Son (18) Distraught Over Results

[annelovesthebeach1975]

Hello everyone! I have been a longtime lurker of mumsnet for years now but today I have felt the need to finally make an account and post here, as my house has been plunged into chaos by the dreaded A Level results day. As the title says, my son has been absolutely distraught all day over the fact that his a level results were not what he wanted, and he got rejected by his dream uni, Newcastle University, and also his insurance choice, Birmingham. Although he only wanted to go to Newcastle so he doesn't really care about that. He received BCD although his predicted was AAB so obviously everyone was quite disappointed, but my son has taken it absolutely horrifically and it is breaking my heart. For some backstory, from when my son started lower sixth, his teachers helped students start looking for unis and courses during free periods at least once a week. From when my son began researching unis, he's only ever wanted to go to Newcastle University. When we went to the open day last year after he got his conditional offer he was hooked even further. He even knew what accomodation he wanted. He's a smart boy so I wasnt too worried about him getting in. However, after some of his exams he seemed quite unsure of himself, saying he didn't feel like he did a good job. I assumed this was just him overthinking it but now I believe the fact he didn't actually sit his GCSEs because of covid has had a negative effect on him since these were his first 'real exams.' He has been on the phone to clearing all day basically pleading for a biomed place at Newcastle and he has emailed them directly as well, although biomed and many other science courses are not clearing and his grades are much lower than the entry requirements so it has made things very difficult. I am putting on a brave face for him but on the inside I am heartbroken. This summer all he has talked about is what he's going to do when he goes to Newcastle, how excited he is, and how he's so excited for freshers week in newcastle. His eyes are red raw from crying in his room between contacting Newcastle over and over. He is not usually an emotional lad so this is very upsetting for me. I have contacted his sixth form for advice and they basically told me there is basically no chance he will find a biomed place at Newcastle with his grades, which were a shock to his teachers as they all thought he would breeze through his exams. It is looking like he will have to resit his a levels which while it is not the end of the world, it feels like it for my son when all his mates got into their unis, some Newcastle, and will be starting there next month. I am just looking for any advice on how to comfort him because I want him to know that I am there for him, and if there's any way I can get him a place at Newcastle on a science course that is biomed or similar.

but the teaching has been sporadic with lots of strikes - she has missed at least 5 weeks of lectures

DD has just graduated from Newcastle with a biomed degree, and she wasn't affected by strikes in the three years she was there.

You are not wrong about the volume of course content. DD said that she had more work in her first year of biomed than the first year medical students. She has a friend sitting an exam today that she deferred, and the friend says it is really difficult. Newcastle marks hard, and to achieve a 2.1 or a first you can't get away with partying a lot and not working.

My daughter has just finished her first year (Psychology) in Newcastle. There were some strikes this year but I think it only affected my daughter for about a week and I think they were on-line for that period. They only have to get 40% to pass, so fingers crossed your dd has managed to get through OK. DDs course has been relatively high contact and she has had phases with a lot of work. They are very strict with deadlines eg she submitted a piece of coursework a couple of minute late and lost I think 10% of the marks due to late submission. If you are in the first year halls there is a lot of temptation for partying and clubbing. DD has said she is surprised at the number who have dropped out from both her halls and course (some after struggling in the January exams). I think in general the standards set by the University are high, and the current cohort haven't sat A levels and haven't had the normal experiences of 6th form to prepare them for university life.

@RampantIvy Congratulations to your daughter! Perhaps my daughter was exaggerating about the number of lectures she missed, although she did forward the email with dates of three weeks of strikes that were going to effect her. She has partied hard but seemed to be doing okay with all her essays, passed her January exams without a problem but unfortunately failed one of the 3 exams she had at the end of the year. Todays resit ( pharmacology) she found really hard so we are just keeping everything crossed she passes as I don’t know what the options are if she doesn’t! And hopefully it will teach her to work hard I her second year ( assuming she passes this year).

@mushroom3. Yes covid certainly didn’t help them prepare for university. I am just keeping everything crossed she has passed her resit. Although age was very upset when she came out

Great plan OP , thanks for update . Best of luck to your DS. He sounds like he knows what he wants , and playing the long game to get it . I wish I had had the courage to do that when I was younger !

Hope your DD got through OK @zrorjaei, at DD2's university they let people who failed repeat the year if they wanted to but of course that can cause issues with student finance I believe. DD2 didn't find her biomed degree too demanding – she seemed to manage to party and represent her uni at sport as well, but then she was annoyed with herself for just missing a First.

She took her Masters much more seriously and didn't party or work, just studied for a year, a full 12 months too rather than 9 months. Then she did get a First (or at least a Masters equivalent thereof).

