Do you think you would pass all your GCSE exams if you re-sat them now?

[dogsandbudgey]

thread inspired by bumping into a school friend I haven’t seen in 20 + years who I was shock to learn went to uni and has done very well for herself, she wasn’t a stand out student by any means so I was admittedly shocked but her success. I didn’t do very well at school, had good common sense but just not particularly academic and very lazy and of course just wanted to party with my friends at the time. I’m now in a fairly wellish paid job but some times I wonder if I went all out and studied hard would I get good grades if I resat them or am I just academically inept lol

Yeah with a bit of studying, 35 and just graduated.

I think I would get that C in maths that eluded me, everything else, yes.

I plan to resist it at some point.

I would pass maths, English Language and Chemistry without much revision
I would fail everything else if I didn’t revise
Also , children develop at different rates so the fact that a student who was not a stand out student but has now done well academically is not a surprise
Dd1 was in the lower sets at primary school . She was very shy and lacked confidence
She has recently achieved a first class in a tough STEM subject . She achieved a special award for her dissertation / research project and will embark on postgraduate studies next year
I know many people who didn’t do well at school / college but have returned to study as mature students and are achieving Firsts and 2:1 degrees

I'd pass, but I wouldn't enjoy it at all, as they're far more prescriptive than they used to be. My top marks in English Language and Literature wouldn't be possible, as I did the absolute bare minimum of essay coursework with everything else being creative writing.

I'd have to learn some more subjects from scratch, too, as 8 subjects was the absolute maximum allowed in my school at the time, and I'd have to get used to longer lessons (ours were 35 minutes long with one double a week for each subject, as it was felt that longer lessons were counterproductive in terms of attention and learning).

But the main thing would be that most of the options subjects that were offered aren't available in one school. We had loads of choices as there were teachers, specialised rooms and support to do whatever subjects we wanted beyond compulsory maths, English and one science. And for a school that was deemed to be failing as soon as Ofsted came into being, they had pretty good results (about 82% got C or above in core subjects).

Languages, yes, because they’ve been improved since GCSE. Anything else, not without refresher courses beforehand! But I think I’d do well in them still. Since doing further and higher education and reading lots my brain has definitely expanded since I was 16.

I did 'O' levels 50 years ago so - not without some further studying, no.

I'm not sure what they actually do in Maths nowadays, but that is one that I have retained, mostly, I think - although it was nowhere near my best subject.

I did level 2 apprenticeships in Maths and English aged 52 as I wanted to go a level 7 and couldn’t find my O levels. It was fairly easy to be honest, i did better than my O levels.

Right now? Like, today, without any revision etc? English, English Lit, sociology, yes, easily. The rest very probably not. I realised just how much I had forgotten when my son was doing his GCSEs last year, particularly in Maths and Physics and Chem.

I did 10 ‘O’ levels 30 years ago, all final exams no coursework. I reckon with about 4 months revision I could do them all again. English language I could do without revision. It would be impossible to do the others without revision, so much of it was essays for which you had to memorise huge chunks of material.

I think we retain more knowledge than we think, we just get used to knowing it. Given a chance to revise I reckon most people would do alright, though I’m sure the way you would answer would be totally different.

I would pass them all with flying colours after studying them of course .

English Language, yes. English Literature, possibly, though I failed it having gone totally blank and cried instead of actually writing anything. I’m not sure now what we’d studied - Cider With Rosie, Lord of the Flies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream… and what else?

French, possibly with a little revision. Maths, no, I scraped through with an E pass, have had no cause to use pi, formulae, algebra or logarithms since the day of my O Level in 1972, and my arithmetic isn’t quick. Chemistry, no, Biology perhaps, Physics no, Geography, no. Needlework perhaps, cookery (“Food and Nutrition”) yes.

I passed my 11+ and went to grammar school believing I was bright. I left feeling I was an unpopular weirdo, quite good at spelling and rubbish at everything else.

I don't think I would pass maths, chemistry or physics.
I'd like to think I'd pass both English exams (although I'd need to read the texts first!) and history and RE.

