Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Having a DS at a state school, who has to go in to school next Thursday to collect his GCSE results in person, I wondered what happens at CH? Are they emailed/posted? Back in the olden days we had ours sent to us in a SAE which we had left with the school.

They were sent by post back in 1986 & 1988 when I did O and A levels. Think we must have received the results a day after those who were at local schools. That was back in the day when sending post 1st class actually arrived the next day

I think many CH pupils who live within reach of the school do go in to collect their exam results in person, although you can phone the school on results day. Having said which, my DS is due to get his GCSE results next week but isn't sure yet whether he'll bother to make the train journey to school because he doesn't think many of his mates will be there (even though his two closest friends live in Horsham!).

When did this idea of going into school to get your exam results start anyway? When I took my O and A levels at a local day school back in the dark ages there was no question of this. You just waited for the dreaded envelope to drop onto the doormat, and then took the phone off the hook if you didn't want to share the bad news with your friends...

Exactly how I remember it! I think the collecting at school is an American thing and the papers love it as they can film them all jumping around. Glad to hear that hardly anyone goes in to school & that they can phone for them - couldn't contemplate a 6 hour round trip for results!

Oh and by the way, congratulations to all the CH A level students who got such fantastic results today!

Although I do rather wish the school wasn't quite so fixated on Oxbridge; I quote:

Individual highlights include:
•Francesca Aras Tardito and Alex Honey gained five A levels each. Alex is going on to read Japanese at Oxford.
•Phoebe Corker-Marin, Finn McMahon and Oskar Schortz all gained straight A*/A grades and won places at Oxford and Cambridge.
•Maud McCaffrey achieved straight A* grades in each of her three subjects and plans to read English.

So where does Maud plan to read English? And what about Francesca? There is academic life ouside Oxford and Cambridge, let's hear something about the pupils who are going on to other excellent Universities!!

I didn't even know you could get an A* in A levels! Thought it was only in GCSEs.

Vonny wrote:They were sent by post back in 1986 & 1988 when I did O and A levels. Think we must have received the results a day after those who were at local schools. That was back in the day when sending post 1st class actually arrived the next day

Perhaps, but I got my A level results from CH around September 25th - a lot of use using mail if you are working where there is no mail service

Vonny wrote

I didn't even know you could get an A* in A levels!

And how! The A* grade was introduced for A levels about two or three years back, and already accounts for 8% of the grades awarded. The standard entry requirement for most Oxbridge courses is now A*AA, and at this rate it surely can’t be long before all good Unis are asking students to achieve this grade!

And talking of grade inflation; having gained an A* for maths GCSE a year early, my DS has just taken a further maths qualification in which Sean O’Boyle assured me he would ‘be able to aim for the newly introduced grade of A* with distinction'.

Where will this nonsense end?!!

ailurophile wrote: A* with distinction

How ridiculous!

Great news - One of our Grand-Daughters went into school with her friends to find she'd got five 'A' level passes, albeit not as good grades as she would hope for, but enough to almost guarantee her a place at Norwich Uni in a years time.

She returns to the sixth form for a year to do some retakes to try and better her grades.

Unfortunately, art, which we all thought her strongest subject gained her, her lowest grade. Alas, there is no option to do a re-take in art !

Congratulations, Amber !!

Well done Amber!

She returns to the sixth form for a year to do some retakes to try and better her grades.

John do you mean that she is staying on for a 3rd year in the 6th form to do the re takes? I only ask because my daughter (not at CH) has not done nearly as well on her AS levels as hoped. Unless she makes a remarkable recovery in her 2nd year (possible) I think she may have to return to the 6th form in her 3rd year to do some retakes or even a completely new A level if she cannot master chemistry. The school are very supportive of her and say that a 3rd year with some part time study for retakes is not unusual.

I have to say for someone like my daughter making her study 4 As levels only to drop one for A2 seems to be a big mistake. If she only had 3 subjects to concentrate on at AS level I think she would have had much better grades.

CHDad wrote:

She returns to the sixth form for a year to do some retakes to try and better her grades.

John do you mean that she is staying on for a 3rd year in the 6th form to do the re takes? I only ask because my daughter (not at CH) has not done nearly as well on her AS levels as hoped. Unless she makes a remarkable recovery in her 2nd year (possible) I think she may have to return to the 6th form in her 3rd year to do some retakes or even a completely new A level if she cannot master chemistry. The school are very supportive of her and say that a 3rd year with some part time study for retakes is not unusual.

I have to say for someone like my daughter making her study 4 As levels only to drop one for A2 seems to be a big mistake. If she only had 3 subjects to concentrate on at AS level I think she would have had much better grades.

Not exactly sure how it works.

I know she definitely has another year at The Priory, (Formerly Sondes Place School).

Her Mum Lia says they have already checked her results with Norwich Uni who are happy with what they have been told and have provisionally offered her a place, subject to availability next year.

I may well be seeing Amber later this afternoon, so I will check it out.

From the school website:

28 of the 30 pupils undertaking IGCSE gained an A* in the new further Maths exam, with over half of pupils being awarded the new “A* with distinction” grade.

See what I mean? Surely an indication of grade inflation gone mad!!

I know that these are the hghest ablity maths students at a selective school, so are far from average pupils; and I certainly don't want to belittle their achievements (very well done to all!)... BUT it does amaze me that over 50% of the entrants from one school should have been awarded the new A* with distinction grade.

Where do we go from here? Will we soon need an even more prestigious grade for the most able? Suggestions on a postcard please!

28 of the 30 pupils undertaking IGCSE gained an A* in the new further Maths exam, with over half of pupils being awarded the new “A* with distinction” grade.

See what I mean? Surely an indication of grade inflation gone mad!!

I am not sure how you see this as grade inflation. As you rightly point out these are selective students in a highly supportive school - high expectations, low pupil:teacher ratio etc - so surely we should expect half the class to be achieving the top grade and the other half the next top?

Exam boards produce a syllabus - ratified by OFQUAL - teachers teach to it and prepare their students for the exam. Neither the teachers or the students can do more than this. Grade inflation comes about when the exam board moves grade boundaries - there should perhaps be more transparency with this.

The situation with the GCSE English shows what happens when exam boards change and set grade boundaries to meet a political agenda - totally unfair to students.

There is a difference between raising standards and massaging grades - whether by a school or an exam board.

The CH students will have worked very, very hard to achieve the top grade in the exam they sat. Their teachers will have worked very hard to ensure they were well prepared.