Current Year 11 - 2 more weeks of exams!!

DD is getting more nervous I think as she’s getting more grumpy to be around. As I am getting nervous about DSs A level results in two days time I would prefer it if she were slightly nicer to know. But that’s what you get for having two children 22 months apart 😂

That's really useful to know @Akite, so thank you.

So are results only posted out on Results Day (to those who can't get there in person) or the day the school gets them (i.e. the day before)? DD isn't entirely keen on opening hers in a room full of people so wondering if it would be easier for them to be sent but only if they arrive on the Thursday, as she's going to have to do some long, hard thinking about her options by Friday really.

@Akite That's good to know.

I know our 6th is straight down the line - if you don't get a 5 in English or Maths - you're out but I think there's some wiggle room on other grades. For instance my DD needs a 6 to carry on with science. Her science teacher is also head of science and said earlier this year, if she doesn't get the right grades for whatever reason she will 100% advocate for her to continue because she said she knows that had it not been for the pandemic, and if she'd been teaching her for the past 2 years she would have sailed through, so I feel comforted that we have that!

In my last job, I did all the processing of results (on the IT side/data side) so I can tell you what happened behind the scenes in my school. Results are received the day before they are published but only limited people have access to them - the head, exams officer, head of academics. We would analyse the results and identify all the students who got less than the desired result in one or more of their a level choices - usually a grade 7. So that was known in advance and ready to be acted on on results day. If it was borderline, the head of 6th form would then consult with the relevant subject teachers to decide if the student would be allowed to take that subject. If not, they would suggest alternatives or fewer options and resits. Incredibly rare to just advise someone to take another route and go elsewhere. It's a bit different of course if you are new to the sixth form because they won't have prior knowledge of what you are like and if the result is an anomaly for you.

Weirdly we’ve already had the Welcome and your first day email for college …… not sure what happens if he fails to meet the requirements but I’ve taken the day off to help him call college on speakerphone ! We have no plan B either …!

Thanks everyone. Turns out DS was crystal clear about results day - he goes in from 10-12 or they email in the pm. There is then an online registration process for the school he wants to go to.

Thanks too for the advice re managing it if he doesn't get his grades - he has a very high offer to do 4 A levels but has changed his mind and wants to do 3 (which requires a lower average grade). I've checked twice that he'd be accepted so long as he meets the lower set of grades but until I've seen it confirmed I'll be anxious.

Welcome @WobblyLondoner !!!!

DS has his registration appointment at college in the afternoon of results day so they can check results and get them onto a different course if need be. I guess it's more complicated if they have several options to choose from. DSs is a specific course so he only wants to go to one college for it.

Also make sure what the mechanics are on the day for informing each of the new colleges of results and be ready to move on that immediately if he hasn’t made his offer - don’t assume that they won’t take him if he misses the mark - it’s worth a phone call to ask for consideration, to state your case or if they have any alternative options. But you would need to do this as soon as possible.

If he has made his offer - no need to panic - but there might be a process and timeline to be aware of and meet.

I was wondering if there were others wondering & worrying about this - I've found you! For my DS his results determine which sixth form colleague he goes to, and he's very keen on the one that wants the highest grades. I'm fretting, he's not (or not showing any sign of it). I'm obviously keeping this to myself.

Realise I've no idea what the mechanics are on the day. I thought he had to go in to get them so interested that some on here can take a look online first.

I'm starting to get rather nervous about the results. Trying to keep busy ... we don't have a Plan B.

Yes, @WombatChocolate my thinking is that maybe the 'more generous than 2019' grading will just bump young people up a few marks more (and potentially to the next grade level if they are 'borderline'). Certainly not anticipating that it's going to make a massive difference on an individual level, or even on a collective 'school' cohort level necessarily.

I think there could be a lot more 'clustered' sets of results to reflect the ways in which schools mismanaged lockdown learning (and how that impacted on our DC).

If performance is generally poorer than expected, they just set the grade boundaries lower to ensure the ‘right’ proportions of students get each grade.

It won’t be politically acceptable to have students perform at the same or lower level than 2019 after all that has been said. Across the whole cohort, they will do better to one degree or another. Of course, quite how that impacts individual students will be impossible to know really, because we cannot know exactly what they would have achieved in 2019 papers if taken then.

When schools release their press announcements of performance, funnily enough they will now benchmark against 2019 and definitely not 2020 or 2021 which will never be used as comparisons again, because school performance won’t look favourable! In 2023 and onwards, 2019 will also be used as the benchmark to compare to in order to show schools have done better or whatever, as this years grades should be a bit better than next years. The extent of this all depends on how much pressure exam boards are under to bring grades back down, or to keep grades boosted to please people that year. No doubt there will have been lots of wrangling about this that we won’t hear about.

Given how poor the 'extra guidance' was for some of the GCSEs and A Levels, I wouldn't be surprised if expectations for better results than 2019 aren't falsely raised.

I think that focusing on 2019 is the right approach. That is the norm year and our class of ‘22 will be treated more generously than them. It is right to say that ‘20, ‘21 are the anomalies and over time will be the outliers. In fact, when people look back in exam results, ‘22 will be included in that too as this year the kids have been treated differently with more info about exams and slightly more generous grading.

