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Secondary education

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Original poster

Could someone please explain about remarking English GCSE papers?

79 replies

icouldjusteatacroissant · 20/08/2015 21:07

She failed English Language, and her teacher said she would send the paper away to see if they could claw back a few extra marks. her projected grade was higher.

Is this common practice? and realistically what percentage of papers are upgraded?

any info at all on this would be appreciated, this is new and strange territory for our family.

OP posts:
EvilTwins · 20/08/2015 21:08

Do you know what board it was?

momb · 20/08/2015 21:10

No idea how common it is. English marking does seem a little odd though: ESD got A at GCSE, A in all coursework for AS but a D grade last week: she's having a remark too!
I get the impression that the teachers don't send for remark unless things are dramatically off from expected, so I think this means that either your daughter had a terrible time on exam day or there has been an error.

Scarydinosaurs · 20/08/2015 21:10

Remarks don't often change the grade- but sometimes they do. If she's borderline it is worth a try.

Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 20/08/2015 21:17

the exam board is WJEC. I'm just off to find out what her predicted grade was. thanks.

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noblegiraffe · 20/08/2015 21:23

I think there were a load of complaints about English marking last year, some schools sent off whole class loads for remarks. My school's headline figure improved significantly when remarked results came in, so it's worth a punt if the result looks close or unusual.

EvilTwins · 20/08/2015 21:24

It would depend on how close to the boundary she was. If the teacher thinks it's worth a remark and the school is going to pay for it, then it's probably worthwhile.

It can take a while though.

Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 20/08/2015 21:28

do the school always have to pay for remarks? how do I find out how close she was? can I pay for a remark?

her projected grade was a B.

thanks all so far Thanks

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Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 20/08/2015 21:29

God noble that's shockingShock

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noblegiraffe · 20/08/2015 21:34

It's about £25 per paper, but that's refunded if the grade changes (not if the mark changes). The school will probably pay for you as its a C/D borderline appeal, but if they think it's not worth it you could pay (but it has to be done through the school). Grades can, however, go down as well as up.

EvilTwins · 20/08/2015 21:36

Do you have the scores she got? At my school they were all given printouts with all the marks on. Easiest way is to contact the teacher and ask. Schools often pay if they want/suggest the remark but sometimes parents want the remark when the school doesn't think it will make a difference the parents are asked to pay. That's my experience anyway.

Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 20/08/2015 21:47

thanks, no we got nothing except the grades. can I request more? I think I will offer to pay as it would be worth it and the school is strapped for cash.

OP posts:
EvilTwins · 20/08/2015 21:49

Yes to requesting more- it will be at the school and easy enough to access.

Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 20/08/2015 22:02

many thanks Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 20/08/2015 23:02

I think I've just read on another thread that WJEC are the only board not to mark online. does that mean WJEC are marked manually, so therefore a mistake would be possible?

do I sound like I'm clutching at straws Grin

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Fourarmsv2 · 21/08/2015 09:06

I don't mark English, but I do mark Biology online and mistakes can be made online too.

Less room for interpretation in Biology luckily.

IHeartKingThistle · 21/08/2015 09:16

I mark English Lit for WJEC (manually!). All our adding up and transferring of marks is checked by admin staff. Quite a few of our papers are also moderated but of course we're marking hundreds at a time so many papers are not. English marking is subjective even with a rigorous mark scheme. I'd ask for a remark.

Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 21/08/2015 10:39

many thanks. do I have a right as a parent to request a remark, and can I be refused it?

OP posts:
ImperialBlether · 21/08/2015 10:43

It's unlikely there's an error in terms of adding up marks but you still might find the paper gets a different mark when re-marked by someone senior.

Speak to the school about it. If it's a grade D then there's no reason why the school can't agree to a re-mark. If it was a C that you hoped would be a B, it could go down as well as up, so I could see why the school would recommend just hanging on to the C.

JeanSeberg · 21/08/2015 10:45

Yes you can request a remark, they will send you the paperwork and payment details. It's a fast and simple process.

Good luck - my son went up a grade in German after a remark but stayed the same twice in English Language.

beetrootface74 · 21/08/2015 10:45

Not sure if this is relevant to you but we got a letter with results yesterday that our school is seeking to have English Language papers remarked as they are unhappy with the anomalous results.

Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 21/08/2015 11:02

that s very interesting beet, was that the anomalous results for your school or nationally?

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Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 21/08/2015 11:22

thanks. she got a d in Eng language, so sounds like it might be worth it. probably irrelevant but she thought she'd done OK in it. she got a c in eng lit and said it was much harderHmm

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Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 21/08/2015 16:57

school have said that because she got C in maths and was borderline on the English they are asking for a remark.

I think it will not be upgraded as we had a maths tutor at home to get the C, so it almost seems like a false C IYSWIM Hmm

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beetrootface74 · 22/08/2015 09:23

I believe for the school. Apparently they send off so many papers , 20 or so to be remarked and if they come back with different marks they can send all of the papers back. I would definitely ask for a remark if I were you.

JanetBlyton · 22/08/2015 09:31

I believe English lang was made harder this year. My two who are in the top set in English in an academic private school and pretty good at English got A* in literature but only A in language which for them is quite surprising although we are not bothering with a remark. It costs £37 at their school which the parent pays for a remark.

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