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Higher education

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

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Original poster

Ongoing A level exams: are your DC finding them hard?

105 replies

CaliforniaDrumming · 26/05/2022 17:35

Ugh. DS appeared well prepared for the exams and has been working non-stop, but so far Economics ( his pet subject), Further Maths and Physics have all been very hard, apparently. Did anyone else's DC find them hard? ( misery loves company and all that). I hope the grade boundaries aren't too high.
He has a conditional offer from UCL.

OP posts:

pansiesareyellow · 26/05/2022 17:46

Yes, my DS is also doing economics and found the first two exams hard. He came home today after another exam (different subject) saying nothing came up that he revised. He's also saying he doesn't think he will get the grades he needs for uni but is not even sure he wants to go now. Also saying he has no clue what he wants to do despite having enrolled on a course for 2023.

I said that's fine, there are other avenues, we can figure something out but he's worried we are going to be disappointed. I said the only way he can disappoint us is to not do what he wants in life but he's still wanting to please us.

Tbh though, I do feel disappointed, I'd never tell him that but other his other friends seem to be high achievers....

Pumpkintopf · 26/05/2022 17:49

Have been in to the school at which I'm a governor today. Feedback from the deputy head is that the students are finding the A level exams tough.

ChiswickFlo · 26/05/2022 17:51

I think the issues is this cohort didn't sit gcses so they are probably finding it hard generally.

pansiesareyellow · 26/05/2022 18:02

Pumpkintopf He did say he friends said they found them hard too...

Any chance the grade boundaries will be lowered I wonder?

OxanaVorontsova · 26/05/2022 18:02

I have two doing them, they seem happy so far with a paper each in economics, history, philosophy and politics between them.

Original poster

CaliforniaDrumming · 26/05/2022 18:25

pansiesareyellow · 26/05/2022 18:02

Pumpkintopf He did say he friends said they found them hard too...

Any chance the grade boundaries will be lowered I wonder?

I hope so. Everyone in his class found them tough. :( Was just hoping for an encouraging start. Hope your DS has done better than he thinks @pansiesareyellow

OP posts:

pansiesareyellow · 26/05/2022 18:58

Yes I said that to him...I have told him to just do his best and we will see what happens...

Hope your DS does well too - all we can do it wait and keep everything crossed!

Hopetogouni · 26/05/2022 20:32

Mine has found them hard too.. further maths the hardest of all 3! He has done the same subjects as yours @CaliforniaDrumming .I do hope the grade boundaries are lowered.. am trying to keep calm and hoping and praying that he makes his uni offer.

Genegenieee · 26/05/2022 20:52

I think it's especially hard for them not having sat GCSEs, they've never had that "unknowing" feeling you have after public exams where you don't have a clue how you really did, it matters and you don't find out for a really long time. The mind looks for what you didn't do

Genegenieee · 26/05/2022 20:53

...posted too soon - or missed.

I also think A levels are really hard, I did mine 30 years and got straight As but definitely did not come out of the exam hall thinking that

Madhairday · 26/05/2022 20:57

Yes my DS has had further maths and physics so far and found both challenging, said one of the physics subjects wasn't on the 'advance subjects' thing they had this year due to covid so was a shock. He thinks he did ok but not amazingly and usually he's an A* student. It's a bit worrying but they didn't have the GCSE experience and I think that really matters.

CoralBells · 26/05/2022 21:00

Dd has only had French oral so far. She's not normally nervous for exams but she was terrified and only slept for 2 hours. I've never known her to have trouble sleeping. I guess she didn't do a real GCSE oral which would have prepared her. Hopefully the written ones to come will be OK. I'm bigging up her insurance choice anyway

HighlandCowbag · 26/05/2022 21:02

Yup, dd seems a bit worried. She has an offer for Durham but is now talking about the unis that offer through clearing.

She's a done eng lan and history so far. Eng lan was apparently 'okish', history 2 out of 3 questions expected, the third she hadn't revised for and she's very conscientious. However she also lacks confidence generally and I suspect that she has done.OK, she's just downplaying everything incase she's fucked up somewhere.

