2025 A Level Results Day and Sept Uni Starters - All Welcome

[SlightlyJaded]

I couldn't see board specifically dedicated to results day for our DC who have sat A levels this spring. And I know some of us STILL have questions about Uni starters.

DS has Liverpool as his first choice and Notts Trent as his insurance - both to study History. Anyone who recognises me from previous boards might remember the hell we went through with DD a couple of years ago, so DS has applied quite a lot of caution to his choices - perhaps too much, perhaps not enough. Neither of us have any idea what to expect with his results. He has genuinely fluctuated between a D and an A in some of his mocks....

I still haven't done anything about accommodation which is one of the reasons I am starting this thread.

But mostly, it's for nail biting, relief, tears, support, advice and all the other things needed to get us through the next few weeks.

Welcome :)

Mine got an expected C, D, D. Was already planning a year out for work and hopefully some relevant work experience then go to Uni next year.

That's upsetting. It does suggest though that the A level course or maybe just those particular A levels were not the right ones for him.

If he did well at GCSE level, I would be looking at which GCSEs he found easiest and whether a different course might be more appropriate for him.

Like maybe a BTEC in Science as suggested by @LIZS ?

Or starting a different A level course with more essay subjects for example, if he was good at those at GCSE level.

As long as they actually did tick the box it seems the uni has made a mistake. I would phone UCAS for advice.

Tbh my son has handled all of the uni communications so I don't know fully, but I would definitely contact UCAS for advice.

Can’t see now if anyone has said - but for those who unexpectedly dropped a couple of grades, was it on Edexcel papers?

Ours was - just wondering if there’s something about their marking.

@Mogandbrew yes it was now you mention it, other 2 papers were AQA and got predicted grades.

Its less likely to be about a particular exam board having poor marking and more likely to be that either the student just failed to perform for some reason (stress, misread/misunderstood a question, blanked under pressure etc) or that the school's marking (and therefore predicting) was too generous. It's very different being compared against everyone in the country to being compared to your classmates. Always get the scripts though if you want the school to check before requesting a review and risking the grade going down further.

Well I'd be looking at whether it was the same subject and exam board first as it's unlikely that all of one exam boards marking was off, that being said sometimes exam papers have mistakes and they go through many people but I think is subjects such as English Lit it's very different as you only get 1 question per text and I think the amount of knowledge to truly know a book well is almost more than that and you cannot show it all in 1 questions focus even more for the comparison questions with 2 poems and 1 book, you have so little time to do the 5 AOs for 3 texts and show all your in-depth knowledge of them all. Whereas in different subjects where there's more questions covering more students can show more of what they can do, I feel that Sociology and psychology are good examples of that. Sometimes examiners also don't reward creativity or nuanced opinions and want a more comformative answer which is formulaic, and doesn't explore different theories, ideas or has a different style which I think is a shame.

English lit in our case.

Yes EdExcel English literature. Got an A in mocks, consistently working around an A and got a C (though one mark off a B apparently).

Yep, English Lit for us too.

@HebeJeeby @Sidge @sundrenchedsummerandrose - ours was politics

Mine dropped on Edexcel FM - from predicted A to C. However, he did tell us - in slightly gloomier moments - that was what he thought he'd got from his experience in the exam.

It's more that she didn't think it had gone that badly - wasn't worried about what came up or how she answered the questions... or at least not to the extent that she would have expected the grade she got. We've applied for a remark - so we'll find out I suppose.

Good luck!

DS2 dropped A* to C Edexcel FM. He had a nightmare with Paper 3 so we think it's mostly that. His Biology was also C but tbh the B wasn't historically solid like FM had been for him

Goodness me! Sorry to hear that. When I saw this yesterday, I didn’t realise that that’s what you meant. It’s incomprehensible to go from doing okay in mocks to getting U. He must be devastated and baffled in equal measure. I, stupidly, thought that in these situations they could just go back and retake the year. By the looks of it, unless you’re loaded, studying for ‘A’ levels is a one time opportunity. Who knew!?

My daughter was predicted AAB and was consistent with the marks in mocks etc. She got BCD. Her firm wouldn’t take her, she doesn’t want her insurance as since applying doesn’t want a campus.
She is stuffed as no one will take her as she wants bio related and she got a C in biology and everyone wants a B. She can’t get anyone to offer her in a city.

She was 2 marks of a B so asked for priority remark and also for the D subject.

She is distraught. School have been rubbish.

Anybody have any ideas please?

I would say she has to compromise. If the insurance is offering her the subject then she should take it, campus or not.

What unis has she approached?

DS got the grades he needed for his first choice but he did get a C where he was predicted an A (or a B on a bad day).

We've had the papers back and checked by school and they've identified seven marks that could have been given but were not given. But there's no guarantee that the person doing the remark will do the same (plus he needs to find ten marks to go up to a B). So theres a very slight chance that a tactical remark looking at one paper at a time could see him move up a grade if the person remarking was more generous than school. One paper at a time is important in case he actually goes down on one paper - although school thinks this highly unlikely since he is very comfortably into the C grade

She has contacted Leeds, Bristol, Newcastle, Sheffield.

Thanks

She should be looking outside red bricks and Russell group. Look at Sheffield Hall am, Leeds Beckett, Nottingham Trent, that kind of place.

Ok thank you

NTU has biological science available in clearing. asking for 80 points which is CDD and guarantees accommodation. Nottingham is great student city.

I can vouch for NTU. DC just graduated from there having arrived via clearing. Absolutely thrived and is now living there.