Worth re-marking an English Lang GSCE to try to go from Grade 4 to 5?

[HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo]

DS got a grade 4 in both his English GCSEs. His English teacher just rang me to say his total mark on English Language was 85. If he'd got 86, he'd have got a grade 5.

I think it's worth having it remarked - what do you think? Any other subject, probably not. But I think English Language - like Maths - is a subject that lots of places look at in the future.

It doesn't affect his immediate future as he did really well in his other subjects and is comfortably into Sixth form doing A Levels.

What do you think? His teacher pointed out that re-marked papers can go down as well as up, but she would be very surprised if his went down.

[PBLR]

The best way to find this out is to go on to the websites of unis you may be considering - go to the course you want and look at 'additional entry reqs - the GCSE requirements will be listed. Try a few unis and you will get a feel for the courses you want to apply to. The schools don't always help much so better to get ahead of the game yourself

[LolaSmiles]

We are now getting Paper 2 done as his tutor has looked at it (I paid for a review copy) and she thinks he should get 1 or 2 more marks. Now got to wait and see!
I'll keep everything crossed for you, but his tutor has been a bit misleading there. Papers aren't remarked so the fact the tutor thinks the paper should have a couple more marks is irrelevant, just like 1 or 2 marks in a review of marking wouldn't be relevant. The review looks at application of mark scheme and clerical errors, not whether a second marker would give a mark or two higher.

[Hadalifeonce]

Just had DD's remark back, she has an extra 6 marks! so has had her grade increased. I was surprised how quickly it came back.

[Taxanimal]

To be fair it was my friends boy who applied for business courses and got rejected as he hadn’t got high enough Eng Lang GCSE. I’m all for keeping options open though, so I think it’s better to know these things in advance.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

Tax What uni courses require a GCSE 5 or 6 in maths - 'many require' sounds like a lot. Are these 'maths using' courses which is reasonable or random things like History of Art or French?

[Taxanimal]

Definitely definitely worth a remark. It doesn’t matter at all for yrs 12&13 but when you get to university applications some require a 5 in eng language and without it they won’t consider you. Same goes for maths, many require a 5 or even 6 which is harsh, particularly as schools move kids down to foundation where 5 is the best you can get, I think. They don’t tell you that at the time....😡😡

[AJ45]

Exactly the same happened to my son for Eng Lang. He got 85 and so we had Paper 1 remarked as his score was much lower on that than in his mocks - but it came back with the same mark! We are now getting Paper 2 done as his tutor has looked at it (I paid for a review copy) and she thinks he should get 1 or 2 more marks. Now got to wait and see!

[HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo]

@Musmerian Thanks for that info. Unlikely to change, then.

[HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo]

Uni's will accept the 4 for courses such as Engineering as long as Maths is a 5 or 6, but if you are looking at arts type subjects he might need a 5+ in English.

This is useful info - thanks! He wants to do Computer Science at uni. He got 7 in maths, computer science and an 8 and a 7 in his sciences. The English probably doesn’t matter so much, does it?

Have I just wasted £76?! 😂

[Musmerian]

Worth knowing that the system has changed. It’s now a review of marking rather than a remark. That means that so long as the mark scheme has been applied correctly the mark will not be adjusted, even if the person looking at it might have given it an extra mark or two. That means small changes are much less likely to happen. That said it’s unlikely to go down a grade so worth a punt but unless there’s a mistake it will stay the same.

[swingofthings]

Similar position here, except a point away from a 6. DS was expected level 6. Only found out mark last week after pestering for results and no mention of encouraging to go for it, let alone that they'd pay. Didn't share individual test grades.

DS got level 7 and 8 in all other subjects. He is doing what he wants to do and he's moved on. Cost is not an issue but I'm struggling to get a clear idea of the chance of an increase. Are we talking 5%, 10%, 20%, 50%, le latter which I doubt but just to indicate the confusion!

