[Help] Kids missing GCSE grades

[Berty23]

So…this is quite unbelievable.

The English department obviously saw the results before they were provided to pupils and his was the one they raised eyebrows at. They suggested we got the papers so they could look at them and see whether marking was harsh.

A couple of hours ago we received the papers. For context, for one paper he did fine (not far off a 6) but the other he got a really low mark. My lad came running downstairs very loudly and excited. “You won’t believe this dad. We need to go to school now” “why? What has happened” - this now the unbelievable bit - “paper 2 they have sent over has my front cover but all of the paper is not mine. It is someone else’s exam. Look at the handwriting” I took a look and it was obviously a massive error.y lad has very distinctive, surprisingly nice joined up writing and this work had been printed and was completely different in structure. I immediately emailed school to make this point before jumping in the car with my lad and wife to make sure he does not lose his place.

The timing was amazing because as we arrived in school the exams officer was coming out of her room and was holding two printed exam papers and saying to a deputy head “you won’t believe this. One of our students who failed English got his grade based on someone else’s exam”. The head of sixth form met and us and said that it is a clear admin error so he has been enrolled for the three A levels he wanted.

The exam board have apologised and are going to try and track down his paper. I half hope they don’t find it and just take his mock mark. Hopefully they will have a full investigation as I would be staggered if other kids have not had the same. However, on the flip side there will be a kid somewhere with my lad’s grade who was expected to fail so they might now get through life with no idea. A good result for them.

What a stressful morning and dealing with lots of tears. Thankfully my wife and I handled it with him really well, didn’t have a pop that he did little work so what did he expect etc (as I know my parents would have done if same happened to me). Poor lad was in pieces but now he is thrilled. He has gone to The driving range to get his game in shape before an open tomorrow.

I need a pint.

Someone at an exam body will be getting into some serious trouble right now.

 

[LANGDON SEAGULL]

So…this is quite unbelievable.

The English department obviously saw the results before they were provided to pupils and his was the one they raised eyebrows at. They suggested we got the papers so they could look at them and see whether marking was harsh.

A couple of hours ago we received the papers. For context, for one paper he did fine (not far off a 6) but the other he got a really low mark. My lad came running downstairs very loudly and excited. “You won’t believe this dad. We need to go to school now” “why? What has happened” - this now the unbelievable bit - “paper 2 they have sent over has my front cover but all of the paper is not mine. It is someone else’s exam. Look at the handwriting” I took a look and it was obviously a massive error.y lad has very distinctive, surprisingly nice joined up writing and this work had been printed and was completely different in structure. I immediately emailed school to make this point before jumping in the car with my lad and wife to make sure he does not lose his place.

The timing was amazing because as we arrived in school the exams officer was coming out of her room and was holding two printed exam papers and saying to a deputy head “you won’t believe this. One of our students who failed English got his grade based on someone else’s exam”. The head of sixth form met and us and said that it is a clear admin error so he has been enrolled for the three A levels he wanted.

The exam board have apologised and are going to try and track down his paper. I half hope they don’t find it and just take his mock mark. Hopefully they will have a full investigation as I would be staggered if other kids have not had the same. However, on the flip side there will be a kid somewhere with my lad’s grade who was expected to fail so they might now get through life with no idea. A good result for them.

What a stressful morning and dealing with lots of tears. Thankfully my wife and I handled it with him really well, didn’t have a pop that he did little work so what did he expect etc (as I know my parents would have done if same happened to me). Poor lad was in pieces but now he is thrilled. He has gone to The driving range to get his game in shape before an open tomorrow.

I need a pint.

Someone at an exam body will be getting into some serious trouble right now.

Glad you got that sorted. What a complete cock up.

 

[Triggaaar]

was predicted a 7 in England and got that in mock but somehow he only got a 3

That's a shocker - my kids did much better in their exams than in their mocks.

“paper 2 they have sent over has my front cover but all of the paper is not mine. It is someone else’s exam. Look at the handwriting” ...

The exam board have apologised and are going to try and track down his paper.

Wow. Thank goodness they had a copy of the paper. What a huge amount of stress you all didn't need, but glad you found out why.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Brighton College had 95% of all exams taken graded 7-9 (A-A*)...

The country has its next battalion of talented grafters lined up and ready to go.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

So…this is quite unbelievable.

The English department obviously saw the results before they were provided to pupils and his was the one they raised eyebrows at. They suggested we got the papers so they could look at them and see whether marking was harsh.

A couple of hours ago we received the papers. For context, for one paper he did fine (not far off a 6) but the other he got a really low mark. My lad came running downstairs very loudly and excited. “You won’t believe this dad. We need to go to school now” “why? What has happened” - this now the unbelievable bit - “paper 2 they have sent over has my front cover but all of the paper is not mine. It is someone else’s exam. Look at the handwriting” I took a look and it was obviously a massive error.y lad has very distinctive, surprisingly nice joined up writing and this work had been printed and was completely different in structure. I immediately emailed school to make this point before jumping in the car with my lad and wife to make sure he does not lose his place.

