new spec AS results 'more variable'

[KS10]

Wishing you and your DC a happy outcome, whatever that may be, TM. And to everyone else, of course.

[TIDDLYMUM]

Guest yes they are sending copies, £26.20 for 2- they must be making a fortune thanks so much for your kind posts x

Catseye, hello old adversary thanks for your post. All is well today, he got up, had a very smart haircut and is full of positivity. He's an only child and I must admit I have mollycoddled him a bit , it's probably the first bit of bad news he's ever had to deal with. You are so right, it's a good lesson in resilience and I think that's a positive out of all this.

My friends mum passed on a wise Irish proverb today 'what is for you won't go past you'. Really liked that one

[TIDDLYMUM]

Ks10 thanks as well x

[KB]

It's not usually a great idea but if he has done so much worse than expected is it worth him resitting at least one of the modules next summer?

If he has performed below par and is convinced he can put it right for next year then it might be worth taking a gap year and applying with his better A levels than with his current AS grades.

If all his results are down then I'd want the school involved to look at how he has been studying and if he needs support with exam technique. How were the predictions made and exactly what went wrong and where. It's not helpful to go over old ground for the sake of it but in this case if he's going to be confident of avoiding a repeat situation you do need to have a clear and specific plan of action.

I really feel for you and your DS. Very best wishes.

[TIDDLYMUM]

He's not keen on a resit as he thinks it will impact his other exams next year.

I think we'll wait to get back to school and see what happens. Knowing how hard he worked and how he usually performs, I'm still mystified by the D in his best subject. B's are fair enough, as they reckon that with experience and the extra year that A's can be achieved at A2. Hoping so!

[Amber]

Knowing how hard he worked and how he usually performs, I'm still mystified by the D in his best subject. B's are fair enough, as they reckon that with experience and the extra year that A's can be achieved at A2. Hoping so!

Don't forget that it is UMS which count at AS (assuming these are legacy subjects; I know Geography is but not sure about the others) so don't get too hung up on the grade. There may only be a few marks between a D and a B.

[KB]

Generally I'd agree that resitting in the hope of getting a few extra UMS is as likely to reduce A2 modules by a similar number than result in an overall increase.
But if his AS UMS is much much lower than predicted and he has already done most of the work then it may be worth giving it a go.
The AS module exams are generally at a different time to the A2 ones. Obviously there is some time required for revision so it does depend how much that would be. My DSs did maths/science subjects so I suspect different to Geography but there was some use to A2 modules from the AS revision.

I'm sure you are right to wait until he returns to school and speak to staff before making decisions.

[TIDDLYMUM]

Thanks KB, appreciate your input and the benefit of your experience. Just hoping this was a blip, it's been an awful week

[scary mum]

Interestingly my DS got a B in one of his ASs where I thought he might get an A. In the article linked by Catseye on another thread I see only about 11℅ get an A or an A* in that subject at A2 (compared to 40ish℅ for maths). It is considered a soft subject so I naively assumed it might be relatively easy to get an A! I guess maths is a bit of an all or nothing subject - the answer is right or it isn't (more or less).