GCSE results day questions, stories, advice and next steps

[PurplePenOfProgress]

🎓Good luck to everyone receiving GCSE results today!
Results Day can bring all sorts of questions:
• What happens if the grades aren't what we expected?
• Should we appeal or request a review?
• Is this enough for the sixth form or college course they wanted?
• What are the options if they've missed a grade?
• How do GCSE grades translate into their next steps?
• What should we do if we're confused by the results?

Rather than trying to work everything out on your own, ask your question below (and share your stories of the day too!)

I'm hoping this can be a useful space where parents can help other parents, teachers and educational professionals can offer advice, and people can share their experiences.

There are no silly questions. Results Day can be confusing, particularly when you're trying to make decisions quickly.

If you're celebrating, commiserating, or simply not quite sure what happens next, you're welcome here.And whatever the results, one set of grades doesn't define your child or their future. Good luck today!

Would it help boost your daughter's confidence going into her next steps? Is she securely into her next course/s, it's unlikely to go down a grade.

Just a note for everyone from a teaching perspective that for most schools GCSE grades determine target grades they will be held against at A Level, so if you are undecided on a review of remarking to keep that in mind - remember this is target not predicted grades.

She’s got 5 x 9’s, 3 x8’s, 1x 7, 1 x 6 (in music - one mark away from a 7). Her confidence is fine… she’d probably like the 6 to increase to a 7 (although it was probably the practical element that let her down in music). 2 8’s were one mark away from a 9.

Ds received a grade 3 for maths. He scored 151, which I believe is only 3 marks off a grade 4 pass. Is it worth getting this reassessed? I think with maths, the answers are either correct or incorrect, there’s no in between in maths. So very unlikely to pick up an extra 3 points?

thanks in advance

Yes for the pass border its more of an important decision - The best thing is to request the marked script first and have a Maths teacher inspect the actual responses looking for inconsistencies, missed marks, ambiguity etc...

Just to update those who have been so helpful. We have been emailed the script already 😲. I think it's pretty fair tbh (as does claude). Paper two was the weakness. If the scores had been roughly the same it would have been a 7. 🤷‍♂️
The initial maths didn't scan as dc was mid 6 not 1 off a 5. Combination of feverish illness and possibly less than stellar teaching/overly generous marking in mocks. Maybe also not dc's thing. Other essay subjects are 8's and 9's so no big worries about A-level essay subjects
So .. It's shaped a bit of thinking (that and not liking the summer reading for A level literature). And there is a switch to religion philosophy and ethics. I think this is a good thing.
Thanks so much to all who gave advice.

Just to put a break in the “all 9s and a surprise 7” wave, mine got a 6,5,4 and then 3s and I’m so bloody proud of her I cried when she brought them home. She hated school, it was a wonder she was even still attending by the time exams rolled around and it took so much mental energy from both of us to navigate the last few years.

I remember feeling exactly the same for my eldest! We all just want them to do well, get the best they can, wherever in the scale they are.

DD got what she needed, but was 3 marks off the grade required in one subject. 6th form have said it is fine, they can see her calibre and personality overall.
As it turns out, she was only 3 marks off the next grade in 4 subjects 🙄 We will get a re-mark in one of them as it is the subject mentioned above, the others probably not cause they're science and maths based so more objective, and she got 6s anyway.

DS got broadly 4’s with a surprisingly awful 2 in English Language. It’s been an emotional day whilst we sort out next steps and resits.

Can I ask for some advice? If you are one mark away from the next grade boundary - and you scored highly in one paper but low in another - would you get both papers remarked or just the one with the low score?

We have requested to review the papers but not received anything yet so may have a better idea then but assuming we want to go for the remark what would be the better strategy? Really frustrating as DD is 1 mark away in 5 exams! And has scored much lower than all mocks and predicted grades. Thanks 🙏🏻

Reviews aren't looking for extra marks so it's far more logical to put in the paper where there are clear issues with the marking.

Can you possibly expand on this @PurplePenOfProgress? Apologies, it’s been a long day 😄.

Interestingly we also got a surprisingly low Eng Lang grade (a 6).

She got a 5 for her first paper, the creative writing one. I find this hard to believe as she never got a 5 ever. She tended to hit a solid 7.

Lots of UK schools commonly use data providers like Alps Education or (FFT). They calculate target grades by assigning Grade 9=9, 8=8, 7=7, etc.) and match it against national progress matrices to project Minimum Expected Grades or Target Expected Grades (TEGs). While individual sixth forms set their own policies, it's generally as follows:
Grade A–A (GCSE APS 7.5–9.0) - Grades 7-9
Grade B (GCSE APS 6.0–7.4) GCSE Grades 6 and 7.
Grade C (GCSE ALPs 5-5.9) GCSE Grade 5

TEGs/MEGs are the minimum a pupil is expected to achieve academically based on their GCSE results, and what teachers (and students initially) are measured against, they usually inform a Predicted End Grade (PEG) but that also is based on classwork/effort/attitude to learning/mocks - it's the PEG that sets them up for uni applications.

Mine is at a special school
He has autism
He got 6 in English..his top mark ..we are so proud
A 5 in English literature
And a range of 4/3 for others
But unfortunately.. despite being predicted a 5 in maths he got 1
Which everyone is really shocked at

Just picking his A levels currently

We also got a surprise Eng Lang grade but it was a 7 while everything else was a 5 or 4 😂

Has everyone sorted next steps? DD got two well below predicted grades and has had to change plans. Been awful time but think we have an option sorted.