Thread 38 Covid Cohort, After Results Day

[CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee]

ALL our children are heroes of their own stories, they have thrived through a once in a century catastrophe and they will succeed

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results (life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades. It's all relative!

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

Our DS/DD may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will find a thread within the Further Ed board.Possibly a move to Parent of Adult Children Board in future? Post Sept?

Previous thread

www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/4613457-thread-37-covid-cohort-2020-results-thread-heroes-of-their-own-stories

Oh goodness!

Our centre has had no A-level Priority Reviews back from AQA yet. Given that some unis are only holding offers until the 31st pending review, and that Monday is a Bank Holiday, this is... cutting it fine.

@crazycrofter Indeed. Heard AQA is the slowest out of all. They were fined a lot of money in 2019 for being rubbish. If money is the one thing they understand, I hope they are fined again. It is so hard if kids are needing confirmation of a grade to make life choices!

Awful when they feel rubbish about grades that are objectively excellent, I feel for her Miranda.

DS got A*-B on all his papers except the last biology one which was a D
I wondered whether that might be a marking anomaly because he thought it went fine, but he is not fussed about finding out. Plus he just scraped a B in biology and it would be pretty rough if it went down I guess, he would miss the offer in that case.

I just read that Reddit thread 😮

@MirandaWest oh that is scraping the surface...what a mess. I simply can't trust that exam board.

The High School ds went to have put on facebook that AQA have told them English results are unlikely to be available before September.

@singingstones sort of same here, though DS on 1 mark off the grade above for an AQA A level. We weren't really on it much but took some advice here, then Head of Sixth form said non priority review because one of the papers' mark looks odd. We don't have the breakdown as yet. The teacher will take a good look when she is back. Thing is, DS was spot on in own estimation with other papers for subjects where he has the breakdown, so is very curious .Did he mess one up badly or not?

@Comefromaway What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dreadful isn't it?

"AQA English Update
The exam board have told us that these grades are unlikely to come through before September.
If you are missing your grade, you will receive an email (to your school email address) that outlines the current situation.
We continue to speak to AQA on your behalf.
Please check your school email again on Thursday next week for an update."

This is GCSE I assume

Shocking. This is people's future choices on the line. I am in Manchester..perhaps I should go and stand outside AQA head offices with a Placard!?

Without his English grade ds would not have had enough GCSE's to get onto his Level 3 Btec. Whilst the correct grades will come through eventually it would have been week of unacceptable uncertainty and not being able to enrol on time.

@Comefromaway Exactly. And the stress for goodness sake. Who on earth is running AQA? Some random they plucked off the street! So sorry.

@Knickerthief1 it was me who said that if you are not in a hurry it is best to get all the papers back and go through them with the mark scheme or ask a teacher to it so that you don't gain 1 mark on 1 paper and lose 1 on another. That happens!

Just to add to the AQA disaster, this is from their website:
"If an access to scripts original request is made, you cannot then submit a request for a review of marking."
So that strategy doesn't work with them (it used to!)

Photodad, I think the important word there is “original” - you can ask for a “copy” of the script and then a review of marking, but if you request the original, no further action can be taken because the original script has then left the exam board’s possession, ie it can be tampered with/added to etc.

You're right, I was looking at the wrong section! Oops. Copies are only available until 1st September, and then you have to ask for the originals.

MirandaWest, DS got an 8 in lit, with slightly odd differences between papers - his paper 1 and 2 were both 9s, but his paper 3 was 1 mark above a 6; he did better than that in that paper in his mock, as well as better than the other 2 papers, so it doesn’t feel quite right.

Hes suggested to his HoD that he might want to request a copy of the script, but she’s warned him that he’s closer to the 7 than to the 9, so a remark would be risky.
The issue is that duff marking due to the AQA debacle is more likely to go unchecked except where marks are close to the upper boundary, but is just as likely to apply to papers that are closer to the lower boundary.

Thanks for the replies. I'm useless at tagging people but am investigating further

No Nottingham presents here.

We've been away for a few days to West Sussex. It's so beautiful round there - is it @AnneOfCleavage who has a dc going there? I'd love to live there if I could afford it but omg the traffic round there is horrific!

The only thing Ds1 was sent was a razor. But I remember seeing on here that it wasn't university specific.

He has got a tote bag too. But I think that was from the open day.

@NCTDN ds2 is going to Sussex. Dh's dd lives 10 mins away and we've stayed with her...so he likes Brighton. She also went to Sussex university about 15 years ago. She loved the area enough to want to go back there once married. It's so expensive house wise though...getting near London prices.

I was on your other thread @NCTDN , I know the area fairly well and DS applied to Chichester so we have been down to a couple of open days recently. Glad you enjoyed it but yes to the traffic, we come cross country from inland rather than along the coast to get there.

Admin progress today:
DD has her enrolment date for college.

DS has his registration link from Uni.
DS’s student bank card arrived and he has changed the PIN no. They have left his old account open so now he has both.
I diverted his PIP payments to his student account. He is going to keep a few £££ in his old account as a backup.
I took him to the GP so he could ask to have access to his records via the NHS app and get his phone number / email on their records as well as mine (I am registered as his carer).

I asked the GP receptionist about staying / changing. Got a very similar response to the one in a WIWIKAU thread today but that wasn’t me. Basically its up to us, she said they are fine with doing e-consults and sending prescriptions anywhere else in England if he wants to stay with their practice. As he virtually never gets ill and has only had two appointments that I can think of in about the last 10 years and those have been very non-urgent I think we might stay, he is familiar with the place and the staff because he has his annual learning difficulties MOT and flu jabs etc there. There is a minor injuries unit very close to his campus as well as a little medical centre on site. He’s only 90 mins drive from home too, would be different if further away.

The West Sussex traffic is truly awful. Lovely when you can actually get to the beach though.

Bought Dd a couple of bits today (towelling robe and plastic basket for travelling to non en-suite shower). She's done her accommodation induction , just need to wait until 1st for booking
moving in slot.

I've been nagging about booking an eye test and sorting prescriptions etc.

I just can't believe how every roundabout in Chichester queues for what feels like miles
I feel like we're really on countdown now...22 days till dd moves in.