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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

GCSE Summer 2020 Thread 10: Carry on Corona Cohort ‘The Next Step''

999 replies

OrangeCinnamon1 · 20/08/2020 13:52

Welcome all to the 10th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort - the Corona Cohort!

This is a thread for supporting all young people ( and their parents) who were examined for GCSEs 2020 regardless of the institute they attended or the grades they needed. It is respectfully requested that we are all supportive and helpful to each other.
If you want to start a debate e.g state vs private - please do not within this thread.
Similarly it should be recognised that the grades our children needed/deserved/wanted will vary across the board- we wish to celebrate and comiserate with all. One same grade outcome can simultaneously cause joy and despair for different posters and their families. Please be sensitive when responding to threads about grade outcomes.

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 on the Secondary Education Board (at least until Mumsnet HQ chuck us out grin ) as from now on our DS/DD may go down various paths such employment, apprenticeships, higher ed etc so we decided not to be exclusionary.

Any new threads should have 'GCSE Summer 2020 Thread # : Carry on Corona Cohort' in title just to make it easier to find. There is no preciousness about who starts new threads!

At this precise moment in time it us 'results day ' most have GCSE results and some awaiting BTEC results .

We are all ALWAYS trying to protect our young people's mental health, which the government claims is their priority...when they talk about wanting students back in schools/college in September popping this here.

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Piggywaspushed · 30/08/2020 17:37

Her grade should be a 6 then.

You shouldn't really know the CAG unless you have asked?

Frankiegoes · 30/08/2020 18:18

Piggywaspushed - The school emailed out all the CAG grades along with the official results.

Fiddlersgreen · 30/08/2020 18:19

Has anyone bought a laptop for their DC recently?
Mine has died and we just found out this week that DS will be alternating being at college for a week and then at home learning online for a week.
Any tips on what to look for? Anything to avoid?
Budget is only up to £250

Piggywaspushed · 30/08/2020 18:51

I see!

They aren't supposed to have done!

Either way, the 'correct ' grade is a 6.

Piggywaspushed · 30/08/2020 18:53

We got an HP for about that price, bit more. We wanted one with clicky mouse buttons (although they are still rubbish!), It's quite a wide laptop and very slow but has a good display.

Frankiegoes · 30/08/2020 19:18

Piggywashed- The only reason I can think of is that my DD was put in for the foundation paper so technically couldn’t be given a 6. However, all along over the past 2 years the school had predicted her a 6 and she was in a high set who all take the Higher Level paper. I think they panicked over grades and put her in for the foundation level at the last minute. But how could the CAG then be a 6?

Think I’ll have to contact the school .....

TheFallenMadonna · 30/08/2020 19:20

When we downloaded GCSE results, we only got the higher of the CAG or calculated grade, so you would only know if there was an upgrade to the CAG. I don't know what our calculated grades would have been (apart from the upgraded ones), so I would ask the school for clarification.

Piggywaspushed · 30/08/2020 19:35

The CAG could not be a 6 if she was foundation, no.

You haven't got CAG and algorithm muddled have you?

There were some cases of algorithm 6s despite being foundation.

We just got one set of results : no idea which are CAG and which are 'moderated'.

ProggyMat · 30/08/2020 20:01

@Frankiegoes your DD’s result slip should show whether her school entered her for Higher or Foundation tier.
If as you have surmised, her school panicked and entered her for Foundation rather than Higher they may have overlooked adjusting their CAG
Or, they may have entered her for the Higher and the 6 would stand.

RedskyAtnight · 30/08/2020 20:50

Fiddlers have a look at reconditioned laptops (loads on ebay). You can get really good spec ones for much less than they would be new.

Both my DC have been using reconditioned laptops for learning from home.

Frankiegoes · 30/08/2020 21:16

ProggyMat - yes she was definitely entered for Foundation maths. Just a bit confused why they chose to enter her for this when her CAG was a level 6.

Piggywaspushed · 30/08/2020 21:47

But does it really matter now as she has a 6?

Frankiegoes · 30/08/2020 22:32

No her CAG was 6 but her GCSE grades is a 5

TheFallenMadonna · 30/08/2020 22:58

That can't be the case, as the grade given by the exam board will be the higher of the two. Double check the results slip, and then with the school if the CAG is definitely given as higher than "actual".

Shimy · 31/08/2020 09:59

Did anyone’s dc do a subject called ‘English proficiency’? DS is adamant he did an ‘extra’ GCSE qualification and it has not been included in his results. I e never heard of it myself but he was really looking forward to it and a bit disappointed there’s been no mention of it.

GreekOddess · 31/08/2020 10:14

@Shimy it's not the English speaking assessment is it? Ds has an M in in the column end 1 for this.

Piggywaspushed · 31/08/2020 10:25

Was this a school trying to massage their league tables by doing basic skills stuff?

Sounds a bit like it.

We have something called Step Up to English : but I don't think CAGs were done for those.Don't know why. Possibly because of some rule about double counting qualifications.

Shimy · 31/08/2020 12:11

@GreekOddess I think it might be. DS said he had to research a topic and do a very long presentation which he spent hrs preparing for and completed it before school closure.

Ds hasn’t received the official results sheet yet, perhaps it’s on that? Has everyone else received their official results certificates?

TheFallenMadonna · 31/08/2020 12:17

Step up to English is an Entry Level Certificate qualification. I do a Maths equivalent and we did do CAGs for them. They don't double count because they're not GCSEs.

Piggywaspushed · 31/08/2020 12:17

I think maybe we didn't do CAGs because it was thought they would all get their GCSE grade.

Piggywaspushed · 31/08/2020 12:18

That sounds like Spoken English. He would get a D , M or P.

GreekOddess · 31/08/2020 12:21

That sounds like it @Shimy Was it not on the results print-out from the school?

RedskyAtnight · 31/08/2020 12:26

Whilst we're talking about spoken English ... can I ask if it's unusual or actually common for a student to get a low(ish) mark in the English paper (or CAG this year) but a good mark in the speaking?

Or, put another way, DS got a 4 in English with a Distinction in the speaking part. I think he may have a SpLD around writing but have thus far been told no evidence for this (his teachers just think he is lazy). So I'm trying to gather evidence that might point towards someone taking it more seriously (also can point to him only finishing half the questions on his mock papers that required a lot of writing - due to his writing (not just handwriting) being so slow).

Shimy · 31/08/2020 13:03

@GreekOddess & @Piggywaspushed

It was not on the print out from school. He said they were all encouraged to do it as it’s an additional qualification, he was one of few that did it. He said he scored very high. He’s contacted school about it but they haven’t responded.

Monkey2001 · 31/08/2020 15:14

@Fiddlersgreen have you considered a desktop? You get a lot more for your money and they are easily upgradable. DS2 built himself a gaming PC last year and will be using that for the Teams half of his course. Apart from being higher power, desktops are better structured for spending a whole day at.

It would be worth looking at the spec of a desktop at a similar price point before dismissing it.