Thread 8 Carry on Corona Cohort: GAV give us the CAG?

[OrangeCinnamon1]

Welcome all to the 8th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort the Corona Cohort!

Some of us have been here since I started first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. It is hoped this will continue. Going forward we intend to stay in secondary so any new threads should have 'GCSE Summer 2020 Thread # : Carry on Corona Cohort' in title just to make it easier to find.

From now on our DS/DD may go down various paths so we decided not to be exclusionary and stay right here in Secondary until HQ chuck us
At this precise moment in time we are awaiting GCSE results that seem to have been produced by an algorithm that also takes very little account of Teacher Centre Assessed Grades. There is an appeal process but it was changed yesterday to include mock results and coursework, then taken down again for review.
Trying to protect our young people's mental health.during this shit show , which the government claims is their priority...when they talk about wanting students back in schools/college in September...

first ever thread

previous thread

In my area very few schools have 6th forms & they are usually under subscribed.

The very large colleges take anyone who applies, your grades just determine whether you do a level 3 course/A levels, or a level 2 course.

Wow, this thread has doubled since I went out this morning!

@RedskyAtnight Yes, there will be a limit to the number of students on courses. Timetables are written in May / June, so if you start getting too many students to fit into a classroom, then you need to put on a new class. This can be easier to do in FE colleges as contracts work differently. But you need to have a teacher who has capacity in their timetable to add an extra class.

Actually, I'm sure it's a problem every year and sixth forms just get on with it, surely?
In a normal year, they can't predict how many pupils will meet their conditional offers and must just have to accept all and any that do and subsequently take up those offers.

@singingstones thank you for the countdown! (We’re on the same timeframe!)

Different schools will do Thursday differently. Results are embargoed until 6am and that includes CAGs.
In terms of sixth form entry, we're a state school. If they meet the entry requirements, they'll be in. We won't be able to add extra classes so some might be huge, but we won't be turning people away.

As there’s no single application system for 6th form, no centre knows whether students are holding multiple places. So I would assume there is some slack in the system.

DD is holding two places because there is a question over whether and where a particular A level course will run. She will decline one as soon as possible after results day.

ComeFromAway That is similar to my experience round here. Sixth forms are all very keen to get in as many students as possible, and grades are only used to determine which course you are able to do.

Whilst I get there is a timetabling issue, if sixth forms "over offer" on the basis that some students won't get grades or will go somewhere else, they surely can't predict exactly which students this will happen to. So you might make 35 offers for maths, expecting 5 of them not to come, and then have the problem Sarahbeans mentions if you end up with 31 students. Though I guess it's easier to "squeeze in" 1 extra student, than it is 6.

Looks like some people are determined to make this a private v state school war . Don’t know what I’ve been bothered about all along when all the pleasure is ours.

Dd is ridiculously excited to start college. We've had the conversation about a level 2 course if the worst happens (I can't see it ) she is just really excited about
Wearing her own clothes
Calling teachers by their first nanes
Starting at 10am
Not having to get the train
Making new friends
Popping home to make cheese toasties for lunch
Starting a course she has never done (Sociology)
Considering possible unis/conservatoires (although very few places/competitive for vocals at cons so not sure that one is a goer but nice to explore)

Shimy, what feels like ages ago now, but was actually only a few days, I did suggest that the whole state v. private debate shouldn’t be part of results day.

DD has SEN and her (indie) school has turned her school experience around. No-one’s going to take her achievements away from her within my hearing. 🤬

@OrangeCinnamon1. Oh but that list does sound exciting! I remember lessons at 10am, the extra lie in and making new friends, ‘free periods’ and just feeling more grown up .

Aww, that's nice she's getting so excited Orange. It should be such an exciting time for them all.

My DS is so laid back about everything I find it frustrating to gauge what he's feeling. He did look briefly happy when I told him results were now CAGs but then went back to "don't care" mode.

... and he still hasn't looked at any sixth form clothes. I gave DD a lift into town today and suggested I could take him in at the same time and he could have a wander round too. Got the "why would I want to do that?" look back. Maybe it will be more real after Thursday.

I used to teach A level Sociology, there was a right mixed bag ito GCSE results.
Nobody was turned away, unless they really couldn't manage the course. It was the same for every subject. Obviously you needed a GCSE in Maths if you wanted to take A level maths, but a C (4/5) would do.
This was just a dept in the actual college that covered subjects up to degree level.
Local colleges really do have something for everyone.

For us probably 5 of 12 local schools have 6th forms, these 6th forms have said in recent weeks that they will priorities their current students who they know well and would have thought would make the entry criteria. Therefore if you are applying as a new student they will have fewer places so please make sure you are lining up alternatives. These 6th forms usually have very good results.

If you don’t get into one of these 6th forms then the local 6th form college is an option, entry requirements are not high. End results are varied, unsurprisingly.