I’d pass English, but I teach it! It’s nothing like the GCSEs I took in the 90s. I’m not sure a lot of people saying they’d pass English Language GCSE realise how formulaic the reading section is - so much of it is exam technique to get the marks. Lots of literate adults would ace the writing though - students are usually bad at that because they don’t (generally) read or write much any more.

I was helping my tutor group revise for their science mocks and there is so much content and vocabulary they have to know. I took a look at the maths paper while they were sitting it and I couldn’t do the questions towards the end of the paper. But equally I’m not doing this stuff five times a week like they are! I think if I was immersed in the knowledge and trying to retain it like they are, I would pass.

I’d pass music and German - those are the only two I can guarantee!

Yes I would do better, I’d need to be taught the curriculum obviously! I did ‘O’ levels and there are significantly more resources and additional support available now.

Nope, absolutely no chance.

I’ve recently done a language GCSE as an adult and found it much easier than the German I did and failed at 16.

I was the second year to do GCSEs after they changed from O Levels.

The other ones I can remember that I did:
French (B), English lang (B) and lit (B), yes I think I’d pass with just a bit of re-reading texts.

Biology (A) - doubtful as I’ve forgotten more than I ever wanted to know about enzymes.

Maths (C), Economics (B), Social Studies (D - our whole year failed despite As and Bs in the mocks; it was quite the scandal at the time) - no chance.

Nobody would! Unless they sat them a month ago. I mean I could pass both my English I think but I doubt I'd get as high a grade. If given the time to re-read the books etc.

Maths, science- no flipping way.
I guess for art if you take the time to submit the work you'd pass. My art skills have probably got worse since I was 16 though!

Yes no problem
There is so much more information on exam technique - wouldn’t say easy as but it wouldn’t be a problem.

Well, if you mean follow the normal lessons and revision that are currently followed by secondary school pupils then take the exams, the answer is yes, and I think I would do a bit better as I have wider knowledge now on some subjects. I got pretty good results back in the day but I know I could have done a bit more revision. The all final exam format would actually suit me as it’s what I am used to and I do well under exam pressure.

if you literally mean go into an exam hall now and take GCSE exams without looking at any of the course content, then obviously wouldn’t do as well. The syllabus is likely completely different to what I studied back then, and it’s over 40 years since I have looked at most of this stuff!

I work in a secondary school and there’s no way I’d pass physics, chemistry and maths now. It’s so much harder.
Food science isn’t the doss course it used to be, there’s now lots of chemistry and ethics woven into it.

I took my O levels in 1976 (English Language) and 1977.

I reckon I could take English Language tomorrow and might manage English Literature, history and French, but everything else would need revision, especially German, maths, Biology and Chemistry.

Would we have to retake the exact paper in the same conditions? If so, I would have to remind myself how to use log tables (if anyone could find any). Obviously no calculators in my day!

All mine were exams with the exception of the coursework element of art (though there was also a timed drawing exam). There were rather a lot of them, not least because each language involved 5 separate exams (though most of them were quite short).

Late 50s so did O levels. But DD1 did GCSE 10 years ago and DD2 didn't do them 4 years ago and I did a lot with them so I am more up to speed than otherwise.

I'd do well in Maths even if I sat it tomorrow (be disappointed with less than an 7, give me a week I'd expect at least an 8).
I should pass Eng Lang after all the focus we had on it with DDs in recent years (but wouldn't if hadn't had to pay so much attention to marking scheme).

If you gave me a month I hope I'd do OK in physics & chemistry.
I'd have to work hard at biology & RE (again studied them with the DCs).
French is rusty but maybe I'd manage foundation though more likely a 3.

English Lit I'd have a chance at with Macbeth and P&P, but the poems would be hard so I wouldn't pass without a lot of teaching.

Wouldn't have a hope with History & geography through sheer volume of content.

Sure. I take much more demanding exams all the time in my work. Just during interviews we often have to take 4-24 hours of tests.

The papers themselves-yeah. I scribe/read for gcses and i can definitely answer them. Some of the harder maths and physics and the english lit where you have to use quotes from the rest of the text, and history with dates of events, maybe not. But you get to recognise what examiners are looking for and how to structure the questions.