V.A.T, in school fees

Thank you both

Sorry, I meant the scholarships are often offered to children from independent prep schools, bursaries are different.

...and Margaret Thatcher was the Education Secretary holding the record for closing the highest number of grammar schools!

Correct Fitzy54 and these bursaries are often offered to children from the feeder independent prep schools.

There are scholarships and bursaries awarded by the schools themselves

So no child can get into a private school unless parents pay full fees?

Harold Wilson abolished direct grant schools in 1974 and Blair abolished assisted places in 1997. Blame Labour governments. At least you can't blame Corbyn.

Jen, you benefited from an entrance exam fir private education but now want to take this away from children

Didn't concern my school Ana , they were all fir encouraging not squashing

I meant schools are/were concerned about their records Annie. If you had problems at that time, I'm sorry.

Ana, I had more to worry about than school records,

They didn't put me in for German. The only mark I got in my mock was as a result of some questions in English about modern day Germany. I answered Willy Brandt to all 5 questions and got one right!

Surprised they put you in for them Annie - fails don't look good on the school record!

spectacular fails then( I like the 'and a few more' !)

Not always Boastie Rosesarered, I failed maths, geography, sciences, and few more .

Well Maggie, 9 will be the top grade under the new system so you can talk about your Biology grade to your grandchildren with an air of confidence!

The only O-level result I'm sure of was my grade 9 Biology. I was mortified as, though in the bottom group at science, I got a question about human reproduction (which I reckoned I knew all about), and had to dissect and draw a primrose, which even I could manage. They used to say you'd get an 8 as long as you wrote your name on the top of the paper.

Fitzy .....

Well,absolutely Lillie there are many worthwhile jobs where academic achievements are not necessary.The other thing is that having got them though, hardly any employers wanted to see them!

As from next year, 2018, the numbers are 9 - 1. Nine will only be for geniuses.

Roses, Beammeup, that must be right.
Mea Culpa (but I didn't do Latin!).

Exam grades or letters are only important for getting you onto the next level. Once I had got my A levels no one ever asked what GCSEs I had, and once I got my degree no one was ever interested in my A level results.
BUT rosesarered, I am the first to say, not everything should be measured by academic achievement and all I wanted to do was to work in Woolworths!

I entirely agree with roses.

I have no clue as to mine ( too long ago) but DH who has an excellent memory says that his were 1-9 and he thinks the last 3 may have meant fails.
Nobody has been called a liar on here, and some posters are interested in the way exams were graded, and some are not.....however, as a good rule of thumb
It may be the best idea not to list O levels A levels and degrees that one has as it does look rather boasty, and anyone can say anything at all on a forum.

God what eons ago that was!!!! Mine were numbers - Oxford. I'm was a South Westerner, now a South Easterner.

Not sure what GS is doing - all I know is that they take a ridiculous number, far better to concentrate on a smaller number of subjects in more depth.