The Student Room Group

A* at A2

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Reply 20
Original post by 99llewellyn99
are you sure about this because our maths teacher said we had to get above 90% in both A2 papers (C3 and C4).
also there was a boy last year in our school who scored 2nd highest in the whole class but still got an 'A' whereas quite a few others got an 'A*'


It's an average of C3 and C4. 80 in C3 and 100 in C4 or vice versa etc will get an A*. 100 in C4 and 79 in C3 etc would not. So you can get the highest mark in one paper but get a B in the other and the A* is gone.
Reply 21
Original post by alexandra's box
sorry if this is stupid, but how about the other way round? Could you get an a or a* overall with an a at as and b at a2?

read the sticky.
Original post by gymrat

AverageKnob


complete bell end
Original post by alexmagpie
Not true.

I got a B in AS Biology and an A* at A2 with zero retakes.


You need an A as your overall grade - as long as your A2 grades are 90% plus combined and this is enough to bring your UMS up to an A, then you will get an A*.


are you sure? i was told by my teacher otherwise. I mean id rather you be right because then thatll suit me better.. have you got anything to justify your claim? thanks
Original post by AverageExcellence
no, you must have an at least 80% for AS (A grade) + 90% at A2. So in short no you cant unless u do retakes


Perhaps you do CIE (or is it CEI)

I think that their rules are different
Original post by AverageExcellence
are you sure? i was told by my teacher otherwise. I mean id rather you be right because then thatll suit me better.. have you got anything to justify your claim? thanks


Short of photographing my A Level certificates you'll just have to take my word for it... it baffles me how many teachers get this wrong.

http://store.aqa.org.uk/admin/special_pdf/AQA-RESULTS-EXPLAINED.PDF#ums

"For six unit GCE specifications, an A* will be awarded where a grade A has been achieved and the student has also obtained a minimum total of 270 uniform marks for the A2 units."

You must achieve a grade A overall.
In the A2 units (which total 300 UMS) you must "obtain a minimum total of 270 uniform marks"

Hence, in a hypothetical three unit A2 examination:

Unit 1: 95/100 - 95%
Unit 2: 86/100 - 86%
Unit 3: 92/100 - 92%

95 + 86 + 92 = 273

You have obtained a minimum total of 270 uniform marks, despite the fact you scored below 90% in unit 2.

Say your AS mark was 237/300. This is a grade B.

237 + 273 = 510 = grade A

You have met both criteria, and would hence get an A*.

Simples.
Okay so in AS History, I have:

A in HIS1B, 81 UMS
B in HIS2M, 72 UMS
153 UMS overall which is a B.

But my teacher held me back after class a few days ago and told me my coursework is really really good, and I could be onto an A* if I do well enough in HIS3B. I was just wanting to double check that my B grade in an AS exam wouldn't stop me from doing that since I'm not resitting any AS modules.

Also, what UMS marks would I need ideally at A2 to get the A*? I don't fully understand how it works considering my coursework's out of 80 UMS and HIS3B's out of 120.

Any explanation would be appreciated :smile:
Reply 27
Original post by alexmagpie
Short of photographing my A Level certificates you'll just have to take my word for it... it baffles me how many teachers get this wrong.

http://store.aqa.org.uk/admin/special_pdf/AQA-RESULTS-EXPLAINED.PDF#ums

"For six unit GCE specifications, an A* will be awarded where a grade A has been achieved and the student has also obtained a minimum total of 270 uniform marks for the A2 units."

You must achieve a grade A overall.
In the A2 units (which total 300 UMS) you must "obtain a minimum total of 270 uniform marks"

Hence, in a hypothetical three unit A2 examination:

Unit 1: 95/100 - 95%
Unit 2: 86/100 - 86%
Unit 3: 92/100 - 92%

95 + 86 + 92 = 273

You have obtained a minimum total of 270 uniform marks, despite the fact you scored below 90% in unit 2.

Say your AS mark was 237/300. This is a grade B.

237 + 273 = 510 = grade A

You have met both criteria, and would hence get an A*.

Simples.


