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Thursday 7 March 2013 GCSE results - poor results, help, remarks and retakes

GCSE results day - Thursday 7 March 2013 - haven't done as well as you hoped?

Good luck to everyone as we approach the publication of GCSE results. Hopefully you'll each receive the grades that you're hoping for - but we appreciate however, that this won't always the case. This thread is here to help you to decide on the best course of action to take if you're results aren't exactly what you were expecting. As well as consulting the information in this thread and other resources from TSR and exam boards, you would in most cases be best to discuss your plans with your teachers before committing to any action - they'll be able to draw on their experience and apply this to their knowledge of your specific circumstances.

If you have any further questions, or your problem hasn't been answered here, please post in this thread. Good luck!

Please visit the Results day discussion thread for extended conversation! Upon publication, the Grade boundaries thread will be used to share the details made available by exam boards.

What are retakes and remarks?
Retaking a modular exam or getting your paper remarked are two ways in which that you can aim to improve a GCSE grade if you're not happy with it. If your retake marks are higher than your original marks, your retake marks will count towards your final grade. However, if your original score was higher your overall result will not change. Exam retakes usually take place in the next available exam season (so the likelihood is that any retakes you may take will take place during the Summer 2013 exam season). Remarks are available for a short period of time after you have received your results - please note however that once you have received a grade from a remark, it is final. Your original grade will not count, even if it is higher than that of the remark.

Does it matter which one I pick?
Yes, the two approaches are quite different. Whether or not you apply for a remark or be entered for retake should depend on a number of different factors. It is important to remember that subjects such as English and History are marked subjectively, whereby examiners award marks at their own discretion (as opposed to something like Maths, where there is usually a strict mark scheme and so no room for confusion). This means that there may possibly be a big difference in what one examiner considers A material and what another does. Because of this, it is often more advisable (though not out of the question) to apply for a remark if you have received a lower grade than you were expecting in an essay based subject rather than if you had taken a non-essay based subject. However, due to the subjective nature of these papers it is possible that your marks may be lowered rather than increased. Because of this, retakes are the popular option for many students. See below for examples of situations in which different courses of action would be appropriate.

So which one should I choose?
Your first port of call should be your subject teacher, who should be able to give advice specific to your situation. However, a few example scenarios are included below along with suggested actions:

I got high grades in most of my modules, but I got one lower result which dragged my overall grade down
If you have one modular grade which is pulling your overall result down, it would be advisable to retake that exam. It would be very unlikely that a remark would significantly improve your overall grade, and may even end up lowering it. However, if you feel that you wouldn't be able to perform better in a retake, or that the additional time spent on studying and revision would be detrimental to any other exams you would be taking, it would not be a good choice to retake.

I didn't perform as well as I could have done in my exams due to outside circumstances
A retake is likely to be the best option here, providing that you feel that studying for the exam would not have a negative impact upon any other studies.

I found my original exam extremely difficult and I didn't understand the content very well
Speak to your subject teacher - they may advise you to focus on your other exams rather than retaking it since learning the content to a high standard would be very time consuming, or they may offer you extra sessions to prepare you for a resit.

Do I have to pay?
There is usually a fee to either retake an exam or to have your paper remarked, although your centre may choose to pay these fees for you. The cost of retaking or remarking is dependent on the exam board in question, so you should speak to your examinations officer to make sure you have all of the information that you need. Check your exam board's website for up-to-date details of the fees that they charge.

