Y11 2023/24 thread 5 - results!

I just think that as an advertising message it is disingenuous of a school to write it

I totally agree.

I agree and I am not disrespectful of those grades and am aware of the doors that these grades would open to students (my DD wasn't expecting to get the grades she did so we were looking at what to do with these grades)

I just think that as an advertising message it is disingenuous of a school to write it

A pass is anything between 1 and 9.
4 is a "standard pass"
5 is a strong pass
U is a fail

The student in my class who got a 3 and a 2 passed. He and I were delighted because he'd overcome a lot to get those.

Agree, so if a school said 100% pass the vast majority of people would expect a 4/C and above.

They would not expect the school to include 1,2 or 3's

(Although I appreciate these allow access to level 1/2 course at college, there would be the expectation of resitting maths and English)

DD is very good at English Lang and in all her mocks got virtually full marks. She got a 9 right on the grade boundary, which was very odd for her (happy with it obvs). But it didn’t really make a lot of sense so interesting to read this thread .

A pass is a 4

@MrsHamlet for my DS 3s and above are fine and we weren't expecting as many above that originally (he was predicted 4s and above by Y11 though) however if you read a private school had 91% pass rate you would probably assume that meant 4 and above. Obviously they do publish more detailed info so you would look but it does feel misleading as I know they'll plaster it on massive billboards for their advertising.

On one hand they do have 25% of the kids with dyslexia/similar issues there plus a separate learning support unit for more severe difficulties so it is good to get that sort of % passes whatever they are but on the other I also have some real issues with the school and the way my DS was treated so maybe I am being a bit bitter about it.

Update : daughter has managed to enroll in a level 3 course at college. under the provision that she is assessed after a term to check she’s keeping up and does an English resit (she passed one English and close to the second one so shouldn’t be too bad) in November. - if she’s struggling she will have to go to level 2.

massive relief as we thought she was going to have to do a level two year . She hasn’t got onto the t level she wanted , but she can get to the same place at the same time with what she’s enrolled on , and she’s genuinely excited.

skated in by the skin of her teeth has the little darling!

Also AQA .

I understand what you're saying but grades 1-3 are passes. For some students, they're bloody good grades too.

@ASongbirdAndAnOldHat it absolutely makes no sense, I don't really understand such huge devastation over getting an 8 instead of a 9 at GCSE but to be predicted 8/9 and get a 5 is a huge shock and can make a big difference with A Levels. I hope there is some reviewing going to happen for them.

There are so many dropping several grades for AQA Eng, it feels so wrong. Since 2022 exams the kids have had a pretty raw deal with exams/grading. Its been pretty stressful for them.

Also AQA and a lots of disappointed students expecting 8/9s but got 5s.

Particularly odd as my DD got a 5 in Lang and not expected at all, we were hoping to scrape a 4 and yet her friends who are really good at English and planning to study at A-level got the same grade.

exactly, I think it is wrong. Perhaps they did have 91% pass rate but over 3% of that was DS and his 2 friends, DS is top or 2nd set for everything (just struggles with exams due to his processing disorder) so I find it hard to believe that they were the only ones.

My DS did AQA

But it is disingenuous.

A prospective parent reading that would not have thought the school considered Ds, Es and Fs as passes.

The Eng lang exam with the huge discrepancies, what exam board is that? My DSs school do Cambridge which is 50% coursework, absolute game changer for them I think.

There definitely is hope for those DC who didn't get as expected, esp at the lower end. My friends DS I mentioned earlier got a 4 in Eng Lang, 3, 2 in Science and 2s in everything else, they went to their college appt expecting to only get on a L1 (which is what the website states) but they are on a L2 in Criminology and Psychology which is great for them. Not all 16 yos are ready for the level of work involved in A levels so hopefully by the time the L3 course comes round they will smash it.

I am so happy for my DS, he has so many additional needs that to get the results he needs plus an apprenticeship (which now he can move onto higher levels with the grades he got) is amazing. 4s would have been perfect, 5s he is so pleased with. It does get to me when I hear people saying how disappointed they are with an 8 rather than a 9 as I know DS could study 10 hrs a day and never achieve that but I have to remind myself that it's al relative.

To buck the English language trend ds got
2 9s
2 8s
4 7s
2 6s
One of the 9s was Eng lang and was a surprise. He had got a 6 or 7 in mocks.

Yep, ds and his friends straight 8’s in mocks and 5’s today. There was even a 4. The teacher is wondering what on earth went wrong. I remember it being similar last year.

DD was predicted 9 in eng lang and got a 6. She got a D for spoken element. And got 8 in mocks.

She's very disappointed, particularly as she thought both papers had gone extremely well, but I'm trying to get her to focus on it being a great grade.

Yes he did I realised after I posted it says sports tech award.

Thank you, it was off the table for next year as the most important thing now is getting her strong again and working on her self esteem. The most concerning part is no one could see just how much she was struggling. Your suggestions are really helpful.

I meant on the slip we are given.

We got marks for every paper, which is interesting reading! The surprise 5 in Spanish makes more sense when you read the marks (he got a 3 in his mocks)