A level results day 2024

[Happyface246]

How’s everyone else feeling about results day? I’ve got one at uni already and 2nd dd hoping to go to Kent in September. She seems ok about it at the moment although think that will change as it gets closer. Me I’m so keeping my fingers crossed she gets what she wants, I know there will always be other options but she loved the open day. Going to struggle with this one going though as it has been a real journey to get to where she is.

Congratulations to your son, @NettleTea - my cousin went to Falmouth, had an amazing time and is now doing really well in the film industry! Sounds like your son had a really sensible approach, and has the grades he needs to pursue his passion, which is the most impotent thing 😊

Important, not impotent 😬😂

Last year college asked to see DS's History papers as he was 1 mark off the next grade.

Once they'd seen the papers, they asked for a review.

We didn't see the papers though, just got feedback from college.

Thank you.

I think we will probably leave it unless the school actually suggest it as she has got her place at uni.

Gosh I find this so sad that you can feel a little flat with your sons grades when most parents would be over the moon with such an achievement.
I don’t think it proves he needs to work hard to get too results, I think he has already proved his hard work paid off.
Really feel for your son that he has done so amazing but deep down his mum feels flat with his brilliant grades.

I think people berating a parent for saying her ds is disappointed in his results are really not being fair.

Someone who is hoping for an A can be just as disappointed with a B as someone who is expecting a C and gets a D. It doesn't take away from the person who was predicted a C and is thrilled to find they got a B.
You can have good results and still be disappointed because you could have done better and it's rather insulting to an 18yo that they can't be disappointed when they hoped to do better.

I have today with full sincerity congratulated one friend's dc with her result of EEU I am honestly thrilled for her and know she's worked amazingly hard to get that.
I have also commiserated with the friend's dc who got A*AB. I also know she worked very hard to bring that B into an A and missed by 3 marks.

DC2 has recently graduated from a university which is renowned for insisting that the minimum entry grades are three As which all the home students had but some of the international students on the course had lower than this (including on or two with C).
Which university is going to turn down £25+ pa (DC said some didn't turn up to classes, not engaged with the course but somehow did okay - not sure if being able to buy essays had anything to do with it)

The process at DC’s school is that priority photocopy scripts are requested then reviewed against the mark scheme. Then the likelihood of getting to the next grade boundary is assessed after more than one teacher in the subject faculty has reviewed the marking and judged it to be harsh/missing marks/calculation error etc - if this is the case, a ‘remark’ is requested. It’s worth noting that a ‘remark’ is not actually another examiner starting from scratch, it’s a review of the assessment against the mark scheme to make sure it has been fairly applied and adhered to. DC’s school is rightly prioritising any students who have missed their offer over any student who is unhappy with their grade.

All the best to your DD as she embarks on her new chapter.

I agree. DS1 would have been devastated with BBB. DS2 will be relieved with BBB. It entirely depends on the child and what they were working towards

Not sure if this reply was to my post sorry if not please ignore otherwise.

I wasn’t referring to the OP son being disappointed about his grades, of course a student who didn’t get their predicted grade is going to be disappointed whatever the predicted grade was.
I was referring to the mum who said the day has turned out flat because he got an A instead of his predicted A* I totally understand the mum is disappointed for her son but my goodness with the grades he did get any parent should be over the moon that he got as close as he did to his grades. Just think it’s sad that instead of embracing her son’s success she was more focused on him not getting his predicted grade even though he still got his place at uni.

DS is disappointed with his grades. Teachers predicted 4As but ended up with AAAA. Didn't make it to Cambridge, Imperial or UCL. Got York on clearing. No meal last night!
Hope the new horizon, new sunshine will bring new hope for him.
Still sleeping in his bed.

Can anyone advise on what to say or do with the disappointment? Even though we are proud, not getting in on those grades has left everyone down.

You didn’t eat?

