GCSE Support - the results are in

[SheilaFentiman]

Continuing the threads we had going during revision and waiting for results day!

I'm just still full of adrenaline, I need a drink.

@AnxiousElephant77 and you'll have to share the cake! Well done to your DD👏

DD here really pleased, a mix of 9s, 8s, 7s and 6s with really good grades for A level subjects. She doesn't quite believe the 9 in Biology or the 7 in history (I remember all the agony on here about paper 1 and her 'dire' verdict so am also a bit baffled!).

@MrsHamlet can students ask to see any paper without requesting a remark? DD would love to see her Eng lan papers plus the History one which she said was completely shit! I can't even begin to work out the grade boundaries for her Edexcel history, so many flaming papers

Yes, but only the centre can trigger that.

@Sweetpeasaremadeforbees absolutely she can. She needs to contact the exams officer and ask for access to scripts. I'd suggest priority as it's free and they can be downloaded really quickly.

Yes, but its a question that should be asked, so the parents can push for it if need be.

Thank you

Will it piss off the teachers if it isn't actually necessary but just curiosity?

I’m confused, isn’t a 7 a good mark (old A) reading this, lots of parents not happy with a 7. 😩😳

Disappointing English language result here too - DS did amazingly with 8s and 9s that he put so much work into, then 5 in English lang. Has been working at 8/9.
Can’t get over the 5 and it has really taken the shine off celebrating for him which is silly because he’s done well, but it’s just the frustration as he thought he’d done well in the exam.
Others at his grammar school similarly disappointed. CIE board. Thankfully he’s got what he needed, but it’s so frustrating when the 5 negates all the 8/9s he got during term time.

She can hold two offers until September, it won't be a problem. It's very likely the college will let her enrol a day late, given the circumstances.

I agree it's not ideal from the school to not support her when they were offering others that support though.

It won't annoy the teachers, they should/will be happy that she wants to know.

I would honestly try to find some kind of back up option for your DD.

Most reviews of marking don't end up changing the grade. Are the school very confident the grade will change? If so, what have they said about September?

Mine is only on her first year, so lots of exams ahead yet, but I am so so so proud! She has done really well.
She was estressed regarding the marking standards being set back to pre-covid! It has been a challenge for them to catch up after the year of doom.
They all deserve a big big celebration!

It is a good mark you are absolutely right, I only meant that the disappointment in my DDs case comes from it being two grades lower than all other her usual work/ mocks/ predictions. I am trying to cheer my DD up about it but obviously any student who felt they had dropped grades below their usual working standards would be disappointed. The more comments I see on here and from other parents IRL the English results do seem to have dropped strangely at the top end. Lots of students expecting 8/9 seeing sharp unexpected drops. Does not seem right.

Another slightly baffled by English AQA, DD consistently an 8 in both papers, dropped to a 6. Rest of results v good so happy overall but she has never had a 6 in English before.

I’m confused, isn’t a 7 a good mark (old A) reading this, lots of parents not happy with a 7. 😩😳

I think 7s are brilliant which is why DD can't quite believe her history 7! She was absolutely convinced she'd fail after the first paper and didn't think the second was a lot better.

Thank you.
I imagine they are super busy right now, but hopefully they will get back to me.
DS has chosen a different A Level now, he needed a 5 and 1 mark off was not good enough, but he did not get to speak to his own teacher who might have had a better feel for it all.
Anyway, he's happy enough, but perhaps if he had his 5 he might reconsider things. I appreciate your time answering my queries.

My DS got his first 6 in English Lit - a darn sight better than the 2 he got in his mocks! (He was predicted a 4/5.)
Seems the English marks are all over the place this year.

My daughter had the same just the other way round! She got an 8 in English Lit and 5 in language - she had been getting 9's in all her mocks etc. Poor thing was in tears when she got home 😢

It is a great grade but if your child was predicted and working at a grade 9 level then I can see how they'd be disappointed to get 2 grades lower than that in the exam.

In the same way someone predicted a 5 would be super happy with a 7!

7s are great - and we are delighted with DD's in other subjects. But she got 8s in subjects she'd never consider doing at A-Level and feels English is her strong suit, so feels really weird about it.

Are you getting it checked @Begsy ? I hope school will support your daughter to do it so she can have a chance of getting the grade she was expecting/deserves.
This happens every year and makes me so cross!

Interesting to read about the unexpected English results. DS is 1 mark off passing English Lit and I am wondering about a remark. His teacher just said it’s worth a shot but hasn’t offered to review the script or anything. He doesn’t need it to do the course he wants to do but it would be another GCSE.

DS got a print out obviously put together by his school with all his grades on but not his actual marks. When I got my GCSEs many moons ago we got slips from the exam boards themselves. Do they not do them anymore? DSs school are notoriously bad at handling information and I would rather see the grades in the flesh from the exam board if you see what I mean.

Another with a small element of AQA english disappointment here from DD- predicted 8 for both but got a 6 and a 7 (the 6 was 1 mark off a 7). We have already requested copies of the scripts which her teacher will review to see if a review is worthwhile. DD was convinced she had done better in Lit as she came out of both papers really confidently.

Same for PE - she was 1 mark off an 8 and its an A level choice so she wants that 8.

DD also got a 9 in RS which was way above her mock result of a 6. Her teacher said at parents evening she could get a 9 - he was right !

That's great. He must be thrilled.

But yeah don't know what the deal is with English this year. 😐

DS was told that CIE English Lang don’t send out scripts but can ask for review. That sounds odd - why wouldn’t they send out scripts when other exam boards do?