We'll see. 2 exams down, 3 to go but off next week for a breather.

lightisnotwhite · 26/05/2022 21:22

I was a bit disappointed when DS chose an extended diploma rather than A levels. He’s a clever lad and BTEC seemed a bit low brow.However I just came on to say boy how relieved am I now. No idea how you cope.
DS has done a fantastic final project which he could use to showcase his computer skills if wanted to go straight into work. Obviously we don’t know the grade but at least he knows it’s the best he could do. It helps me know what he’s actually capable of, rather than what AQA test on the day ( well I don’t know because coding is gobbledegook but the project looked good).
DS has got a very doable offer from Warwick which he seems keen on.

I honestly don’t think I would have coped with exams, hoping he was doing lots of revising but also enjoying life post Covid . Every conversation with my friends is about exam tensions and revision .
And there’s still the wait until August for results….

You and your kids are all amazing. It’s seriously stressful, I’ve got fingers crossed.for everyone.

CoralBells · 26/05/2022 21:36

Dd has got warwick as her firm too. ABB for biology (standard offer)

lop32 · 26/05/2022 21:39

Think it might be a different economics board as my son's only had one economics paper which he said was ok. Same for politics. I'm sure that won't be the case across all the exams though.

Oblomov22 · 26/05/2022 21:40

No. Ds1 was ok. Sociology and psychology were fine. Business harder. He's fine.

poetryandwine · 26/05/2022 21:42

Everyone recognises that this Y13 cohort is disadvantaged because they did not sit GCSEs. A few months ago there was talk that grade boundaries this year would be some kind of interpolation of 2019 grade boundaries and 2021 grade boundaries (which were high). I have not heard any recent updates.

Original poster

CaliforniaDrumming · 26/05/2022 21:44

Thanks for all the responses. DS is doing the OCR board. I don't know if that makes a difference.

I really hate the stress of conditional offers. However, am hoping he has done better than expected, like his mocks.

OP posts:

percypig · 26/05/2022 21:46

Just coming on to make a couple of points which may reassure worried parents (my eldest is at GCSE stage, and is finding some ok, some quite hard!)

If they’re hard exams which everyone finds hard then the raw mark grade boundaries will be a little lower that year - this is a normal part of the exam process.

Secondly, the exam boards have said that this year’s boundaries will be set at a mid point between 2019 and 2021’s results. So for example, if 75% of pupils got C or above in 2019, and 80% in 2021, then this year it’ll be around 77.5% (these are made up numbers by the way!)

Finally, lots of A Level pupils seem to be struggling this year, with both exams and completing coursework etc in a timely manner.

PermanentTemporary · 26/05/2022 21:46

Ds exhausted today after 2 exams. I was cross that they were so spread out but I'm eating my words on that one, glad he's getting a break. Further Maths v hard, Physics a struggle due to time pressure.

lop32 · 26/05/2022 21:49

Thanks for all the responses. DS is doing the OCR board. I don't know if that makes a difference.

Ah, my son's doing Edexel for economics

Tomnooktoldmeto · 26/05/2022 21:54

DD Eng Lang and Lit with CIE so far seems ok but they had no advance information, hasn’t had exams for 3rd subject yet

DS first history exam today, went well but like someone else wasn’t prepared for the third question but felt It went ok, managed 19 pages (5,500) words so hopefully it’s gone ok.

Stressed about geography tomorrow though so tonight is all about positive reassurance sadly

I really feel for this year, it’s been a rotten time for all of them.

Original poster

CaliforniaDrumming · 26/05/2022 21:57

Thank you #@percypig. I am not British and am unfamiliar with the British system. Of course not doing GCSEs is a bit of a disadvantage.

OP posts:

CoralBells · 26/05/2022 21:58

When we went to the Bristol offer holder day, they said that last year there was a 40% increase in students meeting their offer. That might have been specific to the Biology department. I heard they struggled a bit with finding accommodation for all the 2021 starters

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