I’m sorry to hear that. Mine had a similar result and story but did make her offer for her first choice uni place. She certainly did better than I did back in the day! It’s awful when they get such Stellar results but don’t feel happy about a great performance. A number of her peers missed their first choice yesterday and because of the competitive nature of the course they had chosen missed their insurance too so she felt grateful she could at least get on yesterday. The eldest went to York and had a great time.

Let everyone down? That’s a very sad attitude. A young person not getting the grades they studied for and expected is a personal disappointment for them but it doesn’t need to be made worse by parents thinking they have let everyone down.

@Twiglets1 she said 'left' not 'let'. So people are feeling a bit sad which is a very different thing.

Student satisfaction levels are always very low at those ultra competitive London unis anyway. His grades are excellent and he will probably be happier at York. It’s a temporary blip in his life, that’s all, though obviously takes some adjusting to for him.

Her child’s grades have left everyone down makes no sense so presumably a typo.

If @tryingsomethingnew is feeling down she needs to hide it for the sake of her child’s mental health and show nothing but positivity about his achievements.

I think it’s okay for kids to feel a bit down when they don’t achieve what they hoped. It doesn’t matter that it exceeds what most people would have got and been thrilled with. It’s about personal expectations. It’s still raw and they will feel sad for a bit, but they will…and need to be encouraged to move on and look forward in the next few days. They have lots to look forward to.

Regarding parents or family and how they feel…..again, it’s okay to privately feel down when things don’t work out as you’d hoped. It’s okay to talk with your spouse about those feelings. And it’s okay to acknowledge how your child feels and avoid negating their valid feelings. But at the same time, as parent it’s important to be positive and give them a sense of you being proud of them and to look forward positively…because this helps them do it too.

I’d say that it’s less than 24 hours since results. In a few days (or less) everyone will feel better and this down feeling will pass. Know it as a short term response. Acknowledge it as valid but don’t feed it in your DC or yourself and know you can move forward and there is lots to look forward to. And remmeber all those threads where people say this happened to their DC and Path B turned out to be better. Hard to think ir see that now, but we all move forward and there is so much good to come.

I read it as left everyone feeling down, a bit deflated. It’s a different world to mine, but no less valid for that. Let’s please not turn this thread into one of those ‘you spend how much on food?’ type bun fights. People need to be able to be honest on here and not guard their words like they would if discussing this irl. We’ve all had a stressful few days, some are still not out of the woods.

Do a lot of schools over predict?

Dd was predicted AAB and that was only to help uni applications- school originally predicted ABB and she only got BBB in mocks. She worked very hard to bring the Bs up to As as her firm wanted AAB. She ended up getting A stars - she's thrilled but feels that she would have applied for the top uni for her course where the entry requirements were A star, AA, if she'd had any idea she would do so well.

80% of predictions are wrong. The vast majority are overly generous. Not that many exceed their predictions and certainly not across all subjects. But of course, in a cohort of hundreds of thousands, it does happen.

Clearing is often used for ‘trading up’ and lots of very good unis with competitive courses were in Clearing yesterday. The best have few places and they are one by 9 or 10am. But you’d have to be prepared and know what’s available and be on the phines quickly to get one. And I guess if the much better grades are a surprise, you just might not have prepped like that.

It’s not that common to get all A stars and to have not worked at that kind of level at all through the course. Did your DD see a big upwards trajectory in yr13? Did she go under the radar as a high achiever? What’s ere her GCSEs like?

It’s not a hugely common story…but it will happen to some each year.

I think a lot of schools predict “on a really good day with a fair wind”, that often translates - especially when borderline - to an A instead of a B for example. It can’t be easy for schools to do, as Y13 content can be quite different to Y12 - certainly my DCs EOY Y12 results were diametrically opposite to their winter Y13 results.

If your DD didn’t show her potential until Y13 then it is tough for schools to predict.

If your DD didn’t show her potential until Y13 then it is tough for schools to predict

Yes this is what happened. School were great can't really fault them. I guess she could always reapply if she feels the need but that has to come from her not me

You can still look at Clearing and see what else might be available for September. What course are you talking about?