Is it too early for an A level support thread!

[HereWeGo2023]

Hello all, apologies if there is already a thread but I can’t find one.
May had finally rolled around and the first exam is a mere 2 weeks away. Exam stress has hit our house! It’s feels like everything is about waiting at the moment - waiting for the predicted grades, waiting for the uni offers, waiting for the exams to start, and then the long wait for the results!
This is our youngest DD but the first one in further education so would love to chat to other parents going through this

I totally get the dropping out thing. Not sure why we continue as a country to do this anymore it causes so much stress.

I am in a sim9ilar situation with dd. have tried to encourage her to keep going but she is on the verge of just dropping out completely as the stress is too much. The past few weeks have been horrendous for her.

I feel for you @Babyroobs - I wanted DS to give it one final push as I doubt he will ever do any more formal education and it would have been nice to have some qualifications. But as he hasn’t been studying hard it seems fair enough in a lot of ways, he has put a lot of effort into his mental health though but there’s no prizes for that.

But who knows what the future will bring. Just need to keep providing a calm safe home and food in the fridge and the rest will happen somehow. I hope your DD has a wonderful summer once this couple of weeks is done one way or the other.

@Forestfriendlygarden you’re right, it’s like we as a society are self-harming - we all know how bad it is and we are doing it regardless.

@CrapBucket as you say, the main thing is his health. These kids have been through stuff we couldn't even have dreamed of when we were at school. He will find his own path.

Does anyone have any information on extra % given for special consideration and how likely they are to get it? Both of DS’s Geography exams so far have been a complete nightmare and the 6th form have said they are applying for special consideration.
Paper 1, there was a GCSE exam involving an entire cohort of Year 11’s who were dismissed loudly row by row 30 minutes before the end of the exam so none of the Year 13’s could concentrate and nobody finished the paper. This was after they asked for extra paper and they didn’t have any so the invigilator had to get someone to come in and then sent them to get paper all of which took about 10 minutes. DS had specifically queried about the paper at the start of the exam as did others and they were assured they had paper!

In Paper 2 last week, they all asked for extra paper to plan their answers (apparently it’s something you can do in Geography?) and we’re all denied paper and were told they weren’t allowed to have it so DS had to plan a 20 mark essay in a tiny space at the top of the paper.

Obviously I know nothing about how A levels work but for teachers to feel that it’s worth asking then I should hope it’s worth a try?

I am sorry your ds is finding his exams stressful. They are a very difficult time.

With regards to the second incident the invigilator was correct they are not allowed paper for planning. All students are told before the start of the exam that all “planning and rough work must be done in the answer booklet and crossed through with a single line”. If he had wanted more space then the booklet x he could have used the space for the answer and then crossed through. Your ds would have been aware of this.

Re paper 1 and the noise it is unlikely, if granted, to be much. My dd has sat all her a levels with other exams in the room (some GCSEs - one was maths so 150 students - and some A levels) and it has not been a problem she says it’s been helpful if anything as she knows maths for eg is 1hr 30 so it’s a bit of a prompt time wise.

The extra paper was it because they had used all the paper in the exam booklet? If so this is obviously an error. If it was for planning then they shouldn’t have been given it.

I hope the rest of his exams go well .

All DD’s exams have had GCSE students in but those staying in longest were away from the door and those leaving latest nearest the door. They’ve also had loud netball matches outside. They also have an annoying loud cockerel. No special consideration going in for that.

DD is quite annoyed as she remembers when she was in years years 7 to 9 they used to change the entire timetable during exam time so lunchtime playground noise and sport didn’t clash with exams but they gave up on that now it is so spread out and no signs go up asking for quiet nearby. They get used to it in their mocks I suppose.

Appreciate your reply. With regards to Paper 1, it wasn’t so much the fact that there were others in there. There have been split exams with all papers, he is well used to that. It was the fact that the invigilator dismissed them all so loudly. So row by row, shouting each row out as the entire cohort exited the exam hall. Most of his class were in floods of tears apparently as it was so distracting and at the point where most of them got to the long mark question at the end.
I hadn’t even thought about doing anything as it’s just one of those things but the HOD is adamant that it shouldn’t have happened.

With regard to the extra paper, in Paper 1 it was to answer questions. DS had to sit there for 10 minutes and wait for it, he waited until the last minute to ask as they’d asked at the start and were assured they had spare paper.
With regards to the planning in Paper 2, they’ve always been told that they can plan on extra paper and then add it in with an asterisk so if they don’t manage to fully answer the question they may get a mark from the planning points. This is from the HOD. DS said there was nothing said about not doing this in the exam until the point where he and several others asked. So something has gone wrong somewhere.

He isn’t that bothered, I don’t think it’s going to make a massive amount of difference to him tbh but it could make a huge difference to others. And surely if the HOD is under the assumption that it should be allowed then there is some serious miscommunication somewhere.

That's not great @mrsconradfisher , when we have different exams going on in one of the big halls we have an understood gesture to dismiss each row, no shouting (or vocalisation of any kind) required.

There is often noise that can't be helped, though - our friendly wood pigeon is the main offender. Once there was a loud zumba disco party at the neighbouring rugby club and we had to phone them up and beg them to turn it down.

I did my French A-level in a massive thunderstorm - it didn't seem to affect my mark in the end.

@CrapBucket and others with dc who are finding it overwhelming, I understand all too well. Dd1 did her A-levels last year. She managed to make it through but she had not coped with school after Covid and had been absent so much that she was just turning up for the sake of it. She got 2 Es and a U and is so burnt out from it all that she is just taking time out now to get proper therapy and get well. She is happy enough and that's all that matters to me in the end. I hope your dc find their paths and know how much they are loved .

