Page 14 | A levels 2023 - Results day and beyond

HereWeGo2023 · 2023-08-17T05:47:35+00:00

Hi all. I thought I’d make a new thread as the countdown one is filling up. Results day is here and I’m sure we will all value each others support, today and for the next stage of their journeys.

ZittiEBuoni · 17/08/2023 11:41

Ugh, fell foul of the non-working asterisks glitch. YOu know what I mean...

tribpot · 17/08/2023 11:42

@Guinefort DS was predicted a B for Physics, narrowly missed an A in his mock. He'd been working with a tutor ever since (also didn't do Maths A level) so I was quietly hoping for an A. He got a B - 46%.

Blogblogblogblog · 17/08/2023 11:42

Khara · 17/08/2023 11:37

My dd has found out she's 2 marks off an A star in Further Maths. Thing is she's exactly got her grades for first choice (A star A A) and is worried in case, in the unlikely event a remark moved her down to a B, she'd lose her uni place. Is that a possibility? Teacher has asked her to consent to getting the paper sent to college for them to look over which she has done but it's a bit of a dilemma.

Yes it’s a possibility she could go down but further maths would be less of a risk if the teacher is looking at the paper.

My DC went up 8 marks (only needed 1) just from one essay - it was very obvious the essay had been marked too low.

poetryandwine · 17/08/2023 11:42

@moshmoshi (and others) if a DC hasn’t got a decision yet, the School or unit of admission has been thinking about them for almost a week now. These cases are really difficult. We know how much your DC wants to come, but we also know it is wrong to admit them if they aren’t likely to thrive on their chosen course. Exam data is the main hard evidence we have about that.

Firm applicants with grades XYZ will be admitted before Clearing applicants with grades XYZ. If your DC has something important or useful to communicate to the School or has a genuine question, it is fine to contact the Admissions Team. Email is much better than a phone call this week and next. A phone call either results in a quick negative or sets up an email. It doesn’t matter who the email is sent to - an admin is fine as they pass messages to the Admissions Tutors in a rota.

But there isn’t a point to pleading. A brief mention of one’s continued enthusiasm for the place in an email question about the timeline for a decision is fine. Anything that could be construed as asking for a favour insults the integrity of tutors putting huge effort into making fair decisions. I don’t mean to direct that comment at any reader but you might be surprised at what some young people write or say! And these interactions really should be led by the young - coaching is obviously fine.

It’s been very difficult for this group, doing A levels with no experience of GCSEs. Best wishes to them.

LIZS · 17/08/2023 11:42

LadyWentworth · 17/08/2023 11:27

DS is planning to defer as he really hasn’t enjoyed 6th form, isn’t particularly academic and wants to get some work experience while he considers his route. He has a place for this year but could he lose his place for next year, even if uni agree to defer it?

No he won't lose it if the uni agrees a deferral, not all will.

NoraBattysCurlers · 17/08/2023 11:45

Era · 17/08/2023 11:21

He has three A stars. Durham have said they have space and he meets the requirements. International relations.

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I think it sounds like a great option.

I would expect clearing places in Durham to go quite quickly.

Blogblogblogblog · 17/08/2023 11:47

Blogblogblogblog · 17/08/2023 11:42

Yes it’s a possibility she could go down but further maths would be less of a risk if the teacher is looking at the paper.

My DC went up 8 marks (only needed 1) just from one essay - it was very obvious the essay had been marked too low.

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That was in politics not further maths (I should have stated that). I think politics must be harder to mark as my DC was using correct examples but not the ones the examiners were used to scanning for.

Ottercave · 17/08/2023 11:47

Thank you @KittyMcKitty and @tribpot .
I feel gutted for him especially as his gran died on the day of his first A level exam.
He's gone into college to speak to his lecturers.
I know he still got into his insurance uni but he had his heart set on his first choice.
He has no idea where it's gone wrong. He'd been predicted A* and A's all the way along. Never got below that in any of his essays or mocks so to come out with BBC is so confusing for him.
He even applied for Oxford and got to interview stage with them before they decided not to offer him a place.

poetryandwine · 17/08/2023 11:48

@Khara

Writing as a former admissions tutor, I would say that the key principle is don’t tamper with success. It is very unlikely that the grade would drop to a B upon remarking but it would not be the strangest thing ever.

If your DD gets her first choice and the grade does drop, the uni could then reject her. A few probably would. Why risk it?

VacMann · 17/08/2023 11:49

Guinefort · 17/08/2023 11:25

AQA Physics mums from previous threads, how did your DC do in the end?

DD really struggled with Physics from day 1 but school were very dismissive about her concerns and basically said it was too late to swap subjects when she asked mid-way through Y12 (I wish we had pushed harder on it in hindsight). DD also hampered by not also taking A-level Maths (she openly accepts this now and I bite my tongue on the "I told you sos" 😂). We engaged a tutor from summer Y12 and he worked wonders getting her up from Us and Es to Cs and the occasional B and really helped build up her (non existent) confidence in the subject. She also worked extremely hard herself and did every past paper and every practice question she could lay her hands on.

Then the exams happened... and as we all know AQA Physics was absolutely traumatising. DD (not prone to drama) was beside herself after paper 1 and then completely resigned to failure after paper 3.

We were therefore delighted and frankly gob-smacked when she got a B today with what equates to about 44%. An A was just 51% which shows how utterly ridiculously hard the exams were!!! Although I'm of course thrilled and relieved for DD, I'm still so, so cross with AQA for treating the students this way and making the exams so unnecessarily difficult and putting the young people through so much distress as a result - grrrrrr!!!!

