This discussion is now closed.
Check out other Related discussions
- Career options: Lawyer or doctor
- medicine Cambridge application
- a levels
- Psychology or business studies at A-level?
- GCSE for uni & contextual admissions
- Which university could I go to?
- Learning4Fun - the blog.
- Does GCSE Latin really help with other subjects?
- LSE acceptance with bad GCSES
- 4 A-Levels and an EPQ
- Is it worth applying to Cambridge with only 2 STEM subjects?
- languages at a level
- Do GCSE resits matter for Oxbridge?
- Is my uni list too ambitious?
- How to get a 9 in GCSE DT?
- A levels to Scottish Highers
- A level maths
- Do I leave college to focus on distance learning?
- didnt pass physics GCSE tryna do biochem/chem degree
- Do I have a chance at getting into Oxford Law?
Are some GCSEs worth more than others?
Scroll to see replies
acm345
Won't that make it harder to get an A* because don't they take a proportion of the top candidates for the A* grades
They do have to be fair, it's like if you took maths one year and got a B, then the next year took it and got an A with the exact same ability, just because in the first year the overall year happened to be slightly cleverer than the second year.
The examiners don't just decide grade boundaries based on percentages and mark distribution, they also look at how hard the paper was as a whole, based on their criteria. They know that cleverer students on the whole do latin, and base their marks accordingly.
Yes i can appreciate that most applicants for latin are from "better" schools - but i still think that the proportion is unfair - 2% get A* in eng lang, yet 40% do in latin (the ones i do anyway)
Latin has become far, far easier, there's no doubt about that (in particular the the momentum tests/translations).
Latin has become far, far easier, there's no doubt about that (in particular the the momentum tests/translations).
Bakerbaker
Yes i can appreciate that most applicants for latin are from "better" schools - but i still think that the proportion is unfair - 2% get A* in eng lang, yet 40% do in latin (the ones i do anyway)
Latin has become far, far easier, there's no doubt about that (in particular the the momentum tests/translations).
Latin has become far, far easier, there's no doubt about that (in particular the the momentum tests/translations).
That 2% is brought down by all the people who get Gs and Fs and are forced to take it. Latin is an option that many schools would not let you take if they thought you were going to do badly.
Also, English language is very hard to get an A* in, although Bs, Cs and even As are really quite easy. This may have something to do with the fact that something as inherently ubjective as English is constrained by a rigid mark scheme meaning that you could writve very good and correct English and not get an A* because you didn't 'tick all the boxes'. Many people would see English Lit as the harder subject, but anecdotally at least, there seem to be more top marks (perhaps because it's more obvious what is required to get them).
How do you know it's become easier? Have you seen the papers? (I'm not accusing, I'm just genuinely interested)
Apologies for the essay.
MathsHamster
They know that cleverer students on the whole do latin, and base their marks accordingly.
That is the biggest load of rubbish I have heard in a while!
No exam is based on how clever the students are; it simply tests students' grasp of a subject up to a certain standard.
Latin is an inherently harder subject because of the demands regarding translations etc, and it is most definitely not marked more strictly because Latin students are 'cleverer' (a debatable statement in itself).
Hravan
However, as far as I'm concern my B grade GCSE Astronomy is worth more than my 2A*s and 5As combined.
GCSE Astronomy sounds really interesting, which school did you go to (if you dont mind my asking).
I was accepted for psychology as an extra GCSE course after school, and im really looking forward to it!
Oh and nice work getting a B under those circumstances! =D
charrrlotte.ox
LATIN SHOULD BE WORTH THREE GCSES.
i still maintain this.
i still maintain this.
IMO, people massively overrate its difficulty.
Original post by Α
That 2% is brought down by all the people who get Gs and Fs and are forced to take it. Latin is an option that many schools would not let you take if they thought you were going to do badly.
Also, English language is very hard to get an A* in, although Bs, Cs and even As are really quite easy. This may have something to do with the fact that something as inherently ubjective as English is constrained by a rigid mark scheme meaning that you could writve very good and correct English and not get an A* because you didn't 'tick all the boxes'. Many people would see English Lit as the harder subject, but anecdotally at least, there seem to be more top marks (perhaps because it's more obvious what is required to get them).
How do you know it's become easier? Have you seen the papers? (I'm not accusing, I'm just genuinely interested)
Apologies for the essay.
Also, English language is very hard to get an A* in, although Bs, Cs and even As are really quite easy. This may have something to do with the fact that something as inherently ubjective as English is constrained by a rigid mark scheme meaning that you could writve very good and correct English and not get an A* because you didn't 'tick all the boxes'. Many people would see English Lit as the harder subject, but anecdotally at least, there seem to be more top marks (perhaps because it's more obvious what is required to get them).
How do you know it's become easier? Have you seen the papers? (I'm not accusing, I'm just genuinely interested)
Apologies for the essay.
Dw about the essay
I know that everyone does eng and only a select few do latin, but for 2000% more to get A* in latin is a bit excessive.
Both subjects are ones that i will find particularly difficult to get A* - but probably have more chance in latin.
