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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be worried about GCSE results next week

41 replies

BetterCallSaul99 · 14/08/2020 14:26

My dd attended a school in a deprived area. After reading about the fiasco of a levels I'm dreading next Thurs. I'm so upset for all of the students. My dd has had such a tough time at high school and you build this day in your head.... going into school to get results, thanking and hugging the teachers! Now results by email and even worse who knows how they will be graded anymore?

OP posts:
year5teacher · 14/08/2020 14:27

YANBU Flowers

Whataroyalannoyance · 14/08/2020 14:28

I am with you in the worry. Dd is scared that she won't be able to get into her college. I'm trying to get her to avoid the news, so much speculation will drive her crazy.

cheninblanc · 14/08/2020 14:32

I'm very worried, my dd was likely to pass with mostly 5s. A down grade of two marks on two subjects means no sixth form. It's so worrying. Hey mocks were a mess at the schools fault and many complained to the governors as their daughters couldn't get offers due to the way they messed up. I'd say it's an average school in an average area but surrounded in less than a mile with 4 top performing grammar schools. So who knows, I'm already devastated at what's to come

iVampire · 14/08/2020 14:32

DD is in this cohort

She did well in her mocks, so fingers crossed. Her school’s attainment has been gradually rising over the last decade or so, so I really am hoping there won’t be too many regradings

She’s staying at same school for 6th form, who have already told us that even if there’s a shock on the day, she’ll be able to carry on with her chosen A level subjects.

I’m having a bit of an anxious time for other reasons, and this doesn’t help!!

Albern · 14/08/2020 14:36

YANBU.

OhMsBeliever · 14/08/2020 14:36

I'm also worried. My twins have a conditional place at a private 6th form. But they didn't do well overall in their mocks as they didn't revise (they don't count, they said. Only this year, of course, they may well do)

We also live in a deprived town, though their school gets good results. But who knows what's going to happen.

They were pretty laid back about it all until yesterday, now they are worrying. Which is really shit. They are usually so full of confidence, and if they'd done the exams at least they'd have an idea of how they'd done. This is just one huge worrying unknown. Their teachers know they work hard, but that didn't seem to count much for A Levels, they seem to have made shit up as they went along.

These poor kids.

noss · 14/08/2020 14:42

YANBU if the A levels example is repeated. Moderation to reflect some over-optimism and also somehow cover exam nerves seems to have some sense in it, but not an 'algorithm' that seems to favour small schools and minority subjects and ends up favouring private schools.

I think all GCSE students should have the option of sitting an exam, at least in English Language and Maths, free of charge to them and the school. If we can fund half price KFC and McDonalds in August, we should fund this.

Bonkersblond · 14/08/2020 14:46

Worried about DS, he didn’t do as well in his mocks as he’s a pull it out the bag kid, I got fed up encouraging him to revise thinking the mocks would be his wake up call and he would start putting in some effort in, which he was, he was a few points off his chosen 6th form, upset he had a valuable lesson in life removed that if you work hard you can gain results.

dootball · 14/08/2020 14:48

GCSE forecasts should be a lot more realistic though - at least in every school I've been each year people's forecasts are analysised and people who's forecasts aren't accurate are challenged. This is really important so intervention can be correctly targeted.

RufustheSniggeringReindeer · 14/08/2020 14:51

Yanbu

I reckon the government will have done a U turn by next week

They flip flop like a dying fish

ScrapThatThen · 14/08/2020 14:56

The problem is not the forecasts or the moderating down, the problem is the algorithm that fits this year's students to last year's distribution of results, so if you were the lowest of five As but the algorithm decides your school should only have four As, you go down. And if you are a C, but no one else is below you, and the algorithm decides based on last year the school would have a U in this subject you get a U. These anomalies are outrageous and unfair and say nothing about the students and everything about flawed big data - yes overall results not much different but individuals bafflingly unfairly treated.

LadyOfTheImprovisedBath · 14/08/2020 14:57

YANBU

We just waiting for one English GCSE results and we're worried for similar reasons.

The schools had rising results in higher greades last few years despite being place in special measures as the increase at lower levels wasn't as good. She tends to rank highly with teacher (not like very quiet second child Y9) and as we're in wales she sat one exam in January and did two timed pieces which all count.

