Fed up with the usual A level coverage

[SeriouslynotFred]

The usual Benjamin or Sophia opening envelope at grammar school with screams and a "I got 4 A stars. I'm going to blah de blah now". Well done, but seriously lots of it's down to lucky genes, tutors, family pushing. Privilege.

I also want to see the children who struggled but achieved despite background, slogged away from difficult start in life, no tutoring to take 11+ or private school and managed against odds for a group of Cs or Diploma and will do a useful plumbing, electrical, teaching, as well, rather than bloody fashion at London or maths.

Where's the range a d diversity in these stories. Bore feast.

My son got three A stars and an A and is off to study Maths. State comprehensive, although a relatively nice one. He was in the local paper. I'm incredibly proud of him and am shouting it from the rooftops because he has ASD and school has been an absolute slog for him.

Yes I should have it differently.

Amazing! Bloody well done to him (and you!), I'd be shouting that from the rooftops too ❤️

I get a bit cross about the only statistic that seems to matter is high grades.
What about passing grades?
What's wrong with B's and C's?
Even D's...
All worthy grades.
And get people into good universities.
Being the elite isn't everything!

Doesn't matter what Tarquin achieves at his Surrey grammar to get into Oxford when you read the Guardian but it does matter what your cousins partners daughter gets if she needs support or congratulations.

Pretty sure that there aren't any (state) grammar schools in Surrey!

*Brampton Manor’s sixth form is highly selective.

I’m all in favour of the school. But it’s ’A’-level results are not the result of usual comprehensive schooling.*

Absolutely. You need a minimum of grade 7 at GCSE for every subject you want to study at A level - and the website makes clear that for over subscribed subjects you are likely to need more than that.

"Some of them are. People are not born equal."

It really niggles you that many in society understand privilege and would like to see more achievements shared not just those of a chosen few. Others have shared some stories from their areas of that happening, which is great.

Have you ever seen a video clip of how privileged some people are in society, acknowledgement of that is not a bad thing. Some children have so much against them from birth. It's worth celebrating their achievements too.

Indeed.

@SeriouslynotFred you say "but seriously lots of it's down to lucky genes, tutors, family pushing. Privilege."
What is it you want OP? Do you want a country that levels down with parents who can't even be arsed to send their children to school. Probably most of the rioters on the streets didn't bother with qualifications either.
Maybe a few more pushy parents would improve life.

Improvements for all?

I'm just glad we've collectively moved on from the annual 'exceptionally attractive white schoolgirls pass exams' fest that dominated for far too long.

The thing that really annoys me is the " This years grades were down compared to last year" Surely the results are graded so roughly 30% give or take get a top grade. Are the reporters really suggesting that children born one or other side of an arbitrary date are more or less intelligent. Rant over

Results and grade boundaries dip up and down..some years a paper is easier or a particular question gets through vetting that trips lots of people up. We certainly do get stronger and weaker cohorts at school that are tracked from y7 as to what we might expect.

Someone made a point about the results that are reported are from those who volunteer them, which I can believe to be the case.

I'm sure those who got Bs and Cs are also celebrating but chose not to speak to press or media, rather than a conscious decision from reporters not to interview them.

I was on TV - on a specific Sky only channel back in the 90s, when my A Level results came out. The channel was doing a piece on A Levels from East Asian students and I was one of them.

I got the grades and did indeed go on to study maths, but I am about as far from privilege as you can think of. Parents were both working class and we all went to comp school.

What wrong OP? You must have skin in the game to be this angry about it? A-levels are pretty shit IMO, I went to the local comp and really didn't do great in mine - got an E in one! But got just enough to get into uni and went on later to get distinctions in my masters degree. My MA was 100 times easier (to me) and more interesting/enjoyable than my A-levels.

A-levels are testing a small part of a vast amount of knowledge in a few hours on a particular day. Don't let them define your child (if that's what this is about). In a few years no one will give a shit about their A-levels. Get them into uni through clearing, or get them on an access course or foundation course, encourage them in an apprenticeship or let them take a gap year if they just need a break.

