GCSE 2019 support thread 6

[DeRigueurMortis]

Hello All,

Welcome to thread 6 - results...

Last thread here:

Gcses 2019 support thread 5 http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3610608-gcses-2019-support-thread-5

It's been a fantastically supportive set of threads to date with a diverse set of expectations and challenges (for both parents and children).

I expect this thread may be the most emotive for us all (crikey how did the time fly!!)

Good luck everyone

@onaroll thank you so much, that is brilliant to read. Well done to your DS!

DD moved away from facilitating subjects, she's looking at social sciences / humanities, and when I looked at possible uni courses she might want to do there didn't seem to be any she would be overly excluded from based on her choices. I don't know whether there is any more covert discrimination against sociology say rather than history. In some ways it seems stupid to do history in which it's much harder to get an A/A*, though is this taken into account by admissions?

That was badly phrased! I mean obviously it's not stupid to do history if that's what you really like and are good at, but if it's one of a range of choices there seems a rationale for doing something easier!

Solitude I can't answer for Juniper but my DD is similar in doing 4, Maths, Further maths, Physics and Music. It seems to be more common with Further Maths. He can drop one if he wants too, plus the FM can be done over 2 years as an AS.

There is crossover between the Maths/FM/Physics which helps.

I don't know whether there is any more covert discrimination against sociology say rather than history

I've been reading some of the University entry requirements and Sociology is listed as not being a valid A level subject for some courses... maybe that's it.

With the re-marks, it really depends on the subject (maths v unlikely apparently but design subjects more common as obviously down to interpretation) and the distance between the grade boundaries. But of course they can go down as well as up.

My DS was 16 marks off dropping down to a 2, but 4 marks off going to a 4. Having a 4 will make things infinitely easier - he won't need to attend extra English lessons, resits etc and then it is out of the way. Maybe it will stay the same but for our circa at least I don't feel like we've much to lose.

Hi everyone - I deleted an earlier post with regards to remarks, because in hindsight I put too much detail . We are looking at a couple of papers, with the help of the teachers. They have breakdowns of each question, and marks given, which is really helpful.

Just wanted to say belated BIG congratulations to all.
To original posters thank you for being there throughout the "journey". Onwards and upwards to all .

I wondered if anyone here can help me understand the grade boundaries for AQA Business Studies GCSE.

filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-GCSE-GDE-BDY-JUN-2019.PDF

We are considering a remark but I wanted to check that DS's mark isn't too close to the boundary for the grade below so I took a look at the AQA boundaries document for GCSEs. It has a section for the total and then the two papers separately. The two papers have a maximum of 90 marks each but the total has a maximum of 200 marks so I was wondering where the other 20 marks come from. Am I missing something obvious? I've already emailed the exams officer twice this morning about other things so would rather not do so again!

My DS is also interested in Mathys, further Maths, Physics and Computing but his college advises him to take only 3 of those 4 subjects.

They say that all Uni's (including the top ones) are happy with 3 A levels. And adding a 4th is unnecessary, and it's better to fully focus on 3.

hmm, ds is doing maths, further maths, physics and economics.

His school is a super selctive grammar and pretty much all the kids do 3 A levles, EXCEPT those doing further maths, who do 4. But if he was to drop one, it should be the further maths, because the impression I get is that it is the further maths that is considered to be the add on extra.
For what it is worth, he got 8 in maths, which is a requirement for them for further maths, and a 7 in physics (although was predicted an 8)
that is basically A's, so no reaosn for them not to do well with those marks.

*My DS is also interested in Mathys, further Maths, Physics and Computing but his college advises him to take only 3 of those 4 subjects.

They say that all Uni's (including the top ones) are happy with 3 A levels. And adding a 4th is unnecessary, and it's better to fully focus on 3.*

My DD has just finished A levels - Maths, Further Maths, Computer Science and Chemistry

She would have been delighted to drop Chemistry to concentrate on the other three because all of the Uni courses she looked at (to study Maths) only took three A level grades into account and with the EPQ that was compulsory for her college and three Uni entrance exams for maths she ended up with a lot of work/exams.

