A level results day 2021 support thread

[Mrs08]

Hi 👋
I thought it might be nice to have a support thread for us parents? (Can't see one in further Ed yet??)
It's been such a difficult time for our kids - and for us! - but the end is in sight!
Ds will get an e mail at 8.30am (apparently) and can go into college in person if he needs help/advice.
Good luck everyone!
X

[quote kittykitty]@TheOriginalMrsMoss hard, isn't it? My daughter is definitely someone who'd have done great working in school and doing in person exams. These past two years have been her worst nightmare.

Am seething at the stupid teacher who told her this morning that he had been trying to work out whether to give her an A or not in economics which would have meant she got her second choice. What was he thinking?!![/quote]
Lets not get into blame the teacher

Last year they were called CAG- centre assessed grades but this year the DfE on the ongoing theme of lets knock a teacher changed it to TAG (teacher assessed grades)

The grade and the work will have been checked and double checked by multiple teachers and senior leaders. There will have been a policy that has been approved by Governors or Trustees. It isn't just the view of 1 teacher- whatever the TAG name may suggest.

@MMMMMaria

Fantastic news! Well done to your DC

@MauveMagnolia I'm blaming the teacher's massive lack of empathy not their marking.
Who in their right minds would today tell a student devastated by missing out on college by one grade, how close they'd come to getting that grade? Or that it was in that teacher's power to have changed their mind and in so doing altered that student's future? That's what made me angry.

[quote kittykitty]@MauveMagnolia I'm blaming the teacher's massive lack of empathy not their marking.
Who in their right minds would today tell a student devastated by missing out on college by one grade, how close they'd come to getting that grade? Or that it was in that teacher's power to have changed their mind and in so doing altered that student's future? That's what made me angry.[/quote]
You called them a stupid teacher

Would it have been better if they said. 'You were a borderline A, after extensive internal and possible external moderation we couldn't find enough evidence in your previously submitted work to justify the A grade?'

Because that it the reality.

Not a stupid teacher writing random grades for each pupil.

@MMMMMaria

Over the moon, firm choice has just confirmed that they are offering a place! I don’t know who is more surprised but we are over the moon. What a brilliant end to a hideous stressful morning. Hope everyone else has positive results too!!! I’m off to scream with delight.

Yay 👏👏👏 Well done to your DD

*Would it have been better if they said. 'You were a borderline A, after extensive internal and possible external moderation we couldn't find enough evidence in your previously submitted work to justify the A grade?'

Because that it the reality. *

I think perhaps it would have been better not to say anything about how close she was to the A, as the decision has been made, and instead focus on supporting her through working out what to do next.

@kittykitty

I’d ignore that poster, I’d have been seething in your position, too. Absolutely no need to let a pupil and parent know that level of detail because all it does is upset and anger them. She comes across as a complete prat who just wanted to gloat.

@singingstones

*Would it have been better if they said. 'You were a borderline A, after extensive internal and possible external moderation we couldn't find enough evidence in your previously submitted work to justify the A grade?'

Because that it the reality. *

I think perhaps it would have been better not to say anything about how close she was to the A, as the decision has been made, and instead focus on supporting her through working out what to do next.

You are right.

It was probably an ill timed comment meant to make her feel better- not worse.

It was a very difficult time for teachers. They were working round the clock to get the A level and GCSE Grades in. They certainly were not picking numbers off the shelf. Borderline would have moderated internally but also externally within the Trust or local schools.

Letting teachers take the blame by calling them TAGs is very unfair.

[quote PizzaCrust]@kittykitty

I’d ignore that poster, I’d have been seething in your position, too. Absolutely no need to let a pupil and parent know that level of detail because all it does is upset and anger them. She comes across as a complete prat who just wanted to gloat.[/quote]
Or someone with 30 years of assessment expertise at a national and international level- take your pick.

*You are right.

It was probably an ill timed comment meant to make her feel better- not worse.

It was a very difficult time for teachers. They were working round the clock to get the A level and GCSE Grades in. They certainly were not picking numbers off the shelf. Borderline would have moderated internally but also externally within the Trust or local schools.

