Worries for GCSE

[Frostytiger87]

Hi , so my child is in year 11 & has difficulties with a few subjects so we’ve found some tutors
While I have to bear in mind covid and the impact it’s had on Childrens education , it seems that she has little interest in improving her grades
Every tutor has said she has a lot of catching up to do well I know that it’s her and millions of others . I don’t know why I’m so worried
Any advice please ?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think with U.K. GCSEs you have a grading system whereby how all the children actually perform on the exams determines the grade boundaries? It’s not an exam where it is set that a 9 = a score of 97% or higher and so on. The top ~1% of students no matter what they score whether it’s 97% or 67% will still get the 9. And so on down the grades....8,7.6,5 etc.

So, since everyone has been impacted by Covid and everyone in Yr11 is behind, then your DD is not particularly disadvantaged. In fact, she has an advantage and the privilege of extra tutoring.

So I would not worry too much.

How does she explain her disinterest in improving? Paying tutors is pointless if she will not engage. Is she likely to pass the essentials?

You can't make her do better, she has to do the work herself and if she's not motivated then not a lot you can do other than be supportive and encouraging. Is she expecting to get 4 and above? Many schools require a 7 to take a subject at A level, but maybe your child would do better at a vocational college? Not all kids, even bright ones, are academic.

She doesn’t want to improve her grades?
Then you’re wasting your time and money with tutors.
What does she want to do after school? That’s key.

How "bad" are her grades? My DS had very little interest in getting grades that were higher than the bare minimum he needed to get onto the next thing he wanted to do. If her grades are below where she needs to be to progress, then can you talk to her about that and what she wants to do with her future/next? If its a question of her grades are good enough but "you" think her grades should be higher, then why?

I think you need to talk about what her next steps are after GCSEs. If that is A levels then what grades does she need to get into the sixth form or college she wants? Are there any subjects she is interested in that require a minimum grade? Ds's sixth form has an entry of 5 x grade 4 at GCSE however you need a 6 in science or maths to continue on to A level.

If the future is looking like university then look now for the grades they want. Even if she has no idea what she would want to do still look at entry grades for a random spread of subjects.

The rule of thumb although there are exceptions is that you drop a grade from GCSE to A level.

And yes although a lot of children were impacted by lockdown many schools are making a huge push effort to catch up any work missed so as not to be disadvantaged.

I think a talk about the future, that you want her to achieve the best grades she can to enable her to make the next steps. That at some stage she will leave your home and have to have a job and fund herself.

@RedskyThisNight

How "bad" are her grades? My DS had very little interest in getting grades that were higher than the bare minimum he needed to get onto the next thing he wanted to do. If her grades are below where she needs to be to progress, then can you talk to her about that and what she wants to do with her future/next? If its a question of her grades are good enough but "you" think her grades should be higher, then why?

This. Are we talking about currently tracking towards a 6/7 but could improve to an 8/9, or currently a 4 or below?

For the former, there’s not a huge amount you can do to force your DD to care, unless she also has aspirations for highly competitive courses/universities etc. that might become out of reach (medicine, oxbridge etc.).

If it’s the latter, a clear but non-judgmental conversation about what comes next after school, what she hopes to go on to do (being clear that ‘nothing’ is not an option) and looking at realistic options with potential grades in the hope of gives enough of a kick up the backside to work more and keep options open.

You talk about 'some' tutors. If that is more than 2 I'd be tempted to focus your efforts on whichever are key.

The one thing you need to remember is that GCSE’s are not the end of the world. We often get too hung up on them.

I always tell DD that GCSE’s are like keys. That they open doors. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t alternative ways to open the doors. Or an alternative route around the door.

Failure at GCSE’s doesn’t mean failure of their future. It might be she’s too immature just yet to see that it’s delayed gratification of putting in work now for long term gains.

But rest assured that even bad GCSE results don’t always stop people moving on and having successful careers. It just sometimes changes the route or adds extra & work time to their path.

@PlanDeRaccordement

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think with U.K. GCSEs you have a grading system whereby how all the children actually perform on the exams determines the grade boundaries? It’s not an exam where it is set that a 9 = a score of 97% or higher and so on. The top ~1% of students no matter what they score whether it’s 97% or 67% will still get the 9. And so on down the grades....8,7.6,5 etc.

So, since everyone has been impacted by Covid and everyone in Yr11 is behind, then your DD is not particularly disadvantaged. In fact, she has an advantage and the privilege of extra tutoring.

So I would not worry too much.

You are incorrect about how the grades are worked out. A grade 9 is approximately the top 10% of students, but other grade boundaries are then evenly spaced according to marks.

At this stage though I think talking about grades is switching your dd off. I would aim for building up understanding as a first priority and then the grades should follow. You also need to have plans for post-16 education in place.

The priority should be Maths and English Language and then the subjects that are essential for what your dd would like to do next.

Look up intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

Most children can't see beyond the end of today, let alone in 5 years time. What many don't realise is that a failure to work now affects their chances further down the line. That is why you are worried.

Biology GCSE seems pointless at times. And so does Physics etc. Why bother with a language?

Maths, who needs that, I've got a calculator in my phone? English, waste of time, I can already read.

Your DD needs to feel inspired about what her life could look like in the future and see beyond these petty statements above. Have you taken her to places where she could imagine herself doing a certain kind of job?

School is not really tied to reality, yes there's a disconnect between school and work and it's your job as a parent to bridge that gap.

Had she ever had a job? Does she know the realities of hard work. What it's like to work in a charity shop or in a supermarket for days at a time.

Ask her how much she wants to earn when she's older. Then work back from there. You need this degree for that, you need that set of A levels for that degree, you need these results at GCSE to do those A Levels. etc.

You can use fear or you can use inspiration to motivate her. Maybe buy some books off Amazon to understand more about motivation yourself and bringing up teen girls so you can help coach her towards her best self. There's lots of good advice out there.

Thankyou all for your replies and advice , I think I’ve just got to do my best as a parent & support her tutors as well .
The problem is she’s never really been focused at school or had a subject that she’s really interested .in I almost feel that shes not doing her revision willingly .

Catndoglife your right that talking grades is putting her off . We do try and encourage her and have had chats that if she works hard it will benefit her .

You have my sympathy- my son is the same.
He is motivated to make sure that he doesn't have to retake maths and English but when he's not sure about next steps, it's hard for him to see that it might be a good idea to focus even on some of them.