Ds didn't see 5 questions on maths paper 1 and has missed his A by 7 marks. What would you do?

[AguaSinGas]

Ds thought he'd reached the end of the paper at Q10. There were 5 more questions. I contacted school as soon as he got home (he realised when he overheard students in the bus talking about questions he hadn't seen). School checked immediately that he didn't have a faulty paper. He didn't.

We knew his A star was lost, but remained hopeful for a A (based on conversations with his maths department who said that even if the grade boundary shifted upwards by 5 points, which was their feeling it could do, he could scrape the A. The boundary went up by 10 points. Had their boundary prediction been correct, he would have indeed just scraped the A)

He has lost his uni place as the A in maths was a hard line.

He got 3As. And a B in maths.

His marks per paper breakdown are:
Paper 1: 55/100
Paper 2: 65/100
Paper 3 69/100

Raw score 189, A boundary 196.

He can: apply to see his scripts. Or ask for a review. Or move on.

He's spoken to the uni, who have said no based on the B. He wants to retake the maths and reapply for 2024.

But we've been discussing whether we should get the scripts and just see if those 7 marks could be found in a review. We know 7 marks is a lot to find in a review.

We found out on results day that the school applied for special consideration but it was rejected by the exam board. We didn't know they'd done that.

What would you do?

Hello! Anyone fancy an update? I thought now might be a good time, just a bit ahead of A level results day.

Ds loved Liverpool! He's had his first year results and his overall mark is high. He's made fantastic friends. Enjoyed the independence of living alone. Generally thrived. And is head over heels in love with the city.

BUT he is leaving uni. He has been offered a job that pays seriously well and totally captivates him academically.

So another curveball, another year with another change of plans! Not much more to report than that but I thought those of you that remembered the thread might like the update.

Glad everything seems to have to have turned out so well. The job sounds exciting and avoids lots of debt. Well done him. X

I am glad he is making good choices, OP. That’s the whole point. Best wishes to him

Does taking the job without a degree limit his career prospects? My cousin did that; incredibly bright, so got headhunted and left uni. But in his field, there is a ceiling if you don’t have a degree and he reached it.

He’s mid thirties and back studying.

I wondered this also. It is true in dome fields but not others. If it is , hitting the ceiling is likely to be a great motivation to resume studies later and make a great success of it.

Many firms will offer financial support, integrate study and employment, etc

Maybe. Maybe not. But my son is 20 now and this is his decision. And I think he knows enough about the world to make this decision.

One of the the things I now know is that surprises and changes of plans are par for the course with this one, so next year's update may be different again!

Well I came on here to say how on earth do you miss 1/3 of an A-level maths paper? Isn't that like 15 pages worth or something and don't papers have the same number of questions every year so you'd know from doing practise ones what to expect?

Anyway I now see that that is all completely irrelevant!

Personally I think taking the job is a great idea, no debt and who really cares about degrees these days? They're 10 a penny now and we're constantly hearing how impossible it is to get a job after. Once you've got enough years experience I'm amazed anyone cares if you have one or not. DS is doing a degree apprenticeship and loves his work but hates most of the university part of it. So much of it is pointless and not really relevant. He is learning so much more from working with other professionals as part of a team.

Your son is just being young - trying everything to work out where he wants to go and what he wants to do - sounds perfect to me. He's clearly a go getter (far more than mine!) and that will take him far I'm sure.

Well done to your son OP 👏🏼 sounds like you've raised a super bright and very resilient young man who will go far in life

I have a kid going into his exam years; is this something that’s really easy to do? I’m starting to worry. I thought exam papers had the number of questions in the paper on the front, but I can’t remember!

@Sue152 that's what I said to him....why would THIS paper have only 10 questions when every other paper you've done has 15?

@BeltaLodaLife not especially, but my son had never sat a formal exam before because of covid years and I think those first exam jitters got the better of him. But it's worth mentioning to kids taking exams that you absolutely should check every single page. Just part of exam technique.

He hasnt done it since, because even his grandma will text him ahead if an exam to check all the pages now. Its a running joke!

Thanks for all the love folks. He is indeed a brilliant kid. Still hasn't learned to drive tho...

Another update this time next year please 😁

I LOVE an update! Good luck to your son - what a few years he’s had! (And you) Sometimes life takes a circuitous route and it feels scary and/or ‘wrong’ but it’s good to step back sometimes and hold on to a belief that what’s for you, won’t go by you 😊

Great update OP. My DS made the same mistake with a GCSE paper in his top subject, missed a 25 marker on the back page. We hope it means he won’t have done the same with A levels this year…look forward to your 2026 update!

I really liked this thread. Obviously that year was tough but I'm very glad your son is happy and it's worked out.
Ds is waiting on his results in august, everything is in place for uni just need the grades.
I'm worried because although he's super bright he's also super lazy and the fact he gets good grades with minimal effort makes it worse

But I tell him that although you get out what you put in, grades don't define anyone's worth and there's always a way in life and if it doesn't go his way on results day that one day will not determine is whole life.
I'm a bloody bag of nerves though

Brilliant update and good to show other parents/students that life isn't over if things don't necessarily go the way you thought they would. Well done to your son. I hope he loves the next stage of his life and honestly an update in a year would be lovely to read.