The government should be made to fulfil their promise re Autumn GCSE sittings since there is now no appeals procedure. [Edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

[H0usePlant]

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2020/apr/22/schools-and-exam-boards-undermine-promise-to-pupils-of-september-tests

So having had the chance to sit GCSEs( understandable in the circumstances if schools don’t go back until the Autumn) the gov promised a robust appeals procedure and Autumn sittings. There is now no appeals procedure to speak off as regards actual results and it’s looking less likely there will be Autumn sittings.

They promised both originally and many kids are going to be really upset that through no fault of their own that there will be no chance to put right any issues with GCSE grades allocated. It will surely have an impact on the future chances of those wishing to attend Russel group unis.

Having read several year 11 threads it’s clear all schools aren’t adhering to advice that work from home after school stopped is not to be used.Many kids do cram( there is no gcse rule book prohibiting this), some kids will have had issues outside and inside school that will have an impact on grades being allocated without exams. Private schools have an added incentive for higher results and no Sats data. Teachers, schools and circumstances vary. As such it’s clear in all likelihood there will be discrepancies.

My dd has had an awful time and isn’t holding out much hope that she’ll get what she should/ could have done. She has been working hard since school left for Autumn sittings as that is what was promised. These appear to be disappearing too. Sitting GCSEs next summer whilst studying for A levels isn’t workable. They have hoards of free time and anxiety now. She is now feeling powerless to put right any discrepancies herself. We as parents will be powerless to do anything when results come out.

It’s shit and the gov should surely be offering money to exam boards to ensure exams are held in the Autumn as they promised.

Schools won't be allowed to submit substantially better results than their usual data suggests they would.
I would have thought that provided she gets what she needs to go on to do her chosen courses she would be better off letting it go.
She can take a year out and apply with A level grades achieved if she feels her GCSE awarded grades don't reflect her true ability.

Yes, it sucks. It also sucks for my y10 who was on target to pass stuff and the way she is now I think we'll be lucky if she sits anyway.

But how will that actually work? Where do you sit them and having had 2 years break you’d have wasted years of work and be back at square one alongside sitting them in only a year.

They promised Autumn sittings and this messing around, vague rumours, going back on promises is causing anxiety.

Sure she’ll get on some uni courses but not the better/ best ones. The kids with stellar GCSEs that prove they have ability in subjects before Alevel results, the kids who didn’t have a shitty time or who are maturing and have non text book studying skills are going to miss out.

Fine, GCSEs were cancelled, tough luck but give them a chance to appeal or at the very least a chance to put it right.

My dd is really upset as it is. Studying for Aut sittings gave her some power over her future and made her feel she could do something about it.

No, I'm not suggesting she redoes the GCSEs. I'm suggesting that she only apply to uni once she has her A level results so they can see what your DD is capable of.

They will know GCSEs this year are differently awarded. If she feels she has extenuating circumstances she can also cover that in her personal statement.

She does have power over her future. Work hard for A levels and get good results there.

How would you suggest appeals should be run? The procedure can be appealed against-the grade can’t. Can you imagine the chaos if every child that didn’t like their result could appeal-it would be unworkable. Which exams do you think won’t be run in autumn? Exam boards need minimum numbers to award fairly-they won’t run exams for 12 students.

Well she’s got to get on the Alevel courses first and I doubt very much that unis will give her a place if up against somebody with good A levels andgood GCSEs. She wants the GCSEs that define her and she would have got. 2020 will not be an excuse on CVs,every kid will he able to use it.

She wants to do them in the Autumn as promised so all her current work isn’t wasted.

Why do you think your school won't grade her at 'what she would have got'? The whole purpose of the schools doing the grades is to achieve that.
I suspect that outside Maths, Eng Lang & Science there won't be a lot of demand for resits. Not enough kids are going to care about their business / history / food GCSE grades to study and retake, and without a large enough group the retake results won't be any more reliable than the school allocations.

It’s such a shit show I’m more than happy to forget appeals but you need to give them something to put right a grade they feel is wrong or unfair.

The gov promised Aut sittings so they need to fund it if boards say it will cost them too much. They keep backtracking and it causes anxiety for kids who are already anxious and have gone through a lot- no exams, no school, no goodbyes, worry about the future....

Having exams to work towards would give them a focus and something to work towards.Empowerment.

Sciences aren’t looking likely going by the link.

If they couldn’t provide Aut sittings they should never have promised them. Really shit organisation. Did the DofE not sit down and have a think about the logistics.

Get her doing pre-A level work. A nice head start to her A level courses. That seems to be what a lot of schools are doing.

How many subjects and how many grades below capability are you expecting this to impact her?
Why are you not expecting her grades to be more or less right?

