It won’t be long now before the 2020 GCSE examinations are underway but are they really that important? With the additional stress that these examinations bring to all students, it would be easy to want to downplay their importance to help reduce stress levels but the simple fact is that they are very important for a number of reasons:
1) Most sixth form colleges use a scoring system to predict how well you are likely to do at A-Level, and therefore, whether to accept you at their institution. GCSE performance is the only real evidence of your academic abilities, so if you have set your heart on attending a certain college, it’s important that you achieve the necessary GCSE grades required to get in. Otherwise, you may end up in a place that you did not want to be.
2) Going a little further, some sixth form colleges won’t let you do certain subjects at A-Level, unless you achieve a minimum grade in that subject in your GCSEs. For example, you may need an GCSE grade A (band 7 on the new scale) in Mathematics to continue studying it at A-Level.
3) The introduction of linear A-Levels mean that universities are now putting a much greater emphasis on GCSE results as well when assessing applications. As with sixth form colleges mentioned above, if you want to go to a specific university, that may not be possible unless you achieve a certain level in your GCSEs.
4) Some of you reading this will already have an idea about what you would like your future career to be. If you require a career-related degree to achieve those dreams, it is important that you do not slip up at the first hurdle. For example, you may want to be a doctor but to study medicine at a lot of universities require GCSE A or A* grades (band 7 – 9) in Maths, English and all the Science disciplines to be considered.
5) When you do start applying for your first job, there will be competition for those positions and many companies use GCSE grades to compare applicants for a jobs, especially at entry-level. As you gain more experience, their importance will become less & less, but are essential to help you get onto the first rung in the job market.
So, to achieve your future goals, you will need good GCSE grades. To do that you must make sure you undertake comprehensive & effective exam preparation and a GCSE revision course is a great way to do it.