Y11 2023/24 thread 5 - results!

[Techno56]

New thread as no 4 is nearly full

@OhCrumbsWhereNow when is summer half term?

ours do all of their English lit in year 10 and English language in year 11

My DD did hers right at the end of y9 if memory serves me right.

Summer half-term was at the end of May.

But I think it's school specific not board specific. Ah DD's school run a 3 year GCSE pathway so they've pretty much finished all the courses for most subjects and Y11 is mainly revision.

This question (and MrsHamlet's helpful response) is of interest, because as far as I can tell from the communication I have received, our school does not get involved in advising whether students should put in for a review. We've received a very detailed email setting out the processes, deadlines and fees (examination board fees plus £5 admin for each paper) for the three options - obtaining the scripts, clerical check, review of marking - but there is no mention of the school/teachers being involved in advising.

DS was 1 mark below an 8 in English Lang so we have ordered the two scripts just to see if a question was not scanned/marked etc, but obviously we would not be able to evaluate the marking. And since 7 is an excellent grade, is what DS was predicted, and does not affect his A level choices (he's a mathematician), I would feel a bit over-zealous asking his teacher to advise whether a review is warranted, given how time-consuming MrsHamlet has confirmed it is. So the other option is to just go for a review of marking without a recommendation, but given the weird English Language grading reported on this thread, I'd be worried that he might even go down a grade! Probably better to let sleeping dogs lie...

Other people give different advice but since reviews don't look for marks, I would say one mark off is a waste of money UNLESS you're certain there's been a marking error.

I was in two minds over DSs Eng lit, he was a mark off a 4, he was predicted a, the teacher said a 5 was likely but as he does have learning difficulties she felt it was safer in his circumstances to say a 4, she was absolutely certain he would get a 4. He has never got as low as a 3 in all mocks, mostly 5s.

The teacher spoke to Head of English re getting a review, I asked if I needed to complete the form sent to me by school and this was her response 'Yes please.
I think as it's only a mark, it would be worth trying for a remark (although they don't often change them, it does happen sometimes!)'

He is really unlikely to be marked down as the next grade down is a significant number of marks so nothing to lose (except the money I guess).

The teacher spoke to Head of English re getting a review, I asked if I needed to complete the form sent to me by school and this was her response 'Yes please.
I think as it's only a mark, it would be worth trying for a remark (although they don't often change them, it does happen sometimes!)'

It sounds like they don't understand how reviews work, frankly. I'd not be spending parents' money unless I was fairly certain it was going to get refunded.

Thats what I thought but then thought maybe she had worded it badly! I would have preferred for them to review the paper but perhaps they aren't willing to do that.

I might be an outlier here, but if one of my students was getting papers back, I'd want to help. I might well tell you it would have to wait until term time, but I'd have a look.

Is it AQA?

I am surprised she hasn't offered that, she does seem like she would from what she has said previously but I am not going to push it. Yes its AQA.

See if she will have a look, but if you get stuck, feel free to pm me and I'll cast my eye over it.

There's no rush - I think the deadline for review requests is September 22nd. Might need to check that.

Thank you so much that's really kind of you.

DS finally decided to go with city 6th form then got a call from school 2nd in under a week asking him if he was going to register I was working so missed the call but left a lovely message praising DS. Now he is back to debating where to go.

Eng Lang and Literature seems like an issue in so many schools/boards/ for kids. I remember reading a thread last year this time and panicking about it, asking for tutor for my daughter doing one of the least popular exam board.
Luckily she got a good 9 in both Eng and thought that the tutor did well in guiding her through the marking scheme. She is confident now finally!
She is worried about her 6 in Drama going to affect uni applications ( 2 8s and other 9s from Grammar school, so worried she wouldn’t get into good universities). Is this something to be worried about? One of the 8 is one mark off 9 that’s in German. Should I ask for review on Drama and German, please?
And now worried about not doing any Super curricular activities, are we going to continue with the thread until they join uni? 😁 I would really appreciate some help regarding outside school activities, does Lamda/public speaking works? Only thing she does is CCF now

You'll always see more about huge entry subjects though, because almost everyone does them.

@Newlease she has good GCSEs. Now she needs to focus on getting good A levels and then she will get into a good uni.

Crikey my DD would be over the moon with one 8

@Newlease Extra-curricular activities are largely irrelevant for UK university entry (with a few exceptions such as volunteering for medical school applicants, and some elite sportspeople). On the other hand, when people talk about supra-curricular activities for e.g. Oxbridge entrance it means studying your target subject over and above the curriculum requirements. Reading around the subject, taking part in Olympiads if relevant, writing competitions etc. A keen student will be taking up these opportunities anyway.

What is your DD hoping to study at university? Unless it’s Drama I would think the chances of any university caring about a grade in Drama for a student with 9s in the two English GCSEs are vanishingly small. A few medical schools might apply their algorithm and rank her a bit lower for having a less than “perfect” set of GCSEs, but that’s about it. And an 8 in German in excellent anyway.

My DD got 8,8 in Combined Science and was one mark off a 9,8. The school wanted her to put in for a review “just in case” but she laughed it off saying she’s never going to be a scientist, the 8,8 was a fair reflection of her ability and she didn’t think it would make the slightest difference to her future if she got 9,8 rather than 8,8. She’s looking to the future and browsing university courses (not in science!). Your DD also will have wonderful opportunities ahead with her excellent results. Best of luck to her.

I've started a Year 12 support thread for next week: Year 12 - 2024/25 | Mumsnet Please join me 😊

You get such different advice about reviewing. DD looked at her marks and is close to the grade boundary for a few. Heard nothing from school. A friend who is a headteacher said it's worth it if its <3 marks from the boundary (depends a bit on the subject). But people on here are saying something different.

I'm Scottish and back in my day then the school organised it all but there was a feeling that they were less likely to put your grade up from a B to an A than from a D (a fail) to a C. So the fact that DD has to be the one to contact school and that we have to pay is all new. We'll probably ask for a review for the result that's closest to the boundary and would potentially be a jump from a 6 to a 7 but for not for the 8 to 9 jump because what would be the benefit there? But I can afford to throw away £50 and it won't affect DD going forward.

For anyone who missed it there is already a year 12 support thread.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/5148656-year-12-202425-support-discussion-and-looking-after-each-other

Not wishing to undermine your new one @Waspie but it's probably easier to all be on one thread.

The best advice you can get on reviews is from people who really understand the exams, their marking and the review process.

A bit late, but hoping that someone can help. My daughter is borderline on three of her grades, so before asking for a review of her papers as it's going to be quite expensive, I thought I would ask for a copy of her script. The school are charging me £7.50 per exam paper (I have 7 that I would need). The school have also written, that if I request a copy of the script, I cannot then request a review afterwards. Is this correct? As in, this is what the exam board have stipulated or is this a barrier put in place by her school? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

@OhMrBennett that's true with some boards - you can check for yourself, but AQA info is here: https://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/after-results/post-results

You need post results services.

You need to request copies of scripts, not originals. If you get those, you definitely can't do any more.

Apologies MrsHamlet. So looking at the AQA info above, if you have requested ATS, can you then request a remark? We have just requested ATS for Language, got copies, and have been advised to get it re-marked (obviously at additional cost). Thanks for all your help in this thread!!