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Higher education

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

Original poster

And so the 'A-level misery' starts…

137 replies

HappySonHappyMum · 07/08/2023 07:14

So nice of The Mail this morning to start preparing us for the massive grade deflation our DCs can expect next week😡

And so the 'A-level misery' starts…
OP posts:
floribunda18 · 07/08/2023 08:26

Just don't read the newspapers or doom scroll, particularly the Daily Mail. Not fit for toilet paper.

This cohort's first proper exams were A-Levels and were horribly disrupted in GCSE years so if they have got through that and achieved anything at all then it's great.

DD1 was self harming in the lockdown at the beginning of 2021 and was one of the few allowed to go into school as she really needed the routine and support, and just to see a small group of other pupils at school. No MH problems before or since. She did really well in GCSEs. I'm so pleased and proud of her regardless of results next week.

Hoppinggreen · 07/08/2023 08:29

DD was fully taught at her school all through Covid and although she didn’t sit the official GCSEs the assessments were very vigorous, with exams being done under exam conditions for all subjects prior to teacher assessed grade being given.
As a result I believe that the GCSEs they were given were pretty accurate. I know it wasn’t the same at all schools.
At her 6 th form college there were kids from a range of schools and it was quite apparent that despite good GCSE results they were really struggling with the work for A level. Many DC in DDs classes who got 7/8 in a subject were getting 3/4 in assessments and the mock results weren’t great either.
A levels will have been the first “proper” exams for most of these kids and I think a lot of them found them very tough. I hope that it will be taken into consideration for Uni entry, although the offers that the DC we know have got are quite high

vdbfamily · 07/08/2023 08:29

Beamur · 07/08/2023 08:24

Universities won't want empty seats. They are more likely to accept lower grades. Pragmatic decisions will be made. Very popular courses will still need good grades.

exactly this. there are a certain number of places on courses and they will want to fill them. They will presumably accept lower grades to do so. My son is needing AAA* to get into Birmingham. I was shocked at that! Am really hoping they will accept lower than that.

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 08:33

PrivateSchoolTeacherParent · 07/08/2023 08:24

Sorry, yeah , reading fail. We have known for a while. There have been numerous other faffy announcements and 'clarifications' since. TBH, I just got on with the job of teaching.

Original poster
HappySonHappyMum · 07/08/2023 08:36

@Hoppinggreen I think this is why it bothers me - my DD went on to a selective Sixth Form. At the end of the Year 12 they culled a huge group of students that weren't making their grades. At the end of Year 13 they decided that another large group would not sit A levels but AS levels instead. I can't help but think this is because of they way their GCSEs were handled because of Covid. It's nonsense to think this year group haven't been affected by that.

OP posts:
Chickydoo · 07/08/2023 08:42

My child is another that needs
A star AA. I am hoping that universities will drop a grade to fill courses, if the article is accurate they are going to need to.

PrivateSchoolTeacherParent · 07/08/2023 08:45

I have been through about, ooh, 15 UCAS cycles as a teacher/adviser. Try not to worry, universities do drop offers to fill courses every year apart from the CAG/TAG cohorts. It's much easier for them to offer too few places than too many!

toomuchlaundry · 07/08/2023 08:49

I think this cohort is one that has been impacted more than many people have considered. As others have said this is their first set of proper exams. DS is in a small sixth form, they pretty much all bombed their mocks last year. DS was just about getting into his groove by the time he sat the actual exams but did not feel confident after sitting them. Another 6 months and he might have been where he should be, and I’m sure he’s not the only one.

The grades requested by universities also didn’t seem to reflect that the amount of top grades will be reduced. Think this made students think what is the point

sammyjoanne · 07/08/2023 08:54

DD has been preparing by looking at the 2019 marks and using those as a more realistic target than 2020-2022 marks. This has been the first proper exams, although they have been doing mocks at her school so she gets used to the format.

HewasH20 · 07/08/2023 09:00

Playing devil's advocate here, students are expected to perform at the required level from day 1 at university. There is absolutely no point in someone being given an A* for A level maths or physics when they are actually only at a grade B level as they will struggle at a top university. Look at the number of posts on WIWIKAU whose DC decide within weeks that their course is too garden and they've made a terrible mistake and want to come home. My own godson is in this position after being given a place at his first choice last year despite not quite meeting the grades. He has failed his first year and has to transfer elsewhere.

floribunda18 · 07/08/2023 09:09

@HewasH20 Yes but for most courses, high entrance grades are set because there is competition to get on them, not because you actually need 4A*s to be able to cope with the academic rigour of the course.

It's like with DD1's school, a super-selective grammar. DD1 only just got the (much higher than pass) mark in the 11+ set that year to get in. She thrived at the school and didn't struggle with the work.

Brintons · 07/08/2023 09:24

vdbfamily · 07/08/2023 08:29

exactly this. there are a certain number of places on courses and they will want to fill them. They will presumably accept lower grades to do so. My son is needing AAA* to get into Birmingham. I was shocked at that! Am really hoping they will accept lower than that.

