GCSE Support - nervously waiting

[Hellocatshome]

Hopefully everyone from GCSE Support The Final Frontier can find this new thread!

As far as I know, tt's at the year-group level, normally based on SATs. Were they stronger or weaker than the years either side of them? Not individual details.

Ah! Thanks @PhotoDad!

They're moving away from using KS2 data to decide the relative strength of a cohort compared to previous years and use National Reference Tests sat by a random sample of Y11s in March. It's the exact same tests each year so they can compare year on year attainment.

I'm not sure how they can use the relative strength of a cohort in this case when we know they are weaker due to covid and they have promised to protect against the impact of that by pegging outcomes to 2019. I don't think it's relevant here.

Here's some info about the National Reference Tests https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2022/09/26/the-national-reference-test-in-2023/

The interesting bit here about the 2022 results is "In English, results showed no statistically significant difference when compared to 2020 (the last year of the NRT that was unaffected by the pandemic).
In maths, there was a statistically significant downward change compared to 2020. The Chief Regulator decided not to ask exam boards to reflect this drop in attainment in GCSE maths grade boundaries. This would have contradicted the policy in 2022 for more generous grading to reflect the disruption caused by the pandemic."

Very interesting, @noblegiraffe, thank you!

Yes, thanks @noblegiraffe!

I've been looking more carefully at DS1's 2 favoured 6th form offers (that's out of 5, but his school is 11-16), and realised that they both have sent quite a lot of bridging work. Though I can understand why, it seems quite a big ask to expect quite so much when students haven't definitely made up their mind between colleges and are waiting for results.

I'm going to broach the subject of this this week, and suggest that DS1 does start to do some, even if it's just a bit each day from Saturday, and that he tries to get into using study periods etc from the beginning. I'm also going to show him @Noblegiraffe's very helpful advice (thank you so much) though I might have to copy and paste it out of this thread and separate it from the rest of the conversation. You should publish a book of your maths teacher advice, it's too good to be hidden away on this forum.

@Hellocatshome are you sure your ds isn't at dds school!? Sounds just as bad.
We've had 3 different variations of mock grades. None of them the same and equally unhelpful.

I've got up for work this morning and thought, two more get ups, Thursday off. Then my heart sank. Thursday.

I find it hard to countenance that some schools won't predict grades. How on earth are students meant to make realistic plans and plan Bs without them?!

My ds has got to 5 4's or
Above for his college course which may sound easy for some but he has struggled and worked so hard (English in particular does not come
easily!) he is borderline to start with so am now getting worried!

That's a really interesting suggestion, thank you @noblegiraffe and thank you for your other insights on this thread; I have found them really useful. My DS's school doesn't offer AS levels so he would get nothing for a subject he only took for a year and then dropped. He is also dyslexic and I don't think there's any way he could manage four A levels, even for a short while, even if the school allowed it. They don't allow pupils to do four unless they're very high achievers because they would rather they got three good grades than four less-good grades. I think the best thing for him (assuming he gets in to Further Maths) is to make sure he's doing the extra work right from the beginning so that he makes it through. That will be where his older brother went wrong - he spent all his free periods reading his Kindle.

Arrived back from holiday this weekend - all feels really close now. The A level results threads have all been very sobering. I hope it doesn't feel like our cohort are disadvantaged on Thursday.

DD is in the relatively fortunate position where (barring disaster), the risk is that she doesn't meet her predictions/own expectations. She had an offer for a IV form which requires 8s and 9s, but has chosen a different option and should make the grade requirements. My thoughts and support are with those for whom the stakes are higher.

Are people generally going in with their kids to collect results? DD doesn't need transport to get there, but can't decide if she wants us to go with her or not, and neither of us have a clear sense of what the 'done thing' is.

I think mainly parents don't go, or if needed for transport, wait in the car.

I don't think that the A level results 'as a cohort' were disadvantaged. They were where they were intended to be. The problem has come from some places over predicting (which for UCAS they probably 'needed to' to get offers, but they could have given more modest realistic internal predictions). Also media making a mountain out of a few grains of sand as per usual.

As long as your school has predicted in line with 2019, and DC worked, then hopefully all will be OK.

My dd's school send their results to their school email at 8am, then they go into school from 8.30 onwards to pick up their full transcript and register for sixth form should they wish. I'm wondering if I can lie in bed listening and just wait for the blood curdling scream of failure or hysterical squeals of excitement.

I'm hoping DD's result will be on her college portal.

Last year it was phone or collect which is an hour round trip but I think if we'd known to look it would have been on the portal too.

Having been through A levels last week with DD (she's in at her insurance place), I'm now turning those worry brain cells to DS and his GCSEs.

Big worry with him is English. He's predicted high grades for maths and science but 3H was his mock for English.

He's enrolled in a 6th form, but they need at least a 4. I'm starting to look at Plan B options for him if he needs it. He's known for pretending to feel fine, but actually being very worried inside so having a solid plan B if the worst should happen, even if he's reluctant to discuss it will help on the day.

I'm going with dd at her request. She wants me to go right into school. I was surprised because she's not always like that but there you go. We're meeting her best friend and mum outside and going in together then going for tea and cake afterwards.
I think most of her friends have asked a parent to go in.
I took ds for his alevels last week and sat in the car but loads of parents were going in.

I went in with my DS four years ago. The teachers needed to speak with us as he had missed a couple of grades by one or two percentage points and they wanted us to get some papers re-marked.

I'm picking DS2s up for him as he's too anxious. He's waiting at home and he will open them. It's 30 years exactly since I collected mine, I know the maths will be better than I got!

CAMHS have just emailed and offered more support so that's something. They hadn't actually had the feedback from the counseling service (they referred him to it) and I had to get it for them, but we got there in the end. Though I'm a bit baffled they were going to discharge him without getting the feedback

I see the media hype has started already about grades being lower. 😔

Yes, we're all feeling very sick now.

Ds a level grades last week weren't great but if we are totally honest, he could have done more throughout the two years. He is naturally clever but was a crammer and has learnt it doesn't work.
Dd on the other hand has always had to work harder. If she doesn't get what she wants/needs it's definitely not through want or trying. She worked her socks off and deserves to do well.

My DDs go in between 9-10. They are getting a lift in with a friend as the friend definitely wants her mum there. Mine have said they don't really mind but probably prefer it if I stayed home. For us, I think 6th form is a definite for the DD getting her full set of results but it's if she doesn't do as well as she desperately wants to in two particular subjects. In her mind she will have failed and she thinks everyone will think she's less intelligent than they thought. She will cope though. I have plenty of stories from my own far bumpier academic journey (that all have a happy ending). Not that she listens much to me on this of course!

Ignore it. It's quiet season in the news and they need something to fill up space.

The posts from teachers and those involved with clearing etc on the 'A' level threads were illuminating. Things similar to before the pandemic, although possibly a few more shock lower than predicted grades.

DD and her friends are spooking themselves. I'm trying to keep busy and distracted. She should be fine judging on her mocks and the amount of work she put in, but looking forward to Thursday being done.

@PennywisePoundFoolish Just checking you have agreed with school you can collect, as otherwise they may not let you take them.