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Original poster

GCSEs 2018 (16) - The Final Countdown

999 replies

mmzz · 09/08/2018 18:34

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3304925-gcses-2018-15-the-reckoning?

OP posts:
farangatang · 14/08/2018 15:41

Happy to report that all results are as expected and matched predictions except one, which was 3 grades below (eek!!) and 2-grades worse than any work done over the whole of Y10 and 11. Going to have to investigate that... especially as she went in with 96% for the coursework component!

Off to celebrate tonight!

brainmelt · 14/08/2018 15:43

YAY farang!! Enjoy the celebrations Smile

ReservoirDogs · 14/08/2018 15:45

Farangatang - possibly they haven't added in the entire mark for one component.

BlueBelle123 · 14/08/2018 15:46

Enjoy the celebrations farangatang and well done your DD!!

HesMyLobster · 14/08/2018 15:51

Well Done Farang's DD! Have fun celebrating Star

LooseAtTheSeams · 14/08/2018 16:00

Great news farangatang - have fun celebrating! I hope the investigations lead to a bit of upward adjustment but it could just be a dodgy exam paper.
Thanks for the link Brainmelt - that sounds very interesting.
DS is really unsure how his exams have gone - he was chilled, now starting to have doubts but being on holiday is proving a useful distraction. Next week will be different!

KingscoteStaff · 14/08/2018 16:00

Well done farang’s DD!

hmcAsWas · 14/08/2018 16:03

That sounds fishy re that one rogue result farangatang - hope you get to the bottom of it. Good news on the other results - well done to your dd

Oneteen · 14/08/2018 16:04

Well done to your DD farrangatang - have a lovely evening ...

KickBishopBrennanUpTheArse · 14/08/2018 16:04

Well done to those who have results so far. All looking good!

It's making me so nervous for next week. Shock

DD has finally reached boredom! She's been ringing me at work all day asking where the bread flour is and what cake decorations we have.

I am dreading the state of the kitchen when I get home!

sandybayley · 14/08/2018 16:16

Congratulations to @KingscoteStaff and @farangatang - must be a relief to get some results in. DS1 is muttering about grade boundaries and the irritation of not having his iGCSE results. Secretly I'm quite pleased that that we can enjoy the rest of our holiday in blissful ignorance.

@KingscoteStaff - I totally get your DS's frustration at an 8 when he was hoping for a 9. I know DS will feel the same for history as well. Do you have any feedback from the school about whether results were as they expected?

brainmelt · 14/08/2018 16:17

kickbishop exactly, the program also reminds us that it's good to be bored as that pushes creative thinking, your DD being a fine example!!

TerfTerf2 · 14/08/2018 16:18

Well done farangtang ThanksGin
And further to my last post, had a convo with DH about celebration meal....ten minutes later we have a table booked for dinner at Duck&Waffle in London (it's on the 40th floor, DS loves skyscrapers)!

Cblue · 14/08/2018 16:31

@farangatang
Well done!!! Hopefully the 'odd' one is a mistake and if it isn't that it wasn't an A Level choice.

It would be fab if all our DC get their first choice 6th form and A Level choices. If that happens then the actual grade probably doesn't matter. Give it 6 months and our DC will probably struggle to remember what grade they got in each subject!

farangatang · 14/08/2018 16:37

Thanks all for your kind words. Reservoir I did wonder if a component mark has been left off particularly as she felt it was a good paper (she seems to have had good intuition with everything else so far).

...and it's an A-Level choice C-Blue, so quite important we get to the bottom of what happened. If she really did drop the ball in the exam, it's important to know what went wrong! She won't be allowed to do it without an A or A*.

ReservoirDogs · 14/08/2018 16:43

Farangatang in that case I suspect by the time you ask the school to apply for a remark/review they may already have it in hand!

PandaG · 14/08/2018 16:44

Well done to Farangs DD too. Hope there is a simple solution to the dropped grade...

mmmz · 14/08/2018 17:00

Congratulations to your DS, Farangatang. I hope you the odd one out is soon resolved.

Does anyone know what % of papers have mistakes in the marking found on then? It seems a bit more common that I was expecting (I was expecting that it was extremely rare).

Oratory1 · 14/08/2018 17:03

Well done Farangatang. Hope you get the dropped grade sorted but good you're celebrating the others. Is the sixth form her current school (I think you were overseas but was she boarding before). If so they might make an exception for A level if they are aware of her obvious ability.

Just googled Duck and Waffle - looks amazing, we're looking for somewhere for a special breakfast after Hamilton so may have to check it out - have you been before ?

Cherryburn · 14/08/2018 17:11

Excellent news Farangatang, and sounds like the low grade is definitely worth investigating.

Kingscote I get the 8 vs 9 frustration too. My DS would feel the same and I am thankful that, although he did CIE History, it was the A*-G syllabus.

I am very sceptical that the 8/9 grades (for any board) will be a reliable discriminator at the top end when you consider how inaccurate the marking proves to be every year, and the number of remarks that come back with a changed grade, especially in essay subjects.

cubscout · 14/08/2018 17:21

kingscote and farangatang very many congrats to your dc- makes it all seem very real now!

I'm sure school will be all over the missed grade farangatang, particularly because of the coursework element. Hope dd is not too upset and can celebrate the remainder of her results.

No cash here for grades either - ds got a gym membership as a reward for effort and hard work in the run up (gets him out of the house anyway Smile

Cherryburn · 14/08/2018 17:27

Cross-posted mmmz. I think the last figures I saw showed that 15% of remarks (across gcse and A Level) resulted in a grade change. But that was under the old system when papers were remarked and not just ‘reviewed’. As that’s an average, I suspect that the figure will be higher for essay subjects than for sciences/maths. Having said that, we paid for a remark on DD’s maths gcse and the marks on both papers were wrong!

TheThirdOfHerName · 14/08/2018 17:37

Well done to your DD farangatang
For the anomalous subject, I think you can request a review of marks, where they check that all components have been included and added together correctly.

Stickerrocks · 14/08/2018 17:45

Brilliant news Farangatang

On the great 8/9 debate, It's not how good you were, but that a small number were better. Professional exams are exactly the same where they consistently let through the same percentage each year. People will look at a grade 9 and say "that's nice" but there are going to be so few of them that the 7-9 clump will be what counts for top university places. In the workplace we have never discriminated between an A and an A* and a B was perfectly acceptable in most cases as well, because everyone is aware that someone good at science or maths is unlikely to be equally good at geography or French.

EllenJanesthickerknickers · 14/08/2018 18:28

Well done to the offspring of Kingscote and farangatang! Let's hope all our DC do as well. I hope the rogue result get sorted.

I understand the disappointment with the 8/9 as DS3 would love a 9 in maths but an 8 is still a fantastic result in history and doesn't mean he'll not do really well at A level.