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.

True but teachers should now be finishing/have finished the content so every lesson will be revision of content and exam technique. My Y11s are doing a timed answer every week.

Revising and exams are skills that can be learned and practiced to improve performance. Sadly he says he doesn't know how - Have schools failed to teach that? Agree - Google how to revise and step away from the screens as you tube hadn't worked.

Hi - does he have the relevant study aids for his courses? Maybe he can work through them? My DC used to make condensed notes and diagrams on everything read and then keep rereading and testing the nearer the exams were. I think there may be quizzes as well for certain courses on line.
Can you help him make a revision ttime table too? The idea being he has recapped every area of his course, understood it and made notes on it between now and May. A couple of weeks leading up to the exams are when he can keep rereading his notes/ cards and be tested by you so he’s learning off rote formula or quotes. now is the time to reread and check he understands what he’s learning whilst making his notes.
definitely do past papers but hopefully school will be doing those in lessons x

Hi Op, if in greater Manchester does he have any offers from sixth form colleges . If so, the place is guaranteed so at enrolment they can choose whether a levels or btec etc is better.

I very much expect the school have been talking about it since y7, and definitely y10. He will most likely have been encouraged to try different methods etc etc. Sadly so many seem happy to just wing it and then discover they don't have the revision skill.

Russell group definitely accessible with BTEC L3 extended for music. I know someone who has offers from 3 RG for this year.

Oxbridge won’t accept them, and a few other specific courses are sniffy but you are definitely good for options.

Also the case that RG and even Oxbridge aren’t always the best place to go for some subjects nor do they have the best facilities.

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.

Absolutely correct. My DS adopted this approach and got top results at gcse and A level.

Do you genuinely feel he's really up to getting higher grades if he puts the work in? Maths and physics are really hard A levels - to be able to cope with them I'd expect students to be getting more like 7/8 at gcse.

A levels and uni aren't for everyone - looking at apprenticeships is a good shout.

In my area we have 6th form colleges and minimum entry fee Alevels is 5 grade 4 or above, you need higher grades for maths or science, but for arts/humanities/ social sciences get the level 2 pass and it’s fine. They also run a year long course for kids wanting to do a-level who just miss the grade.

I, many years ago got 4 B and 3 C, which in new money is somewhere between a 4 and a 6, and I did Alevels, went to uni and did well in both. Obviously better grades give more options but I wouldn’t dismiss Alevels.

I agree that past papers for maths and the sciences are massively helpful.

DD did loads of maths past papers and finished her GCSE maths exams early because she was used to the way the questions were asked and what they were looking for. I can't stress enough how useful this was for her, not just for knowing how to answer a question but because it also gave her the confidence she needed.

She did the same with her science subjects as well, as biology in particular has a very specific mark scheme and it pays to be familiar with it.

Is he really set on doing A-levels? Lots of kids (and parents) think they have to do them because it's the only pathway to uni, but that's not the case, as PP have said. A Level 3 BTech is the equivalent to three A-levels and will get him the UCAS points he needs. Honestly, his mocks results suggest he may be less academically minded than his peers and that's okay – not all kids are. Mine is also predicted mainly 5s and she's already got her BTech place offer and is really excited about leaving school and entering a college environment. She's also relieved she won't have to sit more exams under huge pressure again, as her BTech is mostly course work and the tests she will sit are open book. Definitely explore BTech some more. I know it's being suggested you could engage a tutor to get him through his GCSEs, but if you have to hot-house him to get better than a 5, it doesn't bode that well for his A-Level chances.

And don’t write him off for A levels yet.

dds gcse mocks were dire, she got 2/3 for English and English lit. And I think 4 or maybe 5 for everything else. I got her a weekly tutor for English and printed loads of past papers for other subjects.

she got 8s for both English, 7s for science and then a load of 6s. She did A levels and went on to uni and got a 1st class degree.

Oxford accepts btec extended diploma science for medicine.... Has to be a very specific set of units though, but they do accept it.

Progress!

And yes, it's not as simple as 'BTECs' accepted. It's often rather more specific. But definitely not the case that if you choose that path over A levels that you are limiting yourself.

Especially if you are better suited to the style of BTEC and will come out with a better grade.

DD has SEN and specific problems with exams due to an incredibly low working memory. BTECs are far better for her than they would have been for someone like me who could spend 48 hours revising, get it all down on paper on exam day and probably only know a tenth of it 3 weeks later!

Yh same. Coursework at GCSE nearly ended me, I can't think of anything worse than BTECs I'd have had a breakdown but they also suit DD. They're not easy at all though, the length of the coursework is mad! I feel for the teachers marking it.

My daughter passed x3 GCSEs with a grade 4.
She is now at university studying to be a teacher.. He's more than capable he just needs to find a course at the next level that he loves and works for him

It's not too late. get tutor for key subjects. This was me. I really focused now - June

6th form isnt out. Btecs are an option. My eldest has done 3. Just about to finish.

Sorry to derail, but is she enjoying the combined English Lang/Lit? Does she find it much harder than GCSE English?

OP I think your son could improve his grades and what he has is certainly good enough for most sixth form colleges in most subjects. However I think Physics and Maths are an exception to that rule and require 7s

My son got 9s in Maths and Physics and found both at A level far too hard (so dropped them after a couple of weeks)

Sorry OP. It’s stressful. My DS has found some online material which are really good, but key is they are either making a flsshcsrd or doing active questions as they go. Also trying video revision with a set of questions after. I think a lot of 15 year olds struggle with revision.

I don’t think he should be written off for A levels. If he turns some 5s to 6s then he is good for it. I know maths/ sciences usually 7, so maybe other subjects. If his revision has not been effective and he can nail that now there are gains to be made!

My ds is the same age and has interests really similar to your son’s. As you’re GM I just just thought I’d mention the music tech lessons at Z-arts run by an industry professional. They’re free and on a Thursday night. My ds has learned loads from them.

www.z-arts.org/events/musicfusion/

Ds2 still doing mocks this week. Awaiting results in a few weeks. Plenty of time to still turn it around. Have you emailed all his teachers for feedback?

It's about two months till the exams, there's really not plenty of time.

My mock results were average and I went to St Andrews so he shouldn't be dishearted.

The best way I've always found to retain knowledge is to write the information down, then summarise it, then summarise it a second time until what's left is a more concise bullet point version. Read that every day until he knows it off by heart. It's hard work but it pays off.

I suspect, but have zero evidence, that it is probably way harder to pull it out of the bag now than pre reform.

Pre reform students already had a good % already in the bag so there was less content and fewer exams at the end.

Whereas now if they haven't mastered revision technique and applied it to a good part of the syllabus, then they have a mountain to climb.

Less of an issue maybe if they know the stuff but are sloppy with exam technique.