Do grade 9s matter that much?

[AGoodDayToday]

Hi,

My 15 year old son is home schooling with council funding, because he was struggling with epic anxiety after being at an ultra competitive state secondary school.

He's highly academic and getting very high grades in past papers, but he constantly worries about how he will guarantee a grade 9 in the actual exam.

It seems that when he was at school, the school were very focussed on the importance of getting a grade 9 in everything, and that my son received the message that an 8 or 7 was really not okay. I asked his school friends and they confirmed that the pressure was intense, and he was not mistaken about that.

Also I know that the school routinely gets 20% of all their GCSE exams coming out at grade 9 whereas the national average is about 20% of GCSEs being awarded at grade 7-9. So I think the pressure was very real.

I wondered if anyone could help me figure out how to reframe the GCSE discussion in a more healthy way, so he can be excited about aiming for a 7 and know that that is actually a really good grade?

I know a 7 is the same as an old A grade, and I got As and Bs and ended up with a first class honours degree and a PhD, so I really think that a 7 is probably okay.

DS doesn't need or want to get into Oxford or Cambridge. He's said repeatedly that he would be happy with an apprenticeship even, but he just can't shake the message that he's received from the school that he has no value in life if he doesn't get 9s.

FWIW, at 15 he is also operating at high A level standard in computer science and was already getting a grade 6 in maths GCSE past papers at age 13.

He's a good lad, and will be an asset to someone in their organisation with his abilities, but I need to callm him down a bit and show him that it's okay to be a regular human and not an exam-sitting machine.

I would be really grateful for any thoughts on this.

Thanks!

You could start by showing him the stats on how many get 9s and ask whether he thinks 90% of people go on to be failures.

You could show him what he needs to progress to A levels.

I don't think 9s are of any use except bragging rights for parents and schools, and adding stress to kids.

After results day, no one in life is ever going to give a fuck again that he has a 9 or not. It probably won't even come up in conversation again.

@TeenToTwenties Thanks, do you know where I could find the stats on how many GCSEs are awarded 9s? I can't actually find that stat anywhere at all except in our one school.

It seems as though literally no one else actuall cares who gets 9s and only the 7-9 bracket actually matters.

Is he doing open days at the moment for colleges and sixth forms? Maybe actually look at the courses he's interested in and see what the requirements are.
I'd be surprised if many ask for 7s let alone 9s.

I would be very very surprised if any place, anytime, asks for 9s. Some sixth forms may ask for 7s to do a-level. Bonkers to put them under so much pressure.

You could also try looking at entrance requirements for some universities (obviously not Oxbridge). Pick a course that might interest your son and look at a few places. The vast majority do not distinguish between 8s and 9s.

Yes we looked, and the russell group universities seem to want an A in A level maths and AAB overall. They don't care about GCSEs at all.

I think his worry is that if GCSEs are this bad, then A levels must be even worse.

I know that an A in A level maths generally follows an 8 at GCSE, which is a bit easier then a 9, but I can't seem to get rid of the "must get a 9" mentality.

I don't know how to help him forget his school experience and just enjoy the love of the subjects. I loved learning at school, and the whole experience seems to be tainted for him now because the school was so anxious about progress 8 and ofsted.

The exam boards all publish numbers getting each grade for each subject as well as grade boundaries. Ofqual analytics have all sorts of statistics.

Very few students get straight grade 9s or even straight grades 7-9. There were numbers published around results day.

I read up and found out that some people even do really well from doing A levels when they are older, like 22 years old. I noticed that at a lot of private schools here, the kids are a year or more older than the kids in the state school. But it's hard to get him to internalise that message, when he's had the state school message forced so hard on him.

Try https://www.statista.com/statistics/282422/gcse-grades-in-england/ for percentages of entries getting each grade. 9 was 5.1% of all entries in 2025 according to this source.

Thanks, I'll have a look.

This doesn't cover just 9s, but Infographics for GCSE results, 2024 (accessible) - GOV.UK

This is interesting GCSE subject combinations and outcomes

Is he getting MH support? This level of concern is unhealthy long term.

Sounds like he has high expectations of himself and anxiety not helped by school.

Looking at the stats is a good idea if he’s logical. My ds liked looking at the marks needed for the grade boundaries and comparing that with what he got for his mocks. The grade boundaries for each subject are released shortly before results each year. Just look up the examining board. He knew that, for example, if he could mail the creative writing piece in English that would give him good marks so he could afford to slack (not quite the right word) on a bit of the paper he wasn’t so strong at. Some of the marks needed for a 9 are suprisingly low, particularly in the harder subjects and those which everyone sits like maths and English. For some reason he found that took the pressure off.

Also, if he is aiming to do engineering or computing or maths then the universities won’t be concerned by a lower GCSE grade in English or history as long as it meets their minimum requirements (Oxbridge may look at these but you say he’s not interning that). A level grades will be more important.

Getting an idea of what he needs to go on to college might help. It will almost certainly be not 9’s. Just support him closely if he needs it to do the best he can and praise, praise the effort he’s putting in. Give him little treats and reassurance about all of the different pathways there are whatever grades he ends up with.

