Mock exam results to be used as A Level 'safety net' in 'Triple Lock system'
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Am sooo stressed and confused now😷if this is true, then it means Gavin Williams knows something bad is about to happen to all students on Thursday.
Original post by chocolatd
I'm honestly getting heart palpitations and haven't been able to sleep at all worrying about my grades. Could they please just clarify the whole situation right now and save students the anxiety? At least this will be over in 24 hours.
If you're feeling very anxious, please consider talking to a parent or another adult- I understand this is stressful, but hopefully they will be able to help you manage your anxiety. I'd suggest stopping looking at news/social media for now, and trying to do something calming (e.g. a bath, maybe? but not if you feel like you might faint).
Original post by Unlucki
It's in theTES article too, didn't see mention of GCSEs on the BBC and not sure about other sources
Well, I guess that's next week's problem, then!
Original post by Vespa21
Quote was from DfE according to Lewis Goodall ( Newsnight)
Apologies if incorrect but seems plausible to be honest.
Apologies if incorrect but seems plausible to be honest.
So mocks can only be used to appeal?
Original post by Vespa21
Quote was from DfE according to Lewis Goodall ( Newsnight)
Apologies if incorrect but seems plausible to be honest.
Apologies if incorrect but seems plausible to be honest.
I agree it seems plausible, but I don't think we can say anything is definite right now.
Original post by gucciclara
Am sooo stressed and confused now😷if this is true, then it means Gavin Williams knows something bad is about to happen to all students on Thursday.
I'm not sure this is the case- it may just be a pre-emptive response to the Scottish government saying everyone can use CAGs.
Original post by Banshee123
So mocks can only be used to appeal?
At this stage, we don't know.
This is what's being reported by some news outlets, but not all- it would make more sense than using mock grades for uni entry, though.
The more U think about this the more crazy it seems.
Mocks arent always secure and teachers can tell you whats on the paper or give big hints on what to study covering only part of the spec. You now essentially get 2 bits at the cherry.
In contrast, private candidates resits and homeschoolers who get no calculated grade are still ignored, lose a year because unis wont wait and have to actually do the work the current 2020 student have avoided. That means a resit student could easily have done twice as much work than someone who gets an A off the back of mocks. They have been really let down.
Mocks arent always secure and teachers can tell you whats on the paper or give big hints on what to study covering only part of the spec. You now essentially get 2 bits at the cherry.
In contrast, private candidates resits and homeschoolers who get no calculated grade are still ignored, lose a year because unis wont wait and have to actually do the work the current 2020 student have avoided. That means a resit student could easily have done twice as much work than someone who gets an A off the back of mocks. They have been really let down.
Original post by 999tigger
The more U think about this the more crazy it seems.
Mocks arent always secure and teachers can tell you whats on the paper or give big hints on what to study covering only part of the spec. You now essentially get 2 bits at the cherry.
In contrast, private candidates resits and homeschoolers who get no calculated grade are still ignored, lose a year because unis wont wait and have to actually do the work the current 2020 student have avoided. That means a resit student could easily have done twice as much work than someone who gets an A off the back of mocks. They have been really let down.
Mocks arent always secure and teachers can tell you whats on the paper or give big hints on what to study covering only part of the spec. You now essentially get 2 bits at the cherry.
In contrast, private candidates resits and homeschoolers who get no calculated grade are still ignored, lose a year because unis wont wait and have to actually do the work the current 2020 student have avoided. That means a resit student could easily have done twice as much work than someone who gets an A off the back of mocks. They have been really let down.
It's completely crazy on so many levels.
There are schools that don't run formal mocks, too, and providing a "validated" mock could be a nightmare.
Best case scenario is using mocks as grounds for appeal only, I think.
If it's mock grades for uni entry, I would actually like the unis to turn around and say, no- there's too much variation, we won't accept them!
Hopefully the DfE statement tomorrow will prove more illuminating for everyone. To some extent I wish that media outlets wouldn’t publish stories which pre-empt official announcements for things like this, as the speculation as to the specifics can only cause those of you anticipating grades this week more anxiety!
Failure of epic proportion lol
I never even deemed it possible to make a mess of an already catastrophic mess. I will never forget this year, ever.
I never even deemed it possible to make a mess of an already catastrophic mess. I will never forget this year, ever.
Firstly, it's time for a slow clap for Gavin's incompetence. 
Second, and most importantly, I want to say a quick thing to those who are planning on moving onto something new in September, whether that's higher education, employment, apprenticeships or any other route you want to go down:
Regardless of the impending sense of dread you may be feeling right now, this isn't the end of the world. Every year we say that your grades don't define you. This year your grades might not be defined themselves, never mind defining anything else. Please try not to take any bad news on Thursday morning to heart. Please don't see your results as a matter of life and death because they aren't. This thread features a lovely list of people who have had their initial life plans altered, often by fate or other means - there are always more options than you think.