I guess some who were borderline 3/4 will now scrape the pass they might not have otherwise got. It will allows some to move onto their next course who might not have got on otherwise. For most, it really won’t make much difference to their next steps.

Will be interested to see how it’s all presented in the media. Will it be ‘students treated too generously and grade inflation continues’ or ‘poor Covid students disappointed with their grades’. In my thinking, the reality is that some students are always disappointed. Exams are meaningless if everyone passes and they don’t distinguish between candidates. The next level of qualification become meaningless if every student has access to them. No-one wants their child to be the one who is disappointed and I guess the system this year means there will be a bit of generosity because their education has been disrupted, but at the same time they have sat exams and so their grades are related to their genuine own performance and not just teachers giving everyone the benefit of the doubt.

I’m thinking that unless students have significantly unrealistic expectations, most will be pretty satisfied this year. The government doesn’t want another PR disaster like 2020 and it’s easier for them to just be a bit more generous to avoid this.

Dd got a job as an events helper. Weddings etc over summer. She is enjoying it now tho was exhausting for her first few shifts after lying on her bed most of the day lol

She wore shortish black skirt and a smart shirt and tights. Got job pretty easily Seems to be all sixth formers as casuals with some older permanent staff.

Nervous in reading about a levels today! I hope our years not shafted.

No idea. I'm concentrating on the 'more than 2019' bit. It is the 20 & 21 years that have been advantaged, not the 22 year that is being disadvantaged. The 22 year still has an advantage over both 19 and 23.

Just to get some perspective has anyone done the calculation of what less than 21/20 but more than 19 is?

Is it 1/2 a grade? A whole grade? 10% of a grade ?

@NameInUseAlreadyAgain We've never been aiming for anything over a 6. If DD gets it, then great. But there was no pressure from us or her as she doesn't need 9s. Makes no odds. She needs 5s and 6s to go onto what she wants to do next, and that's absolutely perfect for me.

Our son wil get all 6 or lower if he’s lucky. All this talk of 8s and 9s and lower grades makes me feel sick with worry !

I do think the warnings about lower grades than last year will play out, based on the press releases. Also, despite the modifications, these exams were difficult plus the various cock ups may impact.

We will be happy if DS gets enough to do the A levels he wants at his current school. He worked incredibly hard all year but there was a bit of a tail off in the last few weeks, simply exam fatigue I guess.

@WombatChocolate that's a good idea about booking a lunch, I'm going to do that. DS is off to Leeds Fest on the Friday so I hope he goes to that in a good frame of mind. I did poorly in my O levels which changed my next steps (to a HE college rather than an elite sixth form) but it all panned out in the end, as life does...

Ours can go in between 9 and 10 to get their results, talk to someone from each Dept if needed and put in for re-mark if thought wise, plus confirming A Level choices. Results also available online from this time.

I think it would be good to look at results in private online and not see them for first time from the envelope in public. This might be in the car outside school or at home, followed by going in for the envelope.

I have booked a celebratory lunch for that day. If it turns our DC wants to go out with friends to celebrate instead, will simply cancel. The celebration will be all about the effort and the positives achieved (expecting good results, but exact level of how good is obviously unknown). If there is real disappointment and DC doesn’t want to go out, that will be fine too. We are then away for the final week of hols with friends who also have Yr11 child, so some form of congratulatory meal will no doubt happen with them too.

It’s been noticeable in last couple of weeks that DC is lowering his own expectations….and looking to lower ours. When he came out of exams, he was very positive and talked about 8s and 9s. Now is talking about being pleased with 7s. I understand this lowering of expectations is normal for this period, as they try to prepare themselves for disappointment. It’s all done now and nothing else can be done to affect the results that will be received on 25th, so I just try to reiterate that whatever the results we will be proud, because we know he worked really hard and no-one can be asked to do more. He sets high expectations for himself and I think worries about letting us down a bit…..am keen to try and dispel that feeling. The reality is, that he has been on for 8/9 through courses, so if grades are very much below this, we will be disappointed…..but for him rather than us really. If this happens I really want to manage my disappointment in order to help him deal with his disappointment. There’s some kind of balance isn’t there between acknowledging what they had hoped to achieve hasn’t occurred….wrong to pretend those hopes were never there….but at the same time, focusing on the positives and open doors. I’m hoping that I can do that well and authentically and not be overly self-invested in it all. The fact we go away a couple of days later is a good thing I think…it will remove the focus of thinking from it too much.

I have no idea how DD gets her resit result from college. Her college portal is currently being reconfigured for next academic year, so maybe the idea is that will be done before the 25th. Or maybe it will turn up be email. Who knows?

DS gets his results on the school portal at 8am and the school is open from the same time. Free breakfast.

DS will go online for his and if they're good then he will go into school. The lure of free pastries is strong!

Heads of department will be there for discussion if needed. DS needs 7s for his maths and science a-levels. 🤞🏻🤞🏻

DS wore school white shirt, black trousers and tie for interview. Before and after turned up looking like had been backpacking (DS words). DS got the job. Tie every time