RE remark - missed 9 by 1 mark

[Darbs76]

Ds2 did his RE exam one year early, as did the whole school. He was predicted an 8, got a 9 in mock (based on the previous year marking) and got an 8 yesterday. I was absolutely delighted but my heart sunk as I knew he wouldn’t be happy with that. Why does he put so much pressure on himself? His Dad and I have never put pressure on him, he did so much revision, the PS4 was redundant for weeks and he couldn’t have tried harder.

So we have asked school about a review and they agreed as 1 mark off. What is the likelihood? He is aware it could go down, but he would need to drop by around 20 Marks by the looks of it for that to happen.

We are trying to speak to him already about expectations for next year, how all 9’s is unrealistic and ultimately in about 10yrs time no-one will even care what grades he got, certainly no-one would question if he had 8’s or 9’s. That said I’d love him to get a few 9’s.

Just venting really as I really hate this new numbering - a B for example is now a 6 which doesn’t sound anywhere near as good. Why the 9? As if A star wasn’t high enough without a strong A star being introduced. It really piles on the pressure for kids like mine.

Thanks for listening

[Ligresa]

Well you crack on. Hopefully he'll earn his money back.

[Maydayredalert]

I really wouldn't.

We have paid for a remark as 4 marks off a 4 in English. Any subject other than English /maths I wouldn't bother.

[SavoyCabbage]

It’s not about ‘not bothering’ it’s about how this year will make them feel about next year and it’s a completely different predicament from Halulat. I think most people would go for a remark in Halulat’s situation.

It’s clear from your last post that you definitely want a remark and I think that’s completely fine but I wouldn’t do it but not because I couldn’t be bothered. As you say the school will obviously be behind it as there is nothing to loose academically.

[Darbs76]

It’s Ds who wants the remark and it’s his paper and his exam. I think an 8 is amazing and so would he if he hadn’t have had the mark there and then saw a friend with 1 Mark more got a 9. I wish they didn’t even give the marks personally and then he would have accepted his 8 (still disappointment of course as he was aiming for a 9). I know I’m not putting pressure on him so I’m fine with him persuing this

[Perunatop]

You have nothing to lose really and I believe if the grade changes you don't have to pay the fee. I would do it since it matters to your DC.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

I have a perfectionist (much younger) and I would say this is probably a good time to just let it be. At some point he can't always get exceptional marks, even if it is just because he wasn't feeling well on the day. this is a chance for him to learn that nothing bad is actually going to happen because he "only" got an 8.

[Ligresa]

Well, you've missed a chance to teach him self belief and resilience. Worth more than a 9 in long run.

[howwudufeel]

I would pay for a remark. We paid for two remarks last year and they both went up. 9s are seriously impressive and in an essay based exam a single mark is possibly going to be found.

[Arewedone]

@Darbs76 perplexing post as you seem hellbent on the remark anyway so not sure why you are even asking, It is obviously important to you so just do it!
fwiw we are in the same situation with RS, she is 2 marks off. Achieved 10x9s which is fantastic but decided on the remark after considering her mock results, grade boundaries & it was one of her strongest subjects. Nothing to lose if it remains unchanged other than the £50. Our view is it’s an 8/A* its RS & time to move on! Uni’s are not differentiating between 8/9s.
But sounding hypocritical I agree with the other posters that you are possibly sending the wrong message at this stage for when he takes his full set of GCSEs next year that 8s are not good enough!

[SlothMama]

He may be disappointed now but in a years time he really won't care at all. Is it really worth the cost of a remark for what's already a good grade in RE?

[Leeds2]

I would certainly support DS in going for the remark if that is what he wants to do, given there is only one mark in it. I would of course warn him, as I'm sure you have, that the most likely result is that the grade will be unchanged, and it could of course go down. I don't think it is likely to go down in his case though, although I don't think I would say that!

Good Luck!

[PennyGold]

I'd 100% get it remarked! If it gets remarked as a 9 it takes some pressure off next year.. "I want four 9s and five 8s (already have one 9). An 8 is fantastic but if he could get a 9 for doing no additional work.. go for it!
£55 is a lot of money to some people but I'd always have a niggling feeling of "oh I wonder if I could have got a 9".

