Scottish Exam Results 2020

[Lidlfix]

After hearing DD3's deep sigh and worried voice observe "this time in four weeks..." I feel it's acceptable to begin the 2020 thread.

Over the years Scotsnet regulars and visitors have given great support, advice and even (tales of blissfully unaware snoring DC) light hearted relief to each other over the years.

This year has been particularly fearful for us and our DC and I know how much I have appreciated results threads in previous years. As there are plenty of threads with political discussions and chances for posters to express concerns about what politicians/councils/ schools/ teachers are or aren't doing, can I gently ask that we keep this to topic?

I have DD3 waiting on 1 AH and 2 Highers for a conditional offer and DD4 waiting on 5 Highers - results depending she'd like to apply for Law for the end of S6.

Great idea Lidl

I’m waiting on 8 x Nat 5 results for my DS.

I’ve kind of put it all out of my mind as they’re not going to impact as much as Higher/AH results. My son thinks it’s all a complete and utter nonsense and says he doesn’t even want to look at the results as they are ‘meaningless’

The biggest impact will be on the individual relationships with teachers if he’s marked down (although I know SQA will adjust the Grades submitted)

I’m sure many teachers won’t be looking forward to going back and hearing pupils saying ‘why did you give me a B or a C?’ I know for a fact that my son will ask straight out ‘what mark did YOU put forward for me?’

Are teachers being given any guidance on how to respond? I suppose it very much depends on how the SQA adjust the estimated grades submitted.

And then his teachers have to get a whole raft of kids ready for Highers who have a) not had the consolidated learning experience of the full Nat 5 curriculum and b) have not been in a school environment for 5 months.

Good luck with that 😄

My DD2 is waiting for results in 2AH, 1H and a nat 5, for a conditional offer for uni (needs a B in her crash higher physics to study engineering).

On a positive this year, she’s really chilled at the moment as she did really well in prelims and throughout the year which is completely different from last year when waiting for higher results. We found S5 really very pressurised.

I think this S6 year she has grown up so much, it has given the breathing space she needed and the current situation we all find ourselves in has made her put things into perspective.

Best of luck to all dc.

Thank you @Lidlfix for the new thread, I was just thinking about this today too.
Dd waiting on 3 AH results and is lucky to have an unconditional place for uni. She performed very strongly in her prelims and course work throughout the year and his hoping this pays of as she would like to go directly into 2nd year results permitting( she needs 2 As and will be studying maths.
Keeping my fingers crossed for students whose grades will determine university places.
It's going to be a very odd results day and going forward I think pupils will never be complacent about prelims ever again.

Last SQA results day in our house. DD with 2AH and 1H. She has an unconditional and wasn't bothered but some IB students in her uni chat group got much less than predicted so a bit anxious. Wishing she'd done less hours over the Christmas holidays in her fast food job and more studying for maths prelim. Would have liked to see what the AH results are like in DDs school to manage DDs expectation.

Notoutyet - no idea. It is a concern of many us how we are to respond to the question. The fact is that teachers provided a number which was then put into the mix with ranking, prior achievements of the pupil (if there was any) and prior results of the school and the number crunchers set to work. We didn't award the grade SQA did.

I hope, and I genuinely don't believe I being naive, that based on marked/fed back upon. Classwork, prelims my comments on drafts that my pupils shouldn't be surprised or upset if I am permitted to share my estimates with them. I am confident there will be a raft of FOI requests but as we can only provide data regarding the person to whom it pertains then it's pretty useless. Unless your DS felt reassured that his teacher judged him capable of a High A rather than one nearer a B for example.

We might not be allowed to give the pupils the figures directly as it would eat into a huge chunk of time in the vital early weeks. I know in the past requests for component breakdowns had to come in writing from the parent and our PT replied. Sometimes the written requests never appeared as it had just been a quickly forgotten moment of curiosity from the pupil.

I had hoped schools would get results of adjustment a few days before pupils so they could prepare for the raft of questions but I see that this won't be the case. I think my sister said her DS2s school will reveal their prediction but not rank. You would need a FOI for rank within grade.

@lidlfix
Do you know if SQA take into account a pupil's Nat5 grade when determining the Higher award. I've a child who is worrying he'll be marked badly in English despite predicting a B (report card) and getting A at Nat5. He passed the prelim but one of his pieces was only 50%.

As far as I am aware they are. The expected trajectory for A at Nat 5 candidate would suggest that an A or B pass would be within their grasp. One piece at 50% on its own would not be enough to pull him down and we did take into account the improvement that naturally takes place.

My 2 have exactly the same worries - poor wee souls.

Ds is waiting for 8 NAT5 results and appears not worried at all which is good, but I'm sure that will change as the date gets closer.