Those percentages seem insane.
Do you happen to know what the percentage for A* was?

Postapocalypticcowgirl · 17/08/2023 11:49

Khara · 17/08/2023 11:37

My dd has found out she's 2 marks off an A star in Further Maths. Thing is she's exactly got her grades for first choice (A star A A) and is worried in case, in the unlikely event a remark moved her down to a B, she'd lose her uni place. Is that a possibility? Teacher has asked her to consent to getting the paper sent to college for them to look over which she has done but it's a bit of a dilemma.

The teacher will check the paper, and in maths, they'll likely be able to tell whether there's any chance of extra marks or any risk marks could be lost, because it's very largely right/wrong answers. If the teacher thinks there's any risk of the grade dropping down, she won't send it off after she's looked over it, in this case I'd be happy to be guided by them.

Postapocalypticcowgirl · 17/08/2023 11:51

VacMann · 17/08/2023 11:49

Those percentages seem insane.
Do you happen to know what the percentage for A* was?

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https://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/results-days/grade-boundaries#boundaries You can find the AQA grade boundaries here, and work out % if you wish.

standys · 17/08/2023 11:54

Fifireee · 17/08/2023 11:17

Dd got into her first choice but devastated by her results. She got bbc instead of AAB. She couldn’t have worked any harder. I’m so proud of her but it’s so hard to see her devastation.

She got in. This is all that matters really. She dropped one grade from expectation in each case. It is not a disaster. No one cares about exam results further down the line. Keep things in perspective for her.

GMH1974 · 17/08/2023 11:55

To the people talking about physics, my son was predicted an A* and got a B. His uni has accepted by him anyway. Was physics across the different boards generally not as expected I wonder?

SabrinaThwaite · 17/08/2023 11:56

VacMann · 17/08/2023 11:49

Those percentages seem insane.
Do you happen to know what the percentage for A* was?

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AQA physics was around 66% for A star.

DS got an A, that he’s very happy with.

clary · 17/08/2023 11:56

@Wazzzzzuuuuuuup "there will come a day where none of this matters, but that day is not today"

That's very true. Lots of great news on this thread but for those who missed what they hoped for, I speak from experience when I say that it's OK to grieve. It's good to own your feelings.

JudgeJ · 17/08/2023 11:57

keiratwiceknightly · 17/08/2023 08:37

Dort smashed it. 3 x A plus A in EPQ. English and creative writing at UEA confirmed. I'm delighted for her.

That's an amazing course to get on, congratulations to her and a High Six from Norfolk!

standys · 17/08/2023 11:58

To all those people who resisted changing the system to applying post exam results along with every other system in the world, just think how much better that would be? No unfair benefit from teacher-over-inflated grades and applying knowing your results.

Riverpebble · 17/08/2023 11:58

FarnhamMum · 17/08/2023 10:55

Try phoning them you never know. DS got a B in his degree subject choice (needed 3 As) and Exeter still confirmed. It’s an odd year I think

Da’s friend missed the grades for Exeter too but still got accepted when he phoned them. A couple had the same experience with Birmingham too,

KittyMcKitty · 17/08/2023 11:58

If anyone likes graphs Ofqual have updated with this years figures :

https://analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/Alevel/Outcomes/

A level outcomes in England

https://analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/Alevel/Outcomes/

Universitynewbie · 17/08/2023 12:00

Lowther · 17/08/2023 09:47

Not good news here at all. Lots of tears and now on phone to clearing. I think gap year and resits are the way to go. My heart aches for her to see her so upset.
Well done to all those who got the results needed.

I just wanted to try and offer some comfort to your daughter. I know it won't help right in this moment but I wanted to let her know about a cross section of people at my work.
We work for a huge company FTSE 100. Well paid professional jobs, some people have first class degrees from top universities, some people failed all their exams at school and then we have everything in between too, all doing the same job, all paid well just took different paths in life to get there. I know it feels like th end of the world but there are many paths in life and she will find her own path. ❤️

JudgeJ · 17/08/2023 12:00

tribpot · 17/08/2023 09:31

Has the Lancaster course not lowered its requirement @mrsconradfisher ? I saw yesterday that for DS' course it was significantly down on what it had offered originally. I think I would phone a few of them and see if they're willing to be accommodating. I really liked Lancaster FWIW,

Surely original offers were based on thye previous years' grade boundaries and as they seem to be higher this year the offers will be lower.

Positive41 · 17/08/2023 12:01

Netcam · 17/08/2023 08:38

So proud of my son. He is dyslexic and didn't really learn to read fluently until he was 11. He was home educated until the end of his GCSEs and then went to our local school 6th form, his first time in formal education, to study for 4 A levels. I am so proud of him. He got Maths A, Further Maths A, Physics A*, Computer Science A. So he's going to Durham university to study Maths.

Wow, amazing.

Congratulations! You must be so proud.

Netcam · 17/08/2023 12:02

Era · 17/08/2023 11:21

He has three A stars. Durham have said they have space and he meets the requirements. International relations.

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That's amazing, congratulations. My son loved Durham when he went to visit. It has a very good reputation. He had an interview for Cambridge but didn't get in. Durham was his next choice after Cambridge, and he's very happy to be going there.

Katbum · 17/08/2023 12:04

cuckyplunt · 17/08/2023 08:23

I am a bit confused, DD offered place on ABB, gets in with BCD, which I am thrilled about.. but have the grade boundaries moved that much this year?

I work at a uni - we all need to fill places as less applicants this year and grades lower than expected across the country