And yes i have seen the papers - having done 8+ past papers ranging from 1989-2008 its become much easier (as it has really in all subjects). Particularly in the past few years.
<3Biology
It really should.
How do you learn the bloody long pliny letter?
its just not happening:
), Citizenship (
).... the list goes on.charrrlotte.ox
LATIN SHOULD BE WORTH THREE GCSES.
i still maintain this.
i still maintain this.
Not three, maybe two, but I agree it is very hard, and with 4 exams
IQ Test
GCSE Astronomy sounds really interesting, which school did you go to (if you dont mind my asking).
I was accepted for psychology as an extra GCSE course after school, and im really looking forward to it!
Oh and nice work getting a B under those circumstances! =D
I was accepted for psychology as an extra GCSE course after school, and im really looking forward to it!
Oh and nice work getting a B under those circumstances! =D
It was awesome
. My main memory of the lessons is eating biscuits and having cups of tea while being on the computers! (Normally if you were caught with so much as a closed water bottle near one of the computer you probably would end up with a detention.)I went to Meole Brace School Science College. (The Science College bit is very important as it's only due to the funding the school gets due to it that they can offer Astronomy.) We were the second and last group who did Astronomy after school . The first group (the year above us) only had three people in it (two from Meole and one guy from the Priory school over the road). Our group had 10. But the new headteacher did a massive shake up in the GCSE system in the school so the people who would have started their GCSEs in Sept 2007 could pick Astronomy as one of their options in school. I pity them.
The best thing about Astronomy was our teacher though. (He was also my Physics teacher.) He is the original crazy scientist. This is him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUrtTOfB_SE
Examples of his craziness (taken from his Appreciation Society on Facebook):
While reacting potassium or something with water...
'Oooh lets do it in the dark!'
*phone rings, Mr P runs over, slams the door shut and shouts:
'Shut up we're having too much fun!!!'
'Oooh lets do it in the dark!'
*phone rings, Mr P runs over, slams the door shut and shouts:
'Shut up we're having too much fun!!!'
pupil- 'sir, is it true u were a champion tiddley winks player?'
puppers- ' who told u that?'
pupil- 'doesn't matter, is it true though?'
puppers- *smiles* 'well we prefer to be called WINKERS!'
*proceedes to give demonstration of how to beat someone from cambridge university at tiddley winks, in his usual mr p enthusiasm!*
puppers- ' who told u that?'
pupil- 'doesn't matter, is it true though?'
puppers- *smiles* 'well we prefer to be called WINKERS!'
*proceedes to give demonstration of how to beat someone from cambridge university at tiddley winks, in his usual mr p enthusiasm!*
He actually got to the quarter finals of the World Tiddlywinks Championship. He lost to the guy who eventually won the title.
"Now of course, we don't actually know anything at all about the universe.
But don't write that on your exam paper!"
He accidentally put a hole through his ceiling a while ago, shot a rocket through it. classic.
But don't write that on your exam paper!"
He accidentally put a hole through his ceiling a while ago, shot a rocket through it. classic.
Another random fact showing just how awesome he is: he's friends with Sir Tim Berners-Lee. They met while at Oxford uni.
*ahem* Sorry, I miss Meole Brace.
I hated being there but my gods, the physics lessons were classic 
(I actually feel rather guilty for not taking any science subjects at A level...)
Hravan
The best thing about Astronomy was our teacher though. (He was also my Physics teacher.) He is the original crazy scientist. This is him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUrtTOfB_SE
Examples of his craziness (taken from his Appreciation Society on Facebook):
He actually got to the quarter finals of the World Tiddlywinks Championship. He lost to the guy who eventually won the title.
Another random fact showing just how awesome he is: he's friends with Sir Tim Berners-Lee. They met while at Oxford uni.
*ahem* Sorry, I miss Meole Brace. I hated being there but my gods, the physics lessons were classic
(I actually feel rather guilty for not taking any science subjects at A level...)
The best thing about Astronomy was our teacher though. (He was also my Physics teacher.) He is the original crazy scientist. This is him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUrtTOfB_SE
Examples of his craziness (taken from his Appreciation Society on Facebook):
He actually got to the quarter finals of the World Tiddlywinks Championship. He lost to the guy who eventually won the title.
Another random fact showing just how awesome he is: he's friends with Sir Tim Berners-Lee. They met while at Oxford uni.
*ahem* Sorry, I miss Meole Brace.
I hated being there but my gods, the physics lessons were classic (I actually feel rather guilty for not taking any science subjects at A level...)
MAAAN! I wish I had your physics teacher! He sounds hilarious!
Olivia_Lightbulb
MAAAN! I wish I had your physics teacher! He sounds hilarious!
He was the best.
I also had, quite frankly, the best Geography teacher ever as well. For our option subjects (AKA not the core subjects) we were put into mixed ability groups so you could have someone predicted 8 A* in the same class as someone who was predicted all Gs. So basically our overall class average grade was suppose to be a C (based on everyone's predicted grades.) Have a guess what the average grade of our class turned out to be? A (or maybe even A*. I can't remember exactly but it was definitely at least A ).