Thanks thats so helpful!! are you sure this doesnt vary with different boards? lol you have given me hope!!
Original post by alexmagpie
Short of photographing my A Level certificates you'll just have to take my word for it... it baffles me how many teachers get this wrong.

http://store.aqa.org.uk/admin/special_pdf/AQA-RESULTS-EXPLAINED.PDF#ums

"For six unit GCE specifications, an A* will be awarded where a grade A has been achieved and the student has also obtained a minimum total of 270 uniform marks for the A2 units."

You must achieve a grade A overall.
In the A2 units (which total 300 UMS) you must "obtain a minimum total of 270 uniform marks"

Hence, in a hypothetical three unit A2 examination:

Unit 1: 95/100 - 95%
Unit 2: 86/100 - 86%
Unit 3: 92/100 - 92%

95 + 86 + 92 = 273

You have obtained a minimum total of 270 uniform marks, despite the fact you scored below 90% in unit 2.

Say your AS mark was 237/300. This is a grade B.

237 + 273 = 510 = grade A

You have met both criteria, and would hence get an A*.

Simples.


wow cheers man, I didnt even realise that. Thats actually great news cheers, ill delete my previous post - i guess my teacher was wrong
Original post by OurDecemberSun
Okay so in AS History, I have:

A in HIS1B, 81 UMS
B in HIS2M, 72 UMS
153 UMS overall which is a B.

But my teacher held me back after class a few days ago and told me my coursework is really really good, and I could be onto an A* if I do well enough in HIS3B. I was just wanting to double check that my B grade in an AS exam wouldn't stop me from doing that since I'm not resitting any AS modules.

Also, what UMS marks would I need ideally at A2 to get the A*? I don't fully understand how it works considering my coursework's out of 80 UMS and HIS3B's out of 120.

Any explanation would be appreciated :smile:

If we assume that "really really good" means 75 UMS you would need 105 in the exam to get the A*, I *think*....
Reply 30
I got 2 questions:

1)Is it the same for any exam board (I'm doing OCR and edexcel)

2)So lets say I get 70% for AS and 90% for A2 I get A*?
Achieved a grade A overall.
Obtained a minimum total of 270(= 90%) uniform marks.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 31
Original post by 99llewellyn99
are you sure about this because our maths teacher said we had to get above 90% in both A2 papers (C3 and C4).
also there was a boy last year in our school who scored 2nd highest in the whole class but still got an 'A' whereas quite a few others got an 'A*'


Certain, because I have read the rules on this which are here
http://www.jcq.org.uk/attachments/published/1047/GCE%20Maths%20rules%20guidance%20for%20centres%20Sept%202010.pdf on p15
You can get 480 UMS and get an A*, but get 569 and only get an A.
Reply 32
Original post by Alexandra's Box
Sorry if this is stupid, but how about the other way round? Could you get an A or A* overall with an A at AS and B at A2?


No, as you need to average 90% in the A2 units. Read the earlier posts.
Reply 33
Original post by noor1993
Thanks thats so helpful!! are you sure this doesnt vary with different boards? lol you have given me hope!!


The UK domestic exam boards (AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA) all operate the same JCQ regulations for grades. CIE may be different as it is an international board (the international part of OCR).
Why not? I got E's and C's for AS and I got one A*, an A and a B for A2. I retook one of my E's in my second year so my grades officially spelt ACE :biggrin: Don't take any notice of predicted grades.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 35
So lets say I get 70% for AS and 90% for A2 I get A*?
Achieved a grade A overall.
Obtained a minimum total of 270(= 90%) uniform marks.
Original post by Data
No, as you need to average 90% in the A2 units. Read the earlier posts.


I asked about A too, not just A*. But it doesn't matter, don't feel you have to answer dumb questions if you don't want to!
Reply 37
Original post by Alexandra's Box
I asked about A too, not just A*. But it doesn't matter, don't feel you have to answer dumb questions if you don't want to!


To get an A you need 480/600 (6 unit A Level) or 320/400 (4 unit A level). If you get 200/200 in a 2 unit AS then you only need 120/200 ( a low C) in the A2 to get an A overall.

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