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Original poster

GCSE summer 2020 thread 6 - Carry on Corona Cohort, Further adventures aboard the Corona Charabanc.

961 replies

FoolsAssassin · 16/06/2020 21:06

The summer of discovidtent for the Corona Cohort trudging on towards results day.
Ofqual have done them a little video to explain their results:

Please feel free to join us to see what twists the next bit has in store for us all.

Thread 5
Thread 4
Thread 3
Thread 1 year 10

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OrangeCinnamon1 · 10/07/2020 22:20

So sad @fiddlersgreen and @foolsassassin. It just takes the one tablet Sad

Monkey2001 · 11/07/2020 01:31

@Fiddlersgreen sorry to hear that. Those are the sort of deaths you only expect to see on the news, having direct experience must be awful. Flowers for you too.

Original poster
FoolsAssassin · 11/07/2020 08:45

Oh Fiddlersgreen, how awful there’s another one. really sobering . What a bloody waste of life.
DS isn’t going back to the school but feel really sorry for those who are. School are opening so anyone who needs support and counselling can go in.

This is the 4th death of students from the school in 6 years now, the other 3 were suicides. It scares the shit out of me frankly.

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sandybayley · 11/07/2020 08:49

It's shocking and my heart goes out to the parents. What a waste.

Original poster
FoolsAssassin · 11/07/2020 08:58

Fiddlers have they made any arrests ? Just looking at our local FB page and they have arrested 3 lads, 2 year 11s and one the year above by the look of it and an older woman who lives further away so looks like they are trying to have a go at the supply chain. But reality is will just cause a vacancy for others to move in.

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Monkey2001 · 11/07/2020 13:03

Have not read all of this yet, but an interesting report from the select committee reviewing the process for awarding grades this year. The bit that interests me is that OFQUAL have to look at each group to ensure the algorithm has not been unfair - as I have a DS in this who, like most boys including his brother, would have upped his game in the final months, I would be pleased to see them making sure that the approach did not cause a drop in boys' results, although he will just accept it if that is what happens as GCSEs will not matter nearly as much as A levels.

committees.parliament.uk/publications/1834/documents/17976/default/

Fiddlersgreen · 11/07/2020 23:44

@FoolsAssassin I haven’t heard anything about arrests or anything.
You’re right though, there will always be another dealer.
It’s not about me at all but I do feel very naive to the fact that this is even around 16 year olds.

Original poster
FoolsAssassin · 12/07/2020 06:27

Fiddlers I feel the same . I was aware that weed was around and know that’s more damaging now than when we were young as more THC now. A friend works in mental health and had been saying about that. But I had naively though it would be that.minstead I have been learning about County Lines and how we have a drug problem here since drug outreach services were axed in 2016.

We are a leafy market town and whilst I knew drugs are everywhere and can be bad in more rural areas it’s a big shock that someone who was in classes with DS has died from them and the fact that it has just happened by you as well highlights the fact it can happen everywhere and we need to stop assuming it doesn’t happen ‘in places like this ‘ as I stupidly did and talk to our kids. Hopefully all of ours are sensible enough not to try but these are weird times and people act in unexpected ways sometimes. And once can be enough.

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ClarasZoo · 12/07/2020 15:07

Apologies if this has been discussed before but I’ve not read the whole of this thread. I was wondering the other day whether the exams in October will be easier . the reason I say this is because presumably anyone who gets a grade 9 or an a star awarded now will not bother to resit the exams in October. this means that there will be a top slice of children who might otherwise have got an eight or A but will now be at the top and get a nine or a star. how do you think the exam board is going to cater for this or perhaps they won’t?

ClarasZoo · 12/07/2020 15:12

I don’t mean easier. I mean easier to get a grade 9 in..

Zandathepanda · 12/07/2020 15:53

I think it will be pupils trying to up to 4s and 5s but also a section who were expecting 9s and were aggrieved not to get them. I think there will be ‘humps’ in the grading.

Monkey2001 · 12/07/2020 21:16

Moderation will be really difficult as I agree with Zanda, it will be people who wanted 8/9 and got 7/8 and people who need to pass maths and english. I also think it is unlikely that people will want to take subjects they are not doing A levels in as they will not have had any teaching for 8 months by November. I think the numbers will be very small.

In my experience (AS levels 2018 for DS1) when cohorts are very small it is not great for high performers as they limit the percentage getting top grades so the boundaries can be very high.

