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Further education

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Original poster

My daughter has fallen sick during A level exams

121 replies

WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 03:17

All,

Hope you're well.

My daughter has fallen sick during her A level exams and is unable to focus or revise. She sat 3/9 exams but I don't think she'll manage any of the others.

I don't believe she's fit to continue. Is anyone familiar with the rules around funding if a year 13 were to redo the year. She wouldn't be resitting the exam per se as she will only have managed 1 of 3 papers from each subject.

I'm in the midst of collating medical evidence for the school.

I'd be grateful for any guidance.

Kind regards,
Sidra

OP posts:
Original poster
WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:02

We're playing the system because physically unable to get out of bed? Interesting. I was considering worse case scenario, ie if she deteriorates and develops pneumonia and is unable to sit the remaining exams, what options we'd have. The school are fully aware that she's unable to sit the two exams this week due to incapacity and have been furnished with the medical evidence.

On Friday, I meeting with a tutor to discuss the situation with the two exams she's unable to sit.

I'm hoping she improve over half term and is able to sit the remaining exams.

Please don't make allegations of playing the system if you're unable to substantiate the same. It's incredibly offensive.

OP posts:
Original poster
WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:03

Paperwork has already been submitted.

OP posts:
MrsHamlet · 21/05/2024 21:05

On Friday, I meeting with a tutor to discuss the situation with the two exams she's unable to sit.

We've told you what the situation is. We've directed you to the relevant documentation.

Original poster
WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:07

The GP prescribed a high dose of medication and advised that if she's not better within a day, it will become pneumonia and she'll need to be hospitalised. My powers of deduction tell me he's giving the meds a go but is aware they may not work.

She's unable to leave the bed alone due to the severity of the pain in her back and waist.

Anyway,
Thanks all

OP posts:
Kelta · 21/05/2024 21:13

WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:02

We're playing the system because physically unable to get out of bed? Interesting. I was considering worse case scenario, ie if she deteriorates and develops pneumonia and is unable to sit the remaining exams, what options we'd have. The school are fully aware that she's unable to sit the two exams this week due to incapacity and have been furnished with the medical evidence.

On Friday, I meeting with a tutor to discuss the situation with the two exams she's unable to sit.

I'm hoping she improve over half term and is able to sit the remaining exams.

Please don't make allegations of playing the system if you're unable to substantiate the same. It's incredibly offensive.

The message wasn't intended to be offensive it was intended to help your DD. Your story has changed as the thread has progressed. At the outset you said you don't think she'll be well enough to sit any more exams. We see similar situations regularly where parents and pupils think there is no point carrying on and it is better to cut their losses. That may have been a less inflammatory phrase to use.

However your medical evidence would have to cover all papers and I am by no means a medical expert but there is a good chance that the antibiotics will mean that your daughter can get out of bed in a couple of days time.

Hopefully you've listened to all of the very good and accurate advice about not being able to sit particular papers and the fact that the next time around the exams will be classed as resits and that it is very much in your DDs interests to sit as many papers as she can, even if she's still feeling poorly.

If you have the relevant medical evidence then yes this can be used to add to the UCAS form to explain a repeated year or resits as an external candidate.

Original poster
WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:14

@Kelta She can physically not leave the bed. The GP has prescribed strong anti biotics and said if she doesn't improve, she'll end up with Pneumonia. As a diligent lawyer, I was considering all eventualities i.e. worse case ect hence my questions.

As for playing the system. You should learn to exercise compassion. Exams are super important but if a child is physically unable to leave their bed and is in excruciating amount of pain and can only be mobile with aid of another and is physically unable to sit an exam - thats playing the system?! Shame on you.

OP posts:
LottieMary · 21/05/2024 21:15

user09876543 · 21/05/2024 20:02

Please also consider that some universities/courses won't accept resits. They would be considered resits if she is permitted to take year 13 again and try again because she has already been entered for the exams and has sat some papers. Plus not all schools allow a year 14. Our school doesn't.

Any NEA/coursework would also need to be done again if they allow the year to be retaken. You can't carry it over or use the same work. In some cases you can also find that the curriculum has changed eg with English lit texts.