@SolitudeAtAltitude
My DS has just taken Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics my experience is that Further Maths is different to Maths but if your DS enjoys maths then it isn’t anymore difficult, just tackles different components which feeds into the Physics. DS didn’t find further maths increased his workload, as he only had 1 essay subject. All his conditional Uni offers were made on 3 subjects. I think making an application with 4 subjects may give you an advantage. At his school they are told they can drop a 4th at the Christmas after uni applications have been submitted which you may consider if your DS finds 4 a stretch.
DS was going to study Economics which required further maths but eventually changed to Economics and Business.

@JennyWreny I just had a look too, I see what you mean. How weird. Even the specification says each exam is 90 marks so a total of 180.

Maydayredalert Thanks for looking. I thought it was a typo at first but the individual grade scores for the papers don't add up either IYKWIM.

@SolitudeAtAltitude

My son has just completed 4 A levels in Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics. The conditional offer that he received from Imperial College was based on 4 subjects (where he's going incidentally) . The insurance offer he received from Manchester was based on 3 A levels but there was an equivalent lower offer based on 4 A levels (A*AA vs AAAA) so the college is not strictly correct. It will depend on the course obviously. Studying Further Maths does make it more likely that he will receive a higher grade in normal maths due to the exposure to certain topics studied. Can he start with the 4 subjects and see how it goes ?

Can I join in the conversation re 4 A levels please ? DS has just enrolled to do 4. I think it's unnecessary but he seems determined. Wants to do medicine but given his gcse grades (3x7,4x6, 3x5 with 1 5 to be remarked.) i can't see that as likely as they look for higher GCSEs than that in most medical schools I think?

He's basically clever but didn't apply himself and has learned his lesson - so he tells me

Wants to do chemistry, physics, maths and psychology. I believe there is a big cross over in maths & physics but that stilll looks like a very heavy workload. Does anyone have any thoughts, esp the the medicine angle ?

Whatever happens, he's enrolled now and we are going on a mum/son shopping expedition tomorrow to get laptop, clothes and a £40 calculator (!) Really looking forward to that bit

Solitude my DS is taking the 4 A Levels you mentioned.

Essentially what we've been told by the school is as follows:

Taking only 3 is fine and what most Uni's accept.

However, if you're thinking of doing maths at Uni the doing FM is an advantage as it's pushing into the degree syllabus so gives you a bit of a head start.

As a pp said there's also a cross over with Physics, which again if this is a potential degree option can be helpful.

All that said, the drop out rate for FM is the highest of any A Level. Mainly for 2 reasons.

Firstly it's a lot harder than "just" maths and even very competent mathematicians can find it a slog (which is why most schools want an 8 as a minimum and even then some students struggle).

Secondly, because it's "not strictly needed" if students find themselves struggling with 4 A Levels (or with the step up to FM) it's the obvious choice to drop to focus on the others.

In my case maths is DS's best subject (or rather passion) and the idea he wouldn't do FM is an anathema. He's already read the A Level Maths and Further Maths revision guides over the summer (and is current on Physics). He got 9's in those subjects - they are his strongest, save Chemistry (also a 9) but he's less interested in that.

The school have strongly supported him doing FM not just because he's very good at the subject, but because he really, really enjoys it and apparently is a "gifted mathematician".

So wrt your DD I think it's worth considering how much she really enjoys maths and does she really need to do it (is she planning on maths/physics at uni)?

Is she also a natural mathematician? I know she got a great grade, but again we were told by school that great grades at GCSE can be gained and though hard work but FM really needs some good raw ability as well as intense study (which is why even students who did well at GCSE still drop FM).

On one hand there's no reason she can't take it and drop it should it not work out, but I'd consider is she a child that would do that philosophically? Or is she someone that would struggle on regardless to the detriment of her other subjects, or perhaps have her confidence knocked if she feels she needs to drop it?

