What grades would you expect at a-level if you achieved these GCSE's grades?

[judy121]

If you achieved mainly 4's and a couple of 5's and failed 2 GCSE's, what grades would you expect at a-levels?

I would definitely reconsider A levels. Those grades across the board suggest a lower ability in terms if academics and exam-based study. If it was a couple of 3/4 grades amid 6s and 7s then it’s a different story.

What A levels are being considered? Maths and MFL, I would suggest an E or possibly a D after a 4 at GCSE.

Also, when were the GCSEs taken? If it was the last 3 yrs I’d be even more cautious, sorry.

There’s nothing wrong with an alternative route - my ds1 had a similar GCSE profile and A levels were not for him. Look at BTECs or a vocational college course.

Another vote for BTEC. My son got a mixture of 4 and 5 at GCSE (one 6). He took BTEC and got 2 distinctions and a distinction * All the universities he looked at accepted BTEC and he secured a place and was actually awarded a scholarship for academic excellence along with students who achieved similar A level grades. He is well in track for a 2:1. There is no way he would have made the grades for his course if he had taken traditional A levels. Interestingly all the universities he looked at run their degrees in modules with a mixture of coursework, assignments and exams. This is just like a BTEC and so he found the transition really easy.

A level choices would be severely restricted. At our more academic local state colleges, most courses need an average of 5.5 (I think that's across your 6 strongest subjects). A couple will take you with a 4 but you need something extra, like a 6 in Maths to do Comp Sci, or previous dance experience to do Dance. You'd be encouraged towards other options.

Also if you're going for the more vocational route, a college that specialises in them might be a wiser choice than one that does mainly A levels.

I love the Xbox story! What an exceptional young man.

D/Es or fails. DC's school simply wouldn't allow them to take A Levels.

My DC had mock results of BBB. They had seven 9s, two 8s and a 7 plus an A* in EPQ

My DS got mainly 9s at gcse. He is doing fine but working incredibly hard for A level. I’d question whether A level is the right path.

Low grades but it would depend on subjects taken at GCSE and A Level and whether there were any mitigating circumstances e.g. predicted high gcses, totally fucked up revision…

fwiw I had a friend get straight Cs at GCSE, the choices of which were very prescriptive and involved him doing lots of things he didn’t want to do and was NOT good at (sports and French for exam). He was so worried about failing those his other subjects were then lower than they should have been and he totally messed it up. Went into A Level, doing subjects he LOVED and got straight As.

BTECs would likely be the better route but it really depends on the reasons for the average grades at GCSE. My son was a lazy scally in yrs 10 and 11 and - let's just say his CAGs didn't do him any favours with mostly 6s and a couple of 5s. 2 years later he got A*AB at A level. The ability was there, at least in a narrow area of study, but at 15 he just didn't have the maturity to care enough to work on stuff he viewed as irrelevant long term

You couldn't get into our sixth form to do A levels. You need a 6 or 7 in each A level subject at GCSE plus at least 5s in English and maths.

I wouldn't expect them to do A Levels unless there's a good reason the grades are so low. There's lots of other options into uni if that's the ultimate goal.

Thanks for the replies. The average gcse was a 4, grades were mostly 4's, some 5's and 2 grades under 4, which I know is low but it's ok for local sixth form. The a-level subjects are subjects completely new.

I'm not quite sure the point of this thread? If the student has already got those grades and is doing A levels, then the college is in the best position to predict grades, given the young person in front of them. Here on MN we can only generalise.

I got 2 A's, 5 B's and 3C's at GCSE went on to get 3 A's at A Level in Economics, Sociology and Geography, 2 of those subjects not studied at GCSE, i think it depends on the school i transferred from a comprehensive for GCSE to a Grammar School to do the A Levels, the teaching and behaviour was far superior and that was the difference, i wish now i had gone to the Grammar at 11 as i would of got far better GCSE results but was stubborn and wanted to go where my friends were going and not have to get the train every day for a long journey to the nearest Grammar.

@jojobud 2A 5B 3C could in new grades be 2x7s, 5x6s, 3x5s, so considerably better than the OP.

Thing is that people can say that they/their friend went from a 4 at GCSE to an A* at A-level and that's great for that person, but it's unusual.
This chart (thanks to noblegiraffe) shows the percentage at each grade is for maths, but I suspect it's not dissimilar across the board. So it is possible to go from a 5 to a A, but unlikely. A student who got a 5 at GCSE is more than 15 times more likely to get a U than a A.
I'd suspect that the majority who do make huge differences have a reason for not doing so well at GCSE. Illness, panic, not working etc.

At my current school a student with those grades would probably only be allowed to do A-levels if there were extenuating circumstances involved- so then it's hard to predict grades.

We would recommend a BTEC route probably, where a mix of distinctions and merits might be more likely, which would give the student more opportunities.

Ds and Es at A-level don't offer many opportunities.

Why doesn't everyone do Btec if they're so much easier than A levels.

It makes no sense to say "no not good enough for A level" but then to judge A level and Btec on the same merits...

A long time ago but I got mainly B and C grades then got three C grades at A level. Went to a top ten university

A levels are academic qualifications, as are GCSEs. So doing poorly at GCSEs indicates likelihood of doing poorly at A levels.

BTECs are vocational. If GCSEs measured practical skills and soft skills instead of academics, maybe we'd all say 'not skilled enough to do BTECs better do A levels'. It is all about what you measure and value.

Agree with @TeenDivided , not sure why the op has posted this. If the student is already taking these A levels, surely their teachers will be able to make predictions?

fwiw 4s and 5s would probably not get you in to my dcs’ sixth form now, but a girl in ds’s year six years ago took A level Eng with a 4. Don’t know how well she did but suspect not well.

Re BTECs, it’s not that they are easier, just that they suit a different way of working. Some people (me!) are very good at learning and showing knowledge in an exam. Some (dd!) are not. She got not fabulous grades at A level but her degree was entirely assessed essays and a long dissertation and she did amazingly well.

BTECs will not admit you to the most academic courses tbf (think when we went to Warwick they would not accept them but that may have changed) but they do open lots of doors that three Es at A level would close.

It’s all a bit academic (haha) by the sound of it, unless ops student is thinking of restarting Year 12 in Sept. What subjects are they taking at A level @judy121 ?

I would think Ds or Es. A levels are a real step up from GCSEs so I think a child who achieved 4s or 5s would probably struggle. I would honestly look into alternative courses which could be more suitable.

With grades like that there is simply no hope of a conversion. This child has barely scraped GCSEs. A BTec (low level) or even a new T Level in a vocational subject would be suitable here.

A child with 4s and 5s has not barely scraped GCSEs. How insulting.

4s and 5s are passes, not 'barely scraping'.
Also with 4s and 5s they wouldn't need to do a low level BTEC, they would qualify for Level3 BTEC. A levels are also level 3 qualifications.

I'd expect Ds or Es. Most sixth forms near me would let you do A levels with 5 x grade 4 (some ask for 5 x grade 5) but I agree it wouldn't be the best option. Unless your child really didn't try in their GCSEs and knows they can do a lot better.

@wonderstuff exactly like you! Bs and Cs, then took the wrong A’levels (A levels in the B-grade fluke GCSEs rather than the subjects I actually enjoyed but didn’t bother to work hard for) and didn’t do that well. Went to university, loved it, got a good degree and haven’t looked back since.

OP - it all depends on whether your child worked their hardest for GCSEs but still
struggled and whether they took the wrong options. If their GCSE grades are not reflective of their academic ability then they could do much better at A level.