She really needs to dose up and get in to take the papers this week.

Edited

I think this must be either subject or exam board dependent as we’ve definitely had some OCR Lit nea carried forward. Worth checking again - OP needs an urgent discussion with exams officer

Kelta · 21/05/2024 21:17

The fact that you are a lawyer is nothing to do with anything and you don't need to keep saying it. People are simply trying to explain the system to you.

It seems that you have now understood that there are no November resits, you can't resit single papers or groups of papers you have to retake the entire A level plus NEAs and you will need medical evidence covering all missed papers. So there is progress and your "diligent lawyering" has paid off.

It might not seem like it but everyone is trying to hep you and your DD.

caringcarer · 21/05/2024 21:19

I'd take the pressure off her and allow her to recuperate properly. I'd ask school if she could resit year 13 and spend the year revising and pushing her grades up. She's bound to learn more in 3 years than 2 so should come out with better grades next year. My younger son re-sat Maths and did an additional A level to go alongside it in Year 13. His Maths went from a mid D grade to a very high B grade.

user09876543 · 21/05/2024 21:22

LottieMary · 21/05/2024 21:15

I think this must be either subject or exam board dependent as we’ve definitely had some OCR Lit nea carried forward. Worth checking again - OP needs an urgent discussion with exams officer

Show quote history

Yes quite possibly exam board dependent.

Original poster
WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:22

@user09876543 - I'm a stickler for rules. All medical evidence has been submitted and i'm in comms with the school.

OP posts:
Quartz2208 · 21/05/2024 21:23

It isn’t about sixth forms it is about exam boards and a levels only run in this exam season. November resits are for maths and English gcse only.

that said you need to speak to the exams officer, with a correct set of medical evidence if she sits 6 or 7 out of 9 papers and has 2 in each of them then they could agree to base her grade on the papers she has done. In fact if you have good evidence I think there is a fair chance they will do that.

you do need to focus though on getting her to take the exams after half term a chest infection is only going to give a certain amount of grace here

Original poster
WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:26

@caringcarer thanks - she's done three of the 9 exams and fingers crossed will improve health wise over the half term and sit the final four exams. I'll speak to the school on Friday about the two missed exams and how these will be graded.

She has a fund gap year planned and we'd rather not have her repeat year 13 if we can help it. I just want to know all my options in case she becomes sicker. Hoping the meds will do the trick though :)

OP posts:
Original poster
WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:29

@Quartz2208 totally agree.

I'm praying the meds worse and then she can sit the final four exams. For one of the subjects, she did course too and will sit two of three papers after half term so hopefully she'll be fine.

OP posts:
Original poster
WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 21:33

@Kelta another allegation - my story hasn't changed and here's the context.

My daughter had an awful night and seeing her in that state I was seriously concerned and wondered if came to it she could redo the year. My referenced my occupation to address this precise point, I was being diligent, covering all avenues. But now that she's been seen and medicated I feel better and can see a way out. You may come encounter those that try and pull a 'fast one' but you shouldn't generalise nor form premature judgements.

OP posts:
Waitingfordoggo · 21/05/2024 21:46

beepbeep · 21/05/2024 20:34

My son came down with sickness before his first gcse 10 days ago, we were advised by the exam officer to get him in if humanly possible (we did & he did the paper isolated from everyone else & they will advise exam board of his sickness). But told if he couldn’t be in they would take the result of his other paper and then use the results from across the country over both papers to work out a grade.
so if he got a 7 in paper 2 and on average people getting that grade in paper 2 were getting a 6 in paper one, then he would get marked at a 6. (Prob a but more complicated that this but general gist!)

Oh, what awful timing- your poor son. My son is also doing his GCSEs currently and I can well imagine feeling really anxious and sad for him if this happened. Hats off to your boy for getting in to school and sitting the exam! Hope he is feeling better now.

Lou670 · 21/05/2024 21:57

My only question is why have you not taken your daughter to hospital yourself given how ill she is and bypassed the GP? Chest infections do not always lead to pneumonia and if antibiotics have been administered then give them time to work. One of my children had pneumonia at 4 months old and went from being extremely ill one day to much better the following day, with IV antibiotics. You seem to be castastrophising rather than thinking positively. 24 hours of antibiotics make a difference, wait and see how she is after taking the medication.

