A-Level Exam Results (not us - our grandchildren!)

mabon1 I agree.👍 When I did A levels (1970s), Grade As were extremely rare. I’m sure the standards have dropped.

A man I know who is in a very senior position in one of the big American investment banks, he told me that they shortlist,then interview intensively, Oxbridge students slated to get firsts, who had been at prestigious public schools on scholarships.
What hope for the rest of the cohort? To be fair those jobs, including top law firms, are very pressured and require resilience as well as super brains.

My grandson went to university. I can tell all of you that had he been in the sixth form when I was there never in a million years would he have gained a place. The standards have dropped. University is big business these days.

My husband was in the post-war bulge of students and failed to get into his university of choice although he had four excellent A-levels and an S-level. He was immediately offered an unconditional offer for the next year and happily took it, having one of the first gap years that many now take for granted.

(And if you subsequently get a degree it will not matter much what your A-level grades were compared with other graduates).

Rosina

The manipulation of grades for whatever reason is unfair to all students - those who have worked hard in previous years with their examination board applying harsher criteria for marks have seen in subsequent years examinees of equal merit achieving much higher grades. We now have a blatant 'marking down' this year - it begins to render any grading system useless when it is not applied with equality year on year.

I think that grade manipulation has always gone on to some extent to keep the percentages of grades at the required level.
I used to work in a university and we knew that we had to offer a certain number of places to fill the undergraduate course. Occasionally we had too few accepted students who had made the grade but rarely too many. It was easy enough to fill the course if we had too few.
Obviously it will still be the better students who have got the better grades and the university places that they want this year, though since I'm no longer involved in courses I don't know if the suggested "marking down" will mean that courses requiring high grades will be over-full.
There are always many, many places available in clearing, though many of the more popular courses in Russell Group rarely go into clearing. Some students who get better marks than expected can choose a course at a "better" institution.

I left school in the July as I went 16 in the August! I decided to go down the technical college route and did a residential care of children course run by the Home Office! I had 4 O levels, got 3 more, worked for a year as a nanny and in a children’s home! Blagged my way into teacher training college at Carnegie , Leeds because I was a good swimmer and netball player! Distinction for my Cert Ed but not allowed to do a B.Ed as no A levels!!!! Achieved a first class honours degree in social studies by doing it two nights a week for three years at local uni( not a RG)
Became Head of Year and Head of Faculty! If at first you don’t succeed etc etc!!
Good luck to all young people today whatever their choices !

GD has met her A level requirements for Imperial College. She was annoyed to be rejected by Oxford without an interview but she is now very happy and looking forward to starting in September.

My darling granddaughter got 4 A stars (she took one a year early) and is having a gap year then going to Warwick

That’s a very encouraging message biglouis. There used to be opportunities for mature students to change tack after having raised a family- for example, part time degrees were quite popular. I hope these alternative paths are still available.
I was told however that young people these days no longer want to study medicine or veterinary science but choose instead to become social influencers. I was surprised. Can this even be true?

There ware no GCSEs back in the 1950s when I got my results. I had taken 5 “O” levels and got good results in them all.

My mother said “of that’s nice for you” in a vague tone.

My father said “Never mind GCEs. Get yourself a job and start paying for your keep.”

That more or less sums up my parents attitude to education.

I was not allowed to stay on and do “A” levels. It didn’t even arise as an option.

University was for "posh" people and would give me "ideas above my class." Yes - my father actually used expressions like that.

When I graduated with a Doctorate many years later I reminded them of that. They did not see the irony.

Not all top universities are in the Russell Group. St Andrews is one.
And I wouldn't say that all Russell Group universities are top

Yes good news here. Granddaughter got 3xA and off to study medicine at Exeter. 😊

Jaxjacky

Old post crazyH

What does it matter. Still so relevant, year after year.

A quiet year for a change here with no exam results due. Next summer will be both A Levels and GCSEs. Congratulations to all those who did their very best. I hope their next step along their journey is all they want it to be.

Mine just got A,A, A*. bless her

Oopsadaisy1

Little missoops was pleased to get 3xA*s and her place at Bristol University. Considering all the time off for Covid ( that she escaped previously) we were pleased for her.

Wow, same for GS, also going to Bristol so so proud

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Jaxjacky - just noticed😂thankyou..

Old post crazyH

What clever GC we have here ! Congratulations to all. And to those who haven’t done so well, it’s not the end of the world. They can always re-sit or follow another path.

Reported.

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Ah well - fuel for the independent v. state school debate?