A Level remark. Who pays?

[Sleeplessinthesouth71]

So DD went into school to collect her results today and was asked to sign a request for a remark as one mark off an A. She doesn't need grade for University as such.
So is school likely to pay if grade isn't changed or will we ve asked to pay.
Thank you

Hi, the school will pay if they requested it

School should pay seems they requested it.

It's very unlikely the mark will go down so nothing to loose but I hope your DD get the higher grade.

That is reassuring thank you. Was worried we would be asked to pay. Thank you @finished31
She isn't bothered really and is happy with her grades overall but an A would be lovely of course.

Exam boards do not re-mark. A senior examiner reviews the marking to check that the mark is ‘reasonable’ for each answer. The chance of any change is very small, and it’s just as likely to go down as it is to go up.

Welli it goes down it won't matter unless it goes down significantly. I suspect school are doing it as dd has always been a A grade Student in that subject.

We're in a similar situation here- we've paid though school suggested to do it. We're one mark of the A grade needed for the university offer and it'll be an exam resit if that extra mark doesn't get 'found'. We've opted for 2 out of the 3 papers to be priority re-checked (almost £150). Good luck!

If the mark changes either way- up or down, then the money is refunded minus the admin fee. Different boards charge different fees.

actually, I have re-read the forms we were given, refund if marks INCREASE!

It's actually only if the grade changes that there's no fee. If the mark changes but the grade doesn't, you still have to pay.

This happened to me. We paid for copies of the paper first as I was one mark off an A. The teacher went through the paper and noticed a question where I had been awarded 0 points but should have been 2 as the terminology I had used was technically correct even though it wasn’t the expected answer (or something). I’m pretty sure My parents paid for the remark. I got the extra 2 points so I got the A grade but I can’t remember if it got refunded. It’s definitely worth trying- I hope your dd gets the a grade.

We've just done this and had to pay. Not sure whether it's because it's a private school whereas state schools might cover it.

Obviously it's worth doing regardless of what the Uni require in case she's likely to get an A

I'm pretty sure they're pretty damn sure she'll be upgraded

Thank you all.

Parents are usually asked to pay. Budgets for schools are so tight.
However, you would have been told this if case and most re-marks are instigated by kids/parents and not school. If the school initiate it and you haven’t been told you’ll be charged it’s unlikely.

This is where inequality comes in again. In many private schools, families will ask for remarks of most grades that sit near the top of the grade. Yes, many will not be altered, but some will, so those who can afford it are more likely to get an upgrade.

This is where inequality comes in again. In many private schools, families will ask for remarks of most grades that sit near the top of the grade. Yes, many will not be altered, but some will, so those who can afford it are more likely to get an upgrade.
This is why remarks no longer exist. If the mark awarded is judged to be reasonable, even if the reviewer would have given a higher mark, the original mark stands.

I've had to pay, school suggested it because it's one mark off the A grade that she needs for university.
For us it's worth the chance because otherwise it's going to be paying for resit (possibly x2 although the offer was AAB - one of the A's had to be a science and my daughter got B's in both Sciences with A* in Politics and A in English literature, the offer was a contextual one and might not be given again). As well as the marking fee we have to pay for another UCAT test because if she doesn't book it now and the extra mark isn't found then she'd be too late as that has to be done by the end of September and she'll need to prepare for it again which takes a good few weeks to get into the swing of it again.
I can't really afford these things, I do supply teaching and if I don't work I don't get paid-so 6 weeks summer break doesn't help. At the moment I get tax credits but as my daughter is about to turn 18 and will no longer be in full time education then they'll be stopping at the end of this month too.
I agree that those in private schools are more likely to pay, however they've probably already got in extra tuition etc to help their child pass in the first place!

the school can't be sure, they didn't sit the paper nor see the candidates answers! The school will be suggesting to the candidate/parents that it's worth the 'try' when it's so close to the next grade. I would imagine that having taught the child that they'd like to see that they get as high a grade as possible and with one mark off the next grade it's worth a try!
Hopefully for the OP and us, that mark will be found and none of us will be paying any money AND the children will get the A grade!

The chance of any change is very small

No it isn’t. I taught A level and GCSE for 24 years. Frequent remarks and nearly always some sort of change.

Well will have fingers crossed for a change but not hopeful.

Thanks again.

Except they are no longer remarks. OFQUAL are very clear that reviews are not the same as remarks: reviewers are not looking for extra marks but to see whether the original mark is reasonable.

We paid, but got a refund on the ones that were changed.

got copies of A level exam (scrips) due to lower than expected grade, from new collage Pontefract. Got 2 papers remarked had to pay £46.40 per paper. Both papers were wrongly marked and increased by 4 marks each therefore grade went from B to A. It states fee will be reimbursed if grade changes. But they will only reimburse for 1 paper. This is such a con we’re paying for a business to confirm they were inadequate. The cost is not just the pounds it’s in the stress and upset their poor work causes. They have been paid to do a job incorrectly then paid again by us . This has to change . After seeing the inadequate standard of marking I advise every student to get there scrips this is free and you can agree with the marks or take it further . I will update as I will not let this go.

@Caercaer had a similar experience with international A levels which are modular. Asked for scripts for 3 modules (£11 per module). All 3 had mistakes in applying the mark scheme. In 2 of them this had resulted in a significantly lower mark. Requested "reviews" for both of these (around £65 per paper). Both went up i.e. the UMS scores increased. This made the difference between not having full UMS for the subject and having full UMS. The UMS went up but because the grade was already the top grade, it didn't go up. We paid over £150 in total and were not reimbursed a penny despite there being glaringly obvious errors in the original marking. It's a complete scam. If the mark goes up at all - even by 1 mark - then a full refund should be given. Otherwise people on tight budgets can get their scripts (if they can even afford that), be fully aware they've been robbed of marks, but be unable or unwilling to have this corrected as it's unaffordable.

Update . Her mark stayed the same but clearly school took the hit.