Son got 5s in his mocks. Doubting he can do A levels. Any advice?

[Kago2790]

My son got his mock results today. 5s across the board (except 6 in music 4+ in Spanish). He is hoping to do A level Maths, Physics, Music.

He was expecting higher, 6s at least and he is quite upset.

Speaking to him about it, the problems are as follows:

He says he doesn't know how to revise. I think he watches too many YouTube videos that explain questions. Isn't it better to just do past papers, mark them, the ones you get wrong you work out where you went wrong and then repeat those type of questions until you get good at them. Then do more past papers and repeat the process. That is what I will suggested. His response to this is that he learns a question but of course the exact same question doesn't come up in the exam, it comes up in a different form and he struggles to recognise it is the same question he revised just with different wording or form. How do you improve on that?

He is forgetful. He can learn something one day, get it, but it is forgotten quickly. How do you get it to stick? I realise some people are blessed with a good memory which is valuable for learning but since he has a bad memory what can he practically do?

Is it too late for a tutor? We haven't used one but maybe a few sessions could be valuable? We asked his teacher at parents evening in the autumn who said he doesn't need one if he attends the extra classes the school provide which he has been going to.

Finally, if he gets 5s on the real exam I assume 6th form is a no? If so, what do kids typically do. He hasn't got a back up option. Are things like apprenticeships etc applied for before the end of school or is it something he could apply for after results day in August? I suppose he could redo GCSEs next year at a college but he hasn't applied for that of course, is that something they can do in August?

He is a hard worker but it seems it is about quality of revision from now, not quantity.

Any advice welcome.

Two pronged approach:

There's lots of time for more serious revision, lots of practice questions and working on improving scores. He may get get up to a grade 6. It is certainly possible to build a 5 into a 6 in the time available.

There's no limit to the number and type of post-16 courses a y11 can apply for. There's no limit to the number of offers he can accept. Look at the various B-Tech, T-Level and post-16 Diploma courses available in your area. Apply right now, don't wait till after results day. Most non-Alevel courses require 5 grade 5s including Maths & English. Some will accept 5 grade 4s and will accept a child with failed maths or english (but will get them to retake it alongside the new qualification) If he gets the grade 6s and wants to do A Levels there's no harm done, he doesn't have to take up an alternative offer even if he accepted it.

Yeh don’t let him take maths with a 5. Even if a school would allow it, the outcome would not be good. Same for physics.

I'd take a two pronged approach I think OP.
1)Look at what you can do to help your son improve his grades between now and the exams, such as engaging a tutor, buying revision guides and so on.
2) Encourage him to explore alternatives such as BTECs, apprenticeships etc as a Plan B in case he doesn't get the GCSE grades to take A levels despite his best efforts. It's better to have other plans made than to be scrabbling around for whatever he can get if things don't go according to plan on results day, and he may even find that he actually wants to take a different route once he's really looked into things. There are other paths to success.
Remember that it's not really about getting the GCSE grades to be allowed to take A levels but gaining the knowledge and skills to be able to tackle the courses.
When schools set minimum grades of 6 or 7 to join an A level course it's not because they're mean, it's because they know that pupils with lower grades are likely to struggle and it's really not doing anyone any favours to allow them to spend 2, probably fairly miserable years, struggling to keep up and then sit an exam they are highly unlikely to pass. It's far better to do well at something different than to fail your A levels.
Both my sons got fairly comfortable 7s for GCSE maths and found A level very difficult. Having seen how hard they had to work at it I wouldn't advise anyone with less than a 7 to attempt it - not unless there were extenuating circumstances that meant they'd performed far less well at GCSE than expected and they did actually have a higher knowledge level anyway.
So I'd encourage him to strive to improve his grades if he can but to keep his mind and options open re other routes too. I hope everything works out for the best for him.

When l left teaching we wanted a minimum of grade 6 for A level. And that was the absolute minimum. They often struggled with a grade 6.

We use one through MyTutor who came highly recommended by a friend whose DS was tutored by her the year before. I've been very happy with the system they have - interactive screens and every lesson is recorded so you can watch back for revision.

I've also used tutors via SuperProf - they link you up and then everything is taken off site and you can do online or in person or whatever works and you pay the tutor direct.

Both ways have been really good.

Worth also asking at school if there are 6th formers that tutor, or if you have a year WhatsApp group. Lots of people have swapped tutor info on our Y11 one.

My ds got his apprenticeship in August so dont worry about that

If he does want to do A Levels I'd look at doing different subjects.

I did my gcses in 1996. I loved science and wanted to study science a levels. I did thr old school grading.... and got 2 Bs so 5 5 in today's grades. Going on today's advice I wouldn't be advised to study science a levels but I did. I got good grades and a 2:1 degree.
I would say I loved science alot and worked worked worked at a levels and my degree.

Good post from @MrsAvocet there. Yes it’s because a student whose best effort is a 5 or even a 6 will struggle with most A levels. DS took sciencey A levels with 988 GCSE grades and found maths very challenging (that was an 8 at GCSE). It’s grim to be in school for two years studying something you are really unable to grasp and then sit exams you will do badly in.

Agree your local college will probably offer a Btec in applied science or a T-level in science. Might be more suitable.

