Stories where you thought you'd flopped but you actually did well - GCSE & A-level

Since results day is so close, I'm sure a lot of us are in complete panic mode and are over-analysing our answers and are convinced we've not done as well as we hoped. However, a lot of the time this panic is unnecessary and we actually end up doing a lot better than we think.

If this has happened to you leave your stories down below :biggrin:

When I was doing my GCSEs, I was 99.9% convinced that I'd failed English literature and I was honestly distraught considering how much time and effort I put in to the subject. Once I got in the exam I just completely panicked and ended up completely rushing the first paper and not even finishing the second one. However, on results day I ended up getting an A* and full UMS on the paper that I thought I'd flopped. I'm hoping something similar will happen to me on Thursday haha :rolleyes:

Reply 1

FloralHybrid

21

Due to health problems I was convinced I’d absolutely flopped my GCSE’s - I didn’t learn about 60% of the content in class and went over it in a pre exam panic.

My teachers were convinced I’d need to resist Year 11 and had started putting that in place as I walked into results day. I’d prepped myself for the worst - Maybe a grade in subjects like English but for sure fails in subjects like science which rely heavily on content.

I got 6 A*/A’s, 4B’s and 1C. Not incredible by any standards, but given my situation and how I’d self taught most things, much better than I could have asked for. 😊

Reply 2

lucieol

OP

15

Original post by FloralHybrid

Due to health problems I was convinced I’d absolutely flopped my GCSE’s - I didn’t learn about 60% of the content in class and went over it in a pre exam panic.

My teachers were convinced I’d need to resist Year 11 and had started putting that in place as I walked into results day. I’d prepped myself for the worst - Maybe a grade in subjects like English but for sure fails in subjects like science which rely heavily on content.

I got 6 A*/A’s, 4B’s and 1C. Not incredible by any standards, but given my situation and how I’d self taught most things, much better than I could have asked for. 😊

That is amazing! Well done :smile:

Reply 3

FloralHybrid

21

Original post by lucieol

That is amazing! Well done :smile:

Thank you

And well done on English Literature!!!

I walked into my Lit exams having never read my 2 books, but read chapter summaries online the night before... Not wise, and I certainly couldn’t do the same at A-Level, but it meant I scraped an A overall 😬

Reply 4

icygrl

18

When I did my GCSE exams, I was 100% sure I had achieved a C/D in my Maths and a B in my English. Turns out I got a B in Maths and an A in both English language and literature :h:

Now I'm just hoping Thursday will be the same for me if not better. I'm so scared for my A level results I feel like I've failed in all of them :frown:

Reply 5

romansholiday

17

I was convinced I flopped French GCSE - The Listening exam was horrendous, and I really thought I got a D or something. Turns out I got an A* and an A in that Listening exam :biggrin:

Also, I thought I got a C/D in Physics but ended up with an A (no idea how lol).

lol there are countless other examples with my GCSEs where I did better than expected e.g. Biology, Maths etc.

Good luck with results everyone :smile:

Reply 6

username3941996

22

While I was doing GCSE, there was one gcse I feared the most. Maths.
I knew it would be the one that will stress me the most. Never on the past papers did I get higher than a D so I worked my butt off but after the exam, I feared that I didn’t do enough.
Honestly I was a little shocked to find I got a C

Reply 7

Puddles the Monkey

21

@lucieol classic thread, love this so much! :woo:

Reply 8

SlashaRussia

15

When I was sitting GCSEs, in my Geography exam I walked out super confident, only to immediately realise I missed out 2 whole pages of questions by accident. I was absolutely certain that it was the end and that I had completely failed Geography and all that...

BUT, come results day: I still got an A* in the paper where I missed out 2 whole pages of questions! :O :O

So even if you think you have messed up, don't stress too much! You never know what could happen! :O

Reply 9

minivampire

15

GCSE's
I was bullied since year 7, ended up in hospital on multiple occasions, so I stopped going from year 8 to year 10.
I came back to school in year 11 with the help of an educational support worker (who is an amazing woman).
I ended up passing all of my gcses (C to A*)
My proudest moment was achieving an A* in my speaking and listening on depression - although I am mega shy and have anxiety.

College
Not my real exam, but...
My real btec exams were at the same time as my mock A level exams :frown:

I explained to my teacher that I would not revise for my mocks, as my real ones mattered more to me.
I ended up with; (mocks)
Psychology
- paper 1 = A (5 marks away)
- paper 2 = A (2 marks)
Sociology
- paper 1 = B (4 marks)
- paper 2 = D :frown:

*third highest in the class
In my real exam I managed to get a high B! :biggrin:

with the chance to resit, but I refused.

(edited 5 years ago)

Similar to you I thought I did terribly on an englang paper, (I didn't feel my answers flowed well, and it just didn't feel right as I was writing it) wouldn't have been surprised with a 6, but I ended up with 75/80 (iirc) on that paper and a 9 overall.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 11

The RAR

21

Why don't these success/happy ending stories ever happen to me? My luck is rock bottom
I am 95% sure I messed up my second paper for AS Computing, I am expecting a D or something. Let's just hope that will not be the case
As for my other grades I really have no idea what I got, I just hope I get good grades (Nothing below a BBC)

Reply 12

Puddles the Monkey

21

Original post by The RAR

Why don't these success/happy ending stories ever happen to me? My luck is rock bottom
I am 95% sure I messed up my second paper for AS Computing, I am expecting a D or something. Let's just hope that will not be the case
As for my other grades I really have no idea what I got, I just hope I get good grades (Nothing below a BBC)

Hang in there :hugs:

People usually did better than they thought they would :smile:

Reply 13

username3941996

22

Original post by minivampire

GCSE's

I was bullied since year 7, ended up in hospital on multiple occasions, so I stopped going from year 8 to year 10.
I came back to school in year 11 with the help of an educational support worker (who is an amazing woman).
I ended up passing all of my gcses and was able to achieve a few As and A*s
My proudest moment was achieving an A* in my speaking and listening on depression - although I am mega shy and have anxiety.

College

Not my real exam, but...
My real btec exams were at the same time as my mock A level exams :frown:

I explained to my teacher that I would not revise for my mocks, as my real ones mattered more to me.
I ended up with;
Psychology
- paper 1 = A (5 marks away)
- paper 2 = A (2 marks)
Sociology
- paper 1 = B (4 marks)
- paper 2 = D :frown:

Well. That’s pretty amazing tbh.

Reply 14

FloralHybrid

21

Original post by The RAR

Why don't these success/happy ending stories ever happen to me? My luck is rock bottom
I am 95% sure I messed up my second paper for AS Computing, I am expecting a D or something. Let's just hope that will not be the case
As for my other grades I really have no idea what I got, I just hope I get good grades (Nothing below a BBC)

My GCSE’s might have gone better than expected (see above) but in my Year 12 I sat AS psychology hoping for an A... and got a D 👍🏻

Reply 15

icygrl

18

Original post by The RAR

Why don't these success/happy ending stories ever happen to me? My luck is rock bottom
I am 95% sure I messed up my second paper for AS Computing, I am expecting a D or something. Let's just hope that will not be the case
As for my other grades I really have no idea what I got, I just hope I get good grades (Nothing below a BBC)