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.

My son scraped 4 grade 4 passes in mocks. Got 5s, 6s and 2 7s in GCSEs - the shock of his mocks was a kick up the arse. He did do A levels, got 3 grade Cs. I think btec might have been better but it was enough for uni at a decent post-92 and he's thrived there, set for 1st or high 2:1.

Honestly even with a 7 a-level maths is going to be very very tough.
When I took a-levels lots of people with A stars at gcse in maths struggled to get a B in the a-level. With a 7 at GCSE (and likely a scraped 7 rather than close to an 8) he's going to spend two years struggling and end up with something like a D. I wish schools would stop encouraging every student down the route of a-levels, they are only really suitable for students with a clutch of grades 7-9. Apprenticeships are a much better option for a lot of students.

I certainly wouldn't have encouraged my son to do maths or science A levels with his grades.

In my experience, mocks aren't always a great indicator of final results. My daughter bombed hers and ended up with great results in her final exams. Don't make any decisions based on these results.

Dd has learning disabilities throughout school, dyslexia, processing and working memory.
She did however graft. In mocks and then for exams I had her phone from 5.30 yo 8.30
She got 5s in English, maths and science. Some 6s in dance and drama, got 9 gcses at 4 and above.
Is now doing A levels at sixth form college in combined lang/lit, Dance and drama. Predicted Cs based on her gcses but has consistently got B grades so far ( due to grafting)
Do not despair!
Find out facts. What grades does he actually need to do his choice of A level. It might be the case that he would struggle with maths if he gets a 5 at gcse. Is it an ability thing or a learning thing? What is the plan B? Find one, it takes the pressure off of him.
The thing to avoid (I had 3 teens) is theidea that the world will end if gcses aren't brilliant. There is always a different route to take

Maths, Physics plus one more is the a level plan here too.
Our back up is engineering btec at a college (rather than alevels at a sixthform). So id look at those possibilities.
A tutor for revision techniques might be valuable across all subjects, rather than targeting one or 2 subjects?

DS got a 9 in GCSE maths and an B at A-level - just to give you an idea of how hard it is, he worked hard too. They've been upping and upping the grade boundaries for the last couple years, DS got around 70% and it still only came out as a B. I really wouldn't recommend physics either tbh.

I would say engineering btechs would probably work really well for him, more coursework less exam based. I wouldn't pin his hopes on being a pilot though tbh, it's either ridiculously expensive or ridiculously competitive. He could go straight into the RAF but I think he'd be better off doing A-level equivalent Btecs (assuming he's interested in engineering) and then he could do a degree or go in the RAF after that.

If he's getting 5s now then he definitely needs to rethink his A-level plan of maths and Physics as it is highly unlikely that he is going to improve in a couple of months to the level he needs for A-level study.

Look at local colleges for BTECs and other options. Don't worry too much about having missed the application deadlines, there's usually flexibility around 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? »

This problem with trying past papers would indicate that he hasn’t really learned to apply the principles, and thinks it’s enough to just rote learn information. That’s really the distinction between Foundation and Higher Papers, and can be helped by tutoring if he finds it hard to get deeper understanding in a class situation. The jump up to A level content in Maths and Physics would be a concern though.

There will be plenty of excellent options apart from A levels, many suggestions already. Far better to succeed at the right level.

Ds got 5s in his mocks, and is now doing A-levels this year. (Maths, Computers and Product Design)
He got a mixture of 5,6 and 7s in the real things.

He's predicted low Bs for his A-levels, although he's very spiky so he'll do one paper and get a good A then another and get an E, so it's going to depend on the day.

But it does depend on your dc. If he's prepared to put the work in now, it will make things easier for him next year.
Ds is not good at work. I'll swear when he has some to do he works out how long he thinks it should take him, halves the time then starts exactly that long before the deadline... It causes me far more stress than him though <sigh>

Yes, I'd look at tutoring, especially in the subjects he wants to take for A-levels. Also try some incentives for working. Ds works well for Jaffa Cakes - one local shop sells boxes of misshapen Jaffa Cakes and a promise of one of those can get through a certain amount of work.

No 6th forms my Dc applied to accepted A Level students for maths or physics without at least a 7.