Apprenticeship are competitive but they don’t assess on who has the highest grades (although there are minimum grades needed to apply). I would really encourage this route

In my opinion, this is is an emotional issue and won't be solved by statistics. Although the statistics are v interesting.

CBT might help?

It sounds like you made a very wise decision to remove him from that school OP. I am all for encouraging children to reach their potential but putting that degree of importance on getting all 9s in absolutely ridiculous.
As a PP said, maybe start with looking at the stats. I haven't seen data for 2025 but here is 2024.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infographic-gcse-results-2024/infographics-for-gcse-results-2024-accessible
Less than 0.2% of pupils got a full set of 9s. That puts the pressure into context doesn't it. 1270 pupils in the whole country achieved that. Are they the only ones who are worth anything and will make a success of their lives? Of course not!
My DC's former school told them that most universities only look at an applicants top 8 GCSE results and don't differentiate between 8s and 9s anyway. And not all of them even formally include GCSE results in their decision making progress. Some do, but for most it is the predicted A level grades that really matter more anyway, the GCSEs kind of just set the scene. I mean if an applicant was predicted all A stars at A level but got 5s at GCSE that would probably raise a few eyebrows in admissions as it's kind of unlikely unless there were some unusual mitigating circumstances. But a good set of grades across the subjects and good predicted A level grades will do nicely for most courses at most institutions. Virtually no doors will be closed to a pupil who hasn't got a full set of 9s, which is just as well, given how few actually achieve that. Society would collapse wouldn't it, if only that small number of pupils were able to go onto have successful careers?
I think really high achievers can be very self critical anyway and the school environment sounds toxic. I wonder if he might actually benefit from some formal mental health support to help him regain balance and self esteem? I don't know how practical that is but it might be worth asking your GP or whoever you're dealing with at the council. It sounds like he might need some professional support to help with the anxiety. He will probably intellectually accept the story that the data tells but genuinely believing it and undoing the harm done by the negative narrative he's been hearing at school may take a lot more.
I hope you get it sorted. He sounds like a lovely bright boy with a lot to offer the world.

This might help put it in perspective - the average number of GCSE grade 9s, 8s, and 7s that Oxford University applicants and offer holders achieved. Spoiler alert! The average Oxford undergraduate doesn’t have straight 9 grades. I’m sure you can find the same stats for Cambridge, Imperial etc easily if you Google.

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/average_grade_of_gsce_applicants_2/response/3098310/attach/3/FOI%20202506%20662%20Data.xlsx?cookie_passthrough=1

I think what he needs to understand is it isn't about how well he performs but about how well everyone else performs too. What was a grade 8 one year is a grade 7 the next raw marks wise.

Simply put to get 9s he has to do better than the vast majority of other candidates. In concrete subjects like maths it is easier to mark than subjective subjects like English Lit, ie is this a level 4 or 5 for AO2? How they quantify that can be argued because they don't mark the whole paper just parts of the paper so there is no overall feel for the candidate's ability.

Most universities look at the best 8 grades they achieve at GCSE plus they categorise grades 8 and 9 together because they are both A star equivalent. Entry grades for RG unis are the lowest they will take an applicant in on which makes it competitive and easily oversubscribed. A lot will offer to the higher grades based on A levels alone because this is the level they are performing at all the time, ie 3 A stars or more. There are also subjects to consider too.

Your son needs to put grades into context that it is rare to get all 9s across the board as the linked .gov infographics shows. At a basic level this is about understanding what gets marks on GCSE papers so hitting all the AOs for English, using the correct terms in science. He also needs to be reassured that grades do not define you. No one goes around asking your GCSE grades once results day is over. They move on to A levels and BTECs or apprenticeships.

Try to show college requirements and job descriptions too - very few ask for anything above a c in maths and English!

There is also talk of GCSEs going back to letters in which case the numbers will always be translated to letters making a 9 and 8 pretty much the same.

He needs to stop worrying about getting the full set of 9s. It's not really expected, or looked for. I can't even remember my DD's GCSE grades, and she graduated from Oxford in a highly in demand course with a tiny applicant success rate. But she got there with only a few grade 9s, the remainder being 8 and a couple even below that. She had offers from every university she applied to. So I honestly think your DS will be absolutely fine. And good for you for getting him out of the hyper exam factory. It sounds like a nightmare.

Thank you this is all really helpful.

I didn't know that 8s and 9s were considered the same for admissions. That is extremely useful to know.

I also had forgotten that the grade boundaries are very low in some subjects. I think they are extremely high in OCR Computer Science which was one thing that was really annoying him. You only need to sneeze in that subject to be down to an 8. He's done two past papers and got 9s both times though.

The EHCP is paying for weekly therapy which is hugely helpful, so we are well on the road with that.

Thank you very much for all this help. It's really very much appreciated.

My eldest had mainly 8’s a couple of 7’s and a 5. He got a 2:1 in a very academic subject from a RG uni and walked into an amazing grad job. His cohort had similar grades, some quite a bit more mixed and they’re now doing a combination of finance, accountancy with the big 4, law training with magic circle firms and at bar school. Don’t worry about it

Try getting in touch with people he admires or who are doing the job he wants and ask them what grades they got. It might show him success without top grades.

Secondary teacher here. It only matters for entry to very competitive universities: Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, LSE etc.