Exam diet 2021.

[wingingitwithgin]

So we were told no National 5s or Highers last term.
My child has been continually assessed and tested week after week. Prelims in school before Christmas and online after Christmas.

Online learning better than 2020 but not great. No live lessons. Lots and lots of new material given but not taught.
Today announced exams to go ahead start of May as planned. Prelims disregarded as some done online so all prelims even school sat ones won't count.
Exam in May will determine grade. If pupil is self isolating /COVID they will use other evidence.

My child is burnt out by the switching of goalposts. Another month doing new material, no study leave then exams like normal (only the poor teachers marking them)

Ok this would seem fair if all schools doing this but their friends at 2 different high schools say they are just continuing with mini class tests like autumn term. Madness the difference in approach.

What are your schools doing?

@WeAllHaveWings My friend told me about her DC via texts and there were a couple of bits that didn't make sense. She is getting in touch with the school for more information. The DC had been doing well all year and a higher grade was expected. I wonder if the DC bombed in the exam and so has been awarded a lower grade.

As a parent I do find it a little confusing and contradictory. The headteacher wrote to all parents saying that evidence would be gathered from a number of sources, but when I looked at the SQA website indicated that for the subjects DS was doing evidence had to be gathered under exam conditions and had to be as close to the end of the course as possible. As the schools were closed between Jan and end March it seemed pretty obvious to me that more focus would have to be given to the end of year assessments than any other evidence, especially as the prelims were sat before Christmas. It is actually good for DS if the prelims can be ignored as he didn't do as well in them as he could have done. My confidence has been a little knocked by my friend's texts though so I'm a bit jittery about the results this afternoon.

Overall, I don't think communication from the schools or the SQA to parents has been great. Your posts have given me much more confidence in the marking system than anything I have received from the school.

Well I'm pretty nervous and trying to distract myself my yanking up geraniums in our flowerbeds which are encroaching on our other plants.

My DS should be home around 3.30pm with his result envelope (probably already opened).

He has high ambitions and has worked really, really hard so I hope he gets what he (hopefully) deserves.

I keep on pressing refresh on my inbox. They are to be sent out to parents and young people by email this afternoon. Nail biting.

That makes some sense. ds has one friend who has a C for his Higher Maths, expected/working grade was a B.

The teacher went through the final assessment with him to check as he needed a B and was a bit shocked with his C, he has seen where he went wrong and accepted he just didn't do well on the day.

Is the C grade fair? In normal years everything for maths is on the final assessment and it would be considered fair. In the context of this year it is a bit more subjective, especially if a school hasn't communicated clearly to the pupils how the grades will be determined for each subject and if previous work would be looked at too. In our school they were clear maths would be on final assessment sat in exam conditions unless there were exceptional circumstances.

Your school sounds much better at communication. I think better communication from our local schools could have reassured parents and young people or at least given them confidence in the marking system. Instead, people are given the impression that lots of different assessments from throughout the year can be taken into account and so will be disappointed if anything lower than the grades in the tracking reports are issued.

Great news! All A1s (5 Nat 5s and 2 Highers).

Pizza and ice cream tonight then. 😋

She passed them all! Can't believe it she has struggled so much and is def far from one of those straight A students Maths at C we are delighted am so glad this rollercoaster year is over thanks to all the teachers who have worked so hard and my absolute best wishes to all your kids too I hope they get what they have worked so hard for I'm off to lie down in a dark room for an month........

Great results @aurea , especially for his early Highers in S4 👍🏼

Congrats to your daughter, Poochie. That shows real resilience. I bet she's glad she can drop maths now!

Great news @poochiemaloochie 👍🏼. It is a bonus this year they (and we!) don't need to wait until August for the results and can now relax through the holidays knowing they've got them in the bag!

Phew. Great grades in line with tracking reports. I'm glad that's over.

Brilliant @applesandpears33 👍🏼⭐️. Welcome to that feeling of relief it is all over!

DD gets her results tomorrow. She has worked relentlessly all year. She has her heart set on Cambridge so she needs top grades. She’s already started on the Cambridge reading list for going into 6th year so no let up here. I hope and pray she gets what she needs to give herself a shot at her dream. Been through it all before with DS (but not in times of Covid) so we won’t get bent out of shape if things don’t go to plan but it would be nice if they did pan out lol.