And I'm not asking you to believe that your grades on Thursday were "meant to be", you can believe what you like about them because who the hell knows anything right now? But I am going to ask you to remember that when 1 door closes another one opens and to keep an open mind with your options for next academic year and beyond - because some of those choices might surprise you.
For any of your worries and queries TSR will be here to help, advise and support you no matter what. We don't have answers to questions that the government have no knowledge of and some of us (me included) don't have the foggiest at the best of times, nevermind in a pandemic-induced frackar like this. However, just like you've got through your GCSEs and A Levels despite it seeming "impossible" when you started, you will get through these turbulent next few weeks and come out of it the other side - hopefully smiling.
Goodnight everyone, get some rest and don't watch the news for too long tomorrow - there are other things you could do with your day.
Second, and most importantly, I want to say a quick thing to those who are planning on moving onto something new in September, whether that's higher education, employment, apprenticeships or any other route you want to go down:
Regardless of the impending sense of dread you may be feeling right now, this isn't the end of the world. Every year we say that your grades don't define you. This year your grades might not be defined themselves, never mind defining anything else. Please try not to take any bad news on Thursday morning to heart. Please don't see your results as a matter of life and death because they aren't. This thread features a lovely list of people who have had their initial life plans altered, often by fate or other means - there are always more options than you think.
And I'm not asking you to believe that your grades on Thursday were "meant to be", you can believe what you like about them because who the hell knows anything right now? But I am going to ask you to remember that when 1 door closes another one opens and to keep an open mind with your options for next academic year and beyond - because some of those choices might surprise you.
For any of your worries and queries TSR will be here to help, advise and support you no matter what. We don't have answers to questions that the government have no knowledge of and some of us (me included) don't have the foggiest at the best of times, nevermind in a pandemic-induced frackar like this. However, just like you've got through your GCSEs and A Levels despite it seeming "impossible" when you started, you will get through these turbulent next few weeks and come out of it the other side - hopefully smiling.
Goodnight everyone, get some rest and don't watch the news for too long tomorrow - there are other things you could do with your day.
Original post by JGoosey2002
What the **** are you lot complaining about. There is no negatives. This either benefits you or doesn’t affect you. Why do ppl on tsr love to cry???
Ofc there are negatives it undermines the value of the qualification by having made it much easier for you when compared to previous and subsequent years. It also shows what a shambles politicians interfering in exams are. I dont expect you to be able to see the issues.
Original post by JGoosey2002
What the **** are you lot complaining about. There is no negatives. This either benefits you or doesn’t affect you. Why do ppl on tsr love to cry???
Because if students can get into uni on the back of their mocks, it makes a mockery of the system- there won't be any fairness at all as all schools run mocks differently.
If a student rings up and gets in from their mocks, that may mean another student who is a near miss gets pushed out. It means less spaces in clearing.
It yet again disadvantages private candidates who don't have mock grades.
It's also very open to abuse.
Original post by 999tigger
Ofc there are negatives it undermines the value of the qualification by having made it much easier for you when compared to previous and subsequent years. It also shows what a shambles politicians interfering in exams are. I dont expect you to be able to see the issues.
I do not understand
Either
- doesn’t change whether or not you got into uni
- gets you into uni (probably deserved it if you got it in ur mock anyway)
Original post by JGoosey2002
I do not understand
Either
- doesn’t change whether or not you got into uni
- gets you into uni (probably deserved it if you got it in ur mock anyway)
Either
- doesn’t change whether or not you got into uni
- gets you into uni (probably deserved it if you got it in ur mock anyway)
Not every A Level student will be attending a university and these grades will serve many other purposes than that.
Original post by SarcAndSpark
Because if students can get into uni on the back of their mocks, it makes a mockery of the system- there won't be any fairness at all as all schools run mocks differently.
If a student rings up and gets in from their mocks, that may mean another student who is a near miss gets pushed out. It means less spaces in clearing.
It yet again disadvantages private candidates who don't have mock grades.
It's also very open to abuse.
If a student rings up and gets in from their mocks, that may mean another student who is a near miss gets pushed out. It means less spaces in clearing.
It yet again disadvantages private candidates who don't have mock grades.
It's also very open to abuse.
If they get it in their mocks they probably deserve it. Don’t most schools do last years paper with last years boundaries as mocks anyway? Also ok ppl will bring up cheaters but ppl cheat in the real thing. Ppl who cheated in the mocks would also have pushed their peers down the CAG rankings anyway so it’s very hard to get rid of that
Original post by JGoosey2002
I do not understand
Either
- doesn’t change whether or not you got into uni
- gets you into uni (probably deserved it if you got it in ur mock anyway)
Either
- doesn’t change whether or not you got into uni
- gets you into uni (probably deserved it if you got it in ur mock anyway)
Well, what about near miss candidates- especially if for whatever reason they didn't do a mock? Because of student quotas, they now miss out?
Is it fair to compare e.g. mocks done in Y12 with mocks done in February of Y13?
What about the different conditions schools do mocks in? What if someone found the paper online in advance or cheated in another way?
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