GCSE Support - the results are in

We have to pay an admin fee of £5 per paper (not per subject) to see the scripts, so depends how much we want to spend on being curious!

@Postapocalypticcowgirl we are trying to find somewhere, but there doesn't seem anywhere suitable. DD has mild SN and it's quite complicated.

This is the thing, I haven't spoken to the school. I have tried calling and emailing various teachers/departments, but have heard nothing. There was no way we were sticking around to speak to staff this morning, as DD was in bits, begging me to drive off. I think hearing other students running out squealing they'd recieved 9s in everything was the extra sting in the tail tbh.

Really happy here.
I don't know if anyone remembers me saying my son completely missed the unseen poetry in the 2nd Eng Lit paper? Somehow he managed to still get a 5!! Totally shocked.
Well done to everyone

By passing do you mean 1 mark off a grade 4? I would definitely do it in that situation and the school should be pursuing it really.

I spoke to our school earlier and they are really busy reviewing all the 3s that are borderline 4s because upgrading those will help the school pass statistics too.

Going against the grain here with AQA English - DS predicted a 6 & 7 and got 2 8's - he's in shock! Marking does seem to be all over the place.

DS was told that CIE English Lang don’t send out scripts but can ask for review. That sounds odd - why wouldn’t they send out scripts when other exam boards do?

That's great. He must be thrilled.

But yeah don't know what the deal is with English this year. 😐

Another with a small element of AQA english disappointment here from DD- predicted 8 for both but got a 6 and a 7 (the 6 was 1 mark off a 7). We have already requested copies of the scripts which her teacher will review to see if a review is worthwhile. DD was convinced she had done better in Lit as she came out of both papers really confidently.

Same for PE - she was 1 mark off an 8 and its an A level choice so she wants that 8.

DD also got a 9 in RS which was way above her mock result of a 6. Her teacher said at parents evening she could get a 9 - he was right !

DS got a print out obviously put together by his school with all his grades on but not his actual marks. When I got my GCSEs many moons ago we got slips from the exam boards themselves. Do they not do them anymore? DSs school are notoriously bad at handling information and I would rather see the grades in the flesh from the exam board if you see what I mean.

Interesting to read about the unexpected English results. DS is 1 mark off passing English Lit and I am wondering about a remark. His teacher just said it’s worth a shot but hasn’t offered to review the script or anything. He doesn’t need it to do the course he wants to do but it would be another GCSE.

Are you getting it checked @Begsy ? I hope school will support your daughter to do it so she can have a chance of getting the grade she was expecting/deserves.
This happens every year and makes me so cross!

7s are great - and we are delighted with DD's in other subjects. But she got 8s in subjects she'd never consider doing at A-Level and feels English is her strong suit, so feels really weird about it.

It is a great grade but if your child was predicted and working at a grade 9 level then I can see how they'd be disappointed to get 2 grades lower than that in the exam.

In the same way someone predicted a 5 would be super happy with a 7!

My daughter had the same just the other way round! She got an 8 in English Lit and 5 in language - she had been getting 9's in all her mocks etc. Poor thing was in tears when she got home 😢

My DS got his first 6 in English Lit - a darn sight better than the 2 he got in his mocks! (He was predicted a 4/5.)
Seems the English marks are all over the place this year.

Thank you.
I imagine they are super busy right now, but hopefully they will get back to me.
DS has chosen a different A Level now, he needed a 5 and 1 mark off was not good enough, but he did not get to speak to his own teacher who might have had a better feel for it all.
Anyway, he's happy enough, but perhaps if he had his 5 he might reconsider things. I appreciate your time answering my queries.

I’m confused, isn’t a 7 a good mark (old A) reading this, lots of parents not happy with a 7. 😩😳

I think 7s are brilliant which is why DD can't quite believe her history 7! She was absolutely convinced she'd fail after the first paper and didn't think the second was a lot better.

Another slightly baffled by English AQA, DD consistently an 8 in both papers, dropped to a 6. Rest of results v good so happy overall but she has never had a 6 in English before.

It is a good mark you are absolutely right, I only meant that the disappointment in my DDs case comes from it being two grades lower than all other her usual work/ mocks/ predictions. I am trying to cheer my DD up about it but obviously any student who felt they had dropped grades below their usual working standards would be disappointed. The more comments I see on here and from other parents IRL the English results do seem to have dropped strangely at the top end. Lots of students expecting 8/9 seeing sharp unexpected drops. Does not seem right.

Mine is only on her first year, so lots of exams ahead yet, but I am so so so proud! She has done really well.
She was estressed regarding the marking standards being set back to pre-covid! It has been a challenge for them to catch up after the year of doom.
They all deserve a big big celebration!

I would honestly try to find some kind of back up option for your DD.

Most reviews of marking don't end up changing the grade. Are the school very confident the grade will change? If so, what have they said about September?

It won't annoy the teachers, they should/will be happy that she wants to know.

She can hold two offers until September, it won't be a problem. It's very likely the college will let her enrol a day late, given the circumstances.

I agree it's not ideal from the school to not support her when they were offering others that support though.

Disappointing English language result here too - DS did amazingly with 8s and 9s that he put so much work into, then 5 in English lang. Has been working at 8/9.
Can’t get over the 5 and it has really taken the shine off celebrating for him which is silly because he’s done well, but it’s just the frustration as he thought he’d done well in the exam.
Others at his grammar school similarly disappointed. CIE board. Thankfully he’s got what he needed, but it’s so frustrating when the 5 negates all the 8/9s he got during term time.

I’m confused, isn’t a 7 a good mark (old A) reading this, lots of parents not happy with a 7. 😩😳