school saying you cant get an A* if you got grade 7-8
my school keeps saying that students who got an 8 in gcse will really struggle to get an A* in a level and if youre serious about getting A/A* when you got an 8 youll have to work so much harder than everyone else, and they say that if you got a grade 7 and you worked hard for that then youre realistically not going to get an A
is this true because i go to a grammar school that puts a lot of pressure on us so idk if theyre exaggerating. of course i know that you need to work very hard for a levels but are people who didnt get a 9 really that far behind
is this true because i go to a grammar school that puts a lot of pressure on us so idk if theyre exaggerating. of course i know that you need to work very hard for a levels but are people who didnt get a 9 really that far behind
It all depends on whether the 7 and 8´s were grades achieved when coasting or the result of consistent hard work. If you were honestly giving your best, then imo the A* will be harder for you than for someone getting 9’s at GCSE. But I am generalising. Some people discover themselves and their academic talents later on in their studies. The fact that you have narrowed down the number of subjects and can concentrate all of your study time on subjects that interest you may make a big difference. As long as you are sure that the foundations of your chosen subjects are really acquired and If you are motivated, organised and conscientious in your approach to « A » level study anything is possible although probably not easy.
Thats kinda bs for the most part. I know people who got 7's in math gcse get A's in a level (and we all did our a levels this year). I personally got an 8 in gcse and found A level maths alright and managed to get an A*. For other subjects, I got an 8 and 9 in bio and chem and also got A*'s with about 2 months of semi solid revision before my exams. A levels rlly isn't that hard if you just find the right resources as I did as I mostly revised with youtube channels instead of school. However, I did not go to a grammar school and instead attended a public fee paying boarding school so things might be different here.
It all depends on work ethic and smart revision as well, I also know people getting B's in their A levels even though they got 9's in their respective subjects. You don't have to be consistent throughout ur whole two years but trust me when I say that the only bit that matters is straight after ur easter hols begin before u sit ur exams.
Original post by patpatpong
It all depends on work ethic and smart revision as well, I also know people getting B's in their A levels even though they got 9's in their respective subjects. You don't have to be consistent throughout ur whole two years but trust me when I say that the only bit that matters is straight after ur easter hols begin before u sit ur exams.
I got an 8 gcse maths then a c at a level but managed to get 2:1 at first year uni. It is all up to your work ethic, 100% agree with this.
Original post by mymelo
my school keeps saying that students who got an 8 in gcse will really struggle to get an A* in a level and if youre serious about getting A/A* when you got an 8 youll have to work so much harder than everyone else, and they say that if you got a grade 7 and you worked hard for that then youre realistically not going to get an A
is this true because i go to a grammar school that puts a lot of pressure on us so idk if theyre exaggerating. of course i know that you need to work very hard for a levels but are people who didnt get a 9 really that far behind
is this true because i go to a grammar school that puts a lot of pressure on us so idk if theyre exaggerating. of course i know that you need to work very hard for a levels but are people who didnt get a 9 really that far behind
You can search for data on this; they are talking rubbish!
This is the Maths data:
Original post by Muttley79
You can search for data on this; they are talking rubbish!
This is the Maths data:
This is the Maths data:
This indeed does show a generalisation of high attaining GCSE pupils going on to achieve A*'s in a levels. However, we do have to take into account socioeconomic factors etc..... No one person is the same but with the right help/resources/ethic, A*'s for people with 7/8's in gcses r defo attainable. It all comes down to how much u want it ig.
Nah that's ******** my friend got a 6 in French then got an A* and Simone else got a 6 in bio ended up getting an A one mark of an A* then got it remarked and obvs got the a* tbh I think it does like matter abt the subject aswell coz if u work hard then an a* is obvs possible but like the difference between even like a 9 and someone who is an 8 for someone wanting to do a language is big at least that's what I've found in my French class.
(edited 1 year ago)
My teachers never predicted me higher than a B for double award science, even though I achieved the highest possible level in my KS3 SATS and was achieving As in the year 11 mocks. I got AA in the end. I’m sure they didn’t like me 😂
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by mymelo
my school keeps saying that students who got an 8 in gcse will really struggle to get an A* in a level and if youre serious about getting A/A* when you got an 8 youll have to work so much harder than everyone else, and they say that if you got a grade 7 and you worked hard for that then youre realistically not going to get an A
is this true because i go to a grammar school that puts a lot of pressure on us so idk if theyre exaggerating. of course i know that you need to work very hard for a levels but are people who didnt get a 9 really that far behind
is this true because i go to a grammar school that puts a lot of pressure on us so idk if theyre exaggerating. of course i know that you need to work very hard for a levels but are people who didnt get a 9 really that far behind
they're just exaggerating. I know a handful of people who got 7s and came out getting A*. You do have to work harder so you have a basic stable ground of knowledge. Just because you do badly in GCSE doesnt mean ur gonna be rubbish at a-levels, unless you dont identify your areas of weaknesses. Of course its not true - if you work hard, in the right way, you'll get the right results. The jump between GCSES and a levels is quite hard but its too far for ur school to be saying that getting an A isnt realistic.
