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Original poster

Results from GCSE remarks?

132 replies

3076Worb · 06/09/2018 13:09

Just making final decisions about which to get remarked and heard some shocking info I wanted to share. (I realise marks can go up and down.)

A student who was 1 mark off a higher grade in English GSCE (AQA) has just got the results of the remark of paper 1 and has gone down 10 MARKS! She has now dropped a grade and has a tough decision about whether to get paper 2 remarked or not.

I was advised with being only 1 mark off a higher grade (around 10-11 marks between each grade) a remark was 'a no brainer'. School have now said, with this shock of 10 marks down, they have suggested no remark. There are saying it seems the boards are being a LOT tougher this year (esp. after getting so many marks wrong last year, with the new system, they want to show they have now got things sorted).

Has anyone got results from THIS year's GCSEs remarks yet?

OP posts:
Nettleskeins · 19/09/2018 09:04

Dd has "no change" from her AQA English Lit. She ws hoping to go up from a 4 to a 5. She was predicted a 6/7, but she knew she had made a mistake on the first paper, Dr Jekyll. Still 4 was incredibly low for her.

Is it possible to send it back again on appeal? I'm going to look at the regs.

KittiesInsane · 19/09/2018 10:47

Thanks, I've emailed.

The only time I can see a 7 vs 9 holding her back would be Oxford/Cambridge applications, which are not likely anyway. She currently has 4x9, 2x8 and the rest at 7, so approx 6 A* and 4A in old money.

She'd have to sign her permission for a review, wouldn't she?

KittiesInsane · 19/09/2018 11:06

Reply from school - she was one mark off an 8. Remark of both papers will be £75.

I am slightly cautious about raising the issue of a remark with her as she's wobbly about the start of 6th form at the moment. Hmm. MH-wise, she might be better to know she was very close and leave it at that.

Cherryburn · 19/09/2018 11:27

Yes she would need to sign (as would you probably). If you think it would unsettle her then obviously not worth it. But if she could see it as a ‘might as well have a go’ thing then worth a try. You’re probably right in that it won’t make much difference for university applications, but she should get the result she deserves if an error has been made.

Alwa · 19/09/2018 20:36

One mark in English is very close. Good luck if you decide to go for it.

KittiesInsane · 19/09/2018 22:16

Currently she says she'd rather I gave her the cash!

Oldowl · 20/09/2018 06:44

If it goes up, give her the cash, then nothing is lost!

Original poster
3076Worb · 20/09/2018 09:40

Kittes, I'd agree with Oldowl. If the grade goes up, you get a refund, so if this is the case, you could pass that onto her. The deadline is TODAY (end of). One mark off a higher grade is close, but the grade boundary for English is only 10 marks between in each grade (other subject have anything up to 25), so it's still 10% off. Bear in mind, this discussion was started because of a remark of just one English paper that came back as 10 marks lower and the poor student (who was one mark off a higher grade) went down a grade! There have since been a few reports of marks coming back 9-10 marks up or down in English. It's sad that when a student is so near the next grade, that there is still a strong possibilty they could drop a grade; reflects very poorly on the marking!!

OP posts:
KittiesInsane · 20/09/2018 10:57

Argh. She agreed to having it sent off, but now I'm having horrible second thoughts!

KittiesInsane · 20/09/2018 12:05

Apparently DD had 68/80 in paper 1 and 49/80 in paper 2. Anyone know how the 'banding per question' works??

KittiesInsane · 20/09/2018 12:06

Or in other words, how likely it is that she could lose 9 marks and drop a grade further (which would be 3 grades away from prediction)?

CobwebKate · 20/09/2018 13:09

I have been lurking on this thread, but thought I would share DDs remark with you. She was 3 marks off a 9 in English Lit (Edexcel), school rang me 2 weeks ago to say that they had reviewed her script and would like to send it for a remark. She agreed although has spent the last week panicking that she did the wrong thing in case she went down to a 7 (which would have been a 7 mark drop). Her remark came back today, she is still an 8 but has gone up 2 marks to be 1 off a 9! She says she wishes she hadn’t agreed to it because she feels worse about it now.

