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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Is there a hand holding thread for Y11 parents and GCSE results yet?

439 replies

fatowl · 13/08/2014 15:48

DD is waiting on GCSE results next Thursday.

She is bouncing around being a teen on Summer holidays (she is off in Ireland for a week with her friend's family)

I am beginning to feel a bit sick.

She is hoping to stay at school and do A-levels, but now the results are getting closer I'm a bit concerned we don't have a back up plan.

How are the rest of you doing?

OP posts:
TalkinPeace · 21/08/2014 14:52

DDs English Language Mark is 239 ~ the A grade boundary is 240 Sad
might ask for the remark even if the cohort do not go through

Ohwhatfuckeryisthis · 21/08/2014 14:57

Fuck it to hell. (And I know this sounds like stealth boast but it's not) dd got a 2 as, 4 bs and a c. She is in bits. And will be worse when she sees all the a s her friends have got. I want to tell her 3 months down the line it won't matter.

Toooldtobearsed · 21/08/2014 14:59

Forgossake I know how you feel. I suffered terrible guilt, convinced I should have done more, but, with the benefit of hindsight, I could not have done anything more than I did. It really is down to them.
DS2 was naturally v. Bright. Sailed through school, 6th form and Uni. Very, very proud of him, but I just have so much respect and pride in DS 1 for what he has gone on to achieve.
Also, in all honesty, had DS 1 pulled it out of the bag originally, I know he would have failed at Uni - time would have been spent partying and not much more.
Just as babies and toddlers develop at different rates, so do adolescents. It really pisses me off that they are basically written off at 16/18.

Sorry - essay over Blush

Solo · 21/08/2014 15:11

But it's strange then that the parents that paid had a positive result, but those that didn't had a negative result. Strange coincidence.

Greengrow · 21/08/2014 15:21

My son had a geography result (C) remarked and it came out as B ( a few years back). The C was very surprising and even a B wasn't very good for him. So sometimes remarking can be worth going for if the school and you and the child are surprised by the grade and it is different from most other grades. I have marked A level papers for extra money and although you do your level best to produce fair marks as it is so important it is never an exact science.

The hardest thing I found was to mark those papers you can hardly read because the writing is so terrible (my own handwriting was always terrible at school so bad I learned to touch type at 15 and am faster at typing than any secretary I have ever had) no worse than those where the script is easy to read, copperplate perfect handwriting. Of course you try not to let that get in the way but it is difficult if you can hardly make out the words.

damepeanutbutter · 21/08/2014 15:30

Solo - the exam boards do not mark for free. There is a standard fee across the country. So someone has to pay, either the parents or the school. The exam boards return the money if they remark shows the original marking was way off. All remarks are paid for. The exam board will not care who pays for it. But they will not remark for free otherwise they would be inundated with remarking requests and they could not pay their examiners doing the remarking.

Sallystyle · 21/08/2014 15:44

My boy only had two this year and does the rest this year. In his school they do them in year 10 as well.

He got two C's. He was predicted B grades so he was a little disappointed.

Can I just say that this was the boy who was so delayed that his consultant said he would need help with the basic things as an adult, she also thought he would never get to even take exams at one point.

So this is a huge achievement!!!!

FreakinScaryCaaw · 21/08/2014 15:54

U2 that's fantastic Smile

DS1 just got his results today and was pretty happy. He got 4 A* and a few As but the B in science has narked him a bit as he now wants to do A level chemistry and biology. He got A physics B chemistry and C in biology. I just hope they let him take it for A level? He'll find out tomorrow.

He wants to work in mental health (like myself) and aims for psychiatry but I've told him even if he can get to be mental health nurse it'll be a great career, so rewarding.

FreakinScaryCaaw · 21/08/2014 15:55

a mental health nurse.

smokepole · 21/08/2014 15:56

My grandchildren rock. My DD1 stayed at a secondary modern , despite my determined efforts to get her in to a 'grammar/private school at year 9/12.
Like your son she did very well at GCSE and has gone on to get ABB at A level from the school. The school in effect made her the 'head girl' and made her feel very special. Is your son going to the grammar , or is he staying on at the secondary .?

