They're okay grades. I mean, they're all passes which is always favourable. They won't be considered good by certain people on here(because the average TSR student does not equal the average student), but they're okay. Just work harder at a-level and it'll be fine.
Sometimes I despair when I see people ask if As, Bs and even Cs are "really bad". I don't know why it is, but every single time I read a "are my GCSE/A Level grades bad?" thread, I think of these people getting Us, not a handful of As, Bs and Cs.
Honestly, sometimes I wonder what would happen to half of the members on this site if they got the GCSEs that 90% of my school year got. There were only 5 of us who got 5 A*-Cs, and I was the only person in my school who could qualify for A Levels... not THAT'S bad. A*s are not everything, especially at GCSE.
In short, no - they're not bad grades at all. And just so you know, your 'brother' won't be held back for having these grades at GCSE if 'he' wants to be an English teacher. I know this because I went to a PGCE open day in Aber the other day, and they said that they would consider all applicants provided they had either a 2:2 degree or extensive teaching experience. So you're fine
Tbh, with regards to my course (History) and a lot of course I'm guessing including English, A-Levels are where you have to really make your mark. As long as you have your GCSE B in Maths/English/Science/Your A-Level subjects, as long as you work hard at A-Level you're sweet
A in English Language - Obtained A in English Literature B in Food Technology - Mid-C in exam and high-B coursework C in Maths - Foundation - Obtained C in French C in History
C in Spanish - taking in A2 year (to get 8 GCSEs) B in Maths - Higher - taking in AS year (") B in Science (Core) - " (")
AABBBCCC
Are they bad grades?
100% A-C, NOTHING wrong with that
Although, if you ask TSR, you may end up thinking you need 100% A*-A to have a brain
I would say they are quite average and bad from what perspective, I did badly considering I was predicted 13 A's at GCSE but I only got 6 A's and 2'A*s the rest were B's so really I did badly. In the end they are his grades and they are more than good enough to get into most colleges which is what counts as Uni's aren't that interested in GCSE's, it's what you get from college.
Look ill put you/ your brother out of your misery and say that actually they have a great chance of doing english at uni, i actually put down two of the ones you listed and i got offers so yeah its do-able.
Just make sure he chooses that right A-levels (ad gets the grades of course) the ones chosen are important for english, so things like history, politics, drama, or even a science in there and they will give him an offer.
To be honest, GCSE's really don't count for much unless your applying to oxbridge or are doing medicine, and even then they have UCAT
Pretty similar to mine really (in regards to spread that is), nowhere I applied to had any issue with them, at Warwick now, whatever that counts for. I got the impression when I was going through applying that very few universities will care.
They're decent grades, and seems like you're on the right path that you want to be on. The thing is though, there's one thing comparing them to everyone else, but what do you think of those grades? Were you expecting them? Were you predicted more or less, or about the same? Do you think you could've done better? Assuming you're doing AS this year, if you're thinking about uni and have GCSE grades from last year, how are you doing in them? They're a lot more important.
A in English Language - Obtained A in English Literature B in Food Technology - Mid-C in exam and high-B coursework C in Maths - Foundation - Obtained C in French C in History
C in Spanish - taking in A2 year (to get 8 GCSEs) B in Maths - Higher - taking in AS year (") B in Science (Core) - " (")
AABBBCCC
Are they bad grades?
They're not bad at all dependent on what he wants to do. If he worked hard be proud But for the vast majority things he's completely fine! A levels matter more than GCSEs to be fair if he's worried.