Guides to post results fees can be found here:

•

AQA: http://store.aqa.org.uk/admin/library/AQA-POST-RESULTS-FEES.PDF

•

CCEA: http://www.rewardinglearning.org.uk/qualifications/administration/post_results_6.asp#one

•

Edexcel: http://www.edexcel.com/iwantto/I%20want%20to%20%20Tasks/18%20Post%20Results%20Services_Web.pdf

•

Edexcel (international): http://www.edexcel.com/iwantto/I%20want%20to%20%20Tasks/POST-RESULTS-SERVICES-INTERNATIONAL%202010-11.pdf

•

OCR: http://www.ocr.org.uk/images/16471-fees-list-for-2012-13.pdf

•

WJEC: http://www.wjec.co.uk/index.php?nav=35

Where can I get further information?
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) have published their guide to post-results services valid for the June 2012, November 2012 and January 2013 exam seasons. It contains comprehensive information on the possible actions that can be taken once you have received your results. It can be found here.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

arronpatel

i got a U in my as geography global challenges exam which means im probably going to get a U overall for as. but im going to drop geography at the end of the year so is there any point me retaking? also if i do retake would it be possible to retake it this summer?

Reply 2

Majeee97

'm a guy btw. I was so positive thaswapped our l an A-B in this exam. I don't understand. I got Bs and As in my mocks, and I honestly believed that the paper I got a D in was like 100X better than the mocks. I was so excited to open my paper, and when I saw that D my heart sunk. English was a subject I took pride in. People who usually fail in class passed this paper, and I was so embarrassed. I don't understand where I went wrong. There was this guy sat next to me and litteraly he did nothing and he just chilled out during the exam and he got a B (four marks off an A). Im just thinking what if they mixed our papers up - Like seriously. In section 5 the question was so similar to a practise paper we did in class which I got an A in. I wrote that in section 5 but of course I changed it to suit the question. I'm in tears and I have such a **** feeling. I doubt my English teacher will let me retake for the higher because I got a D just by 1 mark.

Is it possible that they accidently swapped papers? Like seriously I don't understand how this happened.

Can I get my paper back ? I want to see if they marked it correctly.
Thank you.

='(

Reply 3

Enigma Machine

20

Remark, ask for your paper back
At the end of the day, it's a GCSE though, not a great big deal

Reply 4

depressed1

Ahhh don't fret, honestly. There were so many people in your position at my school today. I know how it feels when someone who didn't try at all gets a better grade than you. Your English teacher should let you resit however because my school lets those who didn't get their predicted grade resit. Don't be too hard on yourself, it's only 40%. :smile:

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Reply 5

Luis Suarez

8

Feel for you mate, chin up...

You can ask to see the paper but you have to pay for it and it also means you cannot resit the exam.

Reply 6

username1050473

14

We did not get our GCSE Language results today... we were told in an 'emergency assembly' that the whole year group were eight to twelve marks below what they should have attained. The school are blaming it on last year's fiasco regarding the GCSEs, because we are on the WJEC exam board. It's annoying that we all have to retake it, but it gives us some security over our grades.

Reply 7

Elliemay97

1

Don't worry like everyone in my school failed it and even really cleaver people. Talk to your schools exams officer about getting your paper back and ask your teacher what you need to improve on. You can also ask about entering for a resit. Everyone in my year is resisting it just make sure you ask soon otherwise you will miss the deadline

Reply 8

cleveradam

9

Well I'm fairly annoyed aswell. Not got my mark for the exam yet but we've been told its been a disaster.

Reply 9

Data

14

Original post by arronpatel

i got a U in my as geography global challenges exam which means im probably going to get a U overall for as. but im going to drop geography at the end of the year so is there any point me retaking? also if i do retake would it be possible to retake it this summer?

Yes you can re-sit in the summer, find out about soon as the deadline for entries is 21 March and your school is likely to set an earlier internal deadline.

