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.

It does sound quite an anomaly, and worth them looking at the script. What sort of structure is the paper? With short questions, maybe he turned two pages at once, or two pages stuck to each other when the exam board was scanning them (although if it's write-on-the-paper style, that ought to get picked up). With essays, perhaps he just got the wrong end of the stick about what they were asking. I suppose the other possibility is that whatever came up was something the school has made a bad job of teaching - in which case THEY need to know.
How did he feel after he sat the paper? How did others do on that paper?

I spoke to DD’s college this morning about remarks (she is 4 marks from the higher grade in chem, her chem teacher emailed her suggesting a remark) and they are fucking useless. Couldn’t get through at all
yesterday, finally got through this morning. The woman I spoke to was an exam coordinator or some shit, she didn’t know anything except how to request a remark. She told me to get dd to contact head of science (who happens to be her chem teacher). Couldn’t get him on the phone, so she emailed him with questions and he’s sent her a generic cut and paste reply, not answering any of her questions at all. It’s been a shit show from start to finish (the head made her cry at her induction interview by asking her irrelevant questions about her absent father). Ds starts there in September and I have no confidence in them at all. Too late to do anything about it now 🙄

@Slambdunk Thank you so much for commenting and sharing that information. Receiving all the positive information jas made both me and my DD really relieved and excited about it.

@mrsconradfisher the school cannot refuse to ask for the script for the candidate. It belongs to the candidate, not to the centre.

Hmm I have been reading this thread and I am sorry but I just have to put my opinion out there. Universities exist to teach students. If there were no students paying admission fees there would be no universities. At the moment, the people bearing the brunt of the problems with this system are the students. Unis continue to behave as they did when education was free/ no tuition fees and I am sorry but really this has to change. there are no insurmountable reasons why application with grades cannot be introduced. @Katbum "....This interferes with fairly well established rhythms of working in both unis and schools...." so what? we have all in our jobs and businesses had to face change at some point. I bet the drop out rate would decrease if we went to this system and I also bet we would see many many more pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds getting places at the top institutions. The system should exist to the advantage of the people paying for it ie the students. I dont have an answer to the perfect system but surely there must be someone out there that does? what we have at the moment is so imperfect, so cruel and so devastating for far too many young people it has to be overhauled it really does.

Yes. But we can't get them reviewed without consent.

@aleC4 it took my son about 3-4 hours to get his place confirmed after adding it to his newly submitted ucas form but I guess all unis are different (my ds has a place at Aston).

@SlightlyJaded been thinking of you and hope MMU have now confirmed a place. Your DD and mine have been through a very similar ordeal but at least hers only too a few hours to confirm and we can now move on. I am sure MMU will come good in the end. Lots of friends of DD are considering it for clearing after a level disasters, so maybe they are just overstretched...

@aleC4 I meant to add that he had phoned Aston in advance and had a verbal offer before he added it to his UCAS application.

Nottingham Trent sounds great !

Thank you, I just can’t work out how DS can get them to ask for it when they won’t!

Will get him to email again, I’ve tried (and copied DS in) but they won’t reply to me.

Teaching students is one function of universities. The primary other one is research - research is arguably more important in the context of RG and Oxbridge institutions. If you change the rhythm of the year then you change it in a way that massively disadvantages the UK in the context of international research. This has a knock on effect on teaching. If the prof delivering an oncology class can’t go to the main research events in that field then the students aren’t getting cutting edge teaching. Yes, the admissions system is imperfect - no one feels that more than universities who have to wait on tenterhooks to see if and how their courses will recruit and take the hit when predictions are inaccurate and the long term financial implications of that (we are at my place getting lots of panicky emails about filling places or there might be jobs at risk right now). But Jan start is not going to work.

Copy in the head and the chair of governors. That might put a rocket up them.

@Katbum I do find your reply a bit astonishing actually. so who funds that research then? Universities primary funded function is the education of young people. I didnt say move to January I said come up with a different system. This one doesnt work for Uni employees either then! Someone must be able to come up with something better surely.

Thanks @Rhythmisadancer (great tune btw - I have grown to like the Bastille cover more than the Snap original!)

She is that anomaly you hear about. I know that lots of mums will be saying "did you hear about SlightlyDaughter?" in hushed tones, and I've had a few texts saying things like "Hope all went well for DD yesterday?" in that slightly fishing for news way.... Some mean well and my best friend has been super supportive and came round to buoy her up with tales of how crap her A levels were and how she turned it round etc... but there is definitely a feeling that she is being discussed.... She knows it and it's not helpful but she is soldiering on.

No progress on her UCAS clearing offer being updated. She has called them twice today to find out if there is a reason she got an email saying her offer was 'being considered' after being told she was being made an offer and no-one seems to know. Everyone just says 'keep waiting'. It's hard because she can't upload any other offers (not that she has any) but is losing motivation to keep scouring - I think she threw all her energy at it yesterday and just wants it to be over now. She has lost her voice today and feels utterly drained. They have emailed her to offer a date for a tour so that's hopeful, and I will book it for her because in a minute there won't be any accomodation and we really cannot afford to fall at that hurdle! I am doing what I can for her today - she keeps showing me friends posts of them celebrating last night and it's really fucking hard.

