A’Level disasters 😔😣

[OverTheRainbow88]

Any other schools been majorly hit?

@Kitmerow, just because the disadvantaged parents of disadvantaged young people aren’t posting here doesn’t make this situation ok.

What a shit show

Those posters basically saying grow a pair and it doesn't matter

It absolutely does matter.

When these kids submit CVs for jobs in 10/15 years time. Are busy employers or recruitment agencies going to look at the candidates exam year and think "oh that's the covid year". NO!!! They will just be cast aside for candidates a few years either side with better results. It's an ABSOLUTE DISGRACE. And I say that as a parent of an unaffected children in lower years.

@Moominmammaatsea good grief. Read my posts and quote me where I have said this situation is OK.

Kitmerow, what are you on about? Of course the point of state education is to educate all children regardless of background or parental resources.

@seedybird the teachers I know said that the rankings were the hardest thing about the whole process. Very difficult to decide which is your highest A, which is your 5th highest A, which is your 15th highest A. Hard enough to do that in one class where you teach all the students, so even harder to do it across a whole year group of classes when the students are taught by different teachers. But schools will have sweated blood and tears to try and do it right, so they'll have had their reasons.

Ds gets his GCSE results next week, both of us are worried sick after seeing the disastrous way the A levels have gone. He was looking forward to starting in the sixth form but now doesn't even know if he will get in.

@whenwillthemadnessend

No one gives a shit about exam grades in 10 - 15 years time onwards.

They give a shit about what you've done in the last 5 (maybe 10) years.

Im saying this as someone who has zero GCSEs and a Phd from a very prestigious university in the UK.

Hell I didn't even get a 2.1 in my undergraduate.

I worked hard, I worked hard outside of Uni, I worked hard between degrees.

It absolutely does not matter if people work hard.

The slackers at my school who had private tuition for the exams etc - all have shit jobs that they hate (they will tell you this).

People care about work ethic.

Fingers crossed nat

@merrymouse

Kitmerow, what are you on about? Of course the point of state education is to educate all children regardless of background or parental resources.

That’s not what you said.

You said lots of children have parents who will be able to help them and that state education is there for the children who don’t.

This implies that all the state educated children who didn’t get the expected grades will have to suffer those grades because they don’t have parents to help them with their options. Which of course is rubbish.

@whenwillthemadnessend in 10 or 15 years time it is highly unlikely employers will refuse these young people an interview based on their A level results. They are important now but will soon enough be a minor footnote in the development of their career.

No one gives a shit about exam grades in 10 - 15 years time onwards.

Maybe not, but it affects these young people's immediate life choices. They may not have received the grades they expected to receive to get onto the university course they wanted to do. Next week they may not receive the grades to do the A-Level courses they want. Yes, this happens every year to some extent, but the young people have had more control over the situation. Choices they are denied now can affect the whole path of their future.

You can bet those people denying it's unfair do not have their own kids caught up in this.

#ResignWilliamson

@MinnieMousse I do agree with you (my predicted grades screwed up my options).

But my point was that no one will look at a CV for Alevel grades in 10-15 years time (as the poster was saying)

Short term planning is what is needed now. It is not the end of the world at all.

Dds grammar school have put information on the school website. They are unhappy with the downgrading of the students and intend to take action. Apparently, the downgrading has been quite harsh.

I have to support teachers here and find it unfair that pp are blaming them.

I have family members who are teachers and know that they didn't pluck the grades out of thin air.

The grades they put forward were based on the pupils work and is backed up with evidence of attainment.

Dsis had to write a profile for each pupil and explain and justify why the grade was being given.

They couldn't just give someone who consistently got Ds an A.... there would be no evidence to support this.

A lot of hard work and told went into this... so please give the teachers a break on this one.

I hope all student who have been downgraded and have achieved better in their mock exams are supported with appeals quickly... they don't need this hanging over them for longer than necessary.

It can cost £180 if your appeal goes to hearing (per subject!) given Scotland seems to have had more issues with less affluent schools this literally prices some pupils out of getting the grades they deserve. Honesty my Heart is breaking for our 14-18 year old atm their worlds have been turned upside down.

The thing that makes this year so much worse is that the whole thing, not just exams, but life in general is completely outside these teenagers control.

Their exams were cancelled at the drop of a hat and within 24 hours they had lost school and the companionship of friends (online is not the same ) and their end of school celebrations, the certainly of their futures, would there even be college or university? They are surrounded by 24 hour news telling them they will have no jobs and neither would their parents, they can’t travel even going out with friends has a sort of covert feeling about it. And now this , something else they have no control over, it’s like they are little boats on the sea being buffeted around by the wind and waves. It’s a lot to deal with, of course everyone wants them to be resilient but this is unprecedented.

Dd's grades pretty much what she was expecting and what teachers predicted for her at last parents day just before lockdown. Thankfully match her offer too .
In her cohort of mates all pretty much got what they expected and a few better . Bog standard comp with a really massive 6 form so this dreadful unfairness is patchy . Awful for those affected on top of everything else - hope the appeals etc go well

I know someone whose DC got a prize for the top mark at GCSE and has won a number of awards since in their subject who has been downgraded from a (not unreasonable A*) to a B. Why, given the relatively small % of pupils being downgraded more than 1 grade, couldn't they have looked at those candidates in more detail/called papers and evidence in etc?

The other point I want to make is to those saying A level results won't matter in 10 -15 years time. That may well be true but the university someone went to will still potentially count at that point and that is determined by the grads you get at A level so they are still relevant.

There is no doubt there is unfairness and consequences for individuals, but everyone has been impacted by this pandemic. This hasn't ruined anyone's life. It has put significant challenges in front of young people but there are options.

In 3 or 4 years time when these are facing into the work force how they dealt with these challenges will be much more beneficial than a long period of talking about unfairness.
Plenty are downgraded every year after the exams because they didn't do as well as they predicted

Plenty face similar problems to this year through missing education for months through illness or caring responsibilities or chaotic backgrounds

Plenty don't get into uni from school but find another way

Plenty of children are continually let down by our systems, not just education.

Time to show resilience, look at all options like appeals, direct to uni, sitting exams, year repeat, year out, etc etc

An early lesson in life, but nothing that can not be over come. Terms like the results have destroyed my child, or wasted education help no one.

I read that mocks had to be valid to be changed. Assuming that means taken in hall under timed exam conditions. Also school has to provide evidence. Does that mean to send in mock papers so exam board can check marking? My nephew did badly in one subject in mock do sister spent a small fortune they could not really afford on tutoring and he improved. He will take a year out and sit this exam then reapply go his first choice as awarded an A and B in other two subjects. He was hoping for two A's but got an S and B in mock which is what school sent off. Not many grades changed at his school but mock results were apparently sent in for every subject.

I have also read that A and A grades are up 2.4 on last year and A-E pass rates are also up so some students must be pleased. Inevitably some schools/colleges were more honest than others.

And those saying employers won't remember 2020 in the context of exams in 10 years time. You seriously think that people recruiting in 2030 will not remember this year. Come on.

Years ago teachers predicted my younger sister AAB she did sit her exams and got BCC. Just pointing out this does sometimes happen in an exam. It is easy to misread a question, spend too long on a question and then run out of time etc.

Also last year 80 per cent of teachers predictions for UCAS were wrong. That is a fact. Teachers are known to be optimistic about student grades.