@Justwingingit2005 two B grades is more like 66 in today’s number grades tbh.

Is it exam/revision technique or is it ability?

You need at least a 7 for A-level.

Look at colleges and BTECs / T-Levels. You can go to university with these.
You may have missed admission deadlines but many will still allow applications on an ongoing basis. These have more coursework and fewer exams in general.

He will probably need at minimum of a 7 to do maths A level and a minimum of a 6 if not a 7 for physics. And to be honest if the maths is a 'scrape a 7 with tutoring' it may still not be the best idea.

Revision tips:

Active learning, not just passive reading.
Make notes / mind maps
Try to write out or repeat to you key points.
Many online things too such as Tassomai & Seneca.
Have an aim like 'properties of covalent bonds' not just 'Chemistry'.
Revise a topic. Then switch to something else. Then come back to it.
Go back the next day, then 2 days later, then a week later.

(All this is ideally learned in KS3 then refined in y10, but sadly too many say these exams don't count so don't bother then come unstuck in y11.)

(And ideally revision notes for y10 are made in y10, and all the others by y11 mocks.)

It sounds, TBH, that he doesn’t really understand the subjects. Get a tutor and see if they can get to the bottom of it. But if this is across all subjects that’s a problem.

Was he expecting that grade in the mocks or did it come as a surprise?

In some subjects, it might just be a weird result or mistake in the.mocks - my son got a 5 in a mock but got a 9 in his actual GCSE for that subject, so we assume for that subject there was a mistake in marking the mock (or the real exam but we weren't going to question that one!)

If it's across the board though, that's's unlikely. I doubt it's too late for a tutor though. I'm sure they could help, especially if concentrating on one or two subjects rather than everything.

He could consider engineering BTEC and apprenticeship. DD did maths, physics chemistry A levels and got A, A, B - she was massively relieved to still keep her first choice uni place as it was offered on A, A, A. She's now a civil engineer but she had to work super hard through sixth form.

This is brilliant, thanks

There were A* s in that message, but random bold has struck instead!

A tutor might help. But it's very late to look for one and most will be fully booked for the pre-exam season. Firsttutors.com are good for finding one locally, but make sure you look for one that is experienced in the exam board and specific course he's doing (so for AQA GCSE Maths course code 8300 for example).

Each question will have a specific format regardless of the topic of the question.

Getting the tutor to develop a chart of what is required by each question will help.

But yes, you're right. He should be doing practise / past papers for revision, NOT watching You Tube. I suspect he watches the videos because it's easier, but he needs to pick up his pen and do proper old fashioned, hand written practise.

Get his individual course information (as above, AQA GCSE Maths 8300) and print off past papers for him. And check that he has completed them. The online past papers will even have mark schemes to go with them, so for some subjects (like maths/science) YOU could mark them for him. For other subjects where answers are more subjective (history, English) the mark schemes will have exemplar answers at each level, so you could copy and paste a top level answer for him to use as an example of what he should be doing.

The main thing my daughter does for revision is blurting.

You pick a mini topic from one of the subjects. Then without looking at any books write down all the points you can remember about it. Then cross reference those points to your notes and you know what you need to focus on in revision.

She has a massive whiteboard she uses for home revision. She also does loads of past papers, flash cards. Basically anything except just reading her notes. You need active not passive revision.

She is bright but not super bright so I put her great gcse results down to her good revision technique .

It would be downright foolish and most schools and colleges wouldn’t allow it anyway. As a general rule of thumb, for an academic subject at A level you need at least a 7

DD found GCSE's tough and to be honest, all of primary and secondary. She's a grafter and loves learning but just not academic so it always felt like an uphill struggle. She got mostly 4s and 5s last summer and 6s in media and English and is now doing both at a level plus sociology which she didn't study at gcse

She's predicted As in media and sociology and C in English and is absolutely loving college.

So just wanted to throw in, don't underestimate the difference it can make when you are only doing 3 subjects that you have chosen and enjoy. Some kids will also thrive in a college environment vs school too

I failed A level maths after getting a B in the GCSE - I was told by the school doing A level maths was a bad idea but I knew better.....!!

I'd suggest a tutor if school thinks he's capable of higher grades. The tutor can help with exam techniques which is key for gcse.
If your DS isn't the sort that enjoys a single final exam, I'd recommend BTEC. They get a bad rep sometimes but I know several folks who did these and thrived as its more continuous assessment. One is now on a sought after degree apprenticeship with an accountancy firm.

Exam technique is hugely important. You need to know exactly how to answer a question, and what type answers will get maximum marks. The teachers should drum this into their students. In the case of fact based subjects though (history, biology etc) you do need to remember the stuff, and there is soooo much to learn. I spent hours and hours sat with DC repeating fact after fact … unless you know these the exam techniques are useless. It was painful and very tedious, but it worked, although I appreciate it’s very old fashioned. For things like physics and maths where you need formulas, we stuck them on doors, furniture, everywhere … there was no escape.

Maths A level is a massive step up from GCSE. I wouldn't recommend anyone taking it unless they had an 8 or above in their GCSEs.

No idea about physics.

I fear many tutors may be fully booked by now. If they do have spaces they may be offering extras to existing students ahead of taking on new ones with only 8 weeks to go.