The Student Room Group

what happened to January exams?

I sat my A levels a few years ago and due to wanting to change degree i'm resitting Biol2/5.

I was planning on doing it this january so i could work the rest of the year, but it turns out january exams don't exist anymore?

Why? what happened to them? ;o
Original post by Roxas
I sat my A levels a few years ago and due to wanting to change degree i'm resitting Biol2/5.

I was planning on doing it this january so i could work the rest of the year, but it turns out january exams don't exist anymore?

Why? what happened to them? ;o
Michael Gove abolished them.
The Government happened.
Reply 3
conservatives

gove

going back to o-levels

new plan

awful plan btw
Original post by carnationlilyrose
Michael Gove abolished them.




Why did he abolish them?

I live in Northern Ireland and as far as i know we still have them here
Reply 5
Original post by carnationlilyrose
Michael Gove abolished them.


Michael Gove need to be the next Alexander Litvinenko. :I
Reply 6
can't do biol 5 in jan anyways
Reply 7
Were there any reasons why?

I take it we don't like this Gove bloke.. :P

(I could google this but you guys are way more fun.)
To be honest, most people screw up January exams (year 12's) unless you're private and get prepared to enter early. Then they have to retake in June.
No offence, but I agree with abolishing January exams. A-levels should be an academic challenge, fit for those who will put the effort in.
Original post by bloomblaze
Why did he abolish them?

I live in Northern Ireland and as far as i know we still have them here

Because he believes in 'academic rigour', by which he means not giving anyone more than one chance to improve themselves. He has recently decreed that only the first attempt at a GCSE will count for school league table stats, thereby making schools reluctant to enter kids more than once. He also took out the 20% speaking and listening marks from English GCSE during the summer holidays, midway through the course, so that this year's year 11s have wasted a significant amount of time doing tasks which would have helped them get a better grade but which now count for nothing. Basically, he is making sweeping judgements about education without having been a teacher or an academic of any kind for, presumably, the purpose of making a career out of being 'tough'.
Reply 10
Original post by weirdnessandcoffee
To be honest, most people screw up January exams (year 12's) unless you're private and get prepared to enter early. Then they have to retake in June.
No offence, but I agree with abolishing January exams. A-levels should be an academic challenge, fit for those who will put the effort in.


Why are January exams less challenging? Having every exam in June puts so much more pressure on for what benefit? The beginning of the year is always slow, atleast January exams gave people something close to work towards.

Having every exam at the same time doesn't make them an academic challenge, more of a scheduling/who can micro manage time better challenge. Which A levels shouldn't be in my opinion. They are meant to test subject knowledge not who can handle stress/organise themselves better for summer exams :P
Original post by Roxas

I take it we don't like this Gove bloke.. :P
Etiquette tip - don't mention his name to any teachers.
Reply 12
Original post by weirdnessandcoffee
To be honest, most people screw up January exams (year 12's) unless you're private and get prepared to enter early. Then they have to retake in June.
No offence, but I agree with abolishing January exams. A-levels should be an academic challenge, fit for those who will put the effort in.


You kinda contradicted yourself right there.

If somebody sits something in January are you saying they don't put the same amount as effort as they would into a Summer exam? Are you saying that having January exams remove academic challenge, despite the exam testing academic ability both times it is sat?

Also I heavily disagree with your statement about ''private'' if you work since September you should be able to cope with January exams. Too many noobs don't make the jump from GCSE to A-level and as a result we end up with a generalised system like this. What about a maths applicant who wants to sit 14 modules? (i.e. me) Now without January exams I have to clump them all up in June. Even though if I sat some of these modules in January I would still require the same academic potential as if I did in June. Putting everything in the summer will just make it a stress test rather than an academically challenging set of exams
Reply 13
Original post by bloomblaze
Why did he abolish them?

I live in Northern Ireland and as far as I know we still have them here


I believe CCEA and maybe a few others are letting repeats for current Year 14 (Year 13 in England) students as well as Modules in Jan. I know a few people who are repeating stuff in Jan on CCEA and another board that I can't remember which. But I'm pretty sure this is the last year of it.
Original post by ZaraJayne
I believe CCEA and maybe a few others are letting repeats for current Year 14 (Year 13 in England) students as well as Modules in Jan. I know a few people who are repeating stuff in Jan on CCEA and another board that I can't remember which. But I'm pretty sure this is the last year of it.

I'm not Welsh, so I'm not completely sure about this, but I believe that there is one more exam in Wales in Jan 2015.
Original post by ZaraJayne
I believe CCEA and maybe a few others are letting repeats for current Year 14 (Year 13 in England) students as well as Modules in Jan. I know a few people who are repeating stuff in Jan on CCEA and another board that I can't remember which. But I'm pretty sure this is the last year of it.


Are you from Northern Ireland?
Original post by Roxas
Why are January exams less challenging? Having every exam in June puts so much more pressure on for what benefit? The beginning of the year is always slow, atleast January exams gave people something close to work towards.

Having every exam at the same time doesn't make them an academic challenge, more of a scheduling/who can micro manage time better challenge. Which A levels shouldn't be in my opinion. They are meant to test subject knowledge not who can handle stress/organise themselves better for summer exams :P


I commented on the whole process of resit culture. It's a skill to try and cope with pressure, develop a better work ethic. I had my exams one day after the other, it was a challenge to try and cram in everything. Fair enough you believe that A levels shouldn't be about time management, but I believe that that A levels are more than just exams, they are meant to be challenging in all directions.
I've seen the work ethic in China and India, if we want to have a successful future we need to buck our ideas up.
Original post by Robbie242
You kinda contradicted yourself right there.

If somebody sits something in January are you saying they don't put the same amount as effort as they would into a Summer exam? Are you saying that having January exams remove academic challenge, despite the exam testing academic ability both times it is sat?

Also I heavily disagree with your statement about ''private'' if you work since September you should be able to cope with January exams. Too many noobs don't make the jump from GCSE to A-level and as a result we end up with a generalised system like this. What about a maths applicant who wants to sit 14 modules? (i.e. me) Now without January exams I have to clump them all up in June. Even though if I sat some of these modules in January I would still require the same academic potential as if I did in June. Putting everything in the summer will just make it a stress test rather than an academically challenging set of exams


My point is about most January exam entrants being an opportunity to retake. Yes, I am saying with the awareness of being able to retake, less effort is put in. I agree with you that having to sit 14 modules at once is harsh. But from an international POV, get over it. If we get the work ethic China and India have, do I need to really elaborate?
Original post by weirdnessandcoffee
I commented on the whole process of resit culture. It's a skill to try and cope with pressure, develop a better work ethic. I had my exams one day after the other, it was a challenge to try and cram in everything. Fair enough you believe that A levels shouldn't be about time management, but I believe that that A levels are more than just exams, they are meant to be challenging in all directions.
I've seen the work ethic in China and India, if we want to have a successful future we need to buck our ideas up.


What is the work ethic like in China and India?

How does it differ from that of the UK?
Original post by bloomblaze
What is the work ethic like in China and India?

How does it differ from that of the UK?


Better than us, we have a crap work ethic.

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