[Darbs76]

Thanks all. I asked as I didn’t think for one minute I’d be jumped on for supporting my son is going for a review for something he wants so much. I may be a little defensive as I’m quite surprised at some of the comments about me / my son when people don’t know us at all. I’m far from one of those parents who wants their son to be perfect / achieve perfect grades. He’s very grounded, very intelligent but very modest. It’s been a good opportunity for a talk about everything and assure him we are proud of him no matter what grade he got as he worked so far. He buried his grandfather in the middle of it all and it was such a tough time for him so believe me we are super super proud of an 8. What are we to do? Tell him he can’t have a review? He signs the papers himself so ultimately it’s his choice anyway.

Sorry if I appear defensive. I did come on here for advice on if grades are likely to change. Guess I wasn’t prepared for the way mumset is. Anyway I shall update this thread when the review is complete and let you know if anything changes. Good luck to everyone else who is asking for a review

[Darbs76]

Thanks Pennygold - exactly, I do believe it would take the pressure off knowing he’s got a 9 already if it was changed. If we didn’t do it he would always have wondered what if. To me it’s a no brainer in going for it.

[Darbs76]

Thanks Leeds2. Yes we have warmed him that it could go down as he wasn’t aware of that at first. Looking at the marking he would need to loose 20 points for it to reduce to a 7

[Fifthtimelucky]

I agree that an 8 is a very good mark and even though he's 1 mark away from a 9, I personally wouldn't bother with a re-mark, given that it is RE and taken a year early.

Although you say that none of the pressure is coming from you, by paying for results you are clearly making it worth his while financially to aim for top grades. Just out of interest, what are you giving him for an 8 and what would you give him for a 9? I'm assuming one quite a lot, if he is willing to gamble £50 of it.

My recollection is that they changed the rules on re-marks a couple of years ago, to try to discourage people from asking for them. I think the position is now that they change the mark only if the original marker made a mistake. If the new marker would have given a different mark, but the original one was reasonable, the original mark stays. I'd have thought with a subject like RE, the mark is unlikely to change.

[howwudufeel]

It could end up being his only 9. My DS has one 9 and he is really proud of it so, yes, I think it’s definitely worth a shot.

[00100001]

I would not pay for the remark, unless it meant the difference between getting on the course you want or not....

[westendwendy]

My boy picked up his results yesterday from his comp and got a couple of 8's and 7's then 5's for both English lit and lang and a 4 for French. He is 1 mark off a 9 in both subjects he got an 8 in and 2 marks off a level 6 for both English exams. He would like them to be remarked so is going to pay for them. I fully support him in what he wants to do as his results were lower then his mocks and predicted grades. It does affect uni offers if kids get a mixed bunch of results-getting 4 C grades unfortunately isnt that impressive for certain courses.

[catndogslife]

I think in the OPs case the school has agreed it's a good idea so that's fine.
I’m surprised so many parents wouldn’t bother when they are 1 Mark away.
Not every parent could afford to pay for a remark when 1 mark away and am not sure many schools could afford this either unless it was a key subject such as English or maths.

[howwudufeel]

The whole point of 9s is to demonstrate excellence in a system where lots of candidates get A*s. If your DS wants to do a humanities based subject at university it could really swing things for him.

[LochJessMonster]

Do it. If you can afford it then you don't really have anything to lose but could gain a whole grade.

[HeadintheiClouds]

I think an 8 is amazing and so would he if he hadn’t....and then saw a friend with one mark more who got a 9.
The thing is, however frustrating it may feel, the other guy got a 9 because he got one mark more. It doesn’t mean your ds was unfairly treated or was done out of anything, so whoever reviews the paper won’t just hand him the mark that tips him over the border just because...

[howwudufeel]

My DS had a paper remarked last year and was given an extra 15 marks. If the marking system wasn’t so flawed the PP about the one mark may have a point...

[Oblomov19]

I'm surprised by the responses. In subjective subjects like RE and history, rather than maths, I think it's worth a try. What's the worst that can happen? Isn't in win-win?