How do SIXTH FORM offers work if Year 10 maths is weak - (predicted grades)?

[GCSEyear10]

Hi all,

My DD didn’t really put in much effort in Year 10 this year, so I’m worried that if her predicted grade at the end of Year 10 is low, she might not get offers from sixth forms. This is only for Maths-her other subjects are good.

Since we didn’t study in the UK we really don’t know how the sixth form application process works. I would really appreciate it if you could explain it.

Thank you 🙏🏻

Usually there are mocks in year 11 around November time and these will be considered most accurate predicted grade.

Doesn’t your dd have end of year 10 mocks? I would start studying for that now.

Sixth forms usually publish their entry requirements and retaking English/maths policy so you’ll know how realistic it is to enter. Obviously it depends on whether the sixth form is private, grammar or state school. Also the requirements will depend on what A-levels she wants to study. If she wants to study science then a high maths grade is very important.

Most sixth forms don't make offers on the basis of predicted grades, they tend to make offers to everyone who applies, then filter them onto appropriate courses when real results are known. Some colleges who offer mainly Alevels will require minimum 4 in English and/or Maths for most of their courses, so they might advise going to another local college with vocational courses with lower entry levels. This tends to happen late August during the 'enrolment' interview.

@GCSEyear10 , it completely depends on whether you mean private or state and, if state, whether you mean a school sixth form or a sixth form college. Even then, it will depend on the year 12 admissions policy of the individual school, which you will find on their website.

If it is a state school sixth form (in England), then they are not allowed to prioritise admissions offers by predicted grade (some do, but shouldn't - it is against the national Schools Admissions Code because predicted grades aren't objective). If it is a sixth form college, then they are not bound by the Code (though they are meant to be fair and reasonable). If it is a private school they can do what they like.

Yeh @GCSEyear10 agree with others, it depends where she is applying.

Some more competitive sixth forms will have a minimum of a certain number of (for example) grade 7s, or a total number of points across the top seven GCSEs. This will usually be calculated from actual grades tho rather than PGs.

Plenty of sixth forms especially non selective and state will have simpler requirements, such as a grade 6 in all A level choices and a 4 or a 5 in English and maths (obvs if these are A level choices the grade needs to be higher).

Where is your DD looking (I mean what kind of destination, not the name of the school)? What is she hoping to study? What is her likely PG in maths - tho I agree this will surely be amended in year 11 so there is time to improve. If she doesn't get a 4 or above she will need to retake and some sixth forms will not accept her, but some will.

Don't panic, Year 10 is still really early and there's loads of time to turn maths around before predicted grades matter for sixth form applications. Our DS is 15 and maths was his weakest subject for a while too. The biggest thing that helped was figuring out whether the issue was understanding or motivation, they look identical from the outside but need completely different approaches. For our DS it turned out to be mostly motivation. Once we found ways to make practice feel less like a chore, anything with a game element, earning points, that sort of thing , his effort went up massively and the grades followed. If your DD's other subjects are strong then she clearly has the ability, it's just about finding what gets her to actually engage with maths specifically.