My Dc that did maths and physics got 9s at GCSE and found them hard at A level ( and got As, so scope to have done less well and passed)

They tend to mark mocks harshly, wait and see what happens in GCSE results, and have some contingency plans?

I think too much emphasis is put on A Levels these days. They are not the be all and end all and there’s so many other options.

Is he better at coursework? My ds got mainly 5’s and 4’s in his GCSEs last year and is now doing an extended diploma BTEC (equivalent of 3 a levels) and most unis accept this qualification unless you’re looking at places like oxbridge or some top unis (also depends on the type of degree). Unless your GCSEs are absolute top end then these are not be the best fit and impossible anyway.

DS always struggled with revision and exams and his whole 2 years is now coursework based. He’s getting much higher grades and also enjoying it (never underestimate how important that part is!!). My eldest ds was much more academic at school but even he struggled with A Levels. He’s on a gap year now then heading off to do a degree abroad where they don’t even take into consideration a levels, just GCSEs.

There are so many paths to find the right career. The RAF have some fantastic degree apprenticeships. I think being a pilot may be difficult (not sure what you need tbh) but there are lots of engineering type apprenticeships. Take a look at their website if you haven’t already and good luck to your ds this year.

Doing past papers will help some knowledge to be learnt but also practices exam technique which is important. Plus past questions do come up. Dd did loads of past papers for science GCSE’s and a number of past questions came up.

Thanks all, looking at some local engineering courses like this as a back up:

https://trafford.tscg.ac.uk/our-courses/detail/?cid=TFP-EG3C-1100

Maybe sound engineering or music technology too. I don't know much about them to be honest. My son plays violin and is taking Grade 8, he plays in an orchestra too but I don't think he has done much with the tech side of music.

Also for apprenticeships there is no one stop shop where these are advertised is there? It's just trawling loads of companies websites?

Tha is again

The government have an apprenticeships website

https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

Thanks but surprisingly nothing nearby (Greater Manchester). Only one in the North West up in Carlisle. Shame, gov.uk websites usually are good.

Look at Salford unis sound engineering degree. They recruit from different disciplines too.

On that apprenticeship link you can search for level 3 apprenticeships.

Most colleges have bricklaying and plastering courses. Where I live there don't seem to be many plasterers and the ones there are can more or less name their own price. Once they are skilled they seem to be able to earn about £1500 per week. They don't have to take work home with them and they can pick and choose the days they work. I saw courses on car mechanics too when I looked around my local college this morning with a DC. They also did plumbing and electrics. Not all kids can be academic.

@Kago2790 its worth checking that site regularly and setting up for alerts as new ones do come up frequently.

Also as an example this apprenticeship in audiology recruits from A levels as well as Btec.

beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9166-25-0118

Tutor

It’s mocks so clearly not too late.

I have done work in school mentoring and every kid (grammar a level kids) say their biggest failure was mocks.

But he has to buckle down and sort things out now. A tutor might help him to learn how to study and what is important to learn.

good luck.

Level3 courses (extended diplomas) like eg this one : https://www.tmc.ac.uk/courses/music-production-live-sound/ usually carry UCAS points so university courses are still accessible (though probably not Russell Group level)

I wouldn't advise doing an A-Level from a grade 5 at GCSE. From a grade 6 it's possible but on the understanding that it will likely be a B grade at A level - which is fine and perfectly respectable depending on what subsequent ambitions are. But a hands-on vocational course that a young person genuinely enjoys is a better use of the 16-18 years than struggling with a trio of academic and theoretical subjects that aren't a good fit for their skills.

Most kids will go up at least 1 grade in the subjects they really prioritise. I agree with getting a Maths Tutor. Try lots of different revision techniques. What does he need to get into the 6th form of his choice? I wouldn't normally advise this but maybe he should just focus on 5 subjects and do the bare minimum for the others?

Getting a grade 6 at gcse is not likely to lead to a B at a-level it's much more likely to lead to a C or a D. Most people drop at least 1 grade from what they got at gcse apart from the most exceptional students. A 6 at gcse is only a B. A-levels are generally much, much harder than GCSE's.

Going up a grade is usually a thing for mocks held in November, not when there’s only two months to the exams.