Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

No A level exams - how will this work?

47 replies

Gutterton · 18/03/2020 18:05

Anyone know how they will do it?

OP posts:

sleepismysuperpower1 · 18/03/2020 18:08

are they and GCSEs definitely off, or will the be rescheduled (eg late august)

ZombieFan · 18/03/2020 18:52

Gavin Williamson the Education Secretary gave a statement in the House of Commons and said, "Let me make it very clear, their will be NO exams this year".

Mumista · 18/03/2020 18:53

Predicted grades? Delay academic year until Jan? Who knows

truelove · 18/03/2020 18:58

DS’ school only do the IB - no idea if this will also be cancelled as it’s an international qualification and therefore can’t be moved for the UK only. Though I guess other European countries are going to be similarly affected. Assume the detail is to be communicated shortly!?

Frostyskies1223 · 18/03/2020 19:01

@Mumista , it will be predicted grades, see Oxbridge thread

titchy · 18/03/2020 19:06

Disadvantaged kids will be further disadvantaged (they're the one whose predicted grades tend to be lower than their achieved).

Kids who haven't accepted their offers yet are in a hugely better position than those who have.

So unfair.

ZombieFan · 18/03/2020 19:09

Haven't all schools already submitted A-Level predicted grades to UCAS prior to the 15th Jan deadline? Pretty simple just to use that list.

Bluntness100 · 18/03/2020 19:11

It’s not about fair or not fair, they are protecting human life.

paininthepoinsettia · 18/03/2020 19:17

What about AS levels? Will they be predicted too?

Original poster

Gutterton · 18/03/2020 19:32

Is “teacher assessment” different from “predicted grades” ? As some head of teachers union on CH4 News just now said that is what it would be....

OP posts:

Original poster

Gutterton · 18/03/2020 19:36

Haven't all schools already submitted A-Level predicted grades to UCAS prior to the 15th Jan deadline? Pretty simple just to use that list.

Not everyone is going to uni and still needs grades - maybe taking a year out / applying for an apprenticeship.

Does this mean that when they finish school on Friday that they will not be taught anymore? Or will they carry on teaching? Will course work with with April deadline still have to be completed?

OP posts:

Cosima1 · 18/03/2020 19:51

Most schools will continue the timetable online. Students will be required to log on, just as they would be required to turn up to lessons in time. At one school one of mine is at, there will even be online assemblies at 8.40, twice a week

Coursework etc will be due as normal. Mine are in 3 different schools and they’ve all sent emails about this.,

I expect universities will have to reject some who they have made conditional offers too, depending on how much various courses have over-offered by?

Maybe if the required grades for a course were AAA, they may have to offer first to those whose predicted grades were AAA* and then work backwards until places are filled?

But they will have to adjust for contextual offers as well.

I don’t know, but I can’t see what else they would have to go on?

Oxbridge can obviously factor in interview performance and their own pre-interview assessments of course.

One of mine was due to have exams after Easter to determine predicted grades - probably these will also be teacher assessed now?

Cosima1 · 18/03/2020 19:53

That was meant to be three A*

ZombieFan · 18/03/2020 19:57

Not everyone is going to uni and still needs grades - maybe taking a year out / applying for an apprenticeship

But doesn't everyone get predicated grades even if they aren't going to uni. My DC applied for an apprenticeship and was still given predicted grades. His apprenticeship offer is conditional on his results.

titchy · 18/03/2020 20:11

No not everyone has predicted grades, though pretty much all should be able to get predicted grades from teachers.

Unis cannot withdraw or amend offers - they are legally bound to honour the offer. Not that they would tbh.

What about HE kids who don't have a teacher to predict? What about kids from crap schools whose teachers underestimate their ability.

Cosima1 · 18/03/2020 20:16

But what about some medical courses or other ones that ask for three A or maybe 4 A and then massively over-offer, knowing that about half those made conditional offers won’t make the grades? Would they be prepared to take say, 200 students rather than 100? What about accommodation, let alone teaching resources?

Cosima1 · 18/03/2020 20:20

And I agree that predicted grades can be very sketchy, with some schools over-estimating and others veering on the cautious side.

titchy · 18/03/2020 20:24

The offer to achieved to enrolled ratios aren't that stark even for medicine. The possibility of having a few extra on a medicine course is there, and unis would have to manage (and I'd hope funding wouldn't be capped) but overall numbers at any uni aren't likely to be substantially higher so accommodation shouldn't be an issue, particularly with the number of private halls these days.

lanadelgrey · 18/03/2020 20:28

DD has coursework already submitted. She also got to final hurdle at cambridge and was pooled but not picked by another college.
She was thinking about reapplying next year depending on grades so lots of dilemmas. And if predicted grades then she’ll be still unsure whether it was worth thinking of going through that particular hell again or if she does then lots of people will have right grades so competition worse.
Aargh. I feel so sorry for all a level candidates. Maybe they’ll have to do interviews for all courses.

Cosima1 · 18/03/2020 20:34

I think some unis that take a lot if overseas students, eg LSE that take over 60% from overseas (I think)! do have to substantially over-offer because these students will be applying to similar “big names” all over the world and it’s a different market?

GaribaldiGirl · 18/03/2020 20:37

Universities over offer because they know a certain amount will miss their predicted grades. Some courses have not finished processing applications yet but may have already given out enough offers already to fill the course since none will miss their predicted grades (if that’s the system chosen). So what happens to the group they haven’t yet assessed?
I’m hoping they postpone rather than cancel!

titchy · 18/03/2020 20:39

No, LSE and others will have very different offer patterns to home and international students. They won't be over-offering home students substantially. Brexit (sorry!) has a far bigger impact on LSE than CV - that will have changed offer rates.

titchy · 18/03/2020 20:42

Some courses have not finished processing applications yet but may have already given out enough offers already to fill the course since none will miss their predicted grades (if that’s the system chosen).

Yeah - the fact that we're after the application deadline, but before the final offer and accept deadlines is a big issue, and could be very unfair to many.

ZombieFan · 18/03/2020 20:52

I think some unis that take a lot if overseas students
Given the short time scales involved I imagine a lot of overseas students will not be keen on accepting offers here. Leaving lots of room for domestics students.

Cosima1 · 18/03/2020 20:53

It would be very unfair if particular unis give preference to those who have already firmed them as first choice because aren’t some still waiting on really slow unis such as Durham to get all their offers out, so not on a position to firm offers yet?

Also if all unis just make all conditional offers actual offers, there will be no clearing and don’t some unis be virtually empty for certain courses?

Flip

1 2