Remark of 'D' grade course work when child gained an A* and A in external exams in Biology

I will also say CA in my subject at my school are only able to be done once - exam board rules. We support and guide them as much as we can but once the teacher has marked it that is the grade it is.

This is one of the reasons CA is being phased out as some schools redo and redo and redo it.

As someone else has said the CA will have been teacher marked, then moderated within school and then a sample sent off for moderation as well which will back up the marking - after the external moderation they will either stay the same, all increase or all decrease. So it will affect the whole cohort if you ask to get it remarked.

I must know some very very lucky people then.

Good friend with an environmental science degree, average A levels but straight As and A*s at GCSE is now in his 2nd year as a post-grad. At post-grad A-levels and GCSEs are not as heavily weighted as other parts of the application.

I also know of 3 people who during uni transferred from biomed or dentistry into medicine. We had a medical school as part of uni and it was not unheard of students who had missed the medicine entry requirements or not received any offers to be told by the admissions team to apply to biomed in clearing and transfer over if their grades were good enough/

I don't think its at all common to transfer into Medicine from bio medical science, dotcom - its very very rare. And PG medicine is even harder to get into than UG medicine.

OP, i think you need to help your DD think through her options as its unlikely she'll get an interview with her GCSE grades - its more likely if shes at a comprehensive but not very likely form a grammar school.

(i speak from the experience of DDs' friends form an indie school (so slightly different) where their friends had 8 or more A at GCSEs, good UKCAT scores, reasonable BMATs, all the right experience (hospice, care home etc) and STILL didn't get interviews in some places. And then candidates who achieved 2 A and 1A at A2 find themselves without a place. Its really tough out there)

Schools are advised not to give out CA grades before results as the grade boundaries are not released until results as boundaries change and centers get marked up/down. It is also quite possible for a candidate to get a D in CA and an A* in the exam - so probably not a mix up.

If she fails to get offers for medicine, it is quite common to instead do bio-medical science or dentistry and either transfer within the uni part way through or get the degree then do medicine afterwards as a post-grad.

I work for a med school in the north of the country - our students do not need A level biology to be offered a place. They do, however, need top grade A level Chemistry, a high ranking ukcat/bmat score (depending on which university she applies for) a very good personal statement (which are scored by clinicians) and then to be highly ranked during the mini-multiple interviews successful applicants sit. We usually have around 4000 applicants for 250 spaces and even if they are the best of the best there's still no guarantee. I feel for every single applicant we have, I couldn't cope with the stress and I don't know how they do it! Results day is always heart wrenching.

If she has her heart set on a London med school I'd recommend dropping their admission department an email and just asking what their policy on GCSE grades are. It won't hurt. I know for us if we have a student who comes to us with all boxes ticked in respect to the above, we wouldn't be too concerned about GCSE grades.

Many med schools also have foundation programmes or other routes in for those who don't for the 'traditional' criteria. Her dreams certainly aren't shattered just yet

We are told at DC school that prospective medics need 8 A at GCSE to be in with a chance. The competition to get into medicine is huge because everyone thinks they can earn bucket loads. I know of students getting A at A level who weren't offered a single place to do medicine.

I hate to rain on your parade, but I don't think those grades will be good enough for medicine.It would be very unusual for a candidate not to have a t least 5a*s and they usually have many more.
Sure , A levels are more important, and so is the aptitude test , but they do have to shortlist somehow.Itit would be very likely she could name 5 med courses on her UCAS and end up without a single interview.

I agree with Agggghast. If this genuinely was her controlled assessment mark what on earth were the school thinking in allowing it to be submitted. Rather than going in to the school pleading for a favour I would fairly rapidly be demanding an explanation.
I also find that telling schools what I expect to happen generally gets the desired result

I would suggest speaking to a person other than the Head of Biology,perhaps Head of Science or Headteacher. Either their controlled assessments have been massively downgraded or they submitted very weak work. Neither of these actions reflects well on the Head of Biology. Where I work any pupil who submits a CA below their target grade is expected to redo it after school/ on Saturday. I believe this to be standard across most schools. The school should take responsibility since this grade could have been avoided.

