Thread for those whose DC's didn't do well in their GCSEs

[Anxiousthoughts]

Delighted for those whose kids have done well, but a shocking set of results for ds. Way worse than any mocks he's ever done.

He's going to have to resit maths, can't do two of the 'A' levels he wanted to (Btechs will suit him better anyway). He gets extra time and can use a laptop, neither of which he made use of in the exams.

He's ended up with a Distinction, 1 x 5, 4 x 4, 3 x 3 and a 2. I think he should do a year of resits while he matured a bit, but that seems to be less of a thing than in my day.

Sixty form have accepted him to do 2 x Btechs and an A level, plus maths resit.

Hi
It has turned out Ok for DS as his first choice of college agreed to accept him when he missed his required grade by 1 mark in one of his subjects BUT he did a lot worse than mocks in most subjects.
A couple of subjects he was predicted to get 9s in he got 6's and he only got 1 7 and even a 4 in English!
I know this is a lot better than some but he has got a lot lower grades than he is capable of which is pretty disappointing
We paid for Private School as our local Comp isn't great and it wasn't just for grades it was so he could do the best he is capable of, whatever that is and at this point I can't help but feel that from a purely grades point of view it was a waste of money.
I hope that everyone who is feeling disappointed today manages to find a way through it and it works out ok in the long run

Checking in. DS had a total shocker. He's managed to get on to the a levels he wanted, but just barely. Was predicted 7s 8s and 9s. Got 5s and 6s.

That must be disappointing.
A way for an extra year would be to do a level 2 vocational at college whilst resitting maths, and then move on.
Are you sure a level 3 BTEC extended diploma wouldn't be preferable to A level and 2 BTECs?
Will he use extra time and laptop going forward?

Ds didn't even look at/consider going anywhere else but his sixth form. He's had a rocky ride in lots of ways through school and they know him there and his friends are staying on. I don't think he has the confidence or get up and go to go somewhere else at this point in time tbh.

I had thought about an extended diploma, although he doesn't know what he wants to do. He managed to get a 2 in one of the subjects that he is naturally good at.

I'll speak with him about what went wrong in the exams when he gets home. I don't know whether he has the maturity and self-awareness to really understand that he had those adjustments for a reason and that they were necessary.

It's partly the lower grades than he is capable of but more that I'm not sure if he'll get that he needs to change his attitude/approach to avoid a replay of this in two years time that is upsetting me, I think.

I agree with doing 3 BTEC's, A-levels are crazy hard compared to GCSE's. DS got 2 B's at A-level for subjects he got an 8 and a 9 in for GCSE. I wouldn't bother taking a year out to redo GCSE's though, redo the maths and start the BTECs.

Does he have a diagnosis? If he's ND there's a good chance he struggles with executive function and I would certainly recommend keeping on top of what he is doing in his BTECs and giving him some support with it. For example making sure he is starting any coursework early and doing it consistently so it's finished in plenty of time. Talking through any projects with him and looking carefully at the mark criteria to make sure he has thought it through properly and covered everything. Same with revision for any exams, see if he will work with you to make a timetable and plan his revision.

I work in a school and kids grow up so much from GCSE's to starting 6th form I find. Remember though, if he is ND then his emotional maturity may be behind that of his peers - so again any support you can give him will be invaluable.

If it all goes wrong with his Plan A then in a year he can 'restart'.
Note that 2 or 3 separate BTECs may be harder organisationally than one Level 3 Extended Diploma BTEC. This is because with the Extended Diploma they will be less likely to have assignment date clashes. There is a BTEC thread you should join here: Page 2 | BTEC/T level/other vocational 25/26 | Mumsnet

Thanks both. His school don't do extended diplomas and he didn't apply for any colleges. Also, grade 4s in English and a 3 in maths isn't enough to get in.

He has a visual processing disorder (hence the extra time and laptop). He may well be ND. I cannot quantify the amount of time I've spent organising him, nagging him to get up for school/go to bed/do homework/do revision. He pushes back against it all but I persisted.

Having to do that again for sixth form which he's not going to manage unless he has a major shift in attitude makes me feel exhausted and depressed.

We may need to think about an assessment for ND, but practically that would mean adaptions (which he has) and coping strategies (which I've tried repeatedly to instill in him). Would a formal diagnosis change anything really?

I will look at the Btech thread thanks.

@Hoppinggreen same here. 8/9s mocks, got a 4 in English, otherwise 5s/6s and a 7. Also paid for school. Feels rubbish especially reading the other thread

Same. DD didn't do badly but not well enough for the grammar school she applied to (although still waiting to find out). English Language and English Lit are her best subjects and she got 9s in her mocks. 7 and 6 for the actual GCSEs. Private school. Didn't even apply for anywhere else. Bricking it right now.

Fortunately I know the school he would have gone to if we hadn't been able to afford Private very well and I (probably) don't regret our choice
Plus his older sister went to The Private School so you can't send just one can you?
I hope your DC ends up somewhere they want to be as well

I think college may be a better option for those who struggled with their GCSEs.

After many sleepless nights this week, very relieved that DS passed enough subjects to get onto his BTEC college course but I've spoken to three friends today whose DCs were predicted 7/8s and across the board and ended up with 5s.

I would've been delighted with 5s for DS but can totally understand the disappointment if you're expecting high grades and don't get them. Don't know what to make of it to be honest.

