Mock gone wrong!
I recently took my English language mock and after looking at the mark scheme I think I will have gotten 36 points (only doing a language paper one) I'm pretty sure this will only get me a grade 4 if I'm lucky. Will this impact sixth forms accepting me? I know I can do so much better and I'm pretty sure so will my teacher once my paper has been marked. For context for past mocks in y10 i got an 8 and 7 in English language. Is there anything I can do to show that I can do better than what I did on this mock.
Reply 1
Hey! For the first few English language papers i took i got 4s/5s but I ended up getting a 9 in the real thing. You will probably have another exam before your real ones and your teachers will take into account all exams you have done/your attitude in class and towards homework when setting predicted grades, so it shouldn’t matter too much in the long run. (And let’s face it, all you really need is a 5/6 to go to a good college/sixth form if you aren’t planning to do it at a level.) The best advice I can give is do as many practice papers as you can and give them to your teachers to mark. Sometimes I would just plan what I would write for a question, and then look at the mark scheme and compare my answer to what would get the higher marks (the mark schemes and examiners reports are so so so helpful and all available online!!). But getting your teachers feedback and acting on it in the next paper is probably the most helpful thing. For example, I asked my teacher if I could retake the paper I got a 5- on at home and she marked it for me and I got a 9 acting on her advice (obviously it wasn’t the same as I already knew the questions but it wasn’t still really helpful). Good luck, don’t give up!!
Reply 2
Mocks do not impact sixth form acceptance. However, real GCSEs do. Usually sixth forms will look for a pass (4) or a 5 (sometimes 6 if taking essay based subjects) in gcse English. Also important to have in mind that top tier unis also look for a 7 in English Lang!
You can always discuss a retake with your teacher or taking another paper after school for example. However you don't need to prove to your teacher anything, mocks don't define you, as long as you understand the bits you struggled on and making sure you focus your revision is tailored on these areas then who cares what your mock grades is because gcses are what matter. It might be worth also just asking for some similar past papers from your teacher- maybe complete once a month or so and hand in- just so you get more used to the layout and improve on exam technique! I think every single one of my mock grades was completely off what I actually achieved- so don't worry just make sure you revise those bits you didn't understand as well, and ask any questions to your teacher.
You can always discuss a retake with your teacher or taking another paper after school for example. However you don't need to prove to your teacher anything, mocks don't define you, as long as you understand the bits you struggled on and making sure you focus your revision is tailored on these areas then who cares what your mock grades is because gcses are what matter. It might be worth also just asking for some similar past papers from your teacher- maybe complete once a month or so and hand in- just so you get more used to the layout and improve on exam technique! I think every single one of my mock grades was completely off what I actually achieved- so don't worry just make sure you revise those bits you didn't understand as well, and ask any questions to your teacher.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Should I switch to combined science
- Improving bad a level mock grades?
- A level Physics advice
- UCAT
- Tips With Past Papers?
- AQA A level Computer science
- 9 Grade 9s, 2 Grade 8s at GCSE, ask me anything!
- going from C's to As in a few months?
- Exam invigilator mistake A level
- I can’t do anything right
- UCAT worries
- TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities General Study Session 12!
- Mock politics awful grade
- Gcse exams and how im feeling right now
- Why am i still trying?
- GYG- ˗year 13 𝓶𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓽 ⋆｡°✩
- how to get guaranteed 7/9 in igcse maths edexcel mock URGENT
- As a 2025 IGCSE student, when should I apply for sixth forms? Mocks are in a week.
- Getting a U in my end of year 12 mocks
- Official Year 11 Chat Thread 2024-25
Latest
Trending
Last reply 4 months ago
Advice to get basically all 9s in GCSE (ask me anything)Last reply 4 months ago
Any Yr 10s here who think they "failed" their end-of-year mocks?Last reply 5 months ago
How can I achieve as many nines as possible for GCSEs?Last reply 5 months ago
Best revision method to keep science in your head?Articles for you
How The Student Room is moderated
To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.
