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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think Bs at GCSE are ok?

808 replies

catwalker · 28/08/2011 21:31

Some issues with DS and GCSEs/6th form. He didn't get the grades he was predicted (As and As) but then I didn't expect him to as he doesn't put much effort into anything apart from his x box. He got mainly Bs, a couple of As, a couple of Cs and a couple of Ds. I was quite happy until I started reading the secondary education forum where people are tearing their hair out because their dc's didn't get straight As and may have blown their oxbridge chances. I get the impression that anything less than an A just isn't worth the paper it's written on. He could have done loads better but Bs are OK aren't they?

OP posts:
Tchootnika · 29/08/2011 22:21

Where's Xenia gone, though?
I'd like to hear more about these thickos who omit GCSE grades from CVs. Are they also leaving out details of photocopying duties during work experience? Shame on them!

ImperialBlether · 29/08/2011 22:24

Exoticfruits, it's true that if someone gets a first but started with grade Bs at GCSEs, the recruiter would think they had pulled their socks up and had a shock at the grade their idleness gave them. That's a common phenomenon.

But if someone got a 2:2 and also had grade Bs at GCSE, then that tells them something else, too.

mrswoodentop · 29/08/2011 22:25

Have to say ds1 is currently doing the rounds of open days for university entry in 2012,without exception they have mentioned that they douse GCSE results for selection.One top5 university ,notOxbridge ,is fairly open about wanting a minimum of 8 A*s at GCSE ,not law or medicine either .
It's ridiculous that performance at such an early age is so crucial and it shouldn't be so but it is and to pretend otherwise is unfair and patronising to the young people in the thick of this ridiculous and narrow system of education which we are subjecting them to.

notlettingthefearshow · 29/08/2011 22:26

I don't put my GCSEs on my CV because once you have a degree it ceases to be relevant. Anybody looking at that is looking for a reason to judge you.

I work at a university and I would maintain that the most important qualification is the most recent one. Lots of people screw up their GCSEs and Alevels, but by the time you're an adult it doesn't matter unless it prevents you following a path already chosen.

Once you have a job, no one knows/cares what you did at school and it would be weird to discuss grades, even degree level. Not relevant.

LRDTheFeministDragon · 29/08/2011 22:27

I don't know if it still does, but it used to until quite recently - I'm 26 so I knew people my age who applied and got them.

Tchootnika · 29/08/2011 22:28

Emphasis on 'once you have a job', though, fearshow?

LRDTheFeministDragon · 29/08/2011 22:28

Oops, that was to tchoot re. 2Es. I forgot to refresh the page!

Lilymaid · 29/08/2011 22:32

A boy in DS1's year at school got a 2E offer for Cambridge in 2005. He was a near genius so extremely unlikely to get 2 Es. Same year a friend got a 2E offer for Durham ... have things changed in the last 6 years?

LRDTheFeministDragon · 29/08/2011 22:33

mrswooden - thanks for replying. Can you say which university other than Open it is, please?

I don't mean to be unfair to young people but I do think it is important not to despair about grades that are good.

Tchootnika · 29/08/2011 22:34

Should never have mentioned the 2E offer thing.
Some poor young person might see this thread after watching 'Holby City' or something.
Oh, the boulevard of broken dreams... Sad

duchesse · 29/08/2011 22:34

I heard of a 2 E Cambridge offer about 5-6 years ago. Said young man was extremely bright and interesting- far too bright in fact to bother to take his A levels when there was a world out there to save. He didn't make his offer unsurprisingly.

Tchootnika · 29/08/2011 22:34

I'll get me coat.

duchesse · 29/08/2011 22:38

Agree with Mrs Flittersnoop downthread. I suspect the reverse is also true- ie if they think you're a bit dull but a hard worker they might set you a very high goal eg 4 A* (widely reported last year in the papers with that boy applying to Sid Sussex for Computer Science). That seems less unfair to me than simply telling them they are too dull even if bright enough.

Original poster
catwalker · 29/08/2011 22:39

I think people are talking at cross purposes. I agree that, once your education is finished people will generally only look at your last academic qualification/s. So if you have a degree prospective employers are probably not too interested in your GCSEs. But while you are still in education it seems GCSEs do matter, and not just as a means of getting onto your preferred A level courses. My sister, who teaches in a 6th form college, tells me that most universities are interested in GCSEs/ASs as they are usually the only concrete set of results a student has at the time of application.

OP posts:
duchesse · 29/08/2011 22:41

Clarification: by "dull" I mean a bit characterless rather than not very clever.

LRDTheFeministDragon · 29/08/2011 22:44

cat - I do see what you're saying, but they will have seen excellent students with B's before. The question is, is he feeling he wants to, and is set up to, get better for AS? And what do school reckon?

exoticfruits · 29/08/2011 22:45

I don't put my GCSEs on my CV because once you have a degree it ceases to be relevant.

Noone has ever asked me-there isn't even a space on the form.
A 2:2 but with brilliant GCSEs would tell me that probably they needed mother to supervise the work and were not so good at self discipline. A 2:2 with Bs would be what you would expect.
If they got a first I doubt whether it matters if they pulled their socks up or were always in line for it.
Some DCs are only 15yrs when they sit the GCSEs-my DS was still 15yrs when he got the results.-it all seems a bit early to me. Just as well that I don't believe that anyone (other than Xenia) want them.

exoticfruits · 29/08/2011 22:47

My friend's son was HEed -he got into a good university on his A'levels-he didn't do GCSEs.

exoticfruits · 29/08/2011 22:48

He only went to school in the 6th form.

mrswoodentop · 29/08/2011 22:49

Gosh I must be unusual I have never applied for a job where I haven't been asked to at least disclose them ,whether they read them is another matter.

mrswoodentop · 29/08/2011 22:53

LRD I know Durham and Imperial do but for most when you apply they are the only concrete results on your form so they are definately factor ,One way around it is to apply after A levels as then GCSEs will be less relevant

LRDTheFeministDragon · 29/08/2011 22:53

I thought they always went on your CV, too. Confused

Lots of jobs I've applied for seem to ask you if you've got A-C passes in stuff like Maths or English.

Tchootnika · 29/08/2011 22:56

Now we're talking application forms, ladies (& gents?)... Wink
(I'm off in a minute, really.)

ImperialBlether · 29/08/2011 22:56

It might be worth remembering that after fifteen years the exam board no longer keeps a record so you might find you have more now than you did have!

Grin
LRDTheFeministDragon · 29/08/2011 22:57

mrswooden - oh, I see what you're saying ... yes, I'm sure lots of places do read what you've got and take it into account, but that's not the same IMO as saying that if you don't get certain grades, they won't take you. As I understand it, lots of places will say specifically on the admissions form that they don't ask for particular GCSE grades, so if yours are not stellar, you can still apply. What always concerns me most is when people say on here that you 'can't' apply to such-and-such without A grades, or there's no point - it's such a shame because you might be limiting your own options for no good reason.

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