confused and disappointed yet again.

[tubby]

Hi all,

My son got his AS result, and grades were really bad EEED (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, PE). He is extremely low and upset because he maintains he really work hard, answers questions in the class, and does not know why he gets low marks in the exams, he really thought the exams went ok.

l broke down in tears on the phone to my Dad, just could not hold it , we are now thinking is it best if we get him to resit the year by going to an independent college, such as MPW or Brampton anyone familiar with these colleges. We have told him it is not a quick fix, or a magic wand he really have to work hard, but he says he does. He has mild dyslexia, and support at school.

He is a boarder, and we feel that there might be distractions at the school, school is very good and supportive, we are really confused with what we should do, and worried about A2 results next year, i know one step at a time but just thinking ahead. Thanks for taking time to read

[stevew61]

That must be very hard, DS just commented nobody seems to get lower grades, it is much harder to post unwanted results.

Step one take a deep breath and take some time, nothing will change in the next week, but you will find a way forward. Sincerest best wishes.

steve

[Thingsbehindthesun]

Tubby I will send you a pm soon.

[Alex]

Hi Tubby,

Sorry this must be a hard time for you all. I think you really need to start with the school. You need to know whether his exam results were in line with what they expected or not; How did he do in mock exams? How does he do in class assessments? Is it that he simply does not have the right technique for exams or is his estimation of how he is doing and whether he has understood things properly or not awry? Is he happy at the school?

I have generally found my children's schools to be pretty accurate in what they have predicted for their performance in exams - if they were wildly out I would want to know why.

On a positive note - some kids find the transition between GCSE and 6th Form very difficult. There are a few in my DDs' school who backtracked a year after poor AS results and have done far, far better second time round. So all is certainly not lost, but you and son and school really need to diagnose the problem so that you know the right way to approach finding the right solution for him.

[Daogroupie]

Get the forms for a priority remark and a copy of the papers and then you will be able to see where he went wrong. You will have the paper to look at with how he got the marks within a week. What sort of grades was he getting in mocks with the school? AS is a big step up from GCSE and it takes time to adjust, does he have to write on A01, A02 and A03 points? DG

[Guest55]

It's best to get photocopies of the papers - then get teachers to check the marking - this is better than going for a re-mark straightaway. DAO - priority re-marks are for A2s only.

Lots of sciences seem to have thrown up odd results so see what the school thinks - was everyone lower than expected? They should be able to see the marks per question and give feedback.

Tubby - you are a great parent and your son needs support and to know you love him regardless. He may be better off at a school near to you so you can give encouragement.

[Looking for help]

Sorry , tubby, these things are hard to deal with. I think as Guest55 says a photocopy of the scripts will show you what has gone wrong, and help you to understand what to do. There's still time to decide what subject to drop, and what modules to resit - or it might be worth redoing year 12 and changing subjects if you think that would be better.

Good luck, and remember there are lots of people in this position, it might not feel like it at the moment.

[tubby]

Thank you for all your replies, Thingsbehindthesun l have sent you a PM thank you so much. I feel a bit better reading all the posts, might sound a bit stupid but how do you get the photocopies papers from the exam boards.

Thank you again.

[Guest55]

Tubby - you have to apply for the photocopies via the school. I'd ring them tomorrow if I were you.

Don't ask for the ACTUAL papers because you can't then ask for a re-mark.

[tubby]

Thank you Guest55.