October A levels anyone?

[Skerryberry]

With so many getting results they were disappointed with, are any DS/DD's choosing to take the October A levels ?

Are they taking all their A levels or just one or two?

How are they planning to motivate themselves with exams only 50 days away? DC has not opened a book since March... eek!

I may need some hand holding!!

The details about the autumn series of exams (who is responsible for entering, arrangements etc) are here:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/responsibility-for-autumn-gcse-as-and-a-level-exam-series

Signing up for email updates doesn't half clutter up one's inbox, but they may come in handy. Last night's bedtime reading included how schools are to deal with suspected cases, implementing rotas etc (thevaforementioned already amended once...), as discussed but not necessarily made much simpler on R4 this morning.

@Skerryberry she will be sitting Maths and Physics. The physics in particularly is hard as teaching wasn't great so she is really learning some of this properly for the first time.

Maths and Physics all round then! I guess they are make-or-break for certain degrees.

This is good for maths and physics teaching.

www.physicsandmathstutor.com/

The centres where they were registered to take the June 2020 exams are obliged to let them resit there in Autumn. Their existing access arrangements as registered for those exams will apply eg extra time, rest breaks, coloured paper, so etc.
Autumn exams are not classed as resits.

Schools are not required to assist further learning but many are providing some form of support eg. online subject surgeries.

If worried about gaps try to find tutors even other students.

Exams taken next Summer are classed as resits and you would be registered as a private candidate to take these which may cause issues in the event of further lockdown.

Good luck to everyone taking Autumn exams. Results of A levels will be 17 December.

Thanks for that link, mumsneedwine. I see they are doing online weekend courses in September. Have asked about the price. Do you know who their tutors are?

@kitnkaboodle I wouldn't pay as their on line stuff is so good. But the guys behind this are teachers and we've used their resources for years. So if they are now offering extras I'd be inclined to look into it if not too pricey.

I got a reply this morning. £195 for each weekend, which doesn't seem bad as the tuition is 9-5.30 each day. Maths is next weekend and Physics the weekend after that. Thanks for the link!

Just realised that I'm talking about a completely different website to mumsneedwine. Somehow I've managed to redirect myself to physicsandmathscourses.com, which was probably a happy accident. They're doing online weekend revision courses for Maths n Physics in Sept.

@kitnkaboodle I was a bit surprised he's charging 😊. The videos are self teaching and I'll own up to using them myself when I had to teach A level maths as an emergency.

Chemguy videos are good for chemistry.

I'm crying. DD just got an email from the university saying that they wouldn't offer her a place for 2021 if she upgraded her marks in the October exams, because the results will not be considered as all being taken in the same sitting. Isn't that against the government guidelines?

I would have thought that was against the guidelines. It says somewhere (Ofqual, DfE ... can't remember I've looked at so much stuff) that October exams most definitely are NOT resits. They should be considered as a first sitting.

I wonder if you just got some sort of automated reply that didn't fully take in this year's circumstances ... I'd be on the phone ...

Aweebawbee - The guidance was that if moderated grades or CAGS met this year's offer the uni had to honour the place or defer it to next year. The guidance did not confer the need to hold the offer over to next year if the grades were not met by 7 September. The only uni that agreed to this voluntarily was Cambridge. She will therefore need to reapply in the 2021 UCAS cycle for a 2021 place.

Do we know which unis are definitely doing this along with Cambridge and which are not?

are there videos on the physics and maths site - I can't find these. Could somebody point out where. Can just see past papers.

I looked at a few at random - Birmingham, Exeter, Durham and Bristol. Couldnt find anything about the autumn exams on the Bristol site, so may not have looked in the right place, but none of the other three say anything about regarding a subject taken on the autumn as not being part of the same sitting (Durham confusingly does call the exams 'resits', but nothing actually stated gives the impression that they are treating them as such).

Bristol (unlike the others) seems to withdraw your place if you had it as your insurance and now, with your CAGs, meet the conditions of your firm - so a bit of a double-edged sword, if you had decided in the meantime that you preferred Bristol to wherever else? They are no longer in Clearing either, so no way of getting back in for this year.

I thought the triple lock was your moderated grade, CAG or October exam. Whichever is highest is your grade. They are not re-sits as the A level exam has never been sat. Which university is this? Which degree program ... medicine?

DS has written to his first choice university to see if they will defer his offer so he does not have to reapply. He has not heard back yet.

Btw, not just Cambridge holding the offer over - Durham says:
If you are re-sitting exams in autumn 2020, please tell us about this by completingour online form. You do not need to submit a new application. We will place a hold on your current application until the end of January 2021 and your offer will remain conditional for 2021 entry up to this point.

Triple lock was the term for the triple chance of getting the best grade. There was never any onus on unis holding the offer over to the 2021 cycle, that is being done on a voluntary basis by some unis but it did not "lock" the offer so to speak.

I'm really sorry to jump in on this but I really need some advice fast. My dd had intended to resit Maths and Chemistry A levels in Oct. She has registered at her school for the resits so no problem there. She got Bs in both but wants to do Medicine so has to raise these to 2 As. She is also resitting her UCAT exam 1st Oct. But everyday that the exams get closer she is losing confidence. So rather than heap this pressure on her I have told her there is the option of sitting the exams in Summer 21 leaving her to focus on her UCAT in Oct. But what are her options for doing this on a taught basis? I can't afford holding a private tutor for her for that long and I don't like the thought of the online self learn courses for that long. Her school is not offering any support whatsoever. It would have been great if the Govt had set up an advice helpline for all the queries on this thread but no such luck!
So, What are her options? Are further education colleges still an option given we are now so close to their start or is it too late to enrol. Are they free? Any other route? Adult Learning colleges?

She is really studious and I personally think she could make a really good go at the Oct sitting but I really don't want it to result in a mental breakdown for her.

Any advice much appreciated.

In the first instance, has she checked that all the medical schools to which she wants to apply will accept grades achieved as a resit? The autumn series are not resits, but a chance to have the best of the exam result, CAG or calculated grade recorded as her 'first attempt' A level results, whereas the summer 2021 exams will be counted as normal resits.

@NadiSel would her school be open to get registering for the full year and sitting exams next summer (assuming that anyone sits them next summer). FE college would probably still take her - ours would and starts on Monday- but you'd have to check they used the same exam board or that she could cover any different material quickly enough. Probably less of a problem with those two subjects than history for example.
And she'd have to apply carefully to courses that accept resits.

I'm not sure that a state school or FE college would take a 'year 14' student who had already achieved what they would be funded for, that is, a Level 3 qualification, though?

Funding is available for three years post 16 education @MarchingFrogs. They don't have to accept you though. Friend's son is retaking two of his next summer and is returning to his state school sixth form. They're allowing him to sit in on y12 and 13 classes as they have space in classrooms.

@MarchingFrogs yes you're correct he will have level three qualifications just not at his preferred grades. It seems to be going ahead though so must be allowed somehow

@NadiSel - if you think that repeating Year 13 is her best bet, I'd simply contact all the local schools/colleges and see if they would take her. A year ago, my DS was offered the option to retake Y12 (therefore being in 6th form for three years) so it DOES happen. Maybe in this chaotic year you'll find a 6th form who will be sympathetic, especially if it's likely she will get good results. Schools are showing their truth colours/worth this year, in my opinion, and you might find one who is willing to help an able student.
But yes, you would have to check that they were doing the same exam boards as she has already done because that would be a nightmare otherwise.