Odd question I know English specific exceptional reader year 11:kindly knowing answers only please...

[StrangeBrewlook]

Dd is an exceptional reader.. She always has been since reading clicked.

This is very outing hence name change for this: age 15 she's read war and peace peace, balzac, Anna kareina, tess etc.

Her other subject grades are hitting 9 and yet for English she's 7.

I've looked at some point recent essays and she's got one point ao3... One ao2 and one ao1.

Leaving her 2 marks off an 8.

Yes of course I will speak to her teacher but I'm also wondering if i should contact anyone else within the school to alert them to this what I would say is exceptional reading..

Something with the gcse English is not clicking. Her vocabs and spelling is always spot on.

Unfortunately she hates it and doesn't want to pursue it at a level but what a waste!

What should I do.

Or should I get a tutor because obviously schools are busy.

I know she's an essay writer, another essay subject said one of her essays was sublime and beyond a 9.

Is there any written feedback on the essay? The teacher will have given the class feedback on draft essays - ask DD what the teacher has said about what she can improve.

Definitely the teacher is your best resource here as to what she needs to do to improve her grade. Being good at reading complex texts doesn’t necessarily translate immediately to being good at analysing them. It’s a skill you have to learn.

I agree with the message above - while your daughter obviously loves reading, including more advanced texts, this doesn’t equate to success in English.

As with any other subject there are mark schemes, and if a candidate shows good understanding, but doesn’t include all the AOs, or doesn’t address the specific question asked they cannot be awarded high marks. It sounds like exam technique is an issue here.

I’d also say that while the texts she’s reading are advanced, they don’t make her an exceptional reader, as plenty of other young people will have read them too.

Finally, unfortunately a love of reading doesn’t translate to exam success, and as so much teaching time is devoted to passing the exam I can understand why she wouldn’t be enjoying the subject. I do feel A Level is a bit different, not least because students often have the chance to pursue their own interests in the NEA unit.

She sounds like me. English was my worst subject, yet I excelled in essay subjects with lots of writing and reading comprehension of Greek philosophy and what not. It didn't impact my university or career pathways!

Funnily enough, I now write for a living, but it's not creative or essays. I'm a plain English specialist and work with people to make their specialisms understandable to broader audiences. Skills high school English didn't test or appreciate.

She will find her own way, OP.

It sounds like exam technique - she needs to be taught the method to answer each question to ensure maximum marks. Then she needs lots and lots of practice to apply the methods in timed conditions.

A tutor could be helpful but make sure they are very experienced in the exam board that your daughter's school are using for English. Although the boards assess the same AOs, the demands of the questions are very different. I'd start with asking the teacher for some advice first and then building on whatever they supply with an experienced and knowledgeable tutor. If the issue was English skills then this wouldn't be as problematic but a tutor not teaching to the correct exam would be worse than not having any support at all,

You do not need to do anything

A 7 is still an A. Anything grade 7-9 is an A. They created grades 8 and 9 so that the exceptionally brilliant could demonstrate it but that doesn't make 9 any kind of requirement. The threshold for studying a subject at A level is to achieve a 6 at GCSE and she doesn't want to do it at A level anyway. Precisely what benefit would be got from achieving a grade higher than 7?

It is ok for her to get a 7. It is much much more important that she knows it's ok to do her best and that a 7 is worth celebrating.

But the basic answer to your question is that the GCSE is not a test of reading prowess so her skill at reading isn't going to translate to the highest grade. This isn't a problem.

Are both English GCSEs causing her difficulty?

GCSE English Language emphasises language skills and communication, covering structure, grammar, punctuation and various communication forms.

It requires students to analyse and produce essays, reports, articles, speeches and creative writing.

Assessment includes reading comprehension, creative writing and non-fiction text analysis, like advertisements and newspaper articles.

GCSE English Literature explores set literary texts such as novels, plays, poetry and short stories, spanning different periods and cultures, but not the books your daughter is reading.

Students analyse themes, characters and literary techniques. Assessment comprises essay-based questions on literature analysis, literary devices and contextual understanding.

Your daughter's preference leans towards books with historical settings and profound philosophical themes, making A-level history and philosophy more suitable choices for her.

A-level English Literature varies depending on the curriculum, exam board and school. Commonly studied texts include Shakespeare’s works, novels by Austen, Dickens or Orwell and poetry by Wordsworth, Keats, Dickinson or Eliot.

Modern and contemporary literature features authors like Fitzgerald, Morrison or Rushdie. The curriculum also includes plays by playwrights such as Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller.

It does explore literary works from diverse cultural backgrounds, world literature and literary classics from various eras and genres like Gothic or Victorian literature.

My DS adores reading, is a voracious reader, always read above his age level. Aged 12 he was reading physics books for adults. Not understanding all of the concepts but loving to read these books.
English is one of his hardest subjects.

