Can anyone reassure me about my dd (Year 11)?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

Would be grateful to hear from teachers or parents who have been through GCSEs.

Dd is Year 11. She is on the autistic spectrum, very bright, she really shone at primary school and then went to a girls grammar (her choice, she set her heart on getting in to this school).

All was well for the first few years then obviously covid hit. Then last year in Year 10, dd had some mental health problems resulting in poor attendance for the rest of the year. Inevitably her grades went down. Her end of year exams in Year 10 were very mixed, ranging from an 8 in English Lit, most of the others around a 5 and a few subjects very low.

Start of Year 11 and things have improved. Dd's attendance is improving, not 100% but better than it was. And overall her attitude is good and she seems to be working. She hates me nagging her even talking to her about schoolwork, it says it makes her stressed and it's better for her for me to leave her to it (and sometimes she surprises me such as arranging a study session in the library with friends, she got a lot done, they motivated each other and she even helped another girl with Chemistry).

We've just had her report for the start of Year 11. Predicted grades are -

Class Civ - 3
English Language - 5
English Lit - 6
History - 7
Maths - 6
RS - 5
Spanish - 3
Double Science - 66

I can't decide whether to feel encouraged by these results bearing in mind dd's difficulties, or worried about her weakest subjects.

I have massively lowered my expectations - for a child of her ability she should be on track for top grades. But I don't care about that now. I just don't want any doors closed for her.

I think her school ask for a minimum of 6 6s to stay on for Sixth Form. She is unsure what she wants to do next year, I have been encouraging her to look at colleges for perhaps a more vocational route than A levels but she isn't keen.

Can grades improve much between now and the actual exams? Has anyone had any experience of this?

Yes, grades can and often do improve between now and next summer. To stay on, she only needs to get one more grade up to 6 - RS probably a better bet than English Lang. Good luck to her.

You should look at other A level providers in case they have different entry requirements.

I would also say you need to think really carefully about your DD's strength and weaknesses and whether A levels or a BTEC will be a best fit. BTECs are taught and assessed very differently from A levels which may help or hinder her. You will really need to drill down on how the BTECs are taught and assessed as it can be very hard to get definitive answers.

She loses nothing by looking at BTECs (and you should maybe go alone if she won't come), and again you don't lose anything by bunging an application or 2 in to hedge your bets.

You can still go to university with a Level 3 Extended Diploma BTEC (3 A level equivalent)

Given her grades for History & English Lit I'm surprised her Classical Civilisation prediction is so low.

Yes. At my old school they used to assume that grades would jump 1-2 grades from start to end of Y11. Obviously that depends on the child and the school and they can go down. But they do go up.

Good that you aren’t adding to her pressure. My DD was ill during Y11 and exams but in the end I realised she only needed to get what she needed for the next step, and even then there was other options. GCSE’s are not the end of the world.

I’d drop the classical civilisation and huge her more time to spend on the other 8

give her

Or in fact I’d drop the Spanish. It’s harder to get a high grade in Spanish

Agree, I'd drop Spanish if anything (especially as History and Eng Lit are strong so I would have thought easier to get Classical Civilisation up).

Thank you.

@TeenDivided I am familiar with some BTECs, my oldest did a BTEC in performing arts (plus one A Level) and that was enough to get her into a good university.

I do think a BTEC would tick a lot of boxes for dd and there is a local college that offers them. Problem is, dd is adamant she doesn't want to go there; she sees it as the local sink school.

The class civ grade is low because dd missed a lot of the content in Year 10. I'm pretty sure she can read to catch up though.

@AnyOldThings do you mind me asking what happened with your dd? Did she end up getting the grades she needed?

That's great you have experience in BTECs as it will help you have well informed discussions.

That's a solid set of grades. I'd be made up with those considering what she's been through. And they're not a ceiling - she could push up even further yet. Big her up!

Especially as she’s ND, I’d stop looking to force her into a traditional path and let her find her own way.

I did great during GCSEs then had a similar crisis during a-levels. Obvs not precipitated by covid but, especially if you’ve masked and managed your way through a significant number of school years, there’s frequently a ‘crash’ for ND girls during schooling- secondary or uni. I lost focus education wise, tried a few apprenticeships, but ultimately stabilised because of therapy and ended up going to Oxbridge college as a mature student and feel I got a lot more out of it than I would have at the ‘right’ age. A lot of my fellow mature students were also ND. We all did well, not least because we’d learnt to be assertive about the things we needed to succeed.

Basically- just support her in who she is. See what she does rather than pushing her to do.

@AnyOldThings Yes she did.
She went up 2 grades in her weakest subject. Got higher than expected in a few. She passed all 9 with lowest grade 5 in two subjects that didn’t matter. 8 was her highest grade and she was only 2 marks off a 9! She got all the grades she needed for sixth form and is loving it.

Her best friend had a shock grade 3 in English yet she’s still at sixth form but just doing a resit course alongside her A Levels.

Our local sixth form is great (outstanding rated too) and bad GCSE’s wouldn’t stop a pupil attending as they can spend the 1st year doing level 2 and then go on to a further 2 years of level 3. There is always a way.

Thank you @AnyOldThings well done to her, what a brilliant achievement! Nice to hear there are always other options.

@IHeartKingThistle thank you for your kind comments, really means a lot to me.

@Chattycathydoll thank you for sharing your experience. I think the 'crash' is what happened to dd last year, she became so withdrawn, it was awful. Now when I look at her happy and laughing and in a better place than last year, I realise what's important.

I have always supported my dc in what they want to do, be that a traditional path or not. I believe if they're happy they will learn. I suppose I'm worrying because I don't want dd not to have the option of her current school because of her grades. Even if she ends up elsewhere, I want her to have options. She would be very upset not to be able to stay at her current school if all her friends were.

Is the school offering any kind of support lessons? DD is currently doing extra Maths and English to catch up as she was off with anxiety and panic attacks a lot during last Summer term.

We had a very open discussion with her Head of Year, Head of KS4 and SEN (she also is on the path for ASD diagnosis) and they confirmed that she is more than able and likely to catch up.
She is currenlty doing mocks and we re-evaluate in November when the results are back and see if she would benefit from more tutoring. According to her school, they see an improvement in predicted grades in the Spring mocks they have in February.

DD is in therapy and doing much better, we had 100% attendence so far, before Summer break we were lucky if we had a full week with full attendence. Like your DD, she is happier, more interested in her work and so far it's looking good.

DD also changed her mind about A-level subjects, she will achieve her two desired ones and is now looking to change the third subject as she thinks the required 7 may not be possible.
But she also looks at a different Sixth Form with a slightly lower requirement set as a back up.

Talk about options going forward and engage the school as well.

I think she's pretty likely to get 6 sixes if she wants to between now and the summer. She's not far off.
But I would look at other options too. Does she have any idea what she wants to do longer term?
Some BTEC courses are being phased out for a new qualification. T levels (I think all BTEC are gradually going).
There's a whole world of other opportunities beyond 16. Are there any information fairs happening near you? I've been to one organised by the local authority which pulled together lots of local schools and FE providers.