FreakinScaryCaaw · 21/08/2014 16:01

Sorry smokepole was that to me? DS1 is going to the college joining his secondary.

FreakinScaryCaaw · 21/08/2014 16:03

I've just found out my niece's daughter got 4 A* 4 As and 2 Bs, despite years of bullying. One in the eye for the haters Wink She's a bit of a goth and stuck out like a sore thumb at school. Unique and amazing, am so proud.

mygrandchildrenrock · 21/08/2014 16:07

smokepole that's really good about your DD, my DS has to change schools, his doesn't have an academic sixth form so he is going to a local Grammar school sixth form. We had to go there today with his results and the Headteacher was pleased to see him with his results!

Molio · 21/08/2014 16:12

Solo it's simply not credible that an exam board marked more favourably where parents paid and less favourably where the school paid. Are you sure the story isn't apocryphal? It just isn't how it works, even if marking does sometimes seem an inexact science.

Phaedra11 · 21/08/2014 16:13

Well done everyone! If your DC got the results they wanted, I hope they are now enjoying their moment.

If things went awry, hugs - and all the best with any new directions that now need planning.

DS1 is feeling a bit meh as he didn't meet all his predicted (and hoped for) grades. Still good results though, and they more than satisfy the requirements of the Sixth Form College.

Agggghast · 21/08/2014 16:36

Remarks are submitted by the school through their account so it would be impossible for the exam board to know if parents had paid the school.

Hope everyone is relaxing now.

As others have said even GCSE grades you don't expect can open paths.

CatherineofMumbles · 21/08/2014 16:46

Great tweet today from Richard Branson, prob not original - alphahet goes form A-Z, not A-C...

KittiesInsane · 21/08/2014 16:47

Has anyone gone for a re-mark or even just sight of the paper to see what the hell went on?

DS did fine generally, but both his dance and his drama written papers are grade D. His performance grades are A*, so overall he has A for drama and B for dance.

That gets him into the academic 6th form locally to do drama A-level, but if he's really so much better at controlled assessment than exams, he might be better off going to college for their drama BTEC.

PurpleAlert · 21/08/2014 16:48

DD2 only took one this year- English lang. Was getting A in her mocks got A in her course work ( and speaking and listening which has now been removed grr) but only got a low C in her exam meaning a B overall.

She is at a grammar school where everyone gets a large proportion of Top grades.

She can't retake it as would have to do all the course work again.

Wondering if it's worth a remark as it's so far below what she usually achieves.

Greengrow · 21/08/2014 16:48

Well Branson went to a private school which seems to have done him no harm.

Dunlurking · 21/08/2014 16:53

KittiesInsane we're probably going to ask for a remark of drama written. Ds also got A for performance but C for written so missed his predicted A. His is the highest mark for the written than we have discovered amongst his classmates. 2 brilliant classmates in same position. He is going to carry on with A level but it has knocked his confidence. We will wait for start of term to ask his drama teacher first. I'm sure she will be disappointed as well.

KittiesInsane · 21/08/2014 17:05

Interesting -- is that AQA?

DS is changing schools as there's no school 6th form, so decision need to be made pretty quickly here!

Dunlurking · 21/08/2014 17:10

It is AQA KittiesInsane! We have until 18th September to decide. I'm sure we should. He wants to wait to talk to his teacher. He thought he'd done OK in the written and is an almost straight A student at a grammar school so I don't see why he and a few others shouldn't be capable of at least Bs in their drama essays! The school normally does very well in drama so really looks like an aberration year to me. It's his favourite subject so I am happy to fork out for the remark.

GirlsTimesThree · 21/08/2014 17:41

Just delurking to say it's interesting to hear about others with strange aqa drama grades. DD got A for unit 2, but d for unit 1. She was predicted A overall, so her teacher has suggested a remark (one of four we're doing!). In every other module in all other subjects she didn't get lower than a B, so it does seem a bit odd. It's 'good' to know we're not alone.

AtiaoftheJulii · 21/08/2014 17:44

Kitties - your A level v BTEC thoughts might also be informed by which board he would be doing for A level? My dd1 just did Edexcel Drama AS and there's no exam bit - 'just' a 3000 word piece of coursework that they do over the year (3 bits to it) and the performance.