He was such an amazing teacher that the headteacher asked us all the write out the reasons why we thought he was a good teacher (she didn't do it for any of the other teachers). The answer most of us gave? "He gives us sweets for correct answers given in class." And now I feel guilty for not going on to do Geography at uni.
I can't actually understand this. My worst teachers at Meole were my History and English teachers yet I did AS English Lit, I'm doing A level History (as well as Geo and Classical Civilisation) and am going on to do history at uni. Whereas my best teachers were all my science teachers (not just my physics teacher. My biology teacher and chemistry teacher were both awesome too) and my geography teacher yet I dropped science after GCSE and after Wednesday I'm never having another Geography lesson
(Wednesday is going to be sad. My friend and I have been in the same Geography class since Year 7. Seven years of geo lessons is about to end on Wednesday ) It's strange...
Obviously English & Maths have a greater weighting on your CV than PE in most cases, although it just depends.
I personally think that History should be stuck up there with English and Maths, but that's my view.
I personally think that History should be stuck up there with English and Maths, but that's my view.
charrrlotte.ox
LATIN SHOULD BE WORTH THREE GCSES.
i still maintain this.
i still maintain this.
Definitely. Yes. Undesputedly.
I got the worst of all my grades in Latin :C
hravan
However, as far as I'm concern my B grade GCSE Astronomy is worth more than my 2A*s and 5As combined. Reason? a) only around 300 people take in the UK (well in the year I did it) and only half of those are school pupils (the rest are mainly amateur adult astronomers), b) it wasn't an option as part of my school time. I did it after-school on a Friday. On a Friday! c) I only had a third of the usual teaching time and d) the exam was on my 16th birthday!. So that B is pretty damn good
I did GCSE astronomy too!
Did you sit it in 2008, or was it this year?
How did you do on the coursework?
That is the strictest-marked work I have ever done I think!
I chose to do stupid projects as well: one was making a computational star chart, which took hours, and most of which was donkey-work.
If only there were an astronomy A-level though - I would so do it!
placenta medicae talpae
I did GCSE astronomy too!
Did you sit it in 2008, or was it this year?
How did you do on the coursework?
That is the strictest-marked work I have ever done I think!
I chose to do stupid projects as well: one was making a computational star chart, which took hours, and most of which was donkey-work.
If only there were an astronomy A-level though - I would so do it!
Did you sit it in 2008, or was it this year?
How did you do on the coursework?
That is the strictest-marked work I have ever done I think!
I chose to do stupid projects as well: one was making a computational star chart, which took hours, and most of which was donkey-work.
If only there were an astronomy A-level though - I would so do it!
I sat the exam in June 2007.
I got A* for my moon-map and I think a B for my other piece (I did the observing the moon for a month thingy.)
It's such ridiculous coursework, isn't it? But I suppose they can't really ask us to do an experiment like chemistry/physics/biology so the choices are pretty limited.
Actually our coursework had quite a journey. Our teacher posted it off to the address that the exam board gave him for the moderator. A women rang him up a few days later saying that it while it was all very interesting she hadn't got a clue about Astronomy and she's not a moderator for anything.
Silly exam board... 
Olivia_Lightbulb
That is the biggest load of rubbish I have heard in a while!
No exam is based on how clever the students are; it simply tests students' grasp of a subject up to a certain standard.
Latin is an inherently harder subject because of the demands regarding translations etc, and it is most definitely not marked more strictly because Latin students are 'cleverer' (a debatable statement in itself).
No exam is based on how clever the students are; it simply tests students' grasp of a subject up to a certain standard.
Latin is an inherently harder subject because of the demands regarding translations etc, and it is most definitely not marked more strictly because Latin students are 'cleverer' (a debatable statement in itself).
Read the post! If they knew clever people take the exam, surely they would mark it more leniantly, not more strictly! You have completely missed the point. No GCSE would get 40% A*s unless there was a good reason - that the examiners know how hard the exam is BEFORE they get the distribution of marks in.
Related discussions
- Career options: Lawyer or doctor
- medicine Cambridge application
- a levels
- Psychology or business studies at A-level?
- GCSE for uni & contextual admissions
- Which university could I go to?
- Learning4Fun - the blog.
- Does GCSE Latin really help with other subjects?
- LSE acceptance with bad GCSES
- 4 A-Levels and an EPQ
- Is it worth applying to Cambridge with only 2 STEM subjects?
- languages at a level
- Do GCSE resits matter for Oxbridge?
- Is my uni list too ambitious?
- How to get a 9 in GCSE DT?
- A levels to Scottish Highers
- A level maths
- Do I leave college to focus on distance learning?
- didnt pass physics GCSE tryna do biochem/chem degree
- Do I have a chance at getting into Oxford Law?
Latest
Trending
Last reply 1 day ago
went from 3s to 9s with (literally) night before revision - ask me anythingGCSEs
59
Trending
Last reply 1 day ago
went from 3s to 9s with (literally) night before revision - ask me anythingGCSEs
59