Congrats Apples and Pears. It must be a huge relief.

Mother's tongue
Good luck for your daughter's grades tomorrow.
What is she hoping to study at Cambridge? (My elder son is studying law at Oxford).

@aurea - she hopes to read Human, Social & Political Sciences. Lots of work to do before October if she gets the much needed grades.

Mother's Tongue

Is she aware of essay prizes which are a good way to show interest in the subject? My son did a law one which gave him plenty to talk about in his personal statement.

Here is an example:

www.trin.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/essay-prizes/politics/

@aurea - yes, she has that in hand but thank you. Her brother did an Oxford essay competition a good few years back when he was applying and came 2nd. She is motivated to always get one up on her brother 😂 She’s also taken out membership of the National Library to get access to quite a lot of books that she couldn’t get at our local library that are on the reading list. She spent 5 hours there last Friday (as you can’t take books out) so she’s definitely keen 😁

Congrats to the Poochie, aurea and Apples offspring! Such a relief to know the results now. Wish it was the same every year (minus the atrocious run-up and global pandemic and all that!)

How are everyone’s kids? Mine is so run-down and out of sorts. He’s missed most of his last week and the last day and spent most of it in bed with a gastric upset and exhaustion.

He’s better today but I think some decent food, fresh air and a return to the gym is in order! It’s been a long, stressful haul and I don’t think it’s quite sunk in for him yet that it’s over, and he’s done so well.

I directly asked the school if they could let me know his Bands but they refused saying ‘they weren’t allowed until after the results were given out in August’. We’re in Glasgow so I don’t know whether different guidelines have been given? It’s frustrating in a way because he’s having a stab at Oxford and I think he needs to have a majority of Band 1s to stand a hope in hell of getting in. Mind you, in any other year we would have been none the wiser till August so I shouldn’t grumble really.

He has only been able to take 2 AHs because of timetable clashes when he wanted to take 3. But I think it’s worked out because he is taking 2 more Highers that are relevant to the degree he’s interested in. The requirement for the Oxford course says 3 AHs or, if that’s not possible, 2As at AH and an A in another Higher. I know it’s extremely competitive but he wants to try so we’re going into it with a healthy mix of hope and realism!

Lots to think about but now it’s time to relax for a bit. Anyone getting away on holiday? We were looking for a cheap caravan holiday somewhere but even they cost over over a thousand pounds for a week!! Might be lots of day trips instead.

The lack of consistency across the country is ridiculous.

Our kids got texts with bands yesterday.

This (and I mean the process across Scotland) has been the most MINGING way of sharing results, IMO. School has been a pit today. So public, there's nowhere to process them quietly, kids all comparing their grades in public... Grim.

What a way to end a terrible year.

Advanced Higher.

You'll be pleased to hear when my son applied to Oxford and got accepted in 2019 the university did not even request his bands. His offer for law was AAB at advanced higher in any subject, although essay subjects were preferable. He also needed higher English. He did Mods, RMPS and music AHs in sixth year.

He also had to sit a Law admissions test and of course the dreaded interview which weeds out a lot of candidates.

I think Cambridge looks at bands, but not Oxford.

DD very happy as she got the results she needs to be on track for Cambridge. So very relived and happy for her.

She received hers by email but after 4 pm so was able to stay relatively private. She’s not one to feel comfortable sharing grades

DS is very happy with the results. He is a bit flat though as the plans to meet up with friends have been cancelled as so many people in our area are isolating due to covid.

Ds is the same, it is all very flat just now, the last 3-4 weeks of sitting about waiting for results and his timetable change, then his s6 timetable has lots of study periods he needs to stay in school for but nothing to study yet, it has been soul destroying and he is just knackered.

He's not going in tomorrow for the last day before the holidays so hopefully with the weather picking up they'll manage to get out and about and do something outdoors.

when will normal exams return? I heard no exams in 2022 either?

www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/98198.html

There was an announcement on Wednesday and there are now details for each subject with details of the course modifications that will remain in place for 2021-2022 and also the ones that will change.

The announcement says they expect the "planning assumptions" for 2022 awarding of grades to be confirmed by SG when schools return in August.