 11-16 school.

It does sound like your ds will need to be proactive over the next couple of weeks to ensure he's looked at as much of the content as he can.

@HasaDigaEebowai why do you have two identical threads running where you are posting identical copied and pasted posts

Sorry, I posted in AIBU as well yesterday as it was quiet in Secondary Education. Thanks for your replies.

Apparently schools were moderated by the exam board so they must have been satisfied that my ds was at the grades he was given. Why were dc who did full GCSE style exams not upgraded?

Op schools were indeed moderated, but the process more than actual grades.

Were your ds's 8s and 9 a surprise, or in line with predicted grades? If he is keen to do sciences (and not just due to 889) then great, but he could certainly do with picking up some work between now and Sept

DS2 is doing A level maths, biology, chem having got all 9's for these, not unexpected, they're his strongest subjects.
They did finish maths, but I know the triple science syllabus wasn't completed, and this with his science teacher the only one to embrace online learning from the first lockdown and continue teaching rather than give out revision worksheets.
No bridging work from college. In fact, nothing at all from them, not even an open day.
I've let him have a lazy summer but realise he'll have to hit the ground running in Sept.

@cptartapp they didn’t finish any of the syllabuses at our school and home learning was very hit and miss to be honest. That’s why I was so relieved when he got such good grades.

Schools were told to assess on what was covered. It was to balance out some schools that had only the national lockdowns and home teaching though it (like my school) who had completely finished the spec, and others who had multiple bubble bursts and limited home teaching so had big gaps.

It was to try and make it fair not to make it comparable.

My advise is to really think what subject he wants to do and why. Are they ones he is interested in or do they lead to a career he wants? All Alevels are tough and at times hard work so you do have to do subjects you like and not just ones that you scored highly in previously.

If he is keen on making a good start, which will make the transition so much easier, then look at the CGP GCSE to Alevel books and work through them.

The college will know that last year was strange so will be anticipating gaps, but they also have to cover all the content so need to keep the pace up.

That does explain why the dc at my friend dds very academic school don’t seem to have done as well as dss school friends. I am relieved that our school have taken this approach though as surely it will be better long term for university applications etc to have better GCSE grades.

@Billythegreat

That does explain why the dc at my friend dds very academic school don’t seem to have done as well as dss school friends. I am relieved that our school have taken this approach though as surely it will be better long term for university applications etc to have better GCSE grades.

Well, yes and no. The issue for your son will be that A levels - the thing that the universities care more about - are likely to be harder for him than others who have completed the full GCSE syllabus in the subject.

The issue for your son will be that A levels - the thing that the universities care more about - are likely to be harder for him than others who have completed the full GCSE syllabus in the subject.

Or that he will choose the wrong a levels now (based on unexpectedly good grades).

OP would you share the subjects your ds had planned to take? What grades did he get in those? I and others have made the point that he needs to want to do the A levels because he enjoys the subject, not just because he got such good grades.

It's great that he did and well done him. But I think you both need to put behind you the debate over how different schools assessed, and face the facts that he may have some bridging work to do. On you other thread you implied that his GCSE grades were so good that he didn't need yo bother; but in fact, if he didn't cover parts of the work (not his fault) he needs to be proactive and look at it now. He is clearly bright, it should be no trouble to him.

I am relieved that our school have taken this approach though as surely it will be better long term for university applications etc to have better GCSE grades

But the other school has covered the content, and got their cohort to actually revise the whole content. In short they have set their dcs up to hit the ground running, setting them up for the best predicted and actual A-level grades they can achieve. Your ds’s school doesn’t give a fig what happens to them at A-levels and has tossed them into the snow with big chunks of content missing and without the experience of rigorous revision.

At DS school they like to be ahead and they did the whole syllabus before they were told gcse would only be on selected topics

The kids all felt a bit cheated they had learned all the topics that weren’t necessary for the new exams

I never thought it would actually be a good thing longer-term

So I guess it will be a real challenge for A level teachers to figure out what everyone knows . But all the good 6th form colleges will be prepared for this I am sure

In addition, it may be that the A level concentrates on topics that he hasn’t studied at all. However, not to be all doom and gloom, one of my DC picked three A level subjects none of which she had done at GCSE, and she did really well at A level - but it may be easier to start from scratch in some subjects than others.

Much as i dislike amazon ( maybe your local bookseller could order in quickly) you need these, and this week : CGP headstart to ……..
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There clearly are big discrepancies in grading approaches. My son’s school did full exams on full content. I’m glad they took this approach as he knows he would have achieved these grades on a normal year and he has also had to build the study skills to master and memorise a substantial amount of content.
He used CGP during lockdown to supplement school provision. They were easy to use and coverage and explanations were good.
In all honesty, I don’t think the school have done your child any favours. You will need to deal with the gaps. CGP would be a good start. I do agree with the pp that the independent motivation to prepare should be there.

I am quite amused by the implication in your first post that your child is at an advantage in these subjects or better at them based on his 8/9 from spot tests of pre-flagged topics on an incomplete curriculum compared to his friend with a lower grade who had actually covered the work and was tested rigorously.

However, either child got to choose how their schools did it so they just have to go from here.

How can you imagine any other path than your child getting the cgp book and covering the missing material? How could he hope to keep up in an A level class on esterification if he knew none of the gcse materials on esters? You can’t imagine the teachers would individually cover off the topics each child in the class may have missed?

Not a huge drama, but it would be foolish not to spend some time with that cgp book sharpish!

In my experience, it is often the way with high achievers who don't really have to "try" at GCSE who most struggle with A Level.

Get a revision book. Cover the content. Look at the college website - I am willing to bet there IS bridging work. I set hours' worth, knowing y11 would be finished by mid May. They've had 3 months...

Do they actually want to spend 2 years studying science though? And then potentially 3 years at uni?
What did they want to do originally?? I ran a course back in the day of EU funding for teens that had fallen out of education. A significant number had done the wrong a levels. Often what their parents had picked. Often maths or science.

@Billythegreat

Apparently schools were moderated by the exam board so they must have been satisfied that my ds was at the grades he was given. Why were dc who did full GCSE style exams not upgraded?

School had to submit their centre policy on how they would award grades to the exam boards for approval.

There were then ‘sampled’ by boards (5-6 students generally over 2 GCSE’s and 1 A level subject. Sampled meant sending the pupils work off to be looked at. It could be more pupils/subjects if asked.

We got sampled for 26 pupils overall out of 210 in the year.

Exam boards were not looking to upgrade depending on method of assessments and schools could decide their methods within the guidelines which were super vague.