Countdown to A level results day - 2023

[HereWeGo2023]

Following on from the A level support thread I thought I would create one for results day.
Hopefully you will all join me for the long nail biting wait and the big day at the end of it!

Bloody hell it's stressful for kids waiting so they can get their choices. I had no idea, Dd is my first to go to Uni in the UK.
She has decided she's getting to school early on results day they are open from 8'30 for year 13 and 9 for year 12 (in Wales ) She never gets put of bed so we'll see how soon she's up for me to drive there.
She's got her Uni place already and accommodations sorted, so pressure is off, but she still wants good results as she worked so hard.
No idea when the Welsh bacc results are in, does anyone know?

We are drawing up our comms plan as well @PettsWoodParadise - both DH and I come from large (complicated) blended families so there are many parents to notify separately. He took one subject privately so we will need to let the teacher know, plus his tutor for Physics and his work experience mentor etc. I haven't had anyone yet contact to say 'how did he do' like @Travelban but I suspect we will have a bit of this this week.

I'm taking the day off work, partly to celebrate the end of school (whatever happens) but also just in case he changes his mind about clearing.

Like @PettsWoodParadise we have people who mean a great deal to us all, and have been a wonderful support to DD through the years, who we will gladly update (with DD’s blessing), or who she will update herself. Those are the people who will likely message on Wednesday to say they’re thinking of us, and then leave us to contact them.

FIL on the other hand is already messaging asking how she did and asking again if what she did was real A-levels because we’re in NI and not England. (I have no idea how many times DH has answered similar questions over the last 4 years since she started GCSE courses.) For him we are being very vague with dates, inc for CAO offers, and just saying it’ll be a few more weeks before we know where she’s going and we’ll let him know when we know ourselves. It’s people like that who piss me off - no real engagement with DD, wouldn’t have a clue what she studied or what she’s hoping to study - just wants to boast about her success as if that is somehow a reflection of him!

@tribpot and @AfingeroffudgeisNOTenough it is so lovely to hear you have special cheer squads for your DCs and comms plans for them too.

I am very conscious these are DD’s results but DD has cherished the support and different perspectives so also wants to acknowledge that.

Exactly, I feel the same way. Lots of friends who will wait for us to tell them , wish us luck but some relatives and a couple of people we know who aren't engaged and in our case know she had issues so it's a bit macabre the sudden interest.

Especially when DS1 did his GCSEs last year but they never asked as they knew he would shine and didn't particularly want to celebrate that and he never got a well done.. Makes my blood boil.

Spoke to DD and she said she will just tell everyone where she is going or if she is having a gap year, not going to share any results either way.

FIL sounds like the sort who would have those results up on Facebook before you knew it, @AfingeroffudgeisNOTenough . I had to alert one of my SIL's to her mum doing similar a few years ago, I think people now understand that individual results are not shared other than by the student themselves if they want to.

My dad will want to remind me that DS' chosen course won't lead to a high paying job (no my dad is not Rishi Sunak) so I will be shooting back with the fact he is about to be published for the first time and not even yet at uni.

DH's dad will be completely oblivious unless my MIL, who divorced him 30 years ago, says something to him.

@MrsCarson dd was told her grade by her teacher when it was marked in college but it is not a certainty as some are then marked again as a moderation exercise.

I do very much agree with the PP who linked to this thread. It has some amazing advice and insights about Clearing etc from university admissions staff. I'm a teacher and it's fascinating.

Good luck, everyone! My own DD last year had an unconditional offer, so all the stress had been moved to a different part of the year, but DS is entering Sixth Form next year.

@PettsWoodParadise @tribpot @Travelban i am indeed so very grateful for our wee tribe - we have also been through hell the last number of years with cancer, house/school/education system/country/job changes as well as DD herself experiencing some significant mental health difficulties over the past year and the people who know us and love us are 100% cheering DD on and will celebrate her whatever happens on Thursday. They love her for who she is and believe in her and take genuine pleasure in seeing her thrive in life.

FIL is not one of those people (and neither are my parents whose response to her straight A/Astar GCSEs was to say “were there no other grade available to print on the paper?” and then never mention it again), and yes, would 100% share her results publicly with all and sundry without even considering whether DD wanted him to. Vague is definitely the way to go with him, while embracing the love from those who will celebrate her well.

We’re also navigating several cousins receiving results on the same day (2 others receiving AS results and 1 receiving A level) or the following week (2 receiving GCSE results) which also complicates things as there is always the risk of snarky comments one way or the other with my family.

Hi All

Changed name as the details are outings. My daughter was in IB system so she already has her results. She has narrowly missed her offer for Durham and admission’s has said that they will make a decision when A level results come. Her offer was for 38 overall points and 666 in HL subjects. The 666 is considered equivalent to AAA in A levels.

She achieved 39 points and 765 in her HL subjects. The 5 is right at the grade boundary and unfortunately the remarking didn’t change her grades.
The 5 is her lowest grade (out of her 6 subjects) and unfortunately is on her chosen subject. So on paper she is applying for her weakest subject. We did have a big laugh about it.

