School refusing to tell DS his GCSE Results

[LocalSchoolMum]

My DS took 2 GCSEs this summer in Year 10: Maths and Biology. I think that the school put most off Year 10 in for the Maths GCSE, going back on an earlier promise to only make them take it when they were ready to get the best mark they could get.

When we went to ask for his results on Friday, they said that they intended to give them out on the 1st day of next term - 9th September. Does anyone know whether other schools do this?

I thought it was pretty barbaric.

[englishteacher78]

We give them out to those prepared to come in at 1:30 on results day (which is Thursday) when there are teachers available to explain and help if necessary. As they know these results aren't as important as they can re-sit most don't bother and wait until the first day back.

[exoticfruits]

Why didn't you go on results day?

[mysteryfairy]

My DS school did this for the 1 GCSE he took in Y9. He took 4 in Y10 and was able to pick those up on results day, an hour after the Y11s went in.

You could submit a data subject access request making it clear that you want all data on him which will be a total pain for the school to gather but say that if they can provide just the GCSE result immediately you won't pursue this.

TBH though with the one result in Y9 we didn't have a problem with waiting.

[noblegiraffe]

You might have had luck if you'd gone in on results day when teachers are in. If they gave them out to parents who just rock up to school on any old day you can guarantee there'd be a steady stream of kids over the next few days also wanting to know what they got. As teachers are on holiday and if they are in school it's because they have got a billion things to sort before term starts, this would be a complete pain in the arse.

[noblegiraffe]

Oh and a data access request doesn't need to be fulfilled immediately so you wouldn't get the results any sooner. School is closed, teachers are on holiday.

[Groovee]

Why didn't you go on Thursday?

[ShipwreckedAndComatose]

yes, this is exactly what we do if the results were not collected on results day.

[LocalSchoolMum]

I or DS would have gone on results day, but DS was on a course all week and I work full time, so we asked DP to go. He rang the school on results day and asked whether it was ok to go on Friday instead. They said yes on the phone. When he rolled up on Friday they asked if DS was in Year 10, if so he isn't allowed his results until next term. It isn't about which day you go in, it's about Year 10 sharing their results all together on the first day of term.

[englishteacher78]

I still don't understand why the result wasn't collected on results day. There will probably be loads of year 10s without results. When I've had year 10 forms (4 times now) very few of them have bothered collecting them before the start of term.

[LocalSchoolMum]

Is there a general feeling among teachers that Year 10 results don't matter and you can just resit them in Year 11?

If so, that is extraordinarily cruel. Any public exam that you sit is important to the person who sat it, if they've worked hard for it. That attitude tells you more about teachers worrying about their league tables rather than how the kids feel.

[mysteryfairy]

The DSA idea is not that this will provide the results quicker but that the schools eagerness to avoid the work of fulfilling in full a DSA will lead to them capitulating over the results alone and release them to a faster timescale. I've seen this work before in a similar situation.

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

My dd just finished year 10 and they all went in on results day to collect their English and science results.

If you couldn't make Thursday you had to wait until the first day of term, or arrange in advance to have them posted.

No, I don't think our school took the yr 10 GCSE less seriously, they don't paticularly want the students to re sit, they want them to get get good results this year.

[englishteacher78]

If it was so important why wasn't the result collected on results day? You can ask to have the results posted I believe if you know you are going to be away. The results do matter to teachers BUT we're on holiday at the moment. Many of us give up our time to come in on results day and beyond to help students and the priority goes to years 11 and 13. We have students who need to reconsider their A-Level and Uni options. When term starts ALL the teachers will be in and can give your DC any support or advice they need.

[TSSDNCOP]

I don't think you can take the attitude that teachers everywhere think like that, yet not one of the three of you turned up on results day or bothered to find out in advance what the school policy was.

Hope DS passes his exam.

[TheFallenMadonna]

Our exams officer, if she was in, would have given your son his results on the Friday. Most of our year 10s picked their results up on Thursday. Of course they're important to them. And re-sitting is a big deal now - no individual modules. However,only the exams officer or deputy head would hand out results. If they weren't there, you wouldn;t get them.

[christinarossetti]

I think it's pragmatic rather than cruel, tbh. Of course exam results are important to the person who sat them but there is a reality that y11 are 'more important' I'm terms of children being able to confirm or not further study courses etc.

You don't say much about your ds how does he feel about having to wait another week or so? I guess if he really wanted to get the result on the day he could have nipped out of his course?

[christinarossetti]

I'm sorry but saying the teachers at the school are being 'extraordinarily cruel' is horrible.


Neither you nor your sh nor your ds were there to puck up these results which really matter to you. I don't understand why you think the school is at fault. You have to wait less than a fortnight, that's all.

[SPBisResisting]

the OP has explained a couple of times now why the results weren't collected on results day - her DP rang and asked if he could collect on Friday - was told yes. Was then told no on Friday itself. Presumably if he'd been told no on the phone he'd have gone in.

[englishteacher78]

But why didn't DP just collect them on results day?

[englishteacher78]

My school wouldn't have given them to someone they didn't know was collecting them. Another person collecting your results needs to be agreed in advance in writing/email

[SPBisResisting]

because he was told he could collect them on Friday instead!
I don't know why he wanted Friday, is it relevant?

[englishteacher78]

Potentially, I would be angry with the person I'd asked to collect the results not collecting them when asked.