He had a SQA envelope this week with a pass for the module they did (Personal Finance). He said they did nothing in the class for the whole year as they never had a teacher!!!!!

Thanks @Lidlfix

I'm reasonably comfortable about his other subjects; going on what I see at parent's night, he sits well in his class.

Waiting on 5 highers for DD. She messed up her prelims and is looking to study medicine 😔

5 x Highers awaited here. This may or may not be DS last results day. He thinks advanced Highers might not be practical now given so much time off. Usually they have covered a lot by now but they have literally done nothing :(

Waiting for Highers here. Started work on AHs and a fair amount of reading for over the summer.

DD4 has done next to nothing for the AH she has picked, despite her teacher posting plenty of work and my friend giving her suggestions. She's not (mentally and emotionally) been a place where she could . Many seniors will have been similar and teachers know this.

But depending on what the 4th brings she might have to completely recourse - which happens every year anyway. We'll know soon enough

your friendly local careers adviser here to offer advice and support and hand holding - just give me a tag if needed. And don't forget the exam results helpline will still be around in August. And lastly, don't forget apprenticeships (including graduate apprenticeships) as an alternative route. Good luck to all your weans!

Awh thanks Sassanach - I'm sure your wisdom will be needed and appreciated.

I was thinking about this the other day but don't have DC at school anymore so didn't think it was my place to start a thread, so well done Lidl. I'm just here to wish all the MN Scotsnet DC the best, especially in this unusual year, and hope that they all get what they need and deserve. Fingers crossed for some great outcomes!

I know in the past requests for component breakdowns had to come in writing from the parent and our PT replied

I've had mixed results with this having been regularly told that the pupil had to ask the teachers directly. It's only when I've pointed out that DS1 would never actually go and speak to a teacher unprompted and that they had promised him support with this type of thing that never materialised that resulted in the breakdown being given. But must not moan

waxonfeckoff I was thinking about this the other day but don't have DC at school anymore so didn't think it was my place to start a thread, so well done Lidl
Likewise! Because I work in a school (support) I'm always interested to see how this goes every year

Sainsburyshopper this is my penultimate SQA year I have had one or more DD awaiting results every year since DD1 sat her Standard Grades (proper retro) in 2013

Waiting on 2 AH and 1 higher for Dd2 here. She’s hoping to study pharmacy at Strathclyde and they don’t give unconditionals for that course. She got 5 A’s at higher and needs 2 B’s at AH. I hope she makes her offer, she’s booked her room and made some friends online. The alternative is an unconditional for RGU which would let her study pharmacy but will be a mad dash for accommodation (and is too far away for my liking

I’m crossing everything for them all. It’s been such a disappointing end to school life for the 6th years. No leavers ceremony, no prom, no 6th year holiday, the list goes on.

Fingers crossed Hairy but just wanted to say that DS2 is at Aberdeen and really loves it up there. It's in between the size of our current city and a big city so he feels as if he's expanded his horizons but isn't overwhelmed. We only booked his accommodation after results day and he got what he asked for though obviously it's not the same uni as your daughter. He has booked private halls for 2nd year as a half way between uni campus and private flat. I think availability should be OK as there are probably less international students this year plus a lot of people are looking to defer.

Thanks Wax I think my hesitation is that RGU seems to be quite a bit out of the city centre so the dilemma is to stay on or near campus and be 30 mins on a bus for decent nightlife/shops or stay in the city (which she’s probably prefer) and spend over an hour a day travelling to and from uni. She’s got a few medical issues and knowing she’s only 30 mins away in Glasgow makes me feel better than over 3 hours to reach her in Aberdeen. (I know I’m being overprotective )

That’s good to know that should she not make her results, last min accommodation should be ok. Any recommendations?

@hairypotter Aberdeen is quite small city and you can probably walk from the City Centre to RGU in about 30 minutes. A friend of dds lives in central Aberdeen and attends RGU.

Yes, think AU's halls which are north of University still only resulted in a 30 min walk or jump on the bus which has a stop within the student Village. DSs new accommodation is slightly closer to the City and the Uni. Personally I think I'd rather be nearer the uni than town as you may have gaps between lectures etc which would mean you can pop home for a bit whereas you are less likely to go into the city every day and certainly not more than once a day - but hey, what does an old fuddy duddy like me know?

Later years there tends to be less classes from what I can see so being closer to the city might be easier.

DS has chosen Trinity court via ardmuir for 2nd year as it seemed reasonable and is handy for him. Wouldn't be good for RGU though I don't think. From what limited interaction we've had so far, Ardmuir seem like reasonable folk, think it's a family owned group.