Original post by t.airakev
they're just exaggerating. I know a handful of people who got 7s and came out getting A*. You do have to work harder so you have a basic stable ground of knowledge. Just because you do badly in GCSE doesnt mean ur gonna be rubbish at a-levels, unless you dont identify your areas of weaknesses. Of course its not true - if you work hard, in the right way, you'll get the right results. The jump between GCSES and a levels is quite hard but its too far for ur school to be saying that getting an A isnt realistic.
And on the other hand, I know of people who got 9/A* at GCSE without much effort but completely flopped at A Level because they didn’t put in the work. You’ve every chance of getting top results if you put in the effort needed.
Original post by hannychica
And on the other hand, I know of people who got 9/A* at GCSE without much effort but completely flopped at A Level because they didn’t put in the work. You’ve every chance of getting top results if you put in the effort needed.
yeah you just have to work consistently and harder ig
Original post by Muttley79
You can search for data on this; they are talking rubbish!
This is the Maths data:
This is the Maths data:
It is clearly ridiculous to say that you can only get an A* at A level if you got a 9 at GCSE, particularly in a teacher assessed year, but I would raise a bit of a caveat on that data as it is pre-pandemic grade inflation.
I think that chart uses 2008 data, in which year 4.6% got A*, 9.9% got A, 16.2%. So the top 14.5% got A*/A at GCSE and those people got 72% of the A*s at A level,
In 2021, 4.8% got 9, 6.8% got 8 and 9.0% got 7 . So 21.6% of candidates got 7+ and 11.6% got 8/9. It is reasonable to think that at least 80% of the people getting A* will have 7/8/9 at GCSE in 2023, but only around 30% likely to have a 9.
I agree that work ethic and quality of teaching can change the reliability of predicting A levels from GCSE results.
Original post by mymelo
my school keeps saying that students who got an 8 in gcse will really struggle to get an A* in a level and if youre serious about getting A/A* when you got an 8 youll have to work so much harder than everyone else, and they say that if you got a grade 7 and you worked hard for that then youre realistically not going to get an A
is this true because i go to a grammar school that puts a lot of pressure on us so idk if theyre exaggerating. of course i know that you need to work very hard for a levels but are people who didnt get a 9 really that far behind
is this true because i go to a grammar school that puts a lot of pressure on us so idk if theyre exaggerating. of course i know that you need to work very hard for a levels but are people who didnt get a 9 really that far behind
Heya!
It honestly depends on many factors, just because you didn't get all 9s doesn't mean you can never achieve As and A*S on your a-levels. I had friends who have 7s or less in their GCSE and managed to get all As or A*s in their a-levels. Equally, I had friends who got 9s in their GCSEs but had Bs and Cs in their A-levels.
It depends on you how much work you are willing to put in as well as how well your teacher teaches you the material. I got a 9 in maths but was struggling with a-level maths because my teacher didn't teach it well (I had Bs in mocks constantly because I wasn't understanding the material). I went to a tutor who taught me maths properly and I ended up with an A*, in the end. I had to work very hard (did practice papers all day long) but in the end, it paid off
I hope this helps!
Milena G.
UCL PFE
Study Mind
Don't want to be picky, but that report was published March 2017, so could not use 2017 results. Unless I am mis-reading it, that table comes from The Department for Education analysed results from the National Pupil Database for the cohort who completed Key Stage 4 in 2008, investigating GCSE to A level progression rates for English Baccalaureate subject areas (ESARD, 2012), which used GCSE data from 2008 linked to A level data from 2010. I think the report also refers to other data for GCSEs 2011, A levels 2013.
Original post by Muttley79
Edexcel published this in 2019:
That somewhat supports OP's teacher.
Of people getting A* in 2019 - 78% got 9 at GCSE, 19% got 8 at GCSE, 2% got 7 at GCSE, less than 1% got 6 or lower.
However, there were particular issues with the 2019 A level Maths as it was the first real linear cohort and many were taken aback by how different it was from previous papers and preparation materials. Schools which coached their students to get high results had poor results because coaching was not effective for the new style of paper. So hard work could get A* in 2018, but not so much in 2019 - you needed a better understanding.
When I posted my first answer I was making the assumption that it was same kids , same school , same teacher as for the GCSE class which obviously is not necessarily the case. So as « StudyMind » has said a great teacher combined with motivation and hard work can make all the difference. The opposite is also true!
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by patpatpong
Thats kinda bs for the most part. I know people who got 7's in math gcse get A's in a level (and we all did our a levels this year). I personally got an 8 in gcse and found A level maths alright and managed to get an A*. For other subjects, I got an 8 and 9 in bio and chem and also got A*'s with about 2 months of semi solid revision before my exams. A levels rlly isn't that hard if you just find the right resources as I did as I mostly revised with youtube channels instead of school. However, I did not go to a grammar school and instead attended a public fee paying boarding school so things might be different here.
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