To have issues about my A level grades from 25 years ago...

[Beckidewinter]

This is a non-problem: tiniest violin territory, really, and I'm only posting out of curiosity to see if anyone has advice or can empathise. I have never confessed this to anyone...

I took my A levels 25 years ago and was totally and utterly devastated when I got BBB rather than the AAA I was predicted. I wept for two weeks. The consequences were nil. My parents were delighted (they were/are of the 'whatever makes you happy, darling' school of parenting), I was accepted into my first choice of University, did well and now have an MSc and PhD. Why then do I feel a sense of failure and, yes, embarrassment at this time of year, every year when the press are full of stories of success. Why on earth would it bother me and make me feel a bit sad and queasy in 2020? It's silly, irrational and more than a bit pathetic.

Most tragically (and secretly) of all, I find myself comparing my marks to those of famous people for solace "well, David Miliband got 3 Bs and he seems pretty bright..."

To be clear, like many people in their 40s, I have experienced real loss and grief and other painful life stuff, so you'd think I would have acquired perspective or wisdom or something, but alas, no and this just keeps biting for some reason ...Does anyone relate or care to psycho-analyse, or is it a loud chorus of YABVU?

I was a whisker off a first at university, and one of my final exams was disastrously low marked - almost a third. My only reasoning I could think of was that the paper had a question on a very particular subtopic of history.

I'd picked it because I had been the one to present on that subtopic for our seminars, but I was actually ill on the day. I can't imagine that any of my cohort picked it.

I wish I'd asked for at least an explanation as to what went wrong.

I was normally brilliant at guessing what mark I'd got coming out of exams - that was a B performance, that was A*, that was 2:1 etc. I came out of the exam thinking I'd done a solid 2:1.

20+ years ago I was predicted BCCD A-levels. I got CDDD.
I'm more annoyed they actually encouraged me to do 4 A-levels with my horrific GCSE grades. I'd have been better off on an NVQ course tbh.

Just realised I attached the wrong graph - should be this one. Paper is here if you’re interested.

Also agree that exam technique is taught much more now than it was in my day - plus it’s now much easier to get hold of past papers to practice on. I was a bit miffed with a C for English A level, but looking back our teacher was a bit of a maverick so probably didn’t teach us the standard exam question responses.

I think issues from our schooling are hard to forget as those years are so formative. For me it wasn't results - I got 9As at O'level in 1983. Oxbridge was never mentioned - in fact my maths teacher/head of 6th form told me at parents evening to "apply to plenty of polytechnics and do it early" because I wanted to apply to something with high entry requirements. I ended up with AAAB at A level but she died during 6th form so never knew how far off the mark she was. This was a very academic all girls school.

I don't claim to know much about relative difficulty now and then but things were very different. As others have said, certainly in the mid 80s there were no readily available past papers, no mark schemes, no extra time or special arrangements, no coursework. No appeals or remarks as far as I'm aware, and you never knew how close you were to the grade boundaries.

No idea about special consideration for circumstances either - my dad was dying of cancer during my U6 year and died about 2-3 weeks after my last A level. I have no idea whether anything was said to the exam board, if it was I had no knowledge.

To quote from one of my A level English set texts "The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there". The girls who won the English prize got a B, I got an A, and that always hurt - never won a prize for anything!

(I've never said any of this out loud before, and wouldn't in real life)

OP be proud of your Bs.

There were definitely past papers in the late 70s. We did them endlessly at our school in the run up to exams.
Mark schemes were really just knowing how many marks were available for each answer.
But grades were rationed, so, for example, only the top 10% got an A. The next 10% got a B, and so on. It was impossible for everyone to get an A. No matter how good you are, there's always someone better than you.
I think this way of marking was to avoid grade inflation, and to iron out discrepancies if an exam paper one year was more or less difficult than a previous year's paper.
This was the WJEC exam board used in Wales.

JaJa also WJEC here. I agree, loads of past papers.
I did O level in 1979 and A level in 1981 and it was well known that the grates were rationed as you say especially in 1981 where the gap between the number who sat A levels and the number who got grade A was the biggest historically ( I’ve seen a graph somewhere).

There was a theory that too many were going to university and they wanted to keep the numbers down.

*of course that could just be me being bitter at my CDO not getting me into Birmingham (CCC)

Your around the same age as me then Best. I did my O Levels in 1977

I got A levels in 1976 and average grades were very different then from now - many more people get top grades than in those days.

It tends (see also: degree classifications, which have similarly changed such that massively more people end up with firsts than in 79 when I got mine) to make those of us without a straight flush of A grades and a first feel somewhat inferior.

It shouldn't - grade boundaries have changed.

Well I think you have all done fantastically well!

50 years ago I should have sat my O'levels! Previously I had always been "Top of the class" in primary school, passed my 11 Plus and then passed the entrance exam and won a scholarship to a very prestigious faith grammar school.

In those days you could still leave school at 15 yrs of age. I was raised in a very toxic family and the only time I was ever praised was when I passed my 11 Plus and won the scholarship which was notoriously difficult to achieve. Because of this - and my appalling low self esteem - I decided to leave school completely 9 months prior to O'Levels as I was terrified of not achieving A's in everything.

I took some real dead end jobs initially 😢 but gradually took the initiative and spent years at night school passing all my RSA's in shorthand/typing and then was given a lucky break and joined the travel industry where I again spent many years achieving degree level qualifications and subsequently had a terrific career until I finally took early retirement.

I know lots of people who would have loved my highly paid, globe trotting career with it's many associated perks but I still bitterly regret leaving school at 15 when I know I could have achieved very good results and then progressed to uni etc.

