A levels 2023 - Results day and beyond

[HereWeGo2023]

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.

Well in 24 hours we have gone from having no hope ( dd had a bad time and was convinced she was going to get three U's ), to her getting two C's and a U. Now I know this is not great compared to some of the achievements on this thread, but she has secured a place on a foundation degree and then leading on to Nursing and is over the moon. So good to see something going right for her after thinking she would need to spend a year doing re-sits. Only problem is for us - two of them going to Uni at the same time, so beans on toast for me and dh for a good few years !

Oh @SlightlyJaded your daughter sounds amazing and you are an amazing mum.

RG doesn’t matter in the teensiest, tiniest bit. Your girl has got GRIT and that will make her a success at whichever Uni is lucky enough to have her.

@@SlightlyJaded your DD sounds absolutely phenomenal and your posts shine with love. The way in which she handled today is inspirational. That resilience will take her far.

What a lovely thing to have happened! If it is what she wanted and what will make her happy then it is better than getting all the As in the world! Well done to her

remember that sometimes failure is not only necessary, but important and character building and that how we deal with failure can bring out the best parts of us.

indeed. I wish it wasn't the case but this is so very true

Many inspirational stories here. The resilience and confidence shown by some DC doing their best with their results will take them a long way in life

@SlightlyJaded Leicester is a good city for students. It’s friendly and diverse with a good range of amenities. I can’t comment on student accommodation though as dd wanted to move away for uni.

With a similar set of results she’s got a place at Sheffield Hallam which was her firm all along. Very affordable accommodation, big student city which was what she wanted all along.

Ds still hasn't had a firm no from his degree apprenticeship which is frustrating. He's expecting it as he paused both the points required and the C in Maths but it would be good to know so we can move forward.
He's seen a couple of courses at Nottingham Trent in clearing that he quite fancies but I need advice!
Because I didn't think Uni was going to happen, I am totally at a loss as to how it works! Can he apply there even if he hasn't heard back from the apprenticeship? If he's offered and accepts, would it be awful to then turn it down again if by some miracle the apprenticeship take him?
Also how does it actually work? Does he just ring them and say I've seen this course, these are my grades, can I do it? He'd be living at home soon issues there. And I am assuming we can still apply for student finance?

Well done to all! DS got 4A* and going to read economics at Cambridge! Was super worried about meeting the offer but worked out in the end!

Your son will need to do a UCAS application so he is in the system before he can be accepted by a uni in Clearing. It's fine if he accepts a place and later turns it down because he gets a better option for him.

And yes he can still apply for student finance at this stage @aleC4

@SlightlyJaded Leicester is where I went - amazing place - really friendly university I can highly recommend.

Crumbs well done!
Thats a great achievement for both of you.

@SlightlyJaded I went to Leicester university back in the 80s, and I still live just outside of the town.
The university is pretty much all in one place, right next to a big park, in a safe suburban area. Nearby there are brand new halls of residence, however, these are now full (I know this as a friend’s daughter is going there through clearing). The older halls are in Oadby, which is a posh leafy area about 10-15 minutes on the bus from the university. There are several halls there, which were all catered when I was there, but that may have changed. Although (and probably because) they were out of town, they were very sociable with each other. Each hall had a bar, held regular events, summer hall etc - it was just really good fun. There was a regular bus service to the university which everyone would get.

It's not a RG university but it’s pretty highly regarded and long established. Genetic fingerprinting was discovered there, in the medical school! Also David Attenborough grew up there as his father was a lecturer, and there’s a big building on campus called the Attenborough building.

I haven’t been out in town for years but my teen is currently out clubbing in Leicester , having a great time!

So if your DD chooses Leicester I’m sure she’ll enjoy it, and come away with a well respected degree.

Thanks for replying. I will try and get through to college again tomorrow. The cost is a big thing with this. If we get all 3 remarked (at £55 a paper) that’s nearly £500 and like most people I don’t have that to spare. I really don’t know what to do. I mean do you get all three papers for each subject done? I don’t know how it works. I royally fucked up my A-Levels, ended up at a uni I hated and dropped out after a term!