I completely agree that the whole process needs an overhaul. Applying with grades is infinitely more sensible and far less room for crashing disappointment. I also think if you are going to keep the current system, you could have three choices - your Firm, your Insurance and your Fuck Up. At least this way, people like DD would have something... You could still go into clearing but you wouldn't be starting from scratch.

I will keep everyone posted as you have all been so bloody kind.

Well many other countries globally manage it. The US and other countries select on their own assessments, interviews and own exams. Just selecting off grades achieved on one day is imperfect anyway. It doesn't take long to look at how other countries do it and find a better way for everyone.

DS1 looking at the US and other unis abroad and none of them want end of year results. After going through hell with DD I am keen he gets these unconditional offers so we don't have to go through this again!

@Travelban Thats terrible!
My daughter goes (went now I guess) to an independent school and when they got their results attached was a form to request a priority remark, a non priority remark or a copy of the paper. My daughter requested a copy of one of her papers and she had it emailed within two hours. So I can't understand why your college doesn't have a system in place - a remark or copy is hardly an unusual request!
As for the system - it won't really change until they stop this exam based system. If they marked coursework and had termly exams then there wouldn't be this huge build up. Then grades would be pretty much known, students could apply in the Autumn with several terms worth of marks and get confirmed offers in the Spring. They would have to finish out the year to get their final diploma - and as school in effect ends in May now we are only talking a few weeks max. I would further change the system to five chosen subjects, not three. This would give greater flexibility for future pathways. It certainly is not necessary to know one subject so deeply for most degrees. So no need to change the calendar. As for standardised testing - the termly tests can be that. It works in other countries so why not here? Yes it would mean needing more exam markers but surely creating jobs is not a bad thing?

Funding comes from different streams - not student fees, they fund teaching and learning activities in the main. Research funding comes from: Donations, core gov funding, competitive government research funding, corporate sponsorship, business partnerships, investment returns, profit from research products (selling use of IP for example), international collaborations etc. Any system is going to be stressful for students who underperform - but yes, could be different. Sort of amazes me that people who don’t really understand what unis do or how they operate are confident to give solutions that make no sense. But I guess that’s the internet!

It’s harder for her today because the adrenaline has gone, she’s exhausted and there isn’t anything positive she can do to help the situation.

I’d be really shocked if her offer didn’t go through though especially re the tour but it’s easy to say that if it isn’t you.

Honestly @Katbum I dont care what solution the academics come up with or how they work it because its your industry not mine and I never said I was an expert. just astounded really as others are that the education experts cant seem to come up with something better. This isnt about students under performing. its about schools feeling under pressure to give high indicative grades because if they dont then their pupils cant even apply for places, its about the whole uni visit circus at a time when they should be studying and learning. and now I know thanks to your post, that academics dont even like this as it can threaten their jobs as well. People with knowledge of the system in its entirety could surely devise something better than what we have.

I agree on that. Think it would need to be led by government though - not academics.

It annoys me to see that students who have missed their offers by a fraction are having to grovel to a university in the hope of getting the place - losing our on accommodation in the meantime. Our having to scramble do a clearing place again with little chance of accommodation.
Being offered expensive accommodation miles away.
Don't forget the students are paying a fecking fortune in tuition fees for a few hours contact time - that is when the lecturers are not on strike, working to rule out refusing to mark work so students cannot graduate get jobs or move on to further study.

I'm just popping in to say that ds finally got someone to look at his application properly. The problem was apparently because he had not come via a school or college. I mean that can't be that unusual. And it only took about 8 phone calls. But it is now all confirmed on UCAS.

Just as we were starting to look at accommodation for Sussex! And he was coming round to it.

I really don't think he will be well looked after where he is going but he is quite used to fighting his corner. And at least he knows that all admin will have to be completely locked down.

This was his firm offer by the way - he met the requirements but somehow their system wouldn't pick up his results.

Yay @stilldumdedumming and hopefully that wasn't a typical experience of the uni's approach to admin. It must be pretty unusual for a UK applicant who doesn't already have the grades in hand when applying (i.e. not a mature student) not to come through a school or college. Although you would certainly think not the first time they have ever encountered one!

@tribpot thank you. Yes I'm sure it's not representative although he has been working for a different uni in the same field and they were shocked and not that complimentary.

You're right it probably isn't very common. Perhaps I should have said it's not unique. He's hardly slept. I'm going to pick him up from the station as he set off at 4 this morning to get to Sussex open day.

Big Phew!!!!

Strength to any that are still going. My instinct is that the pace might slow a bit in clearing now as it settles a little.

Ps I agree it needs an overhaul. It can't do anyone any good.