A potentially ridiculous question about GCSEs

[CluelessAndConfused]

Hi there. Disclaimer: I have not been educated in the UK, English is not my first language, I am trying to navigate the UK education system and support my DS as best I can.

DS used to always be in top sets in primary school. He did extremely well in his 11+ and he's now at a selective grammar, about to go into Y11.

Last year in Y10 it became clear to me that he was struggling academically, and that this had started in Y7 when his end of year results didn't reflect the strength of his SATS and 11+ performance. At the time, this was not obvious to me though, because I found it difficult to interpret DS's report and grades, not really having a point of comparison, and also wanting DS to take a proactive approach in his learning. Then we had lockdowns in Y8 and Y9, so everything became even more confusing for me.

Fast forward to Y10, and I feel some concern over his end of year results. I feel disappointed that school have not highlighted any concerns, but I don't want to dwell on that. Instead, I want to put an action plan in place to support DS as best I can in order to achieve well in his GCSEs. I will of course talk to his teachers, but honestly I find the way they express themselves so vague, that it is hard for me to fully understand what's going on.

DS's self esteem and confidence is at an all time low and he's lost any belief that he can do well. He masks this by pretending he doesn't care and that he wants to quit school. His report shows were his at in terms of the year average, and he's below average on everything apart from MFL.

I am going to list his end of Y10 results here, and I was wondering if you could offer some honest feedback as to how you feel he's doing, and what's realistically achievable for him in GCSEs with some support (tutoring). I hope that this makes sense. Any feedback at all would be much appreciated. Thank you. (A = Advanced; S = Solid; F = Foundation)

Biology - 6A
Chemistry - 5S
DT - 6S
English - 6A
English Lit - 4A
French - 7F
Geography - 5A
Mathematics - 5A
Music - 5A
Physics - 5A

Those are all level 2 passes, GCSE 1-3 is level 1, 4-9 is level 2, A-levels are level 3 bachelor’s degree level 4.

He should be able to go on to do Alevels with them, although selective 6th forms may have higher entry requirements.

if he wasn’t at a selective school he’d probably be middle ability with those grades, but at a grammar I expect he’s towards the bottom. It can be really difficult at selective schools, because you lose the sense that you’re in a high achieving environment I think.

The real question is is he meeting potential? I’d speak with school and ask that. It’s a long time between 11+ and gcse, some kids plateau rather than continue to make great progress. Those really aren’t awful grades.

I'd start by trying to pinpoint what he's finding difficult - concentrating in class for example. My friend's son realised in the middle of Year 11 that he had ADHD and that's why his exam performance was poor.
Have hearing and eyesight checked.
Might be worth having a full ed psych report done, if you can afford it, as if there is an issue with processing/dyslexia he might be eligible for extra time.

I don't understand the A,S,F as we don't have those in my son's school. You can't get a 7 on a foundation paper in French, its capped at 5.

I'd look at getting a tutor in English and maths too.

I can only speak for the English. It's possible that the gap between the two is because they've not done much of the work yet, and he doesn't yet know how to answer the questions effectively.

In both, there are specific assessment objectives to cover, and not knowing or not doing so will affect the mark.

So, you need to know which board and which books and then you need to make sure he does know exactly what each question is asking of him.

At the end of year 10 I'd say they were fair results , are they being marked on national grade level or school grade level, in a selective school someone with grades like that could conceivable be bottom of his year, in a mixed ability school he would be high middle.

Hello, l didn’t want to read and run. If your Son’s school reports grades in the way that mines does, l would be very happy with those grades. If l am right, this is what your Son would have got at GCSE had he taken his exams at the end year 10. He is then likely to improve further for the real things. For reference, a grade 5 l believe is a strong pass. A 9 is an A•. My Son’s grammar has a rule that you must achieve 6 grade 6s to be admitted to their 6th form. Obviously, this may all be different at your Son’s school. In terms of help, jump onto bbc bitesize with him for revision purposes, hth x

So he’s on course for 6,7 and 8s probably? Although, that relies on him engaging with lessons etc. Those results would get him into most sixth forms to do whatever he hopes to do next- although maths/ physics often want 7s in maths.
He may not get into his grammar school sixth form, as they will have higher requirements I would think. However, from what you have said, he may want a change of scene anyway.
I think his perception on this is skewed by his cohort. In most schools, he’d be quite happily working with peers of a similar standard in decent sets. He’s only below average because it’s a grammar school average that has been taken.

If it helps I can translate into letter grades

9- highest possible grade, rare
8- high A/ A*
7- A
6- B
5- high C, considered a decent pass
4- low C, considered minimum pass
3- D
2- E
1- F

I think your son has a decent set of results for the end of year 10. If he works these will be higher by the end of year 11. Previous poster is right about English lit.

Oh my god thank you, this is so helpful. And yes! He'll soon be assessed for ADHD as focus and tidiness is a massive issue. I have thought about him going elsewhere for 6th form, but he's an introvert and I do worry that he'll spend so much energy trying to navigate the social aspect of a new school where most students already have a history together, that the academic side of things will suffer once again, but this time for different reasons.

This does help, thank you!

What concerns have school raised, OP?

