GCSEs

[Mammadrama]

DS wants to do higher sciences but teachers advise foundation due to v poor mock exams in January. Exams are in May. He still wants to do higher but obviously I don’t want him to fall on his face. The suggestion of doing foundation upsets him. I don’t want him to think I don’t believe in him but I’m just frustrated on how to handle this. Help!

It's possible to change tier up to quite late.

The danger with higher is that if he really struggles in the exam he might wind up with nothing at all as it's not possible to get grades 1 and 2 (and maybe 3? - I've been out of teaching for a bit).

If he's not going to be taking science further then foundation really is the safer option

I think if you do foundation and you ace it, you can actually get a 6. was he hoping for higher than that?

How much did he study for his mocks ? How close was he to passing if he failed ? Can he raise his grade enough to score the minimum grade for higher ?
I can see why the school is saying foundation is better so he doesn’t risk having no sciences. Has he ever sat a foundation test to see what he might score?

He said he didn’t study properly and he doesn’t even know what he wants to do for A levels yet. Yes im going to show him the foundation papers. I feel I have to take the guidance of the teachers but he is being stubborn

They all say they didn't study properly.

Only some of them do actually start.

If he did sufficiently badly on the higher paper in the mocks that school want him to do foundation they think there's a very high chance he'll get nothing.

He'll have been entered already but it can be changed up until quite late.

Personally if I was you I wouldn't get involved. If he managed to do so badly in the mocks school want him on foundation then science a levels are probably a pretty much no go anyway (unless he was previously a top art student who did very well).

Yes I wish I wouldn’t have to get involved but they sent home a form for me to sign to say “yes “ to foundation. And he knows that.

What grade did he get in mocks? He can probably pull it up by a grade or two if he works. It’s easier to get a 5 (strong pass which for most purposes would count as having a science GCSE) on a foundation paper than on a higher paper, so unless he realistically thinks he can get 6-7 then he’s better doing the foundation level.

Might he want to take science A levels tho, realistically? If not then F is the way. Max grade is a 5 but nothing on your certificate says you took F.

What were his mock grades? Is this combined or triple? If triple, can he take Fbin the weakest one(s)?

Science is not my subject but for MFL it’s a lot easier to get a 5 in F.

This is not the case. The highest grade you can obtain on the Foundation tier is grade 5.

this is categorically not what my son' biology teacher told me at parent's evening recently. she said generally speaking the most you can get is a 5 BUT if you got over 95% they would consider awarding a 6. this may not be true but it's what she said.

AQA goes up to a 5.

filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/science/AQA-GCSE-SCIENCE-TG-FH.PDF

I would make him sit all 6 higher papers and mark them. They are available on line.

If he is getting a 5 then stick to foundation. Only a high 6 would I consider swapping.

The exam boards advise foundation for grade 5 students. Definitely agree with this in my experience.

You can't get more than a 5 on foundation.

How bad is bad on mocks?

Could he try some practice papers now OP and see how he does?

If staff are recommending that he does foundation tier it's because he is at risk of falling off the bottom of the higher tier and getting a U. It's really as simple as that, I'm afraid. Every single year there are students who beg and plead to be allowed to take higher, swearing that they will put the work in, until someone takes pity on them and lets them. So many of them end up with Us.

It's March. The exams are two months away. If his teachers had enough hard evidence that he could achieve a solid 6 then they wouldn't be insisting on foundation at this point. I'm sorry.

The Foundation papers consist of low demand questions aimed at grades 1 to 3 and standard demand questions aimed at grades 4 to 5. You cannot obtain more than a grade 5 because you haven't been tested on questions aimed at this level.
The Higher papers consist of standard level questions (grades 4 to 5) and higher demand questions (grades 6 to 9). If your mark is very low and you don't reach the standard for the 4-3 grade then you can be awarded a U where U is unclassified.

His science mocks were v bad!! Plus school won’t let him do a science A level there if he does foundation. Btw- this is CCEA board ( Northern Ireland)

maybe science isn't so important for him then? better to aim for 4 and get it than be really stressed trying to get higher marks?

And the DA science in May counts toward 11% of grade ( of each- chem/ physics and biology) even if he gets and AB or AA and he has done a unit in foundation ( they can mix them here) he cannot do any A level science subjects at his school. Sorry should have said that but I’m learning as I go as I’m not from here

And also, I agree that should be doing foundation - so I agree with teachers.

Sounds like he's better off doing the foundation level. It sounds like he would struggle to do science A level anyway even if he wanted to - there's quite a big step up between science gcse and A level and if you go in to them without that solid gcse knowledge behind you then it's a struggle.
If he still thinks he can improve a lot and does want to do science A levels then you need to go back to the school and ask if he can sit some past papers and see how he does after proper studying.

Is he worried that he can’t stay in the same class as friends? Is her worried about “looking stupid”
if he does foundation while his friends do higher?

If he’s not bothered by science then doing foundation and freeing time for other subjects is his best bet. Even if he doesn’t know what he wants to do for A-level, he might have ideas like essay subjects, creative subjects…

This is really not true and quite concerning that a teacher would say this.

This is such bs. Even if you got every single marks on a foundation paper you would get a 5

This person is either lying or the only thing I can think of is the teacher was talking about mocks, where if the child got 95% on a foundation paper in their mocks they would possibly give a 6. But even that is bs, the foundation paper is heaps easier.
The only way someone moves up to higher at my DDs school is if they're consistently getting 90% plus in foundation level assessments