You are not alone OP but can I reiterate that 3 x B's 25 years ago was a phenomenal result! 🌟

I wish I'd tried harder but honestly, it hasn't affected my prospects too much.

Some days I wish I went to Uni but if I had I would probably be in a more stressful job so I'm relieved in other ways.

I was predicted AAA and got ABB. I was gutted and got very little sympathy. I got into my first choice university and now have an M.A and am working towards a PhD alongside a successful career. Like you, I am still gutted by those Bs.

I was the first year of GCSE’s. It was a shambles, we had no proper mock paper and the one they had got leaked so they discounted our scores. There was a whole section on the physics paper that we hadn’t even been taught. I think that happened on a few of the other subjects. I remember the teachers being up in arms about it but I was just glad to be leaving school at the time! I do look back and think my results are pretty crap and the brightest girl didn’t even get straight A’s. Fast forward a few years and it seems everybody was getting A’s.... I truly believe it was harder in my day.

I also missed a 2.1 At uni by 1.5 marks. Had a meetIng to raise it as got 1st’s for my coursework but just had to suck it up and accept that I’m shit at exams and better at coursework. I was so upset when recent exams became almost 100% exam and coursework scrapped. All focused on ONE DAY of someone’s life. Not good for someone who gets anxious and their mind goes blank

YANBU. I literally have nightmares about my A levels. I did badly as I did no work and lived in the pub. Even though I have a first class degree (I worked my butt off for it), it still obviously pains me. Only consolation I can offer is I genuinely think A levels were harder back then and you are probably a perfectionist.

Don’t be too hard on yourself OP. Your academic advances and achievements following your A-levels prove that you’re very bright indeed! I wish I had worked harder at school to get better GCSE’s. I was more impressed with having an active social life at that point and was always out and about. Didn’t study at all for my exams. I was lucky that I passed them all with C grades and one B in English. I then met DH and had a baby so I didn’t do any A-levels. After my second DC aged 21, I found my academic drive and went back to college to do a HE diploma! I passed with full credits and went onto get a 2:1 at a good RG university (was 2 marks off a 1st which still grits my shit 🤣). I’ve got a DD finishing her A-levels this year and I’m always on her case even though she’s a high achieving student so I understand.

Good A-levels but blew my degree. Predicted a 1st, got a 2.2. Still (quietly!) rather embarrassed, but it really hasn't made any difference...

Hearing about what goes on behind the scenes of A level grades has reopened old wounds for me. In the 90s I got 3 Bs in my mocks, fine for my med school offers. Then for the real exams (with far more work done in preparation) got 3 Es. Didn’t have a supportive family or school so no one questioned it. Felt like such a fraud and failure. Have felt like a failure ever since.

I did mine 23 years ago, predicted BCCC (B in general studies). And ended up with BDEN (did manage the B in gen Studies). Didn't get my first choice (or my 2nd), but got a place through clearing.
Decided to switch unis during my placement year so ended up doing 4 years at uni and 2 placement years.
Subsequently got a MSc and started doing a PhD but dropped out after 18 months cos my supervisor was a sexist cock.

I don't put my grades on my cv and I've not been asked for them since my very first graduate job.

But I hate the fact that I didn't do too well (am amused that they spell BEND though 😂) I try and avoid talking about them normally.

I only took my IB exams 9 years ago (didn’t do A levels) and literally could not tell you what my grades were off the top on my head. They were a bit shit but kind of fine.

I have a degree now. I can’t imagine anyone really gives a shit about any grades before that.

@claireb707

I did mine 23 years ago, predicted BCCC (B in general studies). And ended up with BDEN (did manage the B in gen Studies). Didn't get my first choice (or my 2nd), but got a place through clearing. Decided to switch unis during my placement year so ended up doing 4 years at uni and 2 placement years. Subsequently got a MSc and started doing a PhD but dropped out after 18 months cos my supervisor was a sexist cock.

I don't put my grades on my cv and I've not been asked for them since my very first graduate job.

But I hate the fact that I didn't do too well (am amused that they spell BEND though 😂) I try and avoid talking about them normally.

Oh and I also got diagnosed as dyslexic when I was doing my MSc which I guess goes some way to explaining my results (as my biggest issue was memory and being under pressure in exam conditions)

I got 8As and a B at GCSE in the 90s (damn you RS) and then ABC at A level (damn you Economics!)

I completely understand where you’re coming from OP, fortunately they are hopefully now just insignificant details in our lives.

Sorry to those who have been seriously affected by their grades 💐

I feel the same. Am 35 now but at this time of year I always feel embarrassed/cross with myself. Did really well at gcse, totally lost focus in my last few months of 6th form. I was at a private school with 6th form so also feel a sense of guilt that my parents ‘wasted’ so much money.
It’s silly really, I got the place at uni I wanted and my grades have never affected anything in my life. Every couple of years I consider retaking at least maths just to bump it up a grade but with 3 children and 17 years since I last looked at a level maths I don’t think it’ll be easy!!

I hear you OP. I got ABB when I needed AAA and didn't get to do my first choice degree course, and I found the A-level fiasco quite triggering. I was quite upset for a few days last week.

25 yr history of GCSE pass rates

I was the first year of GCSE’s back in 1988 and got 7 A’s & 3 B’s ( A* didn’t exist then). 8.4% got A’s back then compared to 20% in 7/8/9 ‘S in 2019 & 25% this year. Getting a B back in 1988 would be comparable to a 7/8/9 now (up to 2019). Some of the C’s back in 1988 would be a 7/8/9 this year!

I remember doing past papers for History and English in the early 90s. I was also allowed to take an annotated copy of my texts into the exams for English.