Should we request an AQA remark when university place is secured

[HazelHedgehog]

My son has got his A levels results and onto his first choice course. One subject is one mark from the higher grade, aqa is the board. Should it get it re marked? Is it even relevant when he is on the degree course.

Nope once he is there no one takes any notice of exam grades - just need to aim for that first and just put a level subjects on the job applications

Thank you,that's exactly what he has said.

Personally I would go for a remark as nothing to lose. DD had a remark on a GCSE as one of the module marks was massively out of kilter. It went from a 4 to an 8 and moved her overall from a 7 to a 8. Did she ‘need’ it? No, but it was so nice to have her work recognised.

Nothing to lose - except £150 review of marking fees.

No. Today is the last day that those A level grades will be of any importance at all.

Rejoice, relax, look forward. Well done to your young person.

It is possible that the mark can go down. A friend of DD did that for two papers one went up and one went down - the going up paper would have clinched the grade

My DN is in same position - 1 mark off an A star but he got into his course so it really doesn’t matter.

DSs school requested a remark for one of his - he was predicted A, and missed it by 3 marks; he wasn't bothered at all as he had his place at his first choice anyway, but they felt he deserved the A (his other results were A star, A star, B; and of course it would look better for them!) so they asked his permission to do it - they paid. He gained 2 marks so still 1 off in the end! It made no difference to him at all as he already had the place.

My dd did.
You can request papers and they can see if they think there is a mark to be had. You can do a paper at a time. You pay a fee but get it back if mark goes up.
My DD’s went to A star.
It in turn got her a scholarship worth £4000 at uni.
I think if she hadn’t she may have regretted it.
I personally am of view you never know for future. While it didn’t matter for uni course it may make difference in ultra competitive job market for vacation schemes or graduate schemes (law training contracts for example often stipulate min A levels)

We’re in the same situation. Dd got the grades to get to her first choice uni but one subject is 3 marks away from an A. We’ll probably get them remarked because if we don’t we’ll always wonder about it

Grad schemes can have minimum A-level (or equivalent) requirements so I would.

I may ask for the papers/script back and see what the school think after that.

Except the grade can go down…..

You’ve got nothing to lose by looking. Even basics like checking added up correctly.
My dd was willing to look at her papers and it was an essay subject and she could see a few questions where there was potentially a mark or two to be had.
I think she was 2 or 3 marks above boundary after remark.

If you do one paper at a time and only 1 mark off next grade you are not going to drop 20 marks or whatever to go below boundary below.

No why pay to get remarked? Today is the only day in his life that A’level results matter

Request the paper back (free) and look over the paper to see if you think it’s been under marked. You can (very nicely) ask his teacher to have a look at it but please note that we are still on holiday and we don’t have to do it. If you think it may have been under marked on one of the papers, request a re- mark. However, be aware that if the marking is in tolerance they won’t change the mark anyway.

Also, you don’t have to get all 3 papers remarked.

Yes we're doing the same. Just because really. Unless it really is £150! I thought they were £30 or something

I would. It's all well and good people saying the A-level results don't matter, but who knows what will matter down the line? I don't think it's beyond possibility that this could come back to haunt him.

I'm surprised at the comments saying A levels don't matter once you've got into uni. Surely when applying for placement years and graduate jobs (before you've got the degree) they are all the employers have to go on.

Also we are hearing how AI is now screening out candidates based on A-level results so the impact could be lifelong, whether you are applying for a finance job that determines the cut off at AAA or a supermarket area manager job that defines the cut-off at CCC. Being the wrong side of the cut-off, through a borderline grade result, could have real impact.

I absolutely would get it remarked for one grade (funds permitting). As you are in no rush, submit the papers for remarking one by one (so you can put the brakes on if the marks go down and edge you towards the lower boundary). Take a look at the scripts to see which paper your YP feels might have been marked harshly - my DS did this for his English Lang GCSE and was immediately able to say 'I should have got a higher mark for this question' and when we got the paper back, it was that question that got him the three extra marks needed and the higher grade.

Yes - DC was in this position three years ago, we didn’t go for a remark as they had got the university place they wanted. However after a terrible first year at university (illness etc) they narrowly missed the grade to continue into second year and was kicked out, meaning they had to reapply for a new University to start again and that missed grade then mattered.

(Now recovered and doing very well at 2nd uni though!)

What you can do in the first instance is apply (via school exams office) to access the papers, study them - maybe email them to your subject teacher for their opinion - and see if you can catch places where marks might have been missed. If you do, request a review of marking for only the relevant papers. That way you optimise your chances of crossing that grade boundary and avoid the danger of losing marks. The marking review isn't a priority (i.e. no uni place hinging on the outcome) so you'll have till approx mid September to request it.

@HazelHedgehog Just be aware that the paper(s) won't be remarked, the marking will be reviewed.

It's a small but significant difference. The review will be to make sure that the marking is fair and the mark scheme properly applied so even if the reviewer personally would have given extra marks, if the mark is justified it doesn't change.

Lots of people don't understand this and are frustrated when they see 'missed' marks, especially if the marking is done in bands meaning the 'missed' marks wouldn't change the marking band.

This isn't to say don't ask for a review of marking but do ask for the papers first and look at them before you spend any money, also like a PP says you can submit 1 paper only or 1 at a time to avoid 1 going up and 1 going down and cancelling each other out. You'll get lots of stories of huge grade changes but in my (15 years) experience the vast majority stay the same and that's after papers being requested and looked at by staff.

We are doing this as advised by DD’s school as was 1 mark off the next grade (b) - it doesn’t affect her place at all but the school suggested it and pay for it, so why not? If you can afford it I would. Those saying it doesn’t matter, it actually really can matter later down the line so for the sake of a few quid (if you can afford it) then I would.

Well what if it’s borderline between the level he’s been given and the level below? That may mean he’s no longer eligible for his place at university