A’Level disasters 😔😣

[OverTheRainbow88]

Any other schools been majorly hit?

@Jellycatspyjamas my comments are in response to the posts on this thread. I can’t imagine many of the children you are referring to have parents commenting on this here, can you?

I understand it’s frustrating but we should really be teaching these young adults that set backs happen and to have some resilience. Going on like it’s the end of the world for them and that all those years of education mean nothing is really not very helpful.

There are other options and I was just stating that.

@areyoubeingserviced

I just wonder where these Autumn exams are going to take place.

And how many people realise the cost of these results which only some schools seem to have informed parents about so far (locally anyway)

Or how much more of a divide it creates because some just can't afford the resits.

Cost of resits!

Every year there are people who don't get the results they want, but this year as there were no actual exams people are disappointed in a different way

This is not aimed at you in anyway tttigress im just using your quote

I got a C,D and E for my a levels...I didn’t work hard enough so i earned those and deserved the result

Dd is much hard working than me, better in exams and has an outstanding short term memory...I’m having a good day if i can remember my name

She didnt deserve the grades she got...getting her predicted, mock result and CAG in one A level is fair enough (even though with another few months of revision she would have got a grade higher) being downgraded for her 2nd A level To a mark under her predicted, mock results and CAG Isn’t right, in her case at least

College are apparently appealing on behalf of the entire class 60% of whom had their results downgraded

My son's sixth form college have stated their dissatisfaction with the results. Stating that they supplied realistic grades for each pupil. Nearly 70 pupils took physics and the average grade for the college is E which seems very low to me for a college that generally gets good A level results.

I don’t have children this age but just wanted to say that I’m so sorry for all those who are affected by this

If enough people push together, perhaps the government will need to take another look?

I understand it’s frustrating but we should really be teaching these young adults that set backs happen and to have some resilience. Going on like it’s the end of the world for them and that all those years of education mean nothing is really not very helpful.

I wholeheartedly agree, but that conversation needs to start in primary school with a sense of perspective about tests at that level and should continue through school - it’s a bit late to be starting that as the exam results role in.

my comments are in response to the posts on this thread. I can’t imagine many of the children you are referring to have parents commenting on this here, can you?

We aren’t all commenting just as parents. We are commenting as members of society.

Lots of children have parents who will be able to help them.

State education is supposed to bridge the gap for children who don’t.

‘It's not clear from this thread, but some people got upgraded.’

2% were upgraded. I think the problem lies in the fact that whilst the overall results are consistent the distribution is wildly different .

@merrymouse sorry what? State education is for children whose parents can’t help them? What are you on about!

I can’t imagine many of the children you are referring to have parents commenting on this here, can you?

Oh that’s ok then, you can express your privilege safe in the knowledge that those young people won’t read such nonsense. These exam outcomes will disproportionately impact the most disadvantaged, who don’t have parents to fight their corner. Given, as you suspect, those young people won’t have parents posting in Mumsnet, it’s important their situation is represented here.

@Jellycatspyjamas If they have made it this far in their life with no disappointment / need for resilience then they are doing pretty well. Now is as good as time as any to learn that everything in life doesn’t always go as you hoped. This year couldn’t have been foreseen by anyone.

This year couldn’t have been foreseen by anyone.

No, but a competent Government could have handled it better. With only a few weeks to go between the lockdown starting and the exam season, why could they not have let the GCSE and A level classes in to sit exams?

Yes, people often don't get the results predicted - they have an off day, the exam paper was more difficult than they expected, they didn't get the questions they wanted - all these are true, but at least you know you had a go - but this appears arbitrary.

Please can someone more knowledgeable explain this one?

Pupil A
UCAS Prediction: 3 x A*
ALPS: 3 x A*
CAG 3 x A*
Yr12 Mocks 3 x A*
EPQ A*
GCSE’s 10 x 9’s
Very high performing state grammar and moderated down to 3 x A

Pupil B
Identical profile except for no EPQ, same subjects, same school etc gets 3 A*

What part of the process/criteria could have led to the different results?

@Jellycatspyjamas you’re waffling.

As I’ve said already - my post was in context to the parents on this thread acting like this is the end of the world for their DC and that all their education has been a waste of time.

Read back through the 23 pages and you will see there is a lot of it.

Pointing out there are other options is all I have done. Not sure why you are spoiling for a fight about that!

jelly isnt waffling in the slightest

@Peregrina you’ve answered your own question. The reason they didn’t sit them is because the country went into lockdown.

But at 18, getting exam results worse than you expect does feel like the end of the world.

What part of the process/criteria could have led to the different results?

I’d imagine Pupil A was higher up the rank order In subjects - perhaps because of the EPQ?

School reaches its allocation of A*s before pupil B.

Happy to be corrected though?

@Peregrina absolutely - but they have options to change those results.

@seedybird

Please can someone more knowledgeable explain this one?

Pupil A
UCAS Prediction: 3 x A*
ALPS: 3 x A*
CAG 3 x A*
Yr12 Mocks 3 x A*
EPQ A*
GCSE’s 10 x 9’s
Very high performing state grammar and moderated down to 3 x A

Pupil B
Identical profile except for no EPQ, same subjects, same school etc gets 3 A*

What part of the process/criteria could have led to the different results?

Not especially knowledgeable but I would guess that pupil B was ranked by school as student #1 in each subject, pupil A was ranked lower in each subject (perhaps student 3 or 4?) Algorithm said only a certain number of A* would be predicted and pupil A was top of the downgrades 3 times?

@SmileEachDay

What part of the process/criteria could have led to the different results?

I’d imagine Pupil A was higher up the rank order In subjects - perhaps because of the EPQ?

School reaches its allocation of A*s before pupil B.

Happy to be corrected though?

@SmileEachDay - It was actually Pupil B who did better - Pupil A dropped a grade in every A Level subject

Ohh - ok well other way round and I have no idea why one was above the other in the rank orders.

I can't see why their couldn't have been an exemption to the lock down for exam pupils. There was by no means a complete lock down. Think of how many key workers had to carry on working. Not just NHS staff, or carers, but postmen and women, bus drivers etc.

I can't see why their couldn't have been an exemption to the lock down for exam pupils

The regulations around exams are onerous and I think would have been impossible under lockdown- honestly, you would t believe the regulations!

Plus, imagine trying to manage all those students in one place, 2 metres apart.

And then..lots of students isolating, or massively anxious because the whole situation was so weird and scary.

Every student in the country would have had grounds to appeal for mitigating circumstances!!