My understanding is that appeals are possible if there is a concern about the statistical process but not in relation to the teacher award. I do think that the gradings of the GCSEs this year is as fair a system as is possible.

I agree that autumn exams should be possible, I think that the government promised this without a good understanding of how difficult it would be to administer. The last article I read on it, and I can't remember where, but I think they were looking at English and maths autumn retakes but may not be able to offer a full range of subjects. The government may yet step in and change that. Obviously the ongoing uncertainty about when schools can return is adding to the challenge here.

All students in this cohort will be in the same boat though and I can't imagine universities won't consider this when offering places.

Because she’s had a shit time over a long period of time. Things were just coming together. She’s been looking at all her grades and trying to make an average, awful. Can’t see how they’ll magic the grades she should have got in the actual exam out of them.She’s doing Alevel work and was working at GCSEs in Aut-for nothing. She’s really upset. They’re not even making firm announcements so she can stop working. The DofE and exam boards are hardly going to be busy at the moment, teachers are doing it all for them.

No way are unis going to ignore bad/ good gcse results. They just won’t.

You don't know how universities are going to approach admissions with this cohort. For all sorts of reasons I expect students with strong A-levels and mediocre GCSES will be able to get on chosen courses. It's likely that the marking system will undergrade students in various disadvantaged groups and for that reason alone I'd expect universities to take a considered view. As stated up thread the main reason to consider GCSE grades is that they are achieved whereas A grades are predicted if students are applying in year 13. If a student takes a year out post A level they can apply with achieved A level grades and GCSEs become far less important.

When you look on some courses they say proof of interest too ie good GCSEs. Having a year out isn’t that easy and they could avoid all of the above by providing the Aut sittings they promised. Why promise it if they had no intention of doing it? The DofE seem to really not care re the mental health of already anxious teens.

I also have a year 11 dd. Prior to all this she'd been looking at degree courses she'd be interested in - Russell Group unis, high A Level requirements. None of them stipulated GCSE grades, other than the usual Maths and English passes. My understanding is that most universities are mainly looking at A Level predicted grades?

If a course requires Maths and English GCSE passes and A,A,B at A Level for example and your dd is predicted those A Level grades, she should be in with a chance. And if not, she can wait until she has the actual A Level grades and apply then. I really wouldn't worry too much.

Both my brothers did underwhelmingly at GCSE - the older one got a mixture of Bs, Cs and Ds - and got into top universities because their A Levels were much better. I think this is common, especially with boys.

You do realise everyone will be disadvantaged in exactly the same way. University's will have to adapt when this years cohort come round. Your DD will be at no more of an advantage or disadvantage than anyone else. How do you know she would have aced her exams given the chance, there are so many variables that all students have to face when approaching exams, and things do go wrong. Get the GCSE grades and focus on getting good A levels. It's what all current Year 11 students are going to have to do.

I know she would have been fine because she was ill before and acing work she was doing at home. I think it’s a bit naive to think when giving supporting info within areas to support degrees good GCSEs in the areas that compliment won’t help. There will be no way unis will ignore those with good GCSEs.

The point is they were promised Aut sittings so that is what they should be having. You can’t muck them around like this, they’ve been though enough.

Proof of interest means relevant work experience, voluntary work, relevant EPQ, attendance at relevant talks/lectures provided by unis or eg professional institutes, MOOCS, TED talks, independent research and reading around the subject. Not a GCSE that everyone has done.

But if you’re going for a STEM degree then surely a range of stellar STEM GCSEs will help, ditto in a language degree.... Crap GCSEs will make you look as if you’re not up to the course.

20th March and before they promised Aut sittings.

www.gov.uk/government/news/further-details-on-exams-and-grades-announced

If they’re not happening when are they going to tell the kids who are clearly wasting their time working?

One way is move on to A-level work. Work hard at A-level, do not apply to uni in year 13, but take a Gap year once she has A-level grades and GCSE grades are of far less value in that application process.
I say this as someone who did exactly this due to less than stellar GCSE grades, really up my game at A-level gaining tip top grades. Worked in relevant area in gap year had unconditional offer by Feb of my gap year.

What is she supposed to do in a Gap year? How is she supposed to fund it? She wants to go to uni when her friends go.

The DofE organisation is shit. Who promises something on a national level if they can’t deliver it? Have they forgotten that they’re dealing with kids, kids who have already had the rug pulled from under them.

She’s already doing Alevel work but doing masses of GCSE too which would clearly be better spent on Alevel. She can’t stop incase they run the Aut sittings.

I think the loss of income from foreign students for universities, coupled with the recession meaning fewer home students, means that in a couple of years universities are going to offer places to almost all that apply.

Surely a recession would mean more would go to uni. Recession equals fewer jobs.At least you’d be doing something at uni instead of looking for a needle in a haystack job.