My eldest child did A Level geography and (although I am very happy to be proved wrong) I think your ds’s teacher has given them misinformation. If they were allowed any additional stuff it would be stated on the front of the q paper (as in the tracing paper for gcse maths). Your ds can use the answer booklet to write his plan in - he doesn’t need to use the little box given and then cross through anything he doesn’t want marked or * it. Maybe that’s what the teacher means and it got lost in translation? Or alternatively this is what is allowed in internal exams? I’ve attached a couple of screenshots to explain my ramble. As English and History do not allow extra paper for planning I can’t see that Geography would? I have never run exams in a school which does A levels but this sounds very unlikely and I can’t see anything in JCQ which would suggest it is possible especially as the exam speech written by JCQ explicitly says you can’t do this.

If they lost 10 minutes where nothing could be written as there was no paper then that is a cause for complaint / consideration. It may be worth speaking to the exams officer (they are the people who would apply) for consideration. They will have an exam incident log which will include everything out of the ordinary which happened so for eg

14.27 Fred Smith asked for extra paper - there was none in exam room. Radio’d exams office
14.29 Mrs Jones exams officer entered room and then left to get extra paper.
14.37 Fred Smith given extra paper

This will be submitted to the exam board for consideration.

Regarding excess noise this would also be recorded on the Exam Room Incident Log.

I’ve found the JCQ page about rough paper (screenshot attached).

All students are also given a set speech at the start of the exam (it’s the one when they are told not to use gel pens and when to write their name on the paper) which says “all rough work should be done in the answer booklet and crossed through with a single line).

I think maybe the HOD needs a little training unfortunately.

Sorry forgot to attach the invigilators speech.

Thank you, I shall have a look. He is absolutely adamant nothing was mentioned about not using extra paper to plan. He managed to plan it up the top of the paper but not ideal. It was the same invigilator for both exams incidentally.

If they were not read the invigilator speech that was a major infringement- unfortunately in my experience many students don’t listen to the instructions.

It was when he was told about highlighters and gel pens etc etc

Dropped out of a levels? My child has come so close to that.

They are so difficult and stressful. What does your son plan to do now?

DS2 I could well believe wouldn’t listen but DS1 is such a stickler for rules that he pays attention to everything. He is adamant nothing was mentioned about not being allowed to use extra paper. And if it was then the whole class didn’t hear it as they all tried to do the same thing.
Nothing we can do now though, we can’t prove nothing was said I assume.

Yes - he just didn’t go to the 2nd exam. He is doing 2 A levels and a sort of B Tec. He has an equivalent of an E already without going into the exam which would have been an opportunity to improve his grade. One A level is exam only so he will get a fail/U/ nothing. The other A level is coursework and exam which he did only part of.

The plan now changes on a daily basis! Who knows… I guess he needs some time to recover but I also don’t want him being the child equivalent of a cocklodger. My other DC is doing their GCSES so I’m just keeping the house calm and steady for the next few weeks. Then I start a new job so family life is going to change anyway. Hopefully he will have a gap year Ie do some sort of work, save up and go travelling.

His dad (my ex) is full of ‘you’ve ruined your life’ reaction which is very unhelpful…

Oh yes - and he does have an unconditional uni offer so he could still decide to go to uni after all, he put it down as his 2nd choice.

Thank you @ZittiEBuoni - your DD sounds lovely and I’m glad she is finding a way through a hard situation. It’s not easy for them. Fair play to her for turning up to the exams.

Honestly you would be amazed what stressed young people do / don’t do. I have many a time told students at least 3 times that they need to write their name and candidate number on their paper only for them not to do it and then look really shocked when it’s pointed out to them.

If your school haven’t read the speech that’s a really big bad so I would be genuinely surprised. It’s reasonably long so I think many don’t listen to it all especially as they will have heard it many many times in all their GCSEs and A levels plus every school I know also uses it for mocks etc. Students think they know what it says so just zone out. I have stood in front of whole year groups telling them to listen carefully to everything which is said once they are in the hall but I know very few will. It’s also for your ds compounded if their teacher has given them misinformation as they will probably view his authority above that of the invigilator.

if it puts your mind at rest though ask the exams officer for a copy of the speech and clarification of what happens after students get into the hall up to the moment they are told they can start.

Just to clarify though your ds can write his plans in the answer booklet if there’s not enough space in the little box and just cross through anything he doesn’t want marked. It is also worth checking if there is extra paper at the end of the answer book - many boards do this.

@CrapBucket

My child refused to go into one the other day. Luckily school calmed them down.

After this finishes they are taking the year to work on their mental and physical health.

It's really difficult isn't it to know what to do for the best?

@tothelefttotheleft well done to your child and their school. (And you of course!) It is hard knowing what to do for the best, and stepping away from the ‘should’ conveyor belt. But the relief is great which makes me think it was the right choice.

Missed this post.

There's a lot to think about in your house!

Is there an option to defer for a year?

Well the second batch of exams was better than the first in that DS completed the papers and answered the questions. He seemed to have enjoyed those papers. Quite frankly, as I have stated, I struggles to see how exams test anything other than nerves. This with nerves of steel do well and those hugely anxious, struggle. So with high anxiety and ASD, we were always going to struggle. He has a place on a foundation degree and pretty much already has sufficient points, but he needs life skills first and also, he needs to mature. He is not remotely ready for FE.