Kindnesscostsnothingtryit · 21/05/2024 22:04

user09876543 · 21/05/2024 20:02

Please also consider that some universities/courses won't accept resits. They would be considered resits if she is permitted to take year 13 again and try again because she has already been entered for the exams and has sat some papers. Plus not all schools allow a year 14. Our school doesn't.

Any NEA/coursework would also need to be done again if they allow the year to be retaken. You can't carry it over or use the same work. In some cases you can also find that the curriculum has changed eg with English lit texts.

She really needs to dose up and get in to take the papers this week.

Edited

You can carry forward the NEA mark. https://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/coursework-controlled-assessment-nea/carry-forward-of-marks

Carry forward of marks

How to request carry forward of marks for non-exam assessment components when a student re-takes a qualification.

https://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/coursework-controlled-assessment-nea/carry-forward-of-marks

Pieceofpurplesky · 21/05/2024 22:05

Not sure if anyone posted this - the guidelines

www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/special-requirements/special-consideration

JamesPringle · 21/05/2024 22:09

Mad replies on this. You're absolutely right to keep your very ill daughter at home, and not to take her to sit exams that she would be too sick to complete to the best of her abilities. What a poor life lesson that would be to your young adult.

Theredjellybean · 21/05/2024 22:18

Missing papers can't be caught up and grades cannot be calculated based on mocks or on one sat paper - students need to have done a certain % of the qualification for a grade to be awarded ( I think it's 70% but haven't properly checked). So , I am afraid posters are wrong in suggesting to you that if she has done 1 out of 3 papers for an A Level, she will get an award of a grade.
@Piggywaspushed ...you are wrong, this is exactly what my dsd did and we have her a level certificate to prove it. She sat 1 psychology paper only and was in ITU after that...we got it marked and as I explained up thread (in simplistic terms) she was awarded a B

niadainud · 21/05/2024 22:23

WishIwas21 · 21/05/2024 20:56

She can physically not leave the bed. The GP has prescribed strong anti biotics and said if she doesnt improve, she'll end up with Pneumonia. As a diligent lawyer, I was considering all eventualities ie worse case ect hence my questions

Surely a lawyer (diligent or otherwise) doesn't talk about "worse case", "mute point", "ect"... 🤔

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 21/05/2024 22:27

Kelta · 21/05/2024 21:17

The fact that you are a lawyer is nothing to do with anything and you don't need to keep saying it. People are simply trying to explain the system to you.

It seems that you have now understood that there are no November resits, you can't resit single papers or groups of papers you have to retake the entire A level plus NEAs and you will need medical evidence covering all missed papers. So there is progress and your "diligent lawyering" has paid off.

It might not seem like it but everyone is trying to hep you and your DD.

Edited

No you don’t have to redo NEA.

Generally you polish up the old one and resubmit.

CleverCats · 21/05/2024 22:28

niadainud · 21/05/2024 22:23

Surely a lawyer (diligent or otherwise) doesn't talk about "worse case", "mute point", "ect"... 🤔

Show quote history

@niadainud please report

size4feet · 21/05/2024 22:35

user09876543 · 21/05/2024 20:02

Please also consider that some universities/courses won't accept resits. They would be considered resits if she is permitted to take year 13 again and try again because she has already been entered for the exams and has sat some papers. Plus not all schools allow a year 14. Our school doesn't.

Any NEA/coursework would also need to be done again if they allow the year to be retaken. You can't carry it over or use the same work. In some cases you can also find that the curriculum has changed eg with English lit texts.

She really needs to dose up and get in to take the papers this week.

Edited

What a ridiculously stupid system we have. Everything coming down to a set if finals and not even the opportunity to sit (an obviously fresh set) of exams in a different date.

For something so vital it seems criminal not to offer a second sitting for the inevitable few who genuinely are unable to sit them.

Stupid stupid for an entire school career to come down to a single set of exams.