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?

@GreyGardens88 why is it stealth boasting? I thought the whole point was to to show that even with a successful life, an A level result that caused disappointment at the time can still niggle! The OP has a PhD and a good job, did you tell her she was stealth boasting?

They were harder then. A LOT harder. Just look at the percentages of students getting each grade and compare!

Education, true education - developing the ability to think critically and creatively in a given area - has very little to do with examology - being able to regurgitate facts or use rote-memorised techniques under psychological stress.

A-levels are an exercise in examology.

Your capacity to learn and become an educated, thoughtful, informed person is an entirely different kettle of fish!

I think General Studies is much maligned. I think the ability to perform over a wide range of topics rather than just your "specialist subjects" is quite important actually. I had quite a few peers at University who were very good at sciences and had As in those A levels but had failed General Studies, had no interest in anything else and were quite one dimensional. If I'd been employing them I'd have had some misgivings.
General Studies proved to be my most lucrative A level in a way. When I arrived at University I received a letter inviting me to sit a scholarship exam in the first couple of weeks. I think the entry requirement was to have 3 or more As at A level but everyone did the same, whatever subject they were studying and the exam was basically a General Studies paper. Loads of the scientists came out moaning that they'd had to answer questions on literature and politics whereas the arts students were shocked by maths and science questions. I had had some pretty good General Studies lessons at school and got As for both O level and A level so found the exam quite easy. I ended up quite literally laughing all the way to the bank.
I think its the shame they don't do it now. Mine have done EPQs instead. I can see the value in that too, but every single pupil I know has done their EPQ on something they are already good at and interested in. General studies definitely put me outside my comfort zone.

I loved the way my school did General Studies. They made sure there was always a copy of The Times and a weekly current affairs magazine (I think it was Time) in the 6th form common room, and I read them cover to cover.

They brought in fascinating speakers on a wide range of topics - I still remember several of them 34 years later.

They gave us past papers to give us an idea of what to expect.

Probably the only exam I actually enjoyed.

Me too HoldMyLobster. I loved doing stuff other than science in General Studies lessons. I didn't even go to a particularly good school but they did seem to recognise the value of study beyond the narrow limits of 3 A levels. For a scientist I have an unusually detailed knowledge of the history of art and architecture thanks to the fabulously enthusiastic art teacher who taught us General Studies. I found it fascinating and I would never have known any of it otherwise as my family had no interest in art. I will always be grateful to her. My children may disagree however, as I do have a tendency to drag them into Gothic cathedrals and wax lyrical about the Perpendicular style when I get the chance. They'll thank me one day
But seriously, we already force our young people to limit their options too soon in my opinion. The curriculum narrows much sooner than in many other countries. If I was in charge, I'd be trying to broaden everyone's outlook.

I agree @MrsAvocet.

I never did General Studies, but I taught it when I first became a teacher. We're so quick to moan today that teenagers lack knowledge of the world around them, they're so naive on so many issues. I remember exploring so many interesting and varied topics with them - politics, ethics and just general current affairs.

[quote OublietteBravo]@isabellerossignol

General studies consisted of 2 papers, and each paper had 5(?) sections which were a mixture of essays and multiple choice questions.

There was definitely a maths section and a modern language section (multiple choice I think). Maybe a science essay? I’m struggling to remember (I sat A-levels in 1994). Pretty much everyone did general studies as a 4th A-level back then.[/quote]
Sounds pretty good actually. I've never come across this (I'm in the UK but not England, maybe that's why I wasn't familiar with it) but it sounds like a good idea to have something broad alongside the specialised nature of A levels.

We only had a handful of lessons for General Studies. Never had proper weekly, or even fortnightly, taught lessons at all. It was compulsory but you were left to your own devices.

I graduated with a 2:1 back in 1993. I think only 2 people in my year were awarded a 1st so less than 2%. The majority of people achieved a 2:2 so a 2:1 back then wasn’t meaningless and was actually able to be used by milk round employers to shift the candidates. It wouldn’t be possible today because there would be too many.

29% of degrees awarded today are 1st class degrees which does indeed devalue any lesser degrees today.

Hey OP, I think you need to give yourself a break. Honestly, I can't even remember my GCSE grades and have to concentrate quite hard to remember my A-Levels. Nobody has EVER asked me what I got - not even my kids. Also, apropos of everyone else - Bs were good old grades back in the day. Though of course if you'd been predicted As they would have been a bit discombobulating. When I applied to university my highest offer was 2 Bs. And that was from UCL. I doubt you'd get that today. If you feel bad about it you could have a bit of therapy. Or spend the money you would spend on therapy getting some Valentino Rockstud shoes and kicking some arse. Good luck!!

I feel exactly the same way - my grades are worse than yours and I went to private school!! I was ill during my first year of 6th form & missed lots of school. My parents were getting divorced & didn’t seem that interested and I just never caught up. I had to resit and raised the grades a bit but I pretty much had to teach myself. I realised by doing that I’m actually pretty smart. Since then I did a GCSE language in an evening course in my 30s and got an A aswell.
It still annoys me now what I got and I feel let down by my school & parents. But as a result I’m really interested In My children’s education & one now at Cambridge university so maybe it was a lesson worth learning.

I've got 5 CSEs and a 2:2 BA. Bothers me not, I'm retired & loving it.

I’m with you. Got a C in maths A level. A’s and A*’s everywhere else. I am an Engineer, have a PhD (lots of coding) and can clearly do maths. That C STILL bothers me at age 41. I do wish it didn’t bother me so much, but I can’t seem to drop the feeling of disappointment in myself for it.

Why don’t you retake them now? It might help and could certainly be interesting!

I think General Studies is much maligned. I think the ability to perform over a wide range of topics rather than just your "specialist subjects" is quite important actually.

The problem was general studies was rather random.
I remember the year before I did it, the French teacher said he couldn't make out what was the answer for several of the questions because it used some colloquial terms he hadn't come across. He was a native speaker.
The maths was GCSE level at best, our teacher gave us some at the end of year 8 to see if we could do them, and no one got below 70% (top set I will say). Partially that multiple choice maths does make it even easier, so even if you can't do the maths often the right answer can be picked out.

Then there was the random general knowledge. Dsis year had one section they all declared they didn't have a clue. It was matching children book illustrations to the books. So ones like Milly Mollie Mandy, Shirley Hughes, Hairy Maclary etc.
Dsis had a much younger brother, so these books were still around our house, so she said was a gift of a 10 marks.