Show quote history

My son also needs A star AA for Birmingham for Computer Science. The standard offer has increased this year it was previously AAA. I hope they are lenient with grades slipping.

Twyford · 07/08/2023 09:28

HappySonHappyMum · 07/08/2023 08:36

@Hoppinggreen I think this is why it bothers me - my DD went on to a selective Sixth Form. At the end of the Year 12 they culled a huge group of students that weren't making their grades. At the end of Year 13 they decided that another large group would not sit A levels but AS levels instead. I can't help but think this is because of they way their GCSEs were handled because of Covid. It's nonsense to think this year group haven't been affected by that.

Is that a maintained school or academy? I'm surprised if they culled students, it's been established that excluding them for this reason is unlawful.

PrivateSchoolTeacherParent · 07/08/2023 09:46

Twyford · 07/08/2023 09:28

Is that a maintained school or academy? I'm surprised if they culled students, it's been established that excluding them for this reason is unlawful.

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I was just going to say, isn't that illegal? Pretty alarming.

NotDonna · 07/08/2023 10:01

@Hoppinggreen That’s appalling!! Independent school by any chance?

We’ve known all along that the results are going to be in line with 2019. I know DD has been looking at 2019 boundaries when looking at her marks last year, in mocks and practice papers etc. They were due to take a big dip compared to 2022. I’d like to know how they do compare to 2019 though. Are they actually similar?

NewDogOwner · 07/08/2023 10:07

Pupils have had several vital years of disrupted learning and distress. To say that things are back to normal because for this one year there was no disruption is laughable.

TeenDivided · 07/08/2023 10:12

NewDogOwner · 07/08/2023 10:07

Pupils have had several vital years of disrupted learning and distress. To say that things are back to normal because for this one year there was no disruption is laughable.

if your claim and implication are correct (that the students have been disrupted and therefore know less) then making results the same as 2019 is in fact adjusting for that, since otherwise they should get lower results than in 2019.

The only reason 2022 were higher is it would have been perceived as too big a jump to go from 2020/2021 grades back down to 2019 in one go, so they did half way year.

Original poster
HappySonHappyMum · 07/08/2023 10:12

@NotDonna @Twyford An academy in London. I didn't like it at all - parents were summoned and it was suggested that they resit Year 12, they were shown their 'other options' and most of them left out of pure embarrassment. I was equally shocked when we we got to the end of Year 13 and my DD said some of her friends had only been entered for AS levels not full A levels. I can only think they're trying to protect their OFSTED and standing as a high achieving sixth form in our borough.

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 07/08/2023 10:12

NotDonna · 07/08/2023 10:01

@Hoppinggreen That’s appalling!! Independent school by any chance?

We’ve known all along that the results are going to be in line with 2019. I know DD has been looking at 2019 boundaries when looking at her marks last year, in mocks and practice papers etc. They were due to take a big dip compared to 2022. I’d like to know how they do compare to 2019 though. Are they actually similar?

Yes it was.
The contrast between the schooling DD got and many of her peers didn’t get was pretty shocking to me and it has given her a massive advantage when it has come to her A levels
I know people with DC at 5 local State schools and the Covid teaching went from “we are doing our best with limited resources” to “oh well, maybe you can read a book” and (again) due to lack of resources there was very little in place to help these children catch up. Some of the grades they got at GCSE were based on very little assessment and were in many cases higher than expected. This wasn’t a problem until A level when a lot really struggled despite getting a high grade in that subject for GCSE. I know a couple of teachers at the local very highly regarded 6 th form college which has high entry requirements and they said that there was a lot of work to do to help the majority of students get to A level standard, despite good GCSE grades.

Barleysugar86 · 07/08/2023 10:17

I mean I did my A Levels before they introduced the A*'s, so I kind of feel like my top grades got massively downgraded overnight anyway.

They can't keep Covd marking in place forever, presumably the students knew things were back to normal. This language seems emotive like they are being 'robbed' rather than things 'returning to how they were and were supposed to be' which wouldn't make such a good headline.

vdbfamily · 07/08/2023 10:33

Brintons · 07/08/2023 09:24

My son also needs A star AA for Birmingham for Computer Science. The standard offer has increased this year it was previously AAA. I hope they are lenient with grades slipping.

Show quote history

Same course!! Computing with AI. Seems so high but seems like only a few unis offering AI

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 10:38

I mean I did my A Levels before they introduced the A's, so I kind of feel like my top grades got massively downgraded overnight anyway.*

You want to try being a Scottish person from the years when O grades were grade numerically , with 1 being the best....

SunnyEgg · 07/08/2023 10:38

I heard the non DM version of this reported on the radio. It’s not just the DM but they use stronger language to try and get emotions rising

I know it’s stressful waiting, I’m feeling it but there’s not much to do but wait

RenoDakota · 07/08/2023 10:42

Surely it just means that unis will accept more students with lower grades - whether at the students' first or second choices or through clearing. They still need those bums on seats after all.

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 10:45

Yes, there has been some kind of press release today as it's in The Guardian and The Times too.

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