In addition to these great points, OP daughter's impressive reading prowess is too narrow to excel in English exams. English exams require an understanding of varied text types.

She has to get 7 to study it at a level.

Yes of course 7 is brilliant but very basic in the higher level marks.

@YeahNahWhal thank you. Part of me thinks this... It's her journey etc and let it go.

I also do understand that being an exceptional reader doesn't necessarily translate into narrowly marked exams.

@percypig

I think she would love English a level even with someone aspects she doesn't like.

I'm not sure how to help her see this though. The problem is she's getting 9s for other subjects so 7 is lower and she thinks it's not a strong subject.

@Ellishyde thank you.

I only get language marks.

She's doing jekyll and Hyde and macbeth etc.

She's doing very well in history and would like to do that at a level.
A level at her school would be tess, which she's just read, virginia :Mrs dalloway, street car name desire, words worth, king pear.

DS also an avid reader and got 7s for both English subjects(and 9 in another essay subject) DD has likely not even read the ingredients on ketchup and got 9s in both. She forensically studied the mark schema and memorised quotes covering all the likely themes.

Sadly so much of GCSEs are ticking boxes, her lack of reading made literally no difference. I suggest your DD works more on understanding exactly what is required of her and doing loads and loads of practice papers

Firstly A levels are a big step up from GCSEs and are a lot of work. It really helps if the student actually loves the subject. Don't push your DD into a subject she doesn't want to do. It sounds as though she could choose from a wide range of subjects.

Secondly, I agree it's probably exam technique that's the issue. I would advise getting her the revision guide for her exam board. That will go through each question and what is required for the question.

King pear 🤣👑, sorry, king lear

Absolutely agree. Parents often fixate on their children achieving all 9s. A 4 equates to a C, which was considered excellent when most of us attended school.

My son completed his GCSEs in the summer and so many parents were crazed when their children were predicted 6s, 7s, or even 8s!

To get into sixth form, they only needed a combined score of 48. Realistically, few individuals excel across the board and no one needs to.

@Ellishyde

Ignoring the perhaps "slight" ops dds reason prowess is too narrow..

What do you mean too narrow.

Ie what other reading..

A 4 equates to a C, which was considered excellent when most of us attended school.

A ‘C’ has never been considered excellent! When I took my O Levels a ‘C’ was the minimum pass and a 4 is now the same. Yes, lower grades were available, but they weren’t a pass.

@Seeline thank you I will do that.

I guess what in trying to say is, she's an avid reader of pretty weighty books at 15

Ideally our education system would be challening her instead of putting her off pursing English literature at a level.

Of course getting through war and peace doesn't mean she can answer exams questions and I understand that she needs help with this which I why is asked who can I get to help.
. The bigger picture is a fantastic student's who loves reading and learning over all and somehow is whilst punching high, still a litre short on the one subject I think she should be excelling at

Michael Gove designed the curriculum to put children off English and move instead towards maths and the sciences. The exams are quite a lot on single word analysis with very prescribed answers needed - so way beneath your dd's level. In future AI may take over a lot of writing jobs and already they are poorly paid so your dd may be better off doing something else at university especially as she doesn't seem passionate about English. However the a level curriculum is much better than the GCSE. It also can overlap with history depending on the period

@Halfemptyhalfling can you expanded further in 2 single word analysis please. My in learning is way beneath dds.

I agree on ai. It's a tsunami that education and our country is mot prepared for....

At all.

That's a good point. She's only about to do gcse so a level is a short way away.

I don't think being an exceptional reader necessarily equates to the very high grades at GCSE. (For example, DD is an extremely capable reader but I don't think she's actually read a book cover to cover since she was 11/12. She got a 9 in Language and an 8 in Lit). The exams aren't about measuring how well someone can read; it's a different set of skills that are required (being able to analyse the texts, applying the grammar rules in the prescribed way).

Is it both English Literature and English Language that she is getting 7s in, or just one of them? As others have said, 7s are perfectly good results but if she is keen on improving further I would speak to her teachers with her and see what areas she could work on. Again, as others have said, it may just be exam technique that she needs to hone.

Please excuse spelling type o

@TheCompactPussycat

I agree its ticking boxes but why isn't she ticking them. She's extremely good at taking direction so I'm wondering if I need a tutor to get this across... Why aren't her school getting it across...

I've got a few dc my others struggle with reading!.

I can see she's an excellent student so I am wondering what's happening

Is she including context and showing her interpretation of the text? It’s great she enjoys reading, but English Lit needs the context elements for extra marks.

If the school wants decent results it should be teaching exam techniques. Is the teacher inexperienced or against the rigid curriculum? I think it's worth raising with them and if no joy with the head of English.