I think you also have to remember what sort of kids will be willing to be in the media, Ones that are worried they may not have scraped a C probably won't be volunteering.

I didn’t see anyone who got c’s…did see some announcing a’s & a stars though!

@SeriouslynotFred , Yes improvements for all. Those who are the 'pushy ones' are already pushing for improvements.
The others who CBA about timekeeping or attendance or behaviour are not trying to improve.
It is a perennial Left Wing fantasy that you can improve the under achievers by penalising the successful.
Angela Rayner changed her mind and worked hard and became successful as a young adult. It wouldn't have happened earlier if they had put 50% on Tax for Eton.

You know what? I don't give a shit whether or not someone had help or lucky genes or if they worked hard and only got a bunch of C grades anyway.

Let people be happy with their results FFS.

Isn't it a bit like celebrating the medals at the olympics ? Are we not allowed to do that as well because someone's child learnt to ride from an early age?

It all depends on how it's reported though, doesn't it?
I could have been "All A stars: privileged white girl with two university educated parents attends best state sixth form in the county and grabs top university place". Or I could have been "All A stars: Child with autism and ADHD overcomes the odds of her disability and warring parents to get into top university from local college". (note the change of language cos reporting on disabled people usually infantilises us and removes any other characteristics!)

Both would be true. Like many people, I have privilege in some areas and less so in others. Does the privilege I have help to mitigate the marginalisation I face in other areas? Absolutely. But I also have experiences that others in privileged positions won't have. Privilege is nuanced. I kept well out of the way of photographers on results day but even if I had been on the news, I wouldn't have been sharing the personal information required for the second headline!

We've only moved on to an extent, because people pointed this out in the past. I still think papers and media would only include the attractive white young women if they could do this without criticism.

She isn’t saying they haven’t done well, she’s saying why is the coverage so lopsided.

TBF it’s still an improvement on coverage when I was at school in the 90s - the Telegraph was famous for using it as a flimsy excuse to put a picture of pretty blonde girls jumping in the air in short skirts and displaying their knickers on the front page.

Brompton Manor only takes 25% of it's own year 11 students into the 6th form.

Brompton Manor spends pupil premium money (which you don't get for 6th formers, or didn't used to only a few years ago) on "Oxbridge advisors" so the kids in it's own 7-11 years don't actually get the benefits that they should.

Brompton Manor takes the best and brightest from other schools with a host of 8/9 GCSE grades and pretends their success is caused by the school two years later.

It's a charade.

Don't know what you're on about OP.
The local paper where I'm from originally is full of all kinds of stories about people from different backgrounds, not just the two main independent schools and their A* pupils.
Here's a few:

1. Syrian refugee with no English when she arrived in the UK 5 years ago gets good grades at a comprehensive school and is going to the local university.
2. Ukrainian refugee got a bursary to an independent school, got A*s and A and is going to MIT
3. Various comprehensive schools in various areas of the city highlighting successes of some of the children including people with BTecs. eg. one girl with a distinction in a BTEC plus two A-levels taking up a degree apprenticeship with the local police force
4. Sixth form college with best results ever highlighting their successes on vocational courses
5. Story about a young person with a degenerative eye condition and how he manages this and his success getting 2 A*s and an A
6. Two girls from a state comprehensive in a disadvantaged area getting apprenticeships with accountancy firms.

There are plenty of stories about young people getting all As and going on to Oxbridge but plenty of them are from disadvantaged areas. It's certainly not all about "posh" kids going to Oxbridge.
They all deserve their success and it should be celebrated.

@Hisapsy Here's some diversity for you OP - state school in London with 50 kids into Oxbridge. TBH, I'm not sure how diverse the school is

If the accompanying picture was anything to go by, I’d say at least racially, the school appears be very diverse.

As I said above.

Brompton Manor is a charade.

Those kids would have been Oxbridge candidates without the school.