Reply 10

hillh

I'm annoyed with my science- I'm not sure if I should resit, I got an C (B5C5P5 OCR 21st Century Additional) scraping in with only 60%... any less and i would of got a D. I was wondering if theres still a chance of getting a B if i do well in the 6's and coursework ?? In the 4's i got 63% (another c) in the exam. But in my coursework I am getting A's So is there a chance of me being able to get a B ?? :confused:

Reply 11

missalg

Original post by Majeee97

'm a guy btw. I was so positive thaswapped our l an A-B in this exam. I don't understand. I got Bs and As in my mocks, and I honestly believed that the paper I got a D in was like 100X better than the mocks. I was so excited to open my paper, and when I saw that D my heart sunk. English was a subject I took pride in. People who usually fail in class passed this paper, and I was so embarrassed. I don't understand where I went wrong. There was this guy sat next to me and litteraly he did nothing and he just chilled out during the exam and he got a B (four marks off an A). Im just thinking what if they mixed our papers up - Like seriously. In section 5 the question was so similar to a practise paper we did in class which I got an A in. I wrote that in section 5 but of course I changed it to suit the question. I'm in tears and I have such a **** feeling. I doubt my English teacher will let me retake for the higher because I got a D just by 1 mark.

Is it possible that they accidently swapped papers? Like seriously I don't understand how this happened.

Can I get my paper back ? I want to see if they marked it correctly.
Thank you.

='(

I think I failed my English Language as well but so has other people in our year but it is so annoying that you don't get the actual grades till Summer and I don't feel like i Should compare them to last year because they might change... How do I know if I have done good or not? I know I did badly but it is really getting to me!

Reply 12

depressed1

I'm so relieved its over for me, i got a 71.... Phewww.... Now im pretty much everyones "mentor" for the Summer retake. Lol

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Reply 13

BanyBaxter

Today, i got my OCR science GCSE exam results from January 2013
Biology - 79 - B
Chemistry - 83 - A
got 79 for biology and not sure whether to get it remarked as i am 1 mark of an A

Reply 14

Data

14

Original post by Annie72

I'm a parent having serious trouble trying to understand all this "UMS" stuff because we didnt have that when I took my GCSE's back in the late 90s.Basically my son has dire exam results and I'm trying to work out his actual grade, ie A, B, C etc. His results for his science are 21/80 and for his science assessment are 24/80.I know they are terrible and I'm not happy about it right now.

Many thanks for helping this old'un :smile:

If you know the maximum mark on a paper then it is easy to work out the grade as it is always:
90% or more - A*
80-89.9 - A
70-79.9 - B
60-69.9 - C
50-59.9 - D
40-49.9 - E
etc

I'm afraid you are right in assessing your son's results as terrible. He needs to re-sit - he is allowed 1 re-sit at each unit so needs to nail it next time.

Reply 15

sweet_gyal97

Original post by Luis Suarez

Feel for you mate, chin up...

You can ask to see the paper but you have to pay for it and it also means you cannot resit the exam.

Wait wait wait what???
if you ask for your paper it means you can't resit?? What about remark??
because I got my history result today and want to get it remarked...

Reply 16

ChronicBoredom

3

I got an A in my b2 exam, 81 ums. My TMG is an a.

I reckon I could get an a*. Is it silly for me to ask for a retake?

What about a B, 76 ums, in p2? Can I retake that??

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Reply 17

Annie72

17

Original post by Data

If you know the maximum mark on a paper then it is easy to work out the grade as it is always:
90% or more - A*
80-89.9 - A
70-79.9 - B
60-69.9 - C
50-59.9 - D
40-49.9 - E
etc

I'm afraid you are right in assessing your son's results as terrible. He needs to re-sit - he is allowed 1 re-sit at each unit so needs to nail it next time.

He came home today and told me that he has got a grade C in his English exam!, I dont know how he did it. I'm as proud as punch :biggrin:

. Thanks for your help in understanding those UMS.

Reply 18

Data

14

Original post by Annie72

He came home today and told me that he has got a grade C in his English exam!, I dont know how he did it. I'm as proud as punch :biggrin:

. Thanks for your help in understanding those UMS.

Good for him - passing English seems to be getting increasingly difficult so that's good news. If he's struggling with Science then there are some fairly good and cheap books by CGP tailored to the exam syllabus that might be worth getting.