Are remarks/review of marking just for the wealthy?

[runner2023]

I have 2 friends whose children have sat exams this year.

Parent A: Her DD got 4 A stars and an A last year for A level and had a place at Oxford. Parent A put in for a remark for the A grade and her DD then was awarded 5 A stars.
Today her DS got 2 x 6s in English, she requesting remarks and also for maths and physics because DS 'only' got an 8 and she would like 9s. This must be costing her a fortune to have 4 subjects remarked. He got 9999998877766. They are well off.

Parent B: DD got AAC and needed AAB for a place at the LSE (contextual as she goes to a low achieving school). She lost her firm and is going to City University instead. She was 3 marks off a B grade, but parent B can not afford a remark and said it the same cost as a week's shopping. Her DD is fine with going to her insurance. The family has 4 children. They are not on the breadline but money is tight.

It seems the wealthy are able to request remarks at the drop of a hat. This seems very unfair.

No-one does 13 GCSEs

It’s not fair but it’s about privilege and expectations.
My son’s school automatically did a remark where they felt the grade could be improved. It’s a state school.
Try asking school to look at the individual papers. They may help

It doesn't say anything about 13 ?

9999998877766

That's 13

Schools will pay for the remark if they think it is worth it,

they can ask for exam papers back and check them.

we used to spend hours doing it every August.

Hmmmm, if I was parent B, I'd have found the money somewhere. A week on pasta and sandwiches. A few hours overtime. Approach grandparents for help. Different if it were all 3 subjects, but since it was just 1...

Yep, they do. DS went to the same school. They take 3 GSCEs in Yr 9/10 and 10 in Y11.

My school paid for my re-mark

Or 5 A-levels.

Yes they do. Dd did as did her cousin, both in state schools.

OK fair enough but I've never heard of it. 11 is pushing it. That means they sat over 30 exams?

Why? What's the point? Do you mean they sit in Yr 10 and then re-sit in Yr 11?
Which subjects?

Yes, we paid for some papers to be re-marked. If the grade changes as a result, you get a refund.

Duly counted thankyou

It does the op has listed the results as
6 9’s
2 8’s
3 7’s
2 6’s
So that is 13
Some very gifted people do more than the 9 or 10 GCSES
The flipping daughter did 5 A levels which is not normal either, but not unheard of.

They want be super wealthy as top independent schools won’t let dc sit 13

Exactly. This post is nonsense.

Someone else has already pointed it out thankyou

Sadly this is rarely true. As HOD zenglish if I did this I’d rattle through my budget before September. Occasionally I may pay for one if I know a student is really financially struggling and think they’re absolutely wrongly marked but the gamble is too great for me to do more than one or two papers a year

The exams are over a few weeks though. I think Art was earlier in the spring than the others. It just works out that way if they end up doing triple science and further maths at our school. We also have compulsory RE. It was actually ok. I don't think we'd be up for 5 A levels though.

I think family B were very short sighted in not paying the £80? for a priority remark. LSE is leagues above city university. I think she has been very poorly advised and feel dreadfully sorry for her.

You are very out of touch if you think that everyone can get extra cash any of those ways

some people just can’t

There is no safety net for some

My DS did

He chose a 5th one because the subject interested him

The timetable didn’t allow for him to be timetabled for lessons but he conferred with a teacher

I've been in that lack of safety net zone. 2 of us surviving for weeks on economy beans and basic bread. Use of foodbanks. I'd do it again for my DS's education.

I just advised my DD’s friend to ask the school get a paper remarked and if they could pay for it because she’s a pupil premium student and they did. The school must have the papers and the teachers must have looked at them because the subject teacher emailed her and told her which paper she should ask for a remark on.