8s at GCSEs not valued like old A*?

[ouda]

There's been lots in the news about students getting lots of grade 9s. But the students getting grade 8s have not really been mentioned, even though the old A* cuts across grade 8 too.

Does this mean that the pressure is now on for students to get strings of 9s even though only about half as many get them as previously got As, and someone getting an 8 now may be getting a higher raw score than someone who got an A last year?

I'm writing as dd got all 8s and one 9 and I was really chuffed for her but looking at stuff about kids getting strings of 9s makes me feel like her grades would not be seen as good enough for top unis? Would Oxbridge now expect 6+ 9s (as used to be thought they needed 6+ A*s)?

I too think that very soon universities will be looking at numbers of 9s when making offers. And I find thus utterly depressing, because I too think this will advantage private school kids. With a narrower spread of attainment, private schools will be able to focus much more on teaching the higher level skills than teachers in genuine comprehensives.

I think some posters need to get a grip and read the treads written by parents of children who averaged between grades 4 - 6 at GCSE. It makes for interesting reading

"Both Oxford and Cambridge have their own entrance exams now and these are far more important than gcse grades."

I agree. DD's boyfriend achieved just one A* at GCSE along with As and Bs. He aced the aptitude test and interviews and received an offer from Oxford.

However, he missed his grades at A level and won't be gong there now. The point I am making is the GCSE grades are not the only thing that Oxbridge looks at.