A’Level disasters 😔😣

[OverTheRainbow88]

Any other schools been majorly hit?

[Pregnantandredundant]

A friend who is a teacher said over 60% of the grades that she had provided for students had been changed. It’s unacceptable. Really feel for all getting results today.

[OverTheRainbow88]

It’s so unbelievably unfair. They’ve been in education since the age of 4/5 all working towards this.. and then boom- Ruined!

[SqidgeBum]

Yup. Mine has been too. Disgusted.

[Porcupineinwaiting]

I'm not going to comment on the fairness or otherwise of today's grades. But please, if anyone has a child affected, do not make them feel that this is the culmination of their education and it was all for nothing. That's not true and it's not helpful.

[Newnamenewopenme]

I don’t teach A- level but those at my school that do seem disappointed! Our predictions last year were pretty much spot on compared to the grades achieved, so for them to be lower than we predicted this year seems unfair. It’s almost as if the schools that didn’t unrealistically raise them are being punished

[HijabiVenus]

Are the downgraded results in poorer areas like the ones in Scotland?

[Rupertpenrysmistress]

This is so awful to hear, these poor children I agree with op though, try not to tell the kids it's all for nothing. Have people here actually got children who have results that have been affected.

[Devlesko]

It's an awful way of obtaining grades, and once again a postcode lottery.
You are able to appeal though, not sure what happens then.

[EThreepwood]

@HijabiVenus

Are the downgraded results in poorer areas like the ones in Scotland?

I was thinking the same thing! I bet the Etonians all had A*s

[CoRhona]

@devlesko you can only appeal with evidence. The school submitted BBB for DS1, actual awarded grades were BBC but as mock grade was C we don't really have grounds for appeal.

Luckily he had an unconditional place to his top choice which he'd already accepted. Would have been devastating if he'd not got a place.

[Marlboroughdreams]

A friend of mine who teaches at a selective private school (not Eton) had a C downgraded to a U, amid other assorted changes, so all is not well in the private sector either.

[OverTheRainbow88]

Well the national average of down graded results was about 40%, my school was a fair amount higher than this, and our catchment areas are most deprived areas in our large city, my BILs more ‘affluent catchment ’ school in the same city had a downgrade of 21% But that’s only 2 schools I know so not sure nationally what’s occurring.

[TheDrsDocMartens]

Lots down by one grade here.

[MiniCooperLover]

Niece was predicted AAB and was given CCD 😳 Luckily she had an unconditional offer from Swansea but Liverpool pulled her offer based on those. She's in a Grammar in a good area so not just poor schools/areas. Friend who teaches 6th form said a lot of her students have been downgraded 2 levels 🤦‍♀️

[SnuggyBuggy]

Really feel for the teens who have been the losers in this.

[MrsFogi]

I think one of the unfair outcomes of this will be that private schools will throw money and resource (not to mention lawyers) at the appeals process whereas state schools simply won't have the resource to do so. So there will be a double whammy given that I assume private schools will have had more of an incentive in the first place to inflate predictions.

[Campervan69]

Utter bollocks here. Predicted A*AA, got AAB in mocks, which the teachers have now told him is what they submitted - downgraded to BBB. Presume my son's place is gone at the university he wanted to go to. The course is full. So even if he appeals he has lost out.

His is a state Grammar School and most of his friends have been downgraded.

[ohwellthatwasfun]

dd's school was really badly affected. I'm still trying to get my head around it & communication from the school is poor (understatement).

[HipTightOnions]

and once again a postcode lottery.

It absolutely is not.

At my school some departments had lots of “downgraded” results and others had virtually none. We all have the same postcode! It’s all about how optimistic teachers’ estimates were.

[sunglasses123]

I honestly believe that if there is clear evidence from the school regarding a mock grade and other things, Year prizes, school reports and such like then these appeals will be much stronger. However if your appeal is just because your Mum thinks you deserve it that is completely different. There are also the GCSE's to take into account too. If someone obtained say a A* in Maths they COULD be assumed to do well in Maths A Level.

I also think that some schools saw this as an opportunity to big themselves up and they were fantasy grades resulting in disappointment all round.

And for those who are saying that Eton pupils will all get A*'s - well thats like me saying that all Inadequate schools should only expect to get D's and E's.

My DS didnt go to Eton but somewhere quite similar. Its a very mixed bag on the A Level front.

[Iamnotthe1]

@Campervan69

Utter bollocks here. Predicted A*AA, got AAB in mocks, which the teachers have now told him is what they submitted - downgraded to BBB. Presume my son's place is gone at the university he wanted to go to. The course is full. So even if he appeals he has lost out.

His is a state Grammar School and most of his friends have been downgraded.

Do check with the university though - they have told ministers that they are going to soften the entry requirements so that they still take some students who didn't get what they expected.

[YetAnotherSpartacus]

I'm not going to comment on the fairness or otherwise of today's grades. But please, if anyone has a child affected, do not make them feel that this is the culmination of their education and it was all for nothing. That's not true and it's not helpful

I totally agree. I really feel for those who did not get as expected - but surely education is at least partly about the love of it?

[Yellowbutterfly1]

I’m absolutely disgusted that this has been allowed. If the mental heath of a lot of these children has not already been affected they sure as hell have destroyed it now.

I now wait for them to destroy my child when the GCSE results are given.

[Nothingwillcomeofnothing]

Friend’s son has been downgraded from AAA to BBB and has lost his first choice uni place.
I seriously worry about the mental health fallout from all of this mess.

[Enoughnowstop]

I assume private schools will have had more of an incentive in the first place to inflate predictions

You know what assume did...I can’t speak for all private schools but I can say that we took great care to be fair and that anything considered odd was queried by SLT and clear explanation expected. We are professionals and absolutely did not take the piss. Really insulting people assume otherwise.

Although my subject was left alone, there is considerable down grading in other subjects.