In reality, she has been getting high grades and prizes on that subject for years and somehow didn’t do so well in one exam. IB grades are 20% based on internal assessments(IA) which more or less an essay or a report on an experiment for science subjects. She has done well enough in her exams( grade 6) but not so well in her IA. Her chosen topic was risky and apparently she had made few errors in her experiment and school wanted her to rewrite her report at which time she was too stressed to do so and I assume got a low grade. To make matters worse based on a sample of student’s work (not necessarily hers) the school was deemed to lenient and all IAs in the subject were moderated down by 3 points.

I am hoping that she will be accepted but clearly Durham is shopping for international students as the course is in clearing for these students so I am not very hopeful.

Apology for long post needed to vent so I can be calm for her.

Good luck for your DCs on the result’s day.

There have been several reports that IB has been rough this year, @Durham2023 , though I imagine that is scant comfort for your DD. It is especially rough when the IA goes wrong as IMO the exam should be the key factor.

Best wishes to your DD

Fingers crossed for you @Durham2023 that is really stressful.

Thanks!

Important thing is that my daughter seems calm with Que sera sera attitude and I like to keep it that way. She likes the course in Durham but sees a lot of pluses in her insurance choice as well and luckily she did make the grade for her insurance offer.

@Durham2023 the international applicants numbers are separate from home students - Durham publishes numbers of places for each so you are not correct (and whilst I know you’re anxious also a little unkind) saying they are hunting for international students.

The vast majority of Durhams applicants will be receiving their results on Thursday so the simple answer is you need to wait to see how she does in comparison to them. I don’t understand the IB but it looks like she is in with a good chance. My dd is also hoping to go to Durham but after a bad paper in one A level feels it unlikely. I hope Thursday brings you good news.

@KittyMcKitty

I did not mean to be unkind and perhaps did not communicate well. As an anxious mum I am just expressing worst case scenario. What you say is vet reassuring. In reality, it will be extraordinary for Durham to accept her with a 5 however borderline in Chemistry, her chosen subject. But there is no harm in hoping for another few days.

Best of luck to your DD, my daughter thought she did really badly in Maths paper 3 exam. She was worried about getting a 5 in Maths but she got a 7 overall and a 7 on the paper 3. So you will never know, your DD might have done better than she expected, fingers crossed.

I think the steep rise in international student numbers at U.K. unis such as Durham indicates they are very much on the hunt for them. Several top unis only had/will have clearing places for international students (certainly if past experience is anything to go by).

@Bigfatsquirrel there's some surprising info on the clearing thread that Durham2023 also posted on. (I can't link from the app but it's the title that asks when universities will get the results this year. )

There's a govt cap on UK students (presumably this is a funding issue?) Anyway seems that domestic numbers are not entirely in the uni's gift. I didn't know that and it's the top and bottom of my knowledge right there I'm afraid. But it's interesting nonetheless!

I suppose that one question is: if there is a separate quota for international students, which the university knows it hasn't filled currently (which presumably, it has, pending dropouts on Thursday, for home students for those courses, hence Clearing places being available only for internationals), if it doesn't attract up to the quota of internationals, will those places then become available to home students- and if so, when? Or is it a question of 'recruit internationals or not at all'?

@stilldumdedumming I agree it's all a bit opaque. Here's an example from another mumsnet thread after a FOI request for Durham economics 21/22 admissions cycle (dates 7/1/23

Home (non contextual) 430 applied 70 offered 16% offer rate

Home contextual 85 applied 80 offered 94% offer rate

International 470 applied 335 offered 71% offer rate

@stilldumdedumming Is there a cap on U.K. students at English unis ?? I know that there was chat of a proposal from the Govt recently to cap numbers for "rip off" degrees but I didn't think numbers were currently Govt capped? Unis obvs have a limit on numbers for each course and for accommodation (although seems they are trying to get round that creatively eg, Bristol now has the "Newport Village" accommodation....... in Wales)

Beyond medical students what caps (plural as a devolved matter) on numbers for universities in England, or Wales, or N.Ireland are you referring to @stilldumdedumming ?

the government’s much delayed response that came out last month to its own consultation, talked about recruitment limits on low quality provision, but palmed any future progression of that over to the OFS.

As I understand it, quotas or not, the fee difference does drive some admission decisions. As tuition fees have been frozen for so long, a lot of lab/studio based courses lose money on home students and are subsidised by international fees, and also by classroom-based home students. (People are generally aware that experimental STEM subjects cost more to run, but theatres, recital/rehearsal spaces, and art studios/workshops are very 'low density' compared to cramming people into a lecture hall, so need a lot more real estate and maintenance etc, let alone staffing ratios.)

@boys3 I believe that @stilldumdedumming was referring to a claim made by an admissions professional on that other thread!

As I said, I don't know!!! I was just referring pp to a much more knowledgeable poster! I have no idea at all. I just didn't know there was a cap. Perhaps there isn't - but another poster in the know seemed to know. Top and bottom of my knowledge - as previously stated!