[PBLR]

We tried unsuccessfully to get DS's mark up by 1 to achieve a grade 5 in English language last year. Both papers remarked. I noticed that Awarding bodies including AQA OCR EDEXCEL gave grade 5 or above to 69%. Of candidates. For WJEC only 62% got grade 5 or above. Why a school in central England (ours) would choose a Welsh board for English is beyond me. DS got grade 6 for English lit and good grades (5+) for all other subjects.
I would look at your possible progression routes. Uni's will accept the 4 for courses such as Engineering as long as Maths is a 5 or 6, but if you are looking at arts type subjects he might need a 5+ in English. Check now and go for a resit in Jan if you need to. The longer he waits the more inconvenient it all gets. If he needs the 5 and you don't get it at remark just go in again at the next opportunity. Uni's actually value the grade more than the 'all at one sitting ' thing.

[runoutofnamechanges]

With the old system, it was definitely better to get one paper marked first, then another - otherwise you could find one paper went up and one went down, cancelling each other out.

If the first remark goes down, you can then decide whether it is worth the risk of having the second paper remarked in case it goes down as well to the extent that they go down a grade. If it goes up, then you've avoided the risk of it being cancelled out by losing marks on the other paper.

[Billysunshine]

Yes, completely. It's in the school's best interest too. They will have analysed the papers.

[mathsquestions]

Statistically try the one with a lower mark and see.

Tell the teacher that if they haven’t heard back by the day before the deadline they should automatically submit the second paper.

Good luck.

[HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo]

Thanks, everyone. I’d be prepared to lose the £76. We’re not rich! But I think it’s worth it.

I like the thrifty idea of doing one paper at a time, but DS and his teacher both have no idea which one to start with. And isn’t the deadline something scarily close, like 20th September? I’d be scared we’d miss it.

[mathsquestions]

Hi.

It’s an essential subject so definitely worth it. It’s only one mark so quite likely to be upgraded.

You only pay if the grade stays the same but you pay per paper and if only one paper goes up and you go from 4 to 5 you’ll still have to pay for the other paper.

I suggest you try one one paper at a time but keep an eye on the calendar as there are deadlines.

[helpmum2003]

I also agree 4 to 5 is a big psychological jump....

[helpmum2003]

We had 2 remarked last year one of which was 1 mark off next grade. No luck - apparently (apart from big errors listed above) it's quite hard to get a remark rather than a mathematical error correction.
Apparently all marks are put into bands and if the remark is in the same band (even if numerically higher) they don't change the original mark.
I guess I'm saying don't get your hopes up but if you can afford it go for it. I would if in the same position again. Then you can get rid of any doubts..... Good luck

[Hadalifeonce]

That was how we viewed it, DD was 1 mark off the next grade, we know she can't go down a grade, but if she goes up, it may pay dividends for her in the future.

[HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo]

The teacher didn’t suggest they’d pay for it. His expected grade was only a 4. And of course, technically he did pass. But I think the teacher thought that - as he’s only 1 mark away - it might be worth a shot.

DS was a bit off about the idea and it turns out he feels bad that I might pay £76 only for them to say “No, this boy is definitely only a Grade 4...” But I said it’s just a gamble, like in poker (he’s very good at poker) and it might pay off and make a difference later.

[RaptorInaPorkPieHat]

I would ask if the school are paying for it, DD was one mark off in one of her A levels and the school paid for the re-mark.

[HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo]

Swallows that cost, not first

[HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo]

His teacher says she honestly wouldn't know which paper to suggest for a re-mark, so I think I'd pay for both. Any other subject (other than his A level subjects), I wouldn't bother. But this mark might make a difference in the future.

Thanks for your help! I'm going to do it.

Is it always free if the grade goes up? Who swallows that first, the exam board?

[MarthaDunstable]

X-post.
Normally better tactics to go for one paper at a time if deadlines allow.
But if school has had a lot of remarks go their way and you can afford the risk then I’d definitely go for it - you never know when he’ll be applying for a job (even a entry level holiday job) that does automated CV checks and scores on English GCSE.