How much does LAE or NCS care about predicteds?

Hi all,

These are my predicteds:

English Language - 9
English Literature - 9
Computer Science - 8
Chemistry - 6
Biology - 8
Physics - 9
Maths - 8
Statistics - 9
Further Maths - 8
Vocational Subject* - 9

*Naming would reveal school

For an LAE or NCS application, how badly would my 6 in chemistry affect my overall chances?

I wanna do:

Maths, Physics, English Lit, Economics

Any advice 😭

Reply 1

xo_aayat

I know this isnt an answer to your q (SORRY) i was just gonna ask anny tips for computer science, genuinely failing it.idm theory but paper 2 will kill me one day dy have any tips on how to revise ig??

Reply 2

mohamednawaj

Original post

by utabain

Hi all,
These are my predicteds:
English Language - 9
English Literature - 9
Computer Science - 8
Chemistry - 6
Biology - 8
Physics - 9
Maths - 8
Statistics - 9
Further Maths - 8
Vocational Subject* - 9
*Naming would reveal school
For an LAE or NCS application, how badly would my 6 in chemistry affect my overall chances?
I wanna do:
Maths, Physics, English Lit, Economics
Any advice 😭

A 6 may affect your chances for NCS. To do Physics as NCS, you must also have at least a 7 in Chemistry. Try aim for an 8, as that makes you more competitive. At LAE, you must have an average of 7 between your sciences so its not as strict as NCS in that sense. Other than that, you basically have a perfect record, given you actually get more than a 6 in Chem and maintain all your other grades. Best of luck.

Reply 3

mohamednawaj

Original post

by xo_aayat

Use the spec, like seriously. It tells you exactly what you need to know. Then make flashcards or notes on it. Finally rinse as many past papers as you can. For Paper 2, learn the pseudocode language. Ig exam questions kinda help as you get used to the syntax. I did python so it was pretty similar. Try as many exercises online as you can. Use your teachers too. They are literal WALKING MARK SCHEMES. Trust me it gets easier once you know what you're doing. Trust me. I remember my first lesson in year 10 when I was so baffled by systems architecture. Also try watching GCSE Computer Science tutor. He is a lifesaver.

Reply 4

utabain

Original post

by mohamednawaj

I think I might have just saved it (maybe). I got it confirmed with my teacher that he'd be happy to put down a G7. Does this place me in a decent position for NCS physics?

Reply 5

utabain

Just to clarify I am referring to getting an offer, not being accepted. With revision I'm aiming for all 9's.

Reply 6

urfaverowboat

Original post

by utabain

Just to clarify I am referring to getting an offer, not being accepted. With revision I'm aiming for all 9's.

hey, im a current ncs student, they dont give offers anymore, but having the G7 will defo help with ur application, but try do better in ur real gcse, other than that, ur predicted grades are all fine now so you're more competitive than other people. (also in terms of no more offers, they still have a priority list so having better predicted grades mean higher priority)

Reply 7

mohamednawaj

Original post

by utabain

I think I might have just saved it (maybe). I got it confirmed with my teacher that he'd be happy to put down a G7. Does this place me in a decent position for NCS physics?

Answering the question: Yes, you now meet the entry requirements, but keep in mind, they look at more stuff than what grades you have in a certain subject.
I don't go NCS so I have no idea. I applied last year, they did not hand out offers at all and said enrollment will be purely based on GCSE Results. If 4000 apply, all with similar grades, they can't differentiate the best. This is what they emailed me last year:
Dear Applicant,
Firstly, thank you for your very welcome application to join the NCS in September 2025.
I am writing to let you know what will now happen regarding our recruitment process this year.
We are aware that schools have used different benchmarks and timescales for providing students with information on their predicted grades. Also, the references we have received from schools do not contain the same information. This makes it difficult for us to establish an equitable baseline on which to compare applications, especially since so many of our applicants have very similar academic profiles.
Given this, we have decided that we will not be making conditional offers this year, in order to be fair to all applicants.
That's why I said focus on your actual GCSES. I eventually went to LAE Stratford, but yeah I did apply to NCS too, cos why not? Literally, LAE gave out 1200 offers, they only took like 270 of us.