The Student Room Group

Could AQA have messed up my grades?

not sure if i've posted this in the right place but nevermind!
Okay so I got my A level results and I didn't do as well as expected but especially in biology. I've been an A/B student all year and got an A in biology AS last year.
We sat 3 biology papers this year for A2 and I got an E in all three of them. Overall, I got a C thankfully because of the A I got last year.
I wasn't expecting an E in each paper I sat because I didn't think the exams went that badly, I was expecting around at least a C.
The strange part is that I checked on the UMS converter and found that each of the papers I sat this year were bang on the E grade boundary, all exactly the same, one mark less in each of them would have resulted in a U.
So yeah I'm not really an E grade student in biology and I find the UMS situation slightly odd, it's pretty unlikely to get exactly on the grade boundary in each paper.
I managed to get into uni through clearing for my course and that's all sorted, so do you think it's worth having my biology papers remarked, simply for peace of mind?

thanks xx

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
bump!
Reply 2
Really no point remarking if you are happy with your uni choice. If you remark you risk lowering your C to a D, and if you are correct in saying your A2 is 3 ums from a U, it implies you are very far from the A2 D boundary

This means you can either stay the same (wasted time and money) / go up a bit but keep the C overall (wasted time and money) / go down a bit and get lowered to a D (wasted time and money plus you've got a worse grade out of it)

I dont see any good coming from it. You got into uni forget about your results and enjoy yourself :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by nmanvi
Really no point remarking if you are happy with your uni choice. If you remark you risk lowering your C to a D, and if you are correct in saying your A2 is 3 ums from a U, it implies you are very far from the A2 D boundary

This means you can either stay the same (wasted time and money) / go up a bit but keep the C overall (wasted time and money) / go down a bit and get lowered to a D (time and money plus you've got a worse grade out of it)

I dont see any good coming from it. You got into uni forget about your results and enjoy yourself :smile:


I suppose so actually, it is a good idea to just forget about it since i'm going to uni but I just am totally shocked that I got an E in each paper and it's literally eating away at me because I'm trying to think where I could have gone so badly wrong. If I did get it remarked and it went down or stayed the same I'd at least know for sure that I messed up rather than doubting it, i don't know. Thanks for your reply!! :smile:
I don't want to sound rude, but it is unlikely that all 3 papers would have been wrongly marked, so you should probably just accept that you did badly.
And as some else has said, since you have already been accepted into university by remarking you risk the chance of dropping a grade and possibly losing you're university place.
Reply 5
Original post by LiquidGold
I don't want to sound rude, but it is unlikely that all 3 papers would have been wrongly marked, so you should probably just accept that you did badly.
And as some else has said, since you have already been accepted into university by remarking you risk the chance of dropping a grade and possibly losing you're university place.


Haha don't worry you don't sound rude and yeah what you've said is probably true. But then again i'm just thinking I want confirmation that I have actually done so badly rather than having doubts about it and I find it odd that the UMS for each paper I sat ended up being exactly on the E grade boundary, maybe i'm just reading into it too much, trying to just forget about it ahaha.
Reply 6
more than likely you cocked up rather than anything, but there is no harm whatsoever in seeking assurances that what you have received is true (unless a remark gives you a lower grade lol) I personally would go with a remark and see what happens.

Best of luck with that if you do choose to pursue it.
Reply 7
Original post by Ciranore
more than likely you cocked up rather than anything, but there is no harm whatsoever in seeking assurances that what you have received is true (unless a remark gives you a lower grade lol) I personally would go with a remark and see what happens.

Best of luck with that if you do choose to pursue it.


Probably haha but yeah I think I will probably get it remarked or something, i think i just need to know for sure that i messed up, only wondering because it's just not what i was expecting to get! Thank you very much :smile:
Reply 8
I would do so, better to know for definite to put the issue to bed and concentrate on university, do keep us updated if you do get a remark :smile:

once again all the best
Reply 9
Original post by Ciranore
I would do so, better to know for definite to put the issue to bed and concentrate on university, do keep us updated if you do get a remark :smile:

once again all the best


Definitely, i will do! Thanks again :smile:
My daughter is in a similar situation. She got an A in one paper and a D in another, where she was expecting another A. Overall grade averaged as a B which was enough to get into her chosen uni.
Her solution is to ask for a copy (small charge) of her original answer paper, which should have marking on it. A co-operative teacher at your school could cast an eye over this and tell you whether you have made a mighty cock-up (i.e. D) or whether it is reasonable to expect a higher mark. Armed with this info you can decide whether it is safe / worthwhile to ask for a re-mark.
I wouldn't advise going for a remark straight away!
Get the exam you think you did best on out of the three and ask for a transcript. Then email/ bring this to your teacher, see what he/ she has to say.
If you're right and they did mess it up you won't get this money refunded but it costs less than £20. Then you should proceed and get them all remarked if you want, if they increase in grade you'll get that money back.
Personally I would be prepared to pay the £14 or so for piece of mind, rather than never ever being sure.
Good luck! xxx
I'm wondering the same about my Biology AS (although I'm with WJEC). I worked my ass off for my Biology papers yet only got a C and D (C overall too). It doesn't make sense because of the amount of work I put in and the grades I was getting in class...
Reply 13
Original post by StephenCarter
My daughter is in a similar situation. She got an A in one paper and a D in another, where she was expecting another A. Overall grade averaged as a B which was enough to get into her chosen uni.
Her solution is to ask for a copy (small charge) of her original answer paper, which should have marking on it. A co-operative teacher at your school could cast an eye over this and tell you whether you have made a mighty cock-up (i.e. D) or whether it is reasonable to expect a higher mark. Armed with this info you can decide whether it is safe / worthwhile to ask for a re-mark.




Original post by **Heart & Soul**
I wouldn't advise going for a remark straight away!
Get the exam you think you did best on out of the three and ask for a transcript. Then email/ bring this to your teacher, see what he/ she has to say.
If you're right and they did mess it up you won't get this money refunded but it costs less than £20. Then you should proceed and get them all remarked if you want, if they increase in grade you'll get that money back.
Personally I would be prepared to pay the £14 or so for piece of mind, rather than never ever being sure.
Good luck! xxx


that's a great idea, thanks guys, i think i'll probably do that rather than going for a remark straight away! xxx
Reply 14
Original post by All_TheCyanide
I'm wondering the same about my Biology AS (although I'm with WJEC). I worked my ass off for my Biology papers yet only got a C and D (C overall too). It doesn't make sense because of the amount of work I put in and the grades I was getting in class...


I feel ya, it's just so frustrating getting grades you weren't expecting having put so much work into it and having been doing well all year :frown: It could be worth getting a copy of the transcript or maybe remarked if you think you did better than what you got! hope it all works out for you! x
Reply 15
I've had the same problem for my biology unit 5 exam. I've asked for a copy of the script
Reply 16
Original post by StephenCarter
My daughter is in a similar situation. She got an A in one paper and a D in another, where she was expecting another A. Overall grade averaged as a B which was enough to get into her chosen uni.
Her solution is to ask for a copy (small charge) of her original answer paper, which should have marking on it. A co-operative teacher at your school could cast an eye over this and tell you whether you have made a mighty cock-up (i.e. D) or whether it is reasonable to expect a higher mark. Armed with this info you can decide whether it is safe / worthwhile to ask for a re-mark.


Original post by tumblrgirl
that's a great idea, thanks guys, i think i'll probably do that rather than going for a remark straight away! xxx


Sorry to say the rules have changed which means if you don't ask for the access to script and remark together you can't get the remark. So this won't work

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 17
Original post by Aph
Sorry to say the rules have changed which means if you don't ask for the access to script and remark together you can't get the remark. So this won't work

Posted from TSR Mobile

You can still request the copy of the script and then get a remark. If you request the original you won't be able to get a remark
Reply 18
Original post by tumblrgirl
not sure if i've posted this in the right place but nevermind!
Okay so I got my A level results and I didn't do as well as expected but especially in biology. I've been an A/B student all year and got an A in biology AS last year.
We sat 3 biology papers this year for A2 and I got an E in all three of them. Overall, I got a C thankfully because of the A I got last year.
I wasn't expecting an E in each paper I sat because I didn't think the exams went that badly, I was expecting around at least a C.
The strange part is that I checked on the UMS converter and found that each of the papers I sat this year were bang on the E grade boundary, all exactly the same, one mark less in each of them would have resulted in a U.
So yeah I'm not really an E grade student in biology and I find the UMS situation slightly odd, it's pretty unlikely to get exactly on the grade boundary in each paper.
I managed to get into uni through clearing for my course and that's all sorted, so do you think it's worth having my biology papers remarked, simply for peace of mind?

thanks xx


Demand a remark. They marked it wrong/had already given enough high grades, so had to lower yours. Trust me, they do this.


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 19
Original post by Blank786
You can still request the copy of the script and then get a remark. If you request the original you won't be able to get a remark


Whats the difference?
On the form it clearly states
NB: Once you request access to script you cannot then request a remark
The rules changed this year

Posted from TSR Mobile

Quick Reply

Latest