Apparently the welsh education minster has already said there may be a review of GCSE marks in wales so it doesn't sound great.

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 14/08/2020 15:02

so if you were the lowest of five As but the algorithm decides your school should only have four As, you go down
Presumably everyone below you then goes down too, to maintain ranking? Is that correct?

MrsJBaptiste · 14/08/2020 15:03

I'm another one who's worried 😕

DS did quite well in his mocks and we were thinking that his teacher predictions would be quite good too. However I'm now worried that these results may be brought down due to the type of school he went to and how previous years have done in their GCSEs. Last year's Year 11 were quite frankly, a shower of shit (oddly, they were poor across the whole region) and so this year's results would have been much higher than theirs.

I'll be so cross if this current GCSE year end up with downgraded results due to the fact that kids in previous years couldn't be bothered to put in the effort.

Twiningalldaylong · 14/08/2020 15:06

YANBU. Also in the same boat and worrying especially after reading the A-levels thread on here. It seems like some students have been marked down randomly. I haven't heard of anyone randomly marked up.
My son's predicted grades and his mocks were identical so that is what he is expecting to get. I'm now not so sure. He should be getting 7s and 8s in everything except English which was predicted a 6, so I am especially worried about that one being marked down.

Twiningalldaylong · 14/08/2020 15:16

Also I am really annoyed about the algorithms. Why couldnt they look at each student individually? They would have marked each exam paper.

Scruffyoak · 14/08/2020 15:20

All the colleges here have got rid of needing grades for chosen course but we are still nervous

MrsPinkCock · 14/08/2020 15:21

Same here with my eldest.

He goes to a school in a deprived area with poor results (below national average) and isn’t particularly academic. He managed to scrape the equivalent of Bs in his English and maths mocks by some miracle.

He needs to pass both for his college course and I’d bet anything he won’t Sad

Redcrayons · 14/08/2020 15:26

I’m very worried. DS did mocks in November and didn’t do very well in English and maths. He did a shit load of catch up classes at the start of the year and was half way through mocks in March when they were canceled and I don’t even know what he got.

If he gets marked down on his mocks, he’ll get 2/3 for both and won’t get into college.

Deardonkey · 14/08/2020 15:28

DD got a 5 in her English and Maths mocks, if she doesn’t achieve those grades she won’t be able to take her A levels of choice (if at all). If she had done the exam I wouldn’t be as worried as I am now.

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 14/08/2020 15:39

I am very worried for ds2.

He's a high achiever in a very average exam results school and I feel we are being punished for supporting our local School and not trying to move to a better school catchment.

He got a clutch of 9's in his mocks and he has consistently got excellent grades since he started school so he should get decent grades but who the fuck knows with this fiasco.

He is very bright and although he works hard he does not want the extra work of redoing an exam which I do understand. By then he will be doing 4 A levels so an exam as well would be shit.

He is going to sixth form at the same school so in reality it won't really matter but it does matter to me that he gets the grades he deserves for all his years of working hard.

I am so thankful it wasn't my oldest DS last year as he would have been in bits by now and devastated by any downward estimation😢

This will have real impact on children's mental health and I am angry beyond belief. I think they should have kept the exams going and prioritized online learning for years 11 and 13. What they have done is a disgrace and they have failed so many young people.

Scruffyoak · 14/08/2020 21:51

Definitely have failed the young people.

Northernsoulgirl45 · 14/08/2020 22:44

Yanbu. We are the same. Dd did well in mocks but the school were very harsh grading them.
I really feel for all students dealing with this.

Sh05 · 14/08/2020 22:54

Same position here with my ds. He did well in mocks ( they did 2 sets of mocks), his teacher predictions were all 8/9s except for modern foreign languages.
He does have assurances from two colleges of his place being secure but there's no way of saying how things will go next week.
What I fear most is they'll downgrade everyone on the premise that college gives them a chance to prove themselves iyswim.
The school is an outstanding academy school which is in an area classed as deprived in comparison to other parts of our town.

PickAChew · 14/08/2020 22:58

I'm doubting that colleges will stick with their grade requirements. They need to stay afloat.