I just made this account so I could add a message. Basically I’m 18 too, got the same grades and wanted to go to University of Manchester. Dead set on a Russell group uni. I was absolutely distraught about my grades, but more so the fact I wouldn’t be going to my dream uni. Still haven’t fully processed it as predicted AAB also, and coincidentally also applied for Biomed.
I got into Surrey through clearing. I’m still so upset about the whole situation, that after a few weeks here I am deciding to resit A levels. I am going to apply for Newcastle for 2023 entry, it’s glad to know I am not alone in the whole resitting A levels- my mum is very unsupportive.
I know exactly how he feels. I cried non-stop. If he needs a friend, my snapchat username is [removed by MNHQ]

I just made this account so I could add a message. Basically I’m 18 too, got the same grades and wanted to go to University of Manchester. Dead set on a Russell group uni. I was absolutely distraught about my grades, but more so the fact I wouldn’t be going to my dream uni. Still haven’t fully processed it as predicted AAB also, and coincidentally also applied for Biomed.
I got into Surrey through clearing. I’m still so upset about the whole situation, that after a few weeks here I am deciding to resit A levels. I am going to apply for Newcastle for 2023 entry, it’s glad to know I am not alone in the whole resitting A levels- my mum is very unsupportive.
I know exactly how he feels. I cried non-stop. If he needs a friend, my snapchat username is [removed by MNHQ]

Good luck xx

OP can he do an access course at Newcastle? Yes it's a year behind but he would still be there ? Sending a hug. So hard as a mum xx

Rosie, good luck with your resits. Next year will be a "proper" A level year with public exams and hopefully the grades back to the "normal" levels of As etc of 2019. I went to Manchester (because my school predicted B grades (many years ago) so I did not get the Durham/Bristol offers I wanted but it all turned out fine in the end and my grades were very good that year, much higher than the predictions).

@beachcitygirl I think access courses are for adults without A levels. A foundation course might be possible but these can be taken by DC with high grades but the wrong subjects. Would have been worth a look though.

Surrey is very different to Newcastle. Don’t make the wrong choice by being desperate.

As there were concessions with A level exams this year, I think next year might be a risk without lots more work. However all Dc had COVID issues and plenty of high grades were achieved.

Yes, please don't confuse Access courses (delivered in FE colleges and accredited by the Quality Assurance Agency) with foundation years (delivered in universities and not necessarily recognised outside the host university). They are very different things, intended for different groups of students and with different requirements.

Next year will be difficult for those resitting as the proportions getting higher grades will be back to 2019 levels. Have you thought about finishing the first year at Surrey and trying to reapply/transfer for 2023?

I wouldn’t have thought there is much wrong with Surrey either. Grass is greener comes to mind!!

Access is far superior tbh.

Unis love access students. They've done the equivalent of 3 A levels in 8 months.

Access is seriously difficult. Harder than the first year of a degree and yes, 18 year olds can do them if they effed up their A levels.

Access is very much taught like uni. Access students hit the ground running because they already know how to reference and how to write academically.

How many access students go to Oxbridge? @bottleofbeer I think you are slightly over stating it’s value! Also plenty of Dc are fast learners at 18 with regard to essays.

Oh it's you Tiger! I got the grades via access to get into oxbridge.

Wasn't an option for me but I got the highest amount of UCAS points possible!

Then I went to an ex gasp poly 😁

I went to a Poly when it was a poly! Getting the grades isn’t the same as getting in of course.

I got the grades via access to get into oxbridge.
Wasn't an option for me but I got the highest amount of UCAS points possible!

Grades and UCAS tariff points aren't the same thing. If entry requirements are stated in terms of A-Level grades there is no guarantee that the equivalent UCAS points from other qualifications will be accepted. Looking at Oxford web pages for various courses it looks like they are very reluctant to accept Access diplomas unless the applicant has also taken some (not necessarily 3) A-Levels at the same time. They explicitly don't accept T-Levels, despite the fact that a T-Level at distinction carries the same number of UCAS points as 3 A-Levels at AAA.

@NoNotHimTheOtherOne
Exactly. We can believe anything we like! Until it comes down to getting in!

I got the equivalent of AAA. Why would they be reluctant? Access students know how to reference, they know how to write academically, they've basically done three A levels in 8 months.

Ah, well. The snobbery is rife. If your child needed front line mental health intervention, I'm your gal. Or would you demand to know which university my qualifications came from first?

It’s not snobbery. It’s academic excellence. Oxford strongly suggest you take 2 A levels as well as an Access course. You might believe it’s 3 A levels in 8 months but the truth is, the depth of academic study is missing. Would it be equivalent to Further Maths A level? Or History, English and French? It’s difficult to see how this is remotely possible in 8 months. Oxford has 21% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. They are aiming for 25% but they want standard academic qualifications which obviously must offer.

I've just looked up the Access courses, as they sound great and I wasn't familiar with them.

The website says '...makes academic demands that are at an equivalent level to those of A levels. This comparison relates to the level of the qualification: there is no standard measure of 'equivalence' that relates to the volume of the qualification.'

So I can see both points here: it's equivalent to A-level study, and a good intro to academic study, but it seems to be an open question whether it's equivalent to one A-level or several.

Did you find it useful for further study?