In normal years I suppose quite a few current students don’t make the grade to stay on, but now with everyone hopefully receiving their best results they won’t move as many pupils on.

Great for existing pupils, not so much for new pupils, the pupils at the schools without a 6th form.

I think results are embargoed to 8 am this year!

@RedskyAtnight I think my DS is your DS's twin. "Yeah. Okay. Cool." is about the most interested response I've got out of him throughout this entire process. He was (very) briefly enthusiastic about the packet of Minstrels I bought for him as a 'yay, you'll get your CAG not some algorithm screwed result' celebration today, but frankly that was more to do with the chocolate than the celebration.

That said, I think I'd prefer that to melting down with stress. Some of the parents on here have had it a lot tougher than me, I know.

@Alsoplayspiccolo I saw your post and agreed we should keep it nice and together the way we had all along, everyone chipping in about their experiences without judgment and cheering each other on. It made the thread so much richer.

DS is exactly In the same boat as yours SEN plus ADHD School has been amazing for him and turned around a C/D student into predictions of straight A’s. He has worked soo hard to the point we were worried he was overdoing mentally. He’s been so good throughout lock down keeping himself busy and looking forward to the grades that will reflect his work. I didn’t have the heart to tell him it’s not going to happen because he’s on low sets (but high achiever within his set), eventually he heard about it all but had just been in denial that surely he will get his predicteds, he just couldn’t believe none of his work over the last 2yrs would count. I was determined to appeal everything but thankfully he can now get his CAGs. Wishing you DD luck for Thursday.
Can’t belive how far we have come. From wondering whether DS will ever be able to attend mainstream school, to wether he’ll be able to do a few GCSEs, then perhaps foundation Maths instead of the higher, double science instead of triple to where he is now. We are going to really celebrate on Thursday.

It is heartening how many of us have DC with SEN who are looking forward (hopefully) to decent results on Thursday. @Alsoplayspiccolo and @Shimy DS also has asd/add and the early years of school were very tough. Much better once he hit his stride at around y8 but we still have our ups and downs. I think Thursday is going to be an emotional day for a number of reasons

Someone asked earlier about the autumn exam series. There is always one for GCSE English and maths which is taken by a wide range of candidates, and I expect that to be fairly normal. As for the rest, who knows what will happen now.

@Alsoplayspiccolo we'll make sure it is on the top of the next thread which we'll be at v soon.

@shimy I managed to follow my boyfriend to carry on at the sixth form when I really should have gone to college I think. We did have free periods but still had to be in at 8.30 after a 40min bus journey.

@Devlesko she is really keen on the Sociology so fingers crossed. It is a really good complement to her Music, she has been looking at the spec and making sure she knows all the basic concepts. Has already written a 1000 word essay on The Effects of Covid on Education. She may have to revisit that as it was written a while ago....

Shimy and FlyingPandas, everything crosses for your DCs for Thursday.
I’ll be raising a large to all fellow SEN mums, who I know will have worked as hard as your DCs to make sure they reach their potential, with plenty of tears and heartache along the way

@FloweringFlowers Thanks for the input.
Yes, it will be hard for pupils without a sixth form at their own school, particularly if the town doesn't have its own sixth form college, or it has specialised in qualifications other than A levels, if that's what the pupils want to do.
I guess those schools have always had that problem to some extent and hopefully have good guidance for their pupils. Funny the things that you don't anticipate when choosing the school for your DC in y6, if there is a choice, that is.

Thanks, Orange. I’ve loved being part of this thread, and couldn’t have survived the last couple of years without it, so it would be awful if things turn sour at the 11th hour.

That's a lovely list Orange

The state v private thing is just stupid now I think - the algorithm and its application did seem to broadly favour private overall but still with many private schools badly affected. But that's gone now and in any case was hardly the fault of the schools or the students. I'm grateful to Eton for explaining to their parents that they felt they had a duty to act, not just for the sake of their own pupils but for everyone. And for their lobbying of the powers that be. I'm sure many other prestigious schools did the same and I'm sure it helped.

Some schools will probably have been more generous with their CAGs than others but afaik there's no evidence that it's split along the lines of state v private. Could very well be the other way, anyway, who knows. I think deliberate inflation of CAGs will be unusual because a) most teachers are professional and competent and b) most schools are very careful not to put their reputation at risk. But I guess we'll find out in due course...

Government can't make anything clear. This suggests that GCSE candidates will only receive their CAGS.

www.gov.uk/government/news/gcse-and-a-level-students-to-receive-centre-assessment-grades

But OFQUAL's statement clearly implies that the higher grade applies (the 2nd para refers to GCSE and A Level and the fifth para that you can choose the higher grade

www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-from-roger-taylor-chair-ofqual grade)