Exams 2024 appeals

[HGC2]

Lots going on in the original exam thread but thought I’d start one only for appeals as I’m curious how many of our DCs will be successful.

Mine submitted one for chemistry today, took 2 minutes online

My two have always done pretty shite in prelims so they would have been no good for appeals but it did give them the necessary frights to up their games for exams.

I do wish they would go back to a proper appeal process that considers prelims and other work. It’s ridiculous that so much can ride on a couple of hours, and so very unlike any real-world situation. It brings in a element of luck that shouldn’t really be there.

In his Highers DS had a medical issue during one exam. It was enough to take him from an A to a B. That meant he didn’t get his university offer that he had been working towards since 3rd year.

In advanced Highers this year he got all As again (as he did at N5) so that one B, with no room to appeal, was enough to have a big effect.

Did he not get a conditional offer based on performance in his AH?

my eldest got 5 As at higher and still had to meet conditions for his uni offer from s6.

Sorry to add I do agree with you re appeals. New system is stupid. I’m just surprised that having 4 As and a B would have that kind of impact.

No, a rejection, but very late so I have to assume they were considering him. (I understand most unis send out the most clear yes/no responses first, and then keep the borderline ones for later “waves” of offers as they work through the mix of candidate/fees.)

I did suggest that he contact admissions again when the AH results came through this year, but his head wasn’t in the right space for it and it’s totally his choice.

He’s still going to a lovely uni, but I know he still feels resentful of that B! If appeals took into account prelims then he would have got it as all previous work had been near perfect.

ETA his friend who applied to the same course and uni got a conditional with five As at Higher (and then got BBC at AH).

But he got a B, which is a pass? That's fantastic!

Och that’s a shame, really one B in the grand scheme if things shouldn’t have an impact if they can make offers from s6 with conditions, their loss, I’m sure he’ll flourish where he’s going 🤩

Goodness knows how unis decide their admissions, Edinburgh took months to get back to my son and it was an unconditional, Glasgow got back much quicker but he still needed the AH… I’m sure it was all easier in my day 😅

Across 16 qualifications he got 15 A and 1B. The B was because of one bad day caused by a medical issue. The B was enough to cost him the uni place he had his heart set on.

Absolutely a 1st world problem, but highlights that the appeals process is not really fit for purpose.

And maybe also the Uni admissions processes…

I am sure your DS will succeed all the same. At least he got lots of fantastic passes through school and that's the main thing. A B isn't a big deal, it's still a pass at the end of the day😊

Sometimes it's useful to have setbacks in life as children need that growing up as that is ultimately real life. Things will not always go their way.

If my youngest manages to get even one B (or even a C!) at higher I’ll be cartwheeling down the street 😅

Yes, a good point! Although I suspect he might have had some success if he’s contacted admissions with the AH results, but he was nervous about how he’d cope with another rejection.

Anyway, he’s happy enough with where he is going now, so this isn’t really about him. But as a result of seeing what happened I do feel very strongly about the appeals process.

DS has learned from his H Chemistry result now that using a scribe more than likely would have got him a C. But he chose that path and will now need to live with that on his certificate. It's highly unlikely the appeal will succeed but it doesn't cost anything so nothing lost there. Children do need to see that life does throw setbacks in their path occasionally, they just need to learn resilience to cope with what gets thrown at them.

Yep, exams are not suitable for all children. Some fare better with assessments. Your youngest will succeed too in their own way in their own time.

I see that if you submit an appeal, schools cannot submit extenuating circumstances too. It's either or according to the SQA website @motheronthedancefloor .

I am not at this stage, but reading the previous posts, it really looks like SQA are trying to avoid any scrutiny of their work by any means possible!

Any organisation confident in its people and processes would not throw so many hurdles in the way of proper oversight.

Proper appeals should be brought back, but mostly I think the SQA should be abolished. The only concern I have about this is the cost and that the replacement may be no better.

there are posters on X literally claiming that the reason Higher History pass marks are so low is because WestMonster doesn't want scottish kids to know their Scottish History.

In his Highers DS had a medical issue during one exam.

Did his school not submit a EECCS appeal on the day of his exam?

https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/109851.html

That's a really good point , hope so @namenamification for your DS's sake.

Too late for this year but the school could put your son in for transcription after the exam. School staff ( not their own teacher) would type up the responses afterwards. Your son is not allowed to be present so not everything is always decipherable but it means that time is taken to get it to a readable standard before it gets submitted to the markers.

No, they said because he saw a teacher in the break, rather than the invigilator in the exam, there was nothing they could do.

But in any case, this was 2023 exams not 2024. I was just commenting with my view on the appeals process 🙂

We were going to appeal but apparently DS got 11/30 for the assignment. He got an A for the exam but a B overall.

Absolutely gutted for him as he had been an A student all year. Just don't know how that could have happened that he failed a class assignment.

I mean a B is still a fantastic result but to fail a class assignment?! Not sure if there's anything we can do.

Your poor DC.
I'm worried that my daughter's D&M Higher folio wasn't sent away properly, as she got a B after consistently getting As. There's no way to prove it.
Her Higher teacher, the technology PT, never really liked my daughter. Her N5 teacher took us aside at parents night to say not to listen to her feedback as my daughter was the best pupil they'd had in that subject for years and her Higher teacher just felt 'threatened.' He told us he was leaving for another job as a principal teacher in another school due to disliking this other teacher.
I'm sorry to deviate, but in our case, I do wonder if it's more the teacher or the school than the pupil who is to blame!