The timing was amazing because as we arrived in school the exams officer was coming out of her room and was holding two printed exam papers and saying to a deputy head “you won’t believe this. One of our students who failed English got his grade based on someone else’s exam”. The head of sixth form met and us and said that it is a clear admin error so he has been enrolled for the three A levels he wanted.

The exam board have apologised and are going to try and track down his paper. I half hope they don’t find it and just take his mock mark. Hopefully they will have a full investigation as I would be staggered if other kids have not had the same. However, on the flip side there will be a kid somewhere with my lad’s grade who was expected to fail so they might now get through life with no idea. A good result for them.

What a stressful morning and dealing with lots of tears. Thankfully my wife and I handled it with him really well, didn’t have a pop that he did little work so what did he expect etc (as I know my parents would have done if same happened to me). Poor lad was in pieces but now he is thrilled. He has gone to The driving range to get his game in shape before an open tomorrow.

I need a pint.

Someone at an exam body will be getting into some serious trouble right now.

All's well that ends well.

Good news.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

So…this is quite unbelievable.

The English department obviously saw the results before they were provided to pupils and his was the one they raised eyebrows at. They suggested we got the papers so they could look at them and see whether marking was harsh.

A couple of hours ago we received the papers. For context, for one paper he did fine (not far off a 6) but the other he got a really low mark. My lad came running downstairs very loudly and excited. “You won’t believe this dad. We need to go to school now” “why? What has happened” - this now the unbelievable bit - “paper 2 they have sent over has my front cover but all of the paper is not mine. It is someone else’s exam. Look at the handwriting” I took a look and it was obviously a massive error.y lad has very distinctive, surprisingly nice joined up writing and this work had been printed and was completely different in structure. I immediately emailed school to make this point before jumping in the car with my lad and wife to make sure he does not lose his place.

The timing was amazing because as we arrived in school the exams officer was coming out of her room and was holding two printed exam papers and saying to a deputy head “you won’t believe this. One of our students who failed English got his grade based on someone else’s exam”. The head of sixth form met and us and said that it is a clear admin error so he has been enrolled for the three A levels he wanted.

The exam board have apologised and are going to try and track down his paper. I half hope they don’t find it and just take his mock mark. Hopefully they will have a full investigation as I would be staggered if other kids have not had the same. However, on the flip side there will be a kid somewhere with my lad’s grade who was expected to fail so they might now get through life with no idea. A good result for them.

What a stressful morning and dealing with lots of tears. Thankfully my wife and I handled it with him really well, didn’t have a pop that he did little work so what did he expect etc (as I know my parents would have done if same happened to me). Poor lad was in pieces but now he is thrilled. He has gone to The driving range to get his game in shape before an open tomorrow.

I need a pint.

Someone at an exam body will be getting into some serious trouble right now.

I love a happy ending. Really chuffed for your lad and you.

 

[jackanada]

Teacher and tutor here of almost 30 years who's just supported a SEN student at Kings School in English Lit and Maths.

As you've mentioned Maths and Science, I thought I'd quickly mention why it's absolutely right for the school to push for a remark of English.

Maths: 'is it right or wrong' with marks for showing stages of working which explains how the answer was arrived at.

English: how right your answer will be is based on how convincing your argument (Point) is with quotations (Evidence) supporting your drawn conclusion (Explanation), and linking the paragraphs and points together. "I think A because it says B and this means C."

Despite the marking guidelines for those marking, there's far more subjectivity in how marks are given in English (Literature or Language) than Maths. As a result, it's far more likely for that 1 mark to be found than not.

In fact, I'd be far more surprised if only 1 mark could be found. I'd expect to find more.

I wish your son all the best at this time. He has every reason to believe that he may well receive a higher grade after the papers are remarked.

Keep us all posted. And if he, you or the family would like a free chat, I'm more than happy to provide some reassurance here.

Just to largely confirm this though with a wrinkle. I know a senior examiner in English who will be doing quite a few of the remarks in due course.
Her and most other senior examiners consider the marking scheme to be overly restrictive and take a more holistic approach. So in short if your boy can write decently they'll find a way to squeeze some extra marks out even if he's missed the exact criteria.

 

[schmunk]

Brighton College had 95% of all exams taken graded 7-9 (A-A*)...

The cuntocracy has its next battalion lined up and ready to go.

My son's just achieved similar grades (at our local comp.) and is heading to BC for 6th form next week (not funded by us).

Thanks for your kind thoughts, though.

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

Friend of my son failed English but still went onto do A levels (Basvic from memory) where he took and passed the resit.
He now has a 1st in ship/boat design. One very clever lad.

 

[hart's shirt]

The exam board have apologised and are going to try and track down his paper. I half hope they don’t find it and just take his mock mark.