Looks like St George's is now part of University of London
www.sgul.ac.uk/

We will only accept a complete set of scores from one sitting.

minimum points:
416 tariff points from the top eight subjects (equivalent to an average of grade A).

OP's dd would qualify with 422 points (I am assuming that her all of her A levels were full and not halfs)
www.sgul.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/mbbs5/entry-requirements

Must include English Language (minimum grade B), Maths and Dual Award or the three separate sciences.

and most important

A Levels
Grades AAA at A2 with a grade b in the fourth AS.
Subjects Three A2 Level subjects to include one or both of Biology and Chemistry.

I can imagine most of those who are applying would be studying both subjects.

Among my friends and younge med students it is not apparent that gcse grades make a huge difference. They do need to be good but not straight a*. The more important determinant seemed to be demonstrating life skills, ukcat, work experience and personal statement.

All medics will have good grades and this be why they are in medicine, or the good grades came from their hard work and drive which also led them to get te work experience etc

As a complete aside I studied medicine. My biology a level was done outside of school via night class. It was easy enough to study for it by myself.

Your daughter is clearly bright so could this be an option? I would recommend biology for the medicine it is useful during your studies.

I went to a London medical school and at the time it didn't require biology. But of course they have all been swallowed up by big institutions like Imperial and UCL now. George's is the only proper medical school left, I'd be interested to know their take on it.

I must admit I'm very thankful that I went into medicine a few lots of years ago. It sounds so ridiculous now with teenagers being written off when they are barely 16. Is there any evidence that a fistful of A*s at GCSE makes you a better doctor??

Ikky - ds goes to a grammar school and they ask for a minimum of B at GCSE to take a subject to A level, the exception being Maths in which they ask for an A. Surely they could bend the rules when she achieved A/A* in the written papers.

Definitely talk to the Head of Biology - or her Biology teacher - first. You want to get the department on side if you want them to bend the rules slightly.

I would also echo what Overthehandlebars said - my understanding was that you need a large number/full set of As at GCSE to be in with a chance for medicine. The daughter of a family friend got a full set of As at GCSE; A,A,A, A for A level (predicted 4 x A*); did lots of hospital volunteering and didn't get a single offer for medicine.

My SIL who is helping in recruitment in one of sought after medical schools says that once they look at A levels and grades are identical for two candidates then they look at gcse's. That would be before calling for interview.
THere may be other medical schools where there's different process but as far as I understand in London competition is fierce.

I would look at student room threads grades ppl had who got offers this year and see what they say.
www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine_applicants_stalking_page_2014_entry

I would also question if there has been a mix up as it just doesn't seem plausible that she would have got a D when you look at the other grades she has achieved in biology exams and all of her other subjects. I'd not be letting this lie. Needs further investigation or pushing for a remark of the coursework and I really think she should be allowed to do biology A level as clearly capable. Your poor dd!

St George's also accept just chem, though agree her bmat or ukcat will have to be stellar with just the one a star. Naming five London med schools may not necessarily be a good idea unless all use just bmat or just ukcat - candidates tend to go for one or the other not both.

Most sixth forms (apart from academically selective schools) would consider a child with a grade B at GCSE more than capable of taking that subject at A level.
Would it be too late to transfer your child to another sixth form if the current school won't let her take the A level?
Is your dd the only one to have her coursework affected in this way?
IMHO exams are a better indication of a student's ability than controlled assessments for which marks are more dependent on the teacher/school.

Are you sure that this is actually HER controlled assessment mark?

I write from experience! You need to speak to her actual teacher.

UCL seems to be the only one to stipulate both chemistry and biology at alevel. Kings state one has to be done at full a-level the other as AS. Imperial is chemistry or biology.

Honestly chemistry is by far and away the more important one. Besides London which other unis is she interested in?

But anyway I think a chat with head of biology may the best approach. I think they'd be churlish to refuse her on the basis of two marks with outstanding exams.

Biology isn't essential but is very useful for medicine and since her exam scores were so high an appeal to the head of biology would be worth a try. With only 1 A though it'll be very tough to get into medical school. All the courses are massively oversubscribed and many candidates will have nearly all As. She's likely to need to do exceptionally well on the admissions tests (really exceptionally well, not just very well).

If she is 3 marks off A I would have her external exam papers remarked.