15 August 2013 A-Level results: Discussion thread - results day is here!

Often parents do push their kids to "become doctors" or "golfers" (Tiger Woods parents) but I really do doubt they would achieve if they are not capable. James talks about how he is self made comes from middle class but not pushy parents. But he is not taking into account that self made is also a result of values built into a person by external influences.

The most important point though which is probably also what is stressing out others is the attitude that somehow because it is unfair that the underprivileged perform below par (I agree it unfair) that the privileged are dumb kids who are not capable and will fail and are mediocre doctors /lawyers. Please !! It is not their fault that they had the opportunities and parents that helped them perform to the best of their capabilities.

There are lots of fair points here, I agree with most of what you say. The system is far too dependent on mark schemes (these of course work in subjects like Maths, Chemistry etc) in subjects where they don't belong so much. For every Economics paper I did I felt I was just jumping through hoops to tick the examiner's checkbook as many times as possible.

I still find it hard to wrap my head around the notion that we shouldn't make them more challenging because worse schools would suffer more, but maybe it would be a bad idea to make them more challenging after sorting the disaster that is state education (for the most part) in this country.

Although it's irrelevant to whether his policies are good or bad, Gove is indeed a bit of an arse.

I think I will be ok with chemistry but only because I've got high scores in other units which make it a bit more leniant. AQA Chem uijfeiudsjvk.

LOL I like how this has turned on me. But that person was the only person who brought up true evidence and was neither for nor against either side. Which is where I stand.

The posts which aggressively attack the first persons statement about classes being a big influence on where we end up, sounded biased from the point of view of a private school student. I dont think I'm the only one who thinks so either.

All in all... the gove need to fix up.

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Haha coincidence

Kent looks pretty good for History - there are soo many topics to choose from, and it's not to far from London. I think Reading looks good as well, and the grade requirements aren't too hard to achieve as long as I make a real effort in year 13. I have no idea where else to apply for, I'm not Oxbridge material lol. What about you?

Please don't intertwine my point of view with James'. I don't care what his views are and what he previously wrote, I just didn't agree with the point about pushy parents not being a problem. I'm not talking about parents that help their students find their aptitudes and then give full control over to them (with some firmness so that time isn't completely wasted); this isn't pushy. I'm talking about those parents with high expectations that don't let their children forget how much pressure lies on their schooling success, who do actually force textbooks and ridiculous study hours down their throats - because these kids won't perform to the best of their capabilities, despite how it may seem that they do because of A levels and how limited its ability to measure true success and aptitude.

To people collecting A2 results and awaiting on uni for their decision:
What are you guys going to do first, log in to track to see what happened or are you guys going to go and collect results first?
I personally won't be able to resist, as I'll be so tempted to log into track

I still don't believe in this strategy. People's best work comes from their own desire to learn a particular subject or range of subjects. If people just learn something because they're told by their parents that it's the only way forward, similar to house chores, then sure, they'll reap results, but they'll eventually hit a wall. I think it is a problem, because a lot of kids go into a profession or area of study that they wouldn't of considered had it not been for their pushy parents; you end up with mediocre doctors and lawyers etc, but their aptitudes could have been put to better use somewhere else.

I'm not saying you believe in pushy parents, I'm saying that it can be a problem, especially if the child didn't have a choice.

And yea, with reference to the other guy's post, A levels majorly suck.

I had responded to your original comment and I apologise for being so blunt now but you could definitely have worded it better - you did come across as being incredibly butthurt. I agree with SOME of this, I watched my state school turn into an academy and become increasingly starved for resources. The number of people who dropped out at GCSE is ludicrous.

UCL is good for chemistry? wat

Dude that was a joke because you said his post was "the only reasonable, unbiased one", having posted on the subject yourself.

The first person's statement was not that classes are a big influence on where we end up, the first person's statement was this, for the record.

Boundaries should be released on the 14th, so Wednesday. If i'm not mistaken, it should be around Midnight, but it depends on whether someone who has access to them can broadcast them to all of us (which usually does happen on TSR!)

Oh hey nice to meet you are you wanting to to Leicester then? Are you applying for 2013 or 2014?

No if you read the previous posts he's gone for medicine but reckons his chemistry exams have gone ok.

And lest we forget Gove is the most privileged and elite, indifferent prick to ever tread the Earth.

I'm thinking about applying for Kent too, I also like East Anglia and Sheffield, although the latter is wishful thinking haha! The way I feel at the moment I'd be grateful to be accepted to anywhere. I'm not Oxbridge material either, I'm average at most :L

Is that for all exam boards??

Midnight on wednesday night (so basically thursday morning) or midnight as in very early wednesday morning?

yep definitely sure! check exam boards websites, they'll tell u the same thing.

practical resits are free?! so if ur in AS and resat an AS practical during the year its free. you only have to pay £20 if during year 13 you chose to resit any year 12 practicals. no matter how many u resit its £20, per subject.