kenyancowgirl wrote:
I understand that it is stressful but, if it's any consolation, as i collected DS1 from uni today - his first year has damp squibbed out - no idea what is going on with his medical exams either, and we were talking about various things - I asked about his group of friends and what A level results they had got - he genuinely didn't know and his commnet was, to be honest, they are totally irrelevant now. And they are - once you move on to the next step, whatever that is, they matter not a jot. It is upsetting for now but once it is sorted and they have moved on, it really will not matter.
Daogroupie wrote:
I hope his school did manage to sort something else out for today or tomorrow.
DAO sent out a letter at 2047 last night announcing the Y11 assembly and last day for Y11 today so they did get a chance to be together and say goodbye for the last time.
I have been encouraging the Y11's I know to start getting excited and focused on their A levels and move on from their GCSE's.
Same for the Y13s. It will be helpful to be focused on whatever exciting thing they have planned for September.
It is really sad but they have their future to get involved in. DG
I know you both mean well and are trying to be optimistic but you seem to be completely missing the point.
KCG, now that he's started his medical degree, your DS's A level grades may well seem irrelevant and 'not worth a jot'. But I bet he didn't feel that way about them 12 months ago! His whole future would have depended on them! If he hadn't got the required grades he wouldn't have been able to go to medical school in the first place would he?!
Similarly DAOG, its all very well asking Y11's to get excited and focus on their A levels, but to do A levels in the first place generally requires certain grades at GCSE! If you're the kind of Y11 pupil who consistently does well at school, performs well in mocks and has high predicted grades then you should be fine. But what if you're the other kind who doesn't do so well in mocks and course work and was aiming to peek for the real thing? How can they prove to the school or 6th form college that they're capable of doing A levels in the first place when their mocks and predicted grades were 4's and 5's rather than the 6's and 7's required and which they may well have got once they'd finally pulled their finger out?
Our DS is currently in Y12 so fortunately is not due to take any major public exams this summer. He is one of those types who doesn't always do so well in mocks and was predicted poor GCSE results last year. Thankfully he worked hard at the end and got decent grades. If he hadn't been able to take his final GCSE exams though he probably wouldn't be in 6th form now doing the academic A levels that he is.
Even as a Y12 he is a little concerned. He was planning to apply to university in the autumn even though his current predicted grades and Xmas mock results are not good, with the hope that his summer mock results would have been better. But without these what universities would be prepared to give him an offer? How can you plan and focus on a future when we have a system in which your future is entirely dependent on grades from exams which are no longer going to take place?