She was predicted a 9 although the English results as a whole have been much lower than school expected, one class teacher had both papers for their entire class remarked which I think is ridiculous. Did only knows of one person from that class who has had a grade increase but she hasn’t heard of anyone drop down a grade either. She also says they were misled by staff that if the grade went down they could keep their original grade, which she knows to be untrue but a lot didn’t.

She got 74/80 in paper 1 which remained the same paper 2 went from 56/80 to 58/80. She went really left field with her choice of poem to compare for the English anthology and I think this cost her. She was happy with an 8, I think she has just found the remark an extra stress and ultimately she had hoped she might get the 9, so feels disappointed today.

NewModelArmyMayhem18 · 20/09/2018 13:18

KittiesInsane no that's not likely but nor is it a given that she'll go up a grade (even being only one point off it currently).

Cherryburn · 20/09/2018 13:47

Highly unlikely Kitties, especially as she was under her predicted grade anyway. Try not to worry!

KittiesInsane · 20/09/2018 13:53

I may possibly be deflecting some other worries onto this!

Original poster
3076Worb · 20/09/2018 14:49

Our exams officer finishes at 5, so this is the latest we can find out the results of the remark of English Lang (AQA) Paper one remark. Finger biting time, because if we don't find out before 5pm, we have missed the opportunity to get paper 2 remarked if needed. I don't want to just go for a remark of paper 2 (and the risks that come with that), without seeing if paper one has given him the 1 mark he needs! I'm thinking we will not take the risk if the remark doesn't come back in time and just except knowing that he nearly got the grade above. My mantra now is "what will be will be" (or that's what I'm trying to think!)

OP posts:
Cherryburn · 20/09/2018 16:26

Any news Worb? Fingers crossed the review of the second paper won’t be needed.

Alwa · 20/09/2018 19:02

It's hard with two paper but we are always told to send them one at a time. I hope you had good news.

choirmumoftwo · 23/09/2018 17:19

3076 We were in exactly the same position with a physics paper. DD 2 marks off the next grade up but result of review of marking not back by the deadline so we had to decide whether to submit the second paper or not. It's a risk - I'm now terrified that she'll get the 2 marks she needs then lose them again on the other paper!
She decided to go ahead on the grounds that whatever happens, she'll have the mark she should have had to start with so it will be fair, even if the grade doesn't go up. I just wish AQA didn't take so blooming long!

Nettleskeins · 24/09/2018 16:25

Dd's Edexcel Maths has gone up 3 marks from a 6 to a 7. She needed 1 mark, but we had marked all three papers. The 3 marks all came off one paper surprisingly and it wasn't the lowest one. The second half of the Double Science didn't change from 7/6 to 7/7 sadly. Again Edexcel, but there we had the problem of there being 6 papers that needed to be remarked; there was no guidance as to which paper was relevant to the mark changing, and 6 papers seemed very pricey.

Nettleskeins · 24/09/2018 16:26

so we only marked the very lowest paper, and that didn't change.

Devilishpyjamas · 24/09/2018 16:33

We had three remarked. All AQA - all one mark away from a 7. English language - no change - came back within 4 days; it entirely sure they did anything other than ensure they had counted correctly. Physics increased by 3 marks (1 paper went down one mark, the other went up 4), chemistry went up one.

Devilishpyjamas · 24/09/2018 16:34

We just did both papers for each.

Devilishpyjamas · 24/09/2018 16:36

Oh and he was 4 marks away from a 7 in RE & maths, but didn’t bother doing those (& couldn’t afford it anyway). It strikes me as quite unfair - Ds2 has an extra two 7’s that he wouldn’t have had if we couldn’t have afforded a remark.

Khara · 24/09/2018 16:37

Ds had one of his English literature (Eduqas) remarked. He was two marks off a 9 and gained 4 marks. It's his only 9 so he was really pleased even though he's not doing English A level.