As such I think it's only a decision you can make together perhaps with some input from the school's maths department, but overall if she's keen, loves maths, thinking of doing maths/physics at uni and wouldn't be phased by dropping it if needed then it makes sense to give it a go imho.

Solitude apologies should have referred to your DS rather than DD!!!

My brain is obviously addled by the stress of yesterday!

FM is more important than Computer science for pretty much anything, and whether it's more important than physics or chemistry or economics depends on the degree subject and/or the university - they are generally all very clear about their preferred qualifications.

Fwiw, my ds is about to go to Manchester for computer science, having declined an offer from Cambridge (same grades as his Manchester offer), for maths, FM and computer science A levels. He started doing physics as well but dropped it at about Easter of y12 - and got some dodgy advice from college about it, but fortunately I've been on mumsnet long enough and knew better!

@DeRigueurMortis
Thanks so much for your response, I think there’s a bit of confusion x posting but hopefully your reply will help @SolitudeAtAltitude
My DS has just taken his A’s, he’s off to Oxford to do E&B.
@SolitudeAtAltitude was asking about further maths, further maths, physics and 3v4 A levels!
Sorry if I confused everyone

@DeRigueurMortis my brain well and truly dead too after both As and GCSEs

Hi all

Thought I’ll join the results thread, I did post earlier about the those who got all 9s and A* were invited earlier for press opportunities . It’s a private school! My dd although super proud achieved a mixture of grades and passed everything. But they do rub it in those who got all 9s. There is a little part of me who wishes that was my dd but I’ll never tell her that.

My main question is I’m moving her to w state sixth form and she will doing 2 A levels biology and psychology and BTEC business . As biology is context heavy I’m hoping the BTEC is more coursework based and will finish early compared to the final a level exams. Anyone have experience of any of this? Dd isn’t the academic type.

Also as my dd did a mixture of igcse and GCSEs will this be recognised when applying to uni?

I'll be interested to know if there is any movement on the grades being remarked particularly AQA English. We won't bother as dd has what she needs for A-levels.

Another one doing 4 - French, English lit, Psychology and Maths. Dd s 6 form , still does As levels. They were told to choose 4 and then drop one if it's too much after 1 term but to try and keep them going as long as possible. She also wants to do an EPQ.

Arewedone given you've done the double you get a free pass!!!

@lightlypoached - some of the medical schools take GCSEs into account, but many don't. Those that don't tend to focus very heavily on the UCAT or BMAT.
I would warn you that while there are medical schools that are happy to take with maths, chemistry and physics - there are some that require biology as well as chemistry, so by not taking biology he is restricting his choice of medical schools still further.
We have done up a spreadsheet of all 39 medical schools in the UK that take at the undergraduate level, and have set out in the first column the requirements for how they choose (there are two aspects: minimum requirements, and then shortlisting methods, which are in many ways more important, as most people will meet the minimum requirements, at least for GCSEs and predicted A Levels. The shortlisting methods are how they score, and some do include GCSEs in the score, and some just BMAT or UCAT). We didn't include required subjects on our spreadsheet, because there is no question DS wants to take chemistry and biology and maths, and everybody is happy with that combination. The dithering for him is about whether to take physics as his fourth (with further maths as a possible alternative)

@tactum - sorry been meaning to respond to this. It seems to me that at the very least you should ask to see the reading exam. Something does seem very wrong. And to be honest, with a 2 in the reading, how much lower could it go with a remark? Still, looking at it should tell you quite a lot, especially if you can look at it in conjunction with your DD's teacher. Maybe this really is the one where somebody forgot to add up a grade, or lost three pages in the middle, or something. I don't know how much it costs simply to look at the paper (and it is only one paper you are looking for, not the three others, so those 8s will stay intact), but I confess if I was in your shoes I would go for it. As you say, it simply doesn't make sense, and really does smell of cock-up somewhere.