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Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

A level results day 2021 support thread

859 replies

Mrs08 · 31/07/2021 15:46

Hi 👋
I thought it might be nice to have a support thread for us parents? (Can't see one in further Ed yet??)
It's been such a difficult time for our kids - and for us! - but the end is in sight!
Ds will get an e mail at 8.30am (apparently) and can go into college in person if he needs help/advice.
Good luck everyone!
X

OP posts:
LIZS · 10/08/2021 18:44

@NellietheNumpty that is lovely, well done her!

NotSorry · 10/08/2021 18:44

Well done to all our wonderful DC - I know my DS got the results he deserved, as did his cohorts

@EmbarrassingMama

Apt screen name

IDidntFloatUpTheLaganInABubble · 10/08/2021 18:41

@NellietheNumpty that's amazing, congratulations!

vjg13 · 10/08/2021 18:40

@NellietheNumpty

I am a bit tearful here. My fledgling foster was homeless this year and has complex PTSD. They only disclosed their situation late on and are in a shocking state. After all of that has just got into med school.
I'm a bit tearful reading that. What an achievement!
IDidntFloatUpTheLaganInABubble · 10/08/2021 18:39

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LIZS · 10/08/2021 18:36

@user1471428785 yes dd is there, going into second year. Everything seems very bureaucratic and takes time to get a response, with little room for flexibility. She has recently had to choose her optional courses three times before they were accepted, even though she submitted her choices in June. In 2019 it was her insurance choice, she requested to defer but they took until the day before moving in to decline her request. She withdrew and reapplied for 2020. Hybrid learning has never resumed, after October it was all online. However she loves it there, has made a group of international friends, in spite of the restrictions of living in halls last year and difficult home circumstances, and is looking forward to moving into a shared flat in a few weeks' time.

Longtimenewsee · 10/08/2021 18:30

Hurrah @NellietheNumpty. Fab news .. aww-you are right to be very proud Smile

Iimaginethiswillbefun · 10/08/2021 18:29

@NellietheNumpty that is wonderful.

NellietheNumpty · 10/08/2021 18:20

I am a bit tearful here. My fledgling foster was homeless this year and has complex PTSD. They only disclosed their situation late on and are in a shocking state. After all of that has just got into med school.

NellietheNumpty · 10/08/2021 18:18

Congratulations to all those who even managed to survive and keep looking forward during a year of such uncertainty and stress.

clary · 10/08/2021 18:12

I agree, anecdotal evidence from ds's mates is that people mostly got what they needed but nothing ridiculous. His AAB was as predicted...yes he could have got A* in PE but didn't, nothing inflated there.

His very smart and hardworking pal got 4 x A*, very well deserved.

Some have had to go for insurance or clearing ...people should look beyond the headlines. Well done to everyone's DC, they should be proud, they worked hard and did well.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 10/08/2021 18:12

@SunShinesBrightly sorry I forgot that bit, honestly, my brain is frazzled with it all. I am just hoping that students feel happy with their results and move on to their next steps.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 10/08/2021 18:09

@myrtleWilson I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. I truly hope she has a much better sixth form experience next year. It has been the weirdest time with home learning, isolations, constant LST testing, no celebrating 18ths due to lockdown, Christmas practically cancelled. I think our children have been through a lot. Hopefully we are coming out the worst of it.

SunShinesBrightly · 10/08/2021 18:05

Every college just compared their own students, they have not been compared across the country and their whole cohort.

Every subject was ‘moderated.’
Not extensively and only two subjects per school but there was a token attempt to standardise across schools.

SunShinesBrightly · 10/08/2021 18:02

My DD got her grades today.
The fact that she had nothing else to do last year and most of this year during lockdown meant that she spent her time studying.
She did very little else. A boring life but her grades reflected her hard work.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 10/08/2021 18:01

@EmbarrassingMama you do realise I wasn't the only one calling you out on this?

Firstly, can I ask if you have a child who has gone through remote learning during a pandemic? Not primary school but where it actually matters ie GCSE year or A level? Or is your child a lot, lot younger?

Secondly, my son achieved 4 x A and achieved more 9s than 8s at GCSE (A and As in old money). His A levels were broken down into each basket of evidence and he scored 98% for maths and 96% for further maths. I chose the maths ones because either you are right or wrong, no opinion needed on marking.

Also the teachers have abided by the rules set out on awarding grades this year. Last year, for example, if 15 students were all A grade only 10 could be an A so those ranked lower in the A scale were pushed down to an A and so on. The curve works to force some candidates to fail exams. This year they put no such cap on those grades, I believe. It has been a very long and stressful year so my memory might be a bit rusty. But those achieving A or A grades have not been pushed down, same with those with C grades being pushed down to a D.

Every college just compared their own students, they have not been compared across the country and their whole cohort.

myrtleWilson · 10/08/2021 18:01

What on earth motivates someone like @EmbarrassingMama to come on to a support thread and behave like this.

I'm sorry for those whose DC have had to have yet another difficult year in their school lives but you should be rightly proud of how they have come through unprecedented disruption and are ready to take their next steps into the world - am genuinely thrilled for all they've achieved.. I should have been on this thread but unfortunately my DD developed anorexia and had to drop out of year 13 back in October so will be re-starting sixth form again in September. Perhaps mama will pop up with her nuanced ability to read a room on the teen eating disorders thread with some warm words of encouragement Hmm

user1471428785 · 10/08/2021 18:00

@LIZS do you have a dd or ds there then? Thought Edinburgh were slow, they were the last offer my DD got - and not til late April. Worried me when you sai dits an indication of what's to come. Care to enlighten me further? Thanks

AdditionalCharacter · 10/08/2021 17:57

Definitely @MarleneDietrichsSmile. Still very proud of him given the year they've had.

MarleneDietrichsSmile · 10/08/2021 17:49

Same here @AdditionalCharacter

DS got AAB, having worked at level AAA all year (including mocks), and then you get all that media shit about inflated grades to put up with

But hey, they got there 💪 … and nothing else matters right now

LIZS · 10/08/2021 17:49

Edinburgh are painfully slow, and I'm afraid it is an indication of what is to come.

user1471428785 · 10/08/2021 17:46

My dd has got into Edinburgh today but we haven't had a confirmation email from the uni. It is definite on UCAS track. From reading various threads on here and FB it seems that students have had this confirmation. I'm wondering if Edinburgh is just slow or we've done something wrong. Any suggestions anyone?

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 10/08/2021 17:46

Oh dear :-(.

While the figures of A/A* are unsustainably high compared to usual years, I can well believe that with little else to socially (during the lockdown months) and subject to internal exams probably almost on repeat at many schools, it's entirely possible that so many young people worked their socks off and triumphed over adversity. Well done to them and indeed all of this year's A Level cohort.

stoneysongs · 10/08/2021 17:44

@EmbarrassingMama

Sounds like they were giving away the grades this year!
What a stupid and heartless comment on a thread which includes parents of DC who didn't make their offers.
AllTheSingleLadiess · 10/08/2021 17:44

Fuck off @EmbarrassingMama - you are truly embarrassing yourself.

Kids this year had a fucking brutal testing regime compared to normal years and your post is plain nasty- especially when there are upset kids scrambling for places in clearing.