ENGLISH Lang - what is M?

My grandson was predicted 8 under GCSE Eng Lang. He was graded as 5, but the mark shows a M (merit) rather than a value. What would this be?

My grandson was predicted 8 under GCSE Eng Lang. He was graded as 5, but the mark shows a M (merit) rather than a value. What would this be?

English Language contains a "Speaking and Listening" component which is graded separately (pass, merit, distinction). At some point in year 11 he'll have been asked to prepare a talk lasting about 5 minutes on some topic of interest to him, and to field questions from the audience (his class). That was the "Speaking and Listening" component. It does not impact the GCSE grade. They are separate. (They may change at some point in the future.)

So it sounds like he achieve a grade 5 in the GCSE itself and a merit in the "Speaking and Listening" component.

Thank you, that explains the M. I wonder if I can find out the overall mark value, to see where it sits in the exam boundaries.

His school will have access to his actual mark. To locate the boundaries on-line, you'll need to know what exam board he was sitting for English Language.

If he's close to the boundary above (i.e. a grade 6) he could consider a "Review of Marking" where a second examiner (normally a senior examiner) will go through the paper to determine whether the mark scheme was applied correctly, and adjust his mark (up or down) accordingly. Prior to this step, he can take advantage of the exam board's "Access to Scripts" service, whereby he and his teachers can review his marked papers to judge whether there's any merit in a "Review of Marking". Note that although "Access to Scripts" is free, "Review of Marking" is not. He would need to arrange either service via his school.