DS is down on mock grades and predictions. He seems ok but it was a bit of a deflated day. At least we can all make plans now. Hoping tomor feels better for all ❤️❤️💙

My so.n Did so much better than his mocks mostly 5's so we are so proud as struggled through schooll however he got a 4 for maths so unable to stay at sixth form where ALL of his mates are going!

so he is gutted 😞

That's tough, Remmy123.
Is that a definite, no room for negotiation, no?

Our DD has also done alot worse than expected. She has missed her place at college by a tiny mark (less than 1).

In 2 GCSEs she is 1 mark and 2 marks away from the grade above so we have requested a review, if she went up a grade in either she'd have what she needs.

Unfortunately the college won't hold her place until the outcome and have withdrawn it. They'll put her on waiting list.

She also gets extra time and has a laptop. She refused to use laptop for exams and her writing is very very hard to decipher. She got a 5 in English Lit which is a shock, she'd never got less than an 8.

Just need somewhere to share this really. Good luck everyone.

I'm very sorry to hear that. It's such a brutal system for some kids. My ds also has extra time and can use a laptop, but used neither in his exams.

It's times like this when I wish I had an extended family member to talk to. Dh is also upset, and it would be so good to have someone slightly removed although still invested in our child.

Thought I leave a note on here too as we had a dreadful day yesterday! Although ds did not get awful grades, they were sooo much lower than all of his mocks and predicted grades.
He was predicted 9s and 8s and received 7s and 6s with a random 5 and 4. His biggest disappointment though was music which he loved and wanted to take in 6th form but did not get required 8 (although all mocks and predicted were 9) so his plans had to radically change. It was a hectic day for us yesterday with unexpected visits to schools we did not think we would be visiting (as he applied only to top schools and secured places in all of them but as the average in most was 7, he did not get any of these places). We finally secured places in Math, Physics and Psychology in a Sixth form close to us. Sadly, we could not find a Music course that would take him on.

While we were trying to get through the disappointing outcome ourselves, I watched with heavy heart how many students were in tears, breaking down, mostly without parents as they hoped for celebrations with peers only and did not expect outcomes they have received. It was heart breaking, seeing them being sent away from multiple places we visited too, many following the same trail of schools.

It made me realise that because our children were pretty smart and hard-working we did not even think twice about making back up, lower-requirements plan. And it turned out to be crucial.
I will not go through the GCSE experience again as ds is the last one in the family (yay) but thought I share my experience; the so-considered smart kids can do awfully in exams too and will go through a horrific, deflating experience, probably made worse by being praised and ensured excellent to good outcome throughout the secondary school life by their school and teachers.

It is life lessons, and I think my ds learnt the one this summer! Might help with A-Levels expectations :)

@OMVM2 as a parent of a child going into year 11 who struggles with schooling but teachers have said will do well your post is really helpful. DC wants to do Alevels but I’m going to make sure we look at and decide on an alternative in case.

It also tells me that she won’t be going to get results on her own! Even if I sit in the car park waiting, she’ll know I’m there.

Yes we had less than expected results too. We were expecting all 7s and 6s with hopefully the odd 8 but ended up with 776555554. Not awful whatsoever but not in line with predicted grades or mocks. DS got the grades for two of his chosen A levels Maths and Geography (the two 7 grade subjects thankfully) but got a 5 in the third subject Physics instead of a 6 so had to choose a different subject as his 3rd one and is now doing Economics.

I’ve been upbeat while feeling a bit sad for him. It probably sounds silly because he’s going to the chosen sixth form (annd naively the only one we had applied to) and with only one change of subject so it’s not a disaster but it’s just not what was expected. He also took further maths but failed it with a U, although he wasnt bothered at all as his friends all failed it too.

We’ve since examined the grade boundaries and found that his 6 was 1 mark off a 7, and four of his 5s were 2-3 marks off a 6. We’ve requested the papers to review to see if it’s worth paying the higher fee to have them looked at again. It seems all very sad, unlucky and deflating.

We looked at private schools when he was approaching high school age but instead moved into a better school catchment with higher house prices and I can’t help but reflect on that.

I feel ridiculous for even thinking like this, they are great grades still. I think the problem is that this new numbering system also makes them sound like lesser achievements. They’re all A-C for goodness sake, why can’t I be happy?

@alwayswantchocolate They’re all A-C for goodness sake, why can’t I be happy?

Because you are human. Because your expectations were raised by the mocks. Maybe you/he subconsciously thought those mock grades were 'in the bag' so anything less seems like a failure. It does seem he was unlucky if just under the next grade for a number of subjects, but he has enough for nearly what he wanted in next steps and not doing Physics may prove on reflection to be a good thing.

Soon it won't matter, what will matter is the A levels. Take time to be disappointed internally but then think he passed everything, he can do A levels, life is good.

Well my DC was predicted 8’s in everything and got 5&6’s in everything with one 9 in a subject that has no relevance.

Objectively they are fine grades and above the government standard but a hell of a drop from 8’s. Tbf DC didn’t put as much effort in as would be needed to get top grades, but even they were ‘shocked’ at the grades. I just hope it’s a lesson learned and they will try harder with their A-levels

Nope they said no place for him so he is off to college - the school really couldn't have cared less!

anyway I am pleased as I think it's good to have a change

DS is sulking a bit

Glad that you're feeling positive about it and hope ds comes round and goes on to have a fab time.