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Has anyone managed an A* at Core Science GCSE?

I have gotten solid A*'s in all my mocks throughout the whole of year 10 and so have many of my friends however come the real exam none of us have gotten any and i'm left here with an A? Has anyone gotten an A*?

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I got an A*, what exam board were you on?
Reply 2
Original post by ellieffion
I got an A*, what exam board were you on?


AQA, how about you?
I did all of the modules that are in core science AQA (B1, C1, P1) and got an A* in each of them. Although, they were my lowest UMS scores across triple science so I would have only just got an a* if I did core

B1: 91/100 C1: 91/100 P1: 90/100
B2: 93/100 C2: 93/100 P2: 100/100
B3: 100/100 C3: 100/100 P3: 100/100

So, weirdly it is harder to get an A* in core than in each science (Chem, Phys, Bio) in triple.
Reply 4
Original post by DavMax15
I did all of the modules that are in core science AQA (B1, C1, P1) and got an A* in each of them. Although, they were my lowest UMS scores across triple science so I would have only just got an a* if I did core

B1: 91/100 C1: 91/100 P1: 90/100
B2: 93/100 C2: 93/100 P2: 100/100
B3: 100/100 C3: 100/100 P3: 100/100

So, weirdly it is harder to get an A* in core than in each science (Chem, Phys, Bio) in triple.


If i do the rest of my triple science exams next year, and i got A* in the both of them, would by total be up to an a*? I hate that ugly A on my report
Original post by meemzks
If i do the rest of my triple science exams next year, and i got A* in the both of them, would by total be up to an a*? I hate that ugly A on my report


It depends what UMS you got in your core science and how well you do in your triple science exams. If you get high A*s then you should get an A* overall. Anyway, it is easy to get 100 UMS in C3, B3 or P3 because the grade boundaries are so low - most schools rush these units to be ready for exams. This year, 100 UMS for P3 was 41/60 and A* was 36/60.
Original post by meemzks
AQA, how about you?


I was on AQA too!
i am in the same position but how do they add all the grades for each different subject and how do they include the isa or do u get a grade for core additional and further additional
Reply 8
Original post by DavMax15
It depends what UMS you got in your core science and how well you do in your triple science exams. If you get high A*s then you should get an A* overall. Anyway, it is easy to get 100 UMS in C3, B3 or P3 because the grade boundaries are so low - most schools rush these units to be ready for exams. This year, 100 UMS for P3 was 41/60 and A* was 36/60.


oh okay holy crap thank you very much!
Original post by meemzks
oh okay holy crap thank you very much!


You may need to cash in your grades as Biology, Chemistry, Physics rather than Core, Additional and Further Additional if you don't want to have an A at a GCSE though.
Original post by meemzks
Ifd have gotten solid A*'s in all my mocks throughout the whole of year 10 and so have many of my friends however come the real exam none of us have gotten any and i'm left here with an A? Has anyone gotten an A*?

OH MY GOD there is someone out there like me exactly the same story as me i always get A* and then i got an A i think the examiners marked my paper wrong cos i alway get 71/85 or 70 and even i did the 2015paper that was not even seen by teachers before it was published after the exam got full marks the apperantly some inexpirenced examiner gave me 51/ 85 what a cheek and i thought i aced the exam im on ocr gateway im so upset r u going to remark it
Original post by chris2791
OH MY GOD there is someone out there like me exactly the same story as me i always get A* and then i got an A i think the examiners marked my paper wrong cos i alway get 71/85 or 70 and even i did the 2015paper that was not even seen by teachers before it was published after the exam got full marks the apperantly some inexpirenced examiner gave me 51/ 85 what a cheek and i thought i aced the exam im on ocr gateway im so upset r u going to remark it


I was exactly the same - on track for 12 A*s - and got 11A*s and 1 A because of my English language. I got 61/64 in my mock and in my exam I got 39/64. Don't you just love pretentious markers? I'm getting mine remarked though.
Original post by DavMax15
I was exactly the same - on track for 12 A*s - and got 11A*s and 1 A because of my English language. I got 61/64 in my mock and in my exam I got 39/64. Don't you just love pretentious markers? I'm getting mine remarked though.

Please keep in contact with me my blood pressure has gone up i hope it goes up i think they marked it wrong
Original post by chris2791
Please keep in contact with me my blood pressure has gone up i hope it goes up i think they marked it wrong


Good luck with it. Once, my teacher marked a physics mock and gave me a C and they had added the score up wrong, it was an A*. So, it could just be a clerical error; they happen more often than you'd think.
Same exam board too, had this experience too 2 years ago. But I'm very happy with the A.
(edited 7 years ago)
how do they add on isa for each subject and give u an overall grade because i did my core science with a physics isas
Original post by DavMax15
I was exactly the same - on track for 12 A*s - and got 11A*s and 1 A because of my English language. I got 61/64 in my mock and in my exam I got 39/64. Don't you just love pretentious markers? I'm getting mine remarked though.


Dude! Tell me about it, we have identical grades, woah! I got an A in english language too, my mock was far better than the real exam. Were you WJEC? Also are you applying to do medicine or something?
Original post by DavMax15
I was exactly the same - on track for 12 A*s - and got 11A*s and 1 A because of my English language. I got 61/64 in my mock and in my exam I got 39/64. Don't you just love pretentious markers? I'm getting mine remarked though.
Dude! Tell me about it, we have identical grades, woah! I got an A in english language too, my mock was far better than the real exam. Were you WJEC? Also are you applying to do medicine or something?
Original post by meemzks
If i do the rest of my triple science exams next year, and i got A* in the both of them, would by total be up to an a*? I hate that ugly A on my report


If you've cashed in your Core (which you have if you've got a result) you won't be able to use these units for triple science.
Original post by 1jonam16
Dude! Tell me about it, we have identical grades, woah! I got an A in english language too, my mock was far better than the real exam. Were you WJEC? Also are you applying to do medicine or something?


I did edexcel and I'm hoping to do either economics or maths at Cambridge so the extra A* won't make that much difference. It's just annoying because I'm so close - 3 marks in english.

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