This year, who knows!!

Monkey2001 · 12/07/2020 21:37

...... and having been through it all with DS1, grade boundaries can vary a lot to get the split across the grades to where the boards want it. For example, for Edexcel GCSE maths, in 2016 you needed 70% for an A, and in 2017 it was 52% for a 7 (with the new syllabus), and in 2018 58%.

ProggyMat · 12/07/2020 22:21

But is a variance of 5-6% from 2017-18 a lot?
I think the 2019 grade 9 boundary for maths was slightly lower/on par with 2018?
DDs school applied a 5% increase on last years GCSE papers when grading January mocks.

Monkey2001 · 13/07/2020 00:10

Yes, 2019 was 57% for an A.
How big that is depends on how you look at it - 58/52 is 1.115, so you had to get 11.5% more marks in 2018 than you needed in 2017 for an A.

They aim to keep the grade statistics roughly steady although they have been more generous since the new grades came in - so 17.1% got A/A* in 2016, 19.8% got 7/8/9 in 2017, 19.5% in 2018, 19.3% in 2019.

They will struggle to moderate in 2020, but I guess it is likely that they will use the same as 2019, so 57% for a 7, 70% for an 8, 83% for a 9 although that will probably give them a very non-normal grade distribution!

Subjects other than maths and english have less than 3 years of historic data.

Original poster
FoolsAssassin · 13/07/2020 07:36

New college just emailed with results day procedure saying they have a waiting list so need results in by 12pm. My stomach feels a touch strange !

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ProggyMat · 13/07/2020 09:19

Keep positive,Fools!
He’s negotiated the exam and the interview, so they know what he can do when ‘put on the spot’.
Have they discussed what their stance is on a ‘slipped grade’?
DDs new school have said not to worry if a grade is slipped as they know they have not been able to prove what they can do.

Original poster
FoolsAssassin · 13/07/2020 10:05

They have said they will look at application form, reference, interview and test performance. Both maths and physics teachers were confident of a 9 and he needs 8s.

If i’m honest it hadn’t occurred to me that there was any chance of less than an 8 until seeing the IB thread and now a bit has doubt has crept in as the school results aren’t great. Will keep the faith but you know that feeling when you have a bit of a moment?!

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ProggyMat · 13/07/2020 10:33

I certainly do!
I’m trying to switch off from it...
That said, if a student is pulled down from a CAG of 9 to 7 the centre will be the first to appeal?

sandybayley · 13/07/2020 10:57

Stay positive Fools! There was a lot of scaremongering on that IB thread and I stepped away from it.

DD sat an exam and did an interview for her Sixth Form and thankfully they have said they won't look at grades as they have enough information. I guess the issue might come if a grade is lower than they'd like to see in a subject to be taken at A Level.

ChristopherTracy · 13/07/2020 11:03

Yes, I have got to a place now where if DS doesnt get the grades to stay at his current place OR move to his alternate then we will just have to assess colleges and BTECs etc.

I have reached a place of 'can I control or affect this?' No, not at this point.

Monkey2001 · 13/07/2020 11:20

@FoolsAssassin I would be really surprised if GCSEs drop more than 1 grade. There are enough students from most subjects at most schools for the statistical approach to be mostly OK for Y11s. The report which had looked at predicted grades said they were on average 0.5 grades too high, which led to the headlines that 33% would go down, but that means it should only by 1 grade in a third of exams. Don't worry!

Original poster
FoolsAssassin · 13/07/2020 11:43

That was I was banking on Monkey

I had done a good job of switching off from it and I did pretty well during the bit in the info session that covered it, there was just something different in seeing it in black and white out of the blue this morning - not helped maybe by the fact we’re hoping to move and DS bit getting in would screw that up hugely.
Am going to go back to forgetting about it as was quite good at that until now !

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Wheresthebeach · 13/07/2020 22:44

I think it's really hard right now. I have good days, and days when I really worry. Everything is just so surreal. Fingers crossed Fools that all is okay.

Piggywaspushed · 14/07/2020 20:38

I got email about results day from DS school. Still going ahead but bookable slots, like a parents evening. They are aware students might want to see each other and there may be some heightened emotion so they want to restrict numbers and keep it safe whilst keeping the sense of occasion.

Sweet of them to acknowledge the emotion.