Improving GCSE Performance Post-Mocks: A Targeted Approach for Year 11

Mock exams are a key moment for Year 11 students, giving us a clear picture of how they are doing and where they need to improve. For languages, with their mix of skills and exam tasks, these results can be especially revealing. In this blog, I will look at how I use the feedback from mocks to help my students make real progress. I will break it down into understanding the issues, analysing the results, putting together a solid plan and using strategies that have proven to work in my practice.

Understanding the problem

Mock exams give us loads of useful information about what our students are doing well and where they are struggling, but the first step is to put their performance into context.

• Engagement with the Curriculum: Are students familiar with key grammatical structures and vocabulary? ( Some students may have missed learning time due to various reasons, become disengaged or joined the school or class later than their peers.)

• Exam techniques: Do students get what the questions are asking, like how to break down instructions or handle tasks with multiple steps? ( Students often rush, overlook important information or keywords or misread the question.)

• Confidence levels: Are students struggling in certain areas because they are not confident or haven’t prepared enough? ( Students often struggle when they haven't practised enough or haven't organised their preparation effectively.)

  
  

Analysing Mock outcomes

Effective analysis for me starts with Question Level Analysis (QLA).

1. Break down scores by component: Identifying how students performed in listening, reading, speaking and writing. (If you use Edexcel, their ResultsPlus platform offers a feature called the 'Mock Analysis Service' to assist you with this.)

2. Drill down into sub-skills: For example, did students struggle with inferencing in reading, identifying key details in listening or conjugating verbs/ word order / tenses in writing?

3. Identify patterns: Are there recurring issues across the cohort, such as poor spelling of common vocabulary or misuse of word order in subordinate clauses?

4. Understand individual needs: Pairing the QLA with qualitative feedback. For instance, were errors due to misinterpretation, vocabulary gaps, transfer of the knowledge (i.e. tenses) or time management?

   
   

   Example of a Question Level Analysis Template - adapted from a template created by Natalie Boniface

Action Planning

Once you have pinpointed key issues, a focused weekly action plan can guide targeted intervention.

1. Diagnostic Feedback and Goal Setting

• Conduct a feedback session, sharing QLA insights with students or even better get students complete their own QLA as well so they are a part of the process too - provide them with a template and a markscheme and let them have a look how they did in individual questions. There is a great template created by Natalie Boniface for AQA 2024 paper, she shared on Facebook, link here: QLA

  With her permission, I have adapted her template for Edexcel 2024, you can download it from here: KS4 Listening & Reading

• Help them set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals for improvement.

• Assign specific revision tasks based on weaknesses.

2. Listening and Reading Skills Development

• Practise listening to authentic audio at different speeds. Focus on identifying keywords and context clues. Other examples of activities I do, are in the plan below.

• Use past paper reading texts to explore strategies for scanning, skimming and inferring meaning.

3. Speaking Practice

• Schedule regular one-to-one speaking sessions to rehearse exam-style questions. I run targeted intervention sessions every Wednesday morning from 8:00 to 8:30, where I invite 4-5 students to focus on speaking skills. These sessions are scheduled on a rotating basis, with one group of targeted students attending for 3-4 weeks, followed by another group in the next cycle. With a class of 30 students, this approach allows me to provide much-needed 1:1 support for each student.

• Focus on spontaneity and improving fluency by building banks of "go-to" phrases.

• Address pronunciation and intonation issues.

4. Writing Skills and Grammar

• Dedicate sessions to mastering key tenses and complex structures like subordinate clauses.

• Use model answers to dissect how high-scoring responses are constructed.

• Practise writing under timed conditions, focusing on accurate application of feedback.

5. Exam Technique

• Teach strategies for tackling tricky rubrics or multi-part questions.

• Conduct mini-mocks with timed conditions to build stamina and resilience.

• Focus on areas where marks are often lost that could have been easily avoided, such as spelling errors or misunderstanding task instructions, i.e. not selecting 3/4/5 options etc.

Please, note these are just some examples and can be mixed, combined and blended as per the timetable suggestion below and as per your students' needs.

Example of a 'Weekly Action Plan'

For a more targeted approach that tailors strategies to the specific needs of individual students, you might consider creating a Raising Attainment Plan for the class, similar to the one we use in my academy.👇

Example of a 'Raising Attainment Plan' for a class

Strategies for Sustained Progress

1. Personalised Learning: Tailor activities to individual needs, such as scaffolded worksheets/sentence structures/sentence starters/super phrases, vocabulary lists or grammar drills.

2. Collaborative Learning: Encourage peer support in small groups to reinforce skills, I often use this during speaking practice where I pair or group students together - using my 'round table' approach. For more information read my post on Preparing students for their GCSE speaking exam

3. Repetition and Retrieval Practice: Use techniques like flashcards - my students really like the physical ones and I have been using them with my students successfuly for a numebr of years, low-stakes quizzes or apps to regularly revisit key vocabulary and grammar.

4. Parental Engagement: Share strategies with parents to support learning at home, such as listening to playlists, podcasts or series like 'Easy German'. This has been helpful for my students as their limited exposure to the target language outside the classroom often makes it challenging for them to "hear" words in fluent, extended speech.

5. Celebrate Milestones and Build Self-Belief: Highlight improvements to maintain motivation, whether through verbal praise, certificates or showcasing strong work. In my teaching, it is super important to show my students that I believe in them. I always tell them we aim high - even if their target is a 3 or 4, I will tell them, “We are going for a 5 or more!” I make sure they know I am with them every step of the way: 'I have got this, and so do they!'

Monitoring and Review

• Weekly Departmental Meetings: Review progress against action plan and adapt strategies as needed during weekly departmental meeting or briefing (we have them weekly but adapt if you have them bi-weekly).

• Student Progress Tracking: Maintain records of student performance in interventions and assessments.

• Final Review Post-Mini Mock: Evaluate impact of interventions and continue or plan any final adjustments before exams for Spring B and Summer A.

  
  

Expected Impact

• Short-Term: Improved student engagement, confidence and understanding of their weaknesses.

• Medium-Term: Measurable progress in mock re-sits and weekly mini assessments (formative or summative).

• Long-Term: Higher GCSE outcomes, with students achieving or exceeding their predicted grades or attainment targets.

  
  

By creating a structured plan with clear roles and realistic timescales, this approach has always ensured a coordinated effort to raise achievement in MFL, helping my students succeed.

Conclusion

After the mocks is a key time to refocus and step up preparation for the final exams. By looking closely at mock results, making a clear action plan and using specific strategies, students can make real improvements in their MFL GCSE. For me, this approach tackles immediate issues while also building the confidence and skills my students need to succeed.

💡What strategies have worked well for your students post-mocks? Share your experiences and ideas in the comments below! I would love to learn from YOU!💡

FREE template:

Download here!