If the paper's unable to be found, a calculated grade based on the other papers might well be awarded.

But that's for later. Very happy that the reason has come to light now and that your son is able to progress educationally as he wishes.

And if anyone was ever wondering what happens to the completed scripts, these 4 minutes might shed a bit more light.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

This. Keep up max pressure on the school, until they confirm they have actually followed the process and requested the remark.

Would be amazed, if in light of the predicted grade, they cannot find another mark somewhere. There is also the possibility that it isn't just a marking error at all, but actually a bigger admin error.

 

[Tubby Mondays]

Exactly the same thing happened to me, albeit several years ago.

I applied to have a science exam remarked because without it I couldnt do A-Levels in my sixth form.

Because it took 2-3 months for the remark to come through I couldnt start my A-Levels and had instead to do retakes. When the remark came through it didnt alter the grade anyway.

So I did a year of retakes in sixth form whilst all my mates were doing their A-Levels which was tough. They all went to university whilst I was still at school. Which was tough. I also had to do A-Levels with the kids from the year below, which was tough.

I was advised that I should go to college after doing the retakes, which I didnt as I could walk to school in 10 minutes and the college was 90 minutes on a bus round trip.

With hindsight I wish I had have done that.

Hope everything turns out OK for him.

It seems like the end of the world now, but it really isnt.

 

[Berty23]

If the paper's unable to be found, a calculated grade based on the other papers might well be awarded.

But that's for later. Very happy that the reason has come to light now and that your son is able to progress educationally as he wishes.

And if anyone was ever wondering what happens to the completed scripts, these 4 minutes might shed a bit more light.

Thanks. It seems amazing giving that processs that the front cover is my son’s and so is page 1 but the rest is someone else’s.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Thanks. It seems amazing giving that processs that the front cover is my son’s and so is page 1 but the rest is someone else’s.

How can a grader not notice the second page has absolutely no relevance to the first page? Are they still hand graded? It won't be long before AI is used.

 

[Berty23]

How can a grader not notice the second page has absolutely no relevance to the first page? Are they still hand graded? It won't be long before AI is used.

It is bizarre. I would put the two examples on here but I expect I would break all sorts of data protection rules doing that. The first question was a closed question so would not necessarily notice. The rest of it was clearly someone different. I assume different people mark paper 1 and paper 2.

Either way it is an absolute shambles and my lad has had a shocking few hours today through no fault of his own.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

I sat the re-sit in the autumn term, and did not ONCE look at any of the books / texts ahead of that - and lo and behold got the A (That I'm absolutely certain I achieved first time round).

Reading the text before the exam is for NERDS.

Not in my GCSEs, but my entire A-level physics class got catastrophically low marks in our coursework. The one guy I knew who thought to request a remark got it bumped up from something like 50% to about 90%, so I definitely recommend that if it genuinely came as a surprise.

Actually, now that I think about it, I came across one of my GCSE results slips a while ago and noticed that I'd got a C in one of my maths exams, despite apparently getting 100%. Either I'd done a foundation paper without noticing (which definitely wouldn't surprise me) or there was some sort of weird admin error. I remember the maths teacher telling us that our results were so bad they were scrapping the whole lot in favour of doing one big exam at the end covering the two years in one go.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

It is bizarre. I would put the two examples on here but I expect I would break all sorts of data protection rules doing that. The first question was a closed question so would not necessarily notice. The rest of it was clearly someone different. I assume different people mark paper 1 and paper 2.

Either way it is an absolute shambles and my lad has had a shocking few hours today through no fault of his own.

Is this newspaper worthy, or more common than I imagine? It seems bonkers to me.

 

[Berty23]

Is this newspaper worthy, or more common than I imagine? It seems bonkers to me.

I suspect a paper would love this story but my wife and I both work in education so probably not worth the faff.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

What an emotional roller coaster of a day for OP and his lad

Great result in the end tho

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I am hoping the good folk of NSC will have sage advice. My lad missed out on grade 4 in English by one mark. He is a pretty bright kid (got 7 for maths, 6 for physics etc) and was predicted a 7 in England and got that in mock but somehow he only got a 3. School are requesting a remark because they see it as too large an anomaly but they have said that if he does not get the 4 he can’t do A levels at the school because they don’t offer resits.

As you can imagine my lad is gutted. He thinks the world is ending and really doesn’t fancy the local college.

Any advice people have would be appreciated for what to do next. We have tried the online links from government but it is all pretty generic. So any advice from people who have been through this would be an appreciated.

Cheers all.

Miss WS failed maths at GCSE which she was told would exclude her from doing A Levels. BASVIC agreed in the end that she could do her A Levels if she did a year of GCSE maths there as well. She ended up doing two years and passing on the 4th attempt. Secondary schools often don't allow resits but 6th forms do. Need to discuss with 6th form but in the meantime go for a remark.