Tabbytabs - wow, that's a huge investment but doesn't the school pay for it if they agree something is amiss in her results? If she had a really bad day and thought she had not done so well then probably not worth the remark but nowadays with all the information online available post exams, she may have quite a good idea of the marks she probably got and of grade boundaries and if she thinks that actually her results really don't mirror how she performed and the school agree, it's worth asking the school if they will send for a remark and then they bear the costs - they also gain if her results go up so although it's a cost I think schools do send a small percentage of papers through for re marks

I was googling re-marks recently as I have a DS getting his GCSE results next week who is borderline 8/9 on 2 subjects, borderline 7/8 on 5 subjects and borderline 6/7 on 2 subjects and as it's generally been 1-2 marks on either side of the grade boundary, I had been thinking if he gets the lower on all of these, is it worth asking for a remark on some ?? And I found this article which although 8 years old, was a really interesting read...
https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/aug/13/a-levels-gcses-examiner-exam-results-wrong

Forgot to add, the school are refunded if the results go up

Sorry meant to say, ds does already have a ucas application in. He applied for 2 courses in the same field as the apprenticeship but didn't get either so is able to do clearing I believe?

Yes he is able to do Clearing as long as isn't currently holding any uni offers. He can try phoning unis tomorrow and get an offer (& withdraw easily at a later date if he wants to).

This article is seriously out of date. Ofqual’s rules and guidance have changed since 2015, and exam boards are monitored much more closely. Examiner recruitment is now much more carefully managed, and examiner training and standardising is thorough. There are frequent checks built into the marking software to ensure examiners are meeting the standard set by the lead examiner for the whole marking period. Mistakes do sometimes occur, hence the option to ask for a review of marking, but the standard of examining is now much higher and much more consistent.

Senior examiners do not ‘re-mark’ papers, they only check that the marking is fair and without any clerical errors or mistakes in applying the mark scheme.

I’ll get onto college tomorrow. The fact that she’s been contacted by her chem teacher to suggest a remark would lead me to believe they might foot at least some of the bill. She was in such a state this morning that she didn’t want to go in to talk to anyone, she has a hard facade and wouldn’t want anyone to see her upset. Hopefully there will be someone there tomorrow.

Only a week until GCSEs 🙄

I’m another one with gcse safe in the knowledge that ds has not fulfilled potential and 4s will be a distant hope.

Luckily he’s chosen a trade so hard work practically should see him ok.

LoserWinner - thanks that's good to know. I was aware the article was quite old and was quite shocked by it! So was relieved to read your post

I am there for him but I'm also not prepared to spend an enormous amount of money for three years for him to go out partying which is ultimately where he is at currently.

He has his place for September 2024 but he will need to earn some money this year to contribute to it. If he can show that he is committed and it's something to strive towards then I will 100% support him.

I’ve only read half the thread… mine are only starting senior school.

My best friends youngest didn’t get his predicted grades so not his 1st/2nd choice.

I am northern Irish (45y) and I didn’t get my predicted grade in Chemistry. So I didn’t get into my assumed course in Dublin.

Was devastated. All my friends were going there. I got my back up place in Ireland (in Galway) but declined and took my ucas place in Scotland. I remember it was a rough week making life deciding decisions. I remember being a dick to my mother when she said ‘if it’s meant for you it will not pass you by’. I think I shouted at her and stormed away from the dinner table like it was her fault. I didn’t take my back up choice in Ireland, I went for my U.K. ucas choice because they ‘wanted me’.

When my friend was round at ours this evening I mentioned this memory as a ‘sliding doors’ episode: My kids were on my knee after I got home from work, work which I massively enjoy and make a difference, the sun was shining. Like most mums I have a busy, stressful, chaotic but rewarding life.

I didn’t get my first choice and instead I took up a place somewhere I’d never have previously considered. If I could go back in time I wouldn’t change a thing. My A level results (and not getting what I wanted) opened up my world. I went to Scotland, with no school mates, and it was a brilliant experience. Tough first year settling but I’d do it all again in a heart beat. It’s made me who I am.

@Tabbytabs I'm out of it now, but my old school would ask parents to pay for reviews of marking and then the school refunded if they were refunded by the board. It was only if the pupils were within 2 marks of the boundary that school would pay upfront.

You could request the scripts for school to look at and see if a review might be worth doing. It's free at most exam boards. If you're not in a rush, you can pay slightly less for a less urgent review of marking (not the priority one). Suggestions on here are to pick one paper at a time for review so reduce the risk of dropping a grade overall, which seems sensible.

Grades definitely can go down at reviews of marking even if the boundary is wide and you're near the top.

I do also agree that on the whole, the grade you get at A-level becomes less important once you start your next step (and have more conversation starters than where did you go to school and what A-level grades did you get?). Also check out the deadlines for the reviews of marking, especially the standard speed one, you might have some time to think about it.