Letting teachers take the blame by calling them TAGs is very unfair.*

I agree the whole mess has been awful for teachers and very unfair. They can't do right for doing wrong. But I don't think @kittykitty was suggesting there was anything wrong with the process, or even the grade, but that it was completely unnecessary for the teacher to say what they did. Just makes a bad situation worse when you are trying to support a devastated DC.

They’ll love Bangor. 😊

My dc stayed up all night then fell asleep and missed the email coming in . They did brilliant and they are going to the uni they wanted. Very proud and relieved. Now just GCSEs to wait on..

My DS got A in computer science, C in maths and D in further maths. It is his further maths I am most proud of as he found it a struggle and persevered. He got into the uni he wanted to study computer science

Anyone else still waiting for ucas track to update?

I agree the whole mess has been awful for teachers and very unfair. They can't do right for doing wrong. But I don't think @kittykitty was suggesting there was anything wrong with the process, or even the grade, but that it was completely unnecessary for the teacher to say what they did. Just makes a bad situation worse when you are trying to support a devastated DC.

@singingstones - 100% this. I know the last two years have been horrendous for teachers as well as pupils. I'm not in any way challenging the marking and we certainly won't be appealing. It was just such a thoughtless comment and that's what upset dd so much.

[quote LIZS]@crossstitchingnana sounds lime her application was not submitted then. She had to input her ps and academic record, choose the courses to apply for then get a reference added by her school/college then submit it. From the outset she woukd have had reference numbers so she should now be able to log in and see what has happened. If her course is still in Clearing it may still be possible to find a place but she needs to act fast. Did her school/college not support her through this or she think it odd she had no offers? [/quote]
I have no clue. Her courses required auditions and I suppose as she didn't attend she wouldn't have had an offer. She is refusing to get her results from school and is apparently not opening them when they arrive.

@crossstitchingnana Is there anyone at the school you can talk to? Does she have a favourite teacher or member of staff she might talk to? Sounds very stressful but important to sus out her options as it seems like something has gone very wrong.

@MauveMagnolia

Or someone with 30 years of assessment expertise at a national and international level- take your pick

It makes little difference to me how much experience you have. The fact of the matter is a teacher should not have told emotional parents/pupils a completely unnecessary detail which causes nothing but distress.

Does knowing how close they were and that the teacher decided in the end not to reward the higher mark

• change the outcome of the results? No.
• make the pupil/parents feel better about the disappointment of missing out on a uni place? No.
• make the process of finding/accepting another offer any easier? No.
• needlessly cause upset to parent/pupil at a time where emotions are high? Yes.

It’s unprofessional and utterly needless. You can have all the years experience you want but you’re clearly lacking something in the emotional awareness department if you think what that teacher did was acceptable. In common terms, it’s the definition of “kicking someone when they’re down”.

Wouldn’t be for me, that’s for sure.

Ds is delighted with his 3 x As (the geography is a surprise but he did get A for his NEA) but I do feel his history grade was moderated and marked down...he was on track for A
Not that it matters
Out for dinner later
It's been a loooong day!

My daughter did better than hoped and has got her first choice NTU, absolutely delighted for her . Out clubbing tonight!

My DD is very happy with her results and is off to Exeter.

Grandson going to Edinburgh
Will always wonder if grades could’ve been bettered in a normal year but it doesn’t matter
He pulled the rabbit out of the hat

DS a bit disheartened at his results. He got BBB and still got into his firm choice, but he feels robbed as his predicted grades were A*AB. His teachers were (probably wrongly) telling everyone their percentages right up to their last mini exam which they never got the results for, and based on last years grades, should have got those.

A lot of his friends didn't get the grades they were predicted to get from what the teachers said, some even not getting university places, so he knows how lucky he has been.

@EmbarrassingMama

Sounds like they were giving away the grades this year!

My DS got straight 9s at GCSE in a non pandemic so not surprised that he got 4 A today. Your thoughtless comment takes no account of how hard won this year's grades were. How much resilience and independent work went into getting those grades. He wasn't given* a thing.