In addition for getting him checked for ADHD, can you get him assessed for any other learning difficulties? His results are similar to my daughter’s, also year 10. During lockdown I noticed that she seemed to be struggling with reading. As her older brother has dyslexia (and has just also been diagnosed with dyspraxia) I expected this to be the problem, however DD was diagnosed with visual processing disorder,

I agree with what other posters have said. I would certainly raise this with the school as well and ask what you can do to help.

I presume the A/S/F is indicating how far along the grade boundary he is - with A meaning almost at the next grade? It's confusing perhaps as you can take a foundation level exam in some subjects, as a pp noted.

The French stands out for me (MFL is my subject). A 7 is a great grade and if that becomes an 8 in Yr 11, excellent. If he is at that level in French, he must be doing some work and have a decent understanding. Can you interrogate further why (great teacher, enjoys subject) and perhaps convert that fur other subjects?

@clary, I come from a country where French is one of the official languages, and although we don't speak it at home, we spend a fair bit of time there, we have family there, and DS is quite familiar with the language as he hears me speak on the phone with friends and family.
@AuditAngel, those are good points, thank you, I'll ask school
@lljkk, none in a proactive manner. I have now been told that DS's school is known for its 'sink or swim' approach, so I have to take the reins.

For year 10 those are decent results. I think the issue is that he is at grammar school & there will be students getting all 8s & 9s. So it's difficult when you're surrounded by high achievers.

Also his SATS will give him a target grade & so if his SATS went well he probably has high target grades & so he will probably be flagged up as not being on target.

Was he coached for SATS? I sometimes think that children who get tutored for SATS & 11+ find it harder as they get older. I went to grammar school many years ago before people got tutored for 11+ & the majority of those who came from private school did worse than someone from a very average primary.

It's unusual for a student to do better in MFL than in other subjects - so that's something he should consider for A level.

Thoughts having been through similar as my DS just finished Y11 and is going to Y12.

1 Self esteem. This is of primary importance and will affect him for the rest of his life. I think a good question to ask your DS is where does he get his self worth from? Is it academic achievement? Why? Is this a message you or family members or school have passed onto him? It's not particularly healthy. Even your concern about his grades could be interpreted as he's disappointing you. I would focus on building his esteem in areas other than academics and definitely take some of the pressure off this year (school will pile it on) by not being too obsessive over grades, tutoring etc.

1. Be focused. Just focus on working on subjects he needs for A level and to pass (Eng lang needs a 4). My son needed a grade 7 to do Maths and Physics A level so we got him tutoring for Maths from January as he was reduced a 6 after mocks - to help him get to a 7 that because it's what HE wanted. (He got his 7 in Maths. I'm not sure he'll cope with A level but he can give it a shot for a year. I'm relaxed about it. If college is a better route for him, we can go down that path next year).

1. School communication. My son's school was also awful at communicating because his behavior was impeccable in class and he was 'doing ok'. These kids go under the radar and we were also surprised at the end of Y10 as he'd dropped a grade in each subject. I think Y11 is a bit late to turn things around massively but you can get focused help eg. Asking which areas he needs to work on most in important subjects, what websites are good for revision. Don't communicate all of this to your DS as can be overwhelming and imply disappointment. But you can nudge him the right direction if you have the info.

Definitely don't worry about all the grades especially if his self esteem is already low. They are actually very good grades. He only needs to pass English and Maths with a 4. Usually schools ask for 6 GCSE level 5s and above to do A levels. For subjects he wants to do at A level (only 3 subjects) he will likely need a level 6 in those. Maths A level is the only subject in our area asking for a 7 (all the schools and even colleges). Some A level subjects you don't do at GCSE like psychology/ sociology ask for a 6 in English lang. So it really depends what he wants to do next year. However, schools are flexible for their own students so my DS got a 5 in Product Design and was permitted to do it at A level and my friend's daughter got a 5 in English and was allowed to do Psychology A level. It's a fairly academic school.

Finally, I had to keep telling my DH to back off. Isn't your child's mental health more important than the difference between a grade? I had to keep reminding him that he could push but DS would probably only go up by 1 grade with hard work. So, is a 6 really that different to a 7? Is a 5 really that different to a 6 if you don't want to do A level? Is it worth sacrificing relationships, time, mental health to pursue one grade higher? I'm not advocating laziness but take the pressure off, let your DS have some say in what tutoring he gets, listen to what he is communicating regarding his self worth, and GOOD LUCK!!

My daughter had mostly 5s end of year 10. I got her a tutor for maths/science/English. Printed lots of past papers. She passed year 11 exams with 8 of them at level 7 and above! You have time and it's possible with intervention!

They're actually good grades.

Remember half the year have to be below average - just what an average is, by definition not everyone can be top sets. And that below average half would probably be middle/top sets in other schools it's just concentrated because it's a grammar.

Mumsnet obsession with tutoring to be above average can only really work for half the year...

How are his studying skills? My sons (private) school always said he needed to buckle down but he was graded relatively ok, Bs and Cs and predicted mostly 5/6s on his GCSEs. Never was there any suggestion that he needed much more help - his German teacher did say he'd get a 3 if he wasn't careful though!
He blew the lot other than English (which he had a tutor for). I was so mad at the school - what did he do 8 hours a day there? But it's a fact he did not revise nearly enough.
You can support. print endless past papers, get tutors etc. but unless HE puts in the work he will not succeed. In our school you needed a 7 to take a subject at A level.