A-Levels
 

A Level results are out today. what are the odds that they are up again?

I found it impossible to get a Training Contract to qualify as a solicitor because of my A'Levels which were done many many years ago when not everybody got all A's. I studied law with some people who had all A's and most wer not very intelligent at all!

And yes I am bitter about it!! :mad:

Re: A-Levels
 

hahaha...you are so right, anyone can get an A now!!! Just watching the shite that is GMTV...and they are doing the usual thing getting kids to open their results live, needless to say, most of em have straight As...

MM, xx

Re: A-Levels
 

Yea but can they tie their own shoe laces ???

Re: A-Levels
 

probably not, that's far too advanced...!!

MM, xx

Re: A-Levels
 

most of them will have diffiulty doing up the velcro straps on their shoes!!

the ones I studied with said they got better grades because they worked harder!! poor deluded fools! mind you they got Training Contracts and I didnt. Bastards! :p

Re: A-Levels
 

are the 'o' levels out yet??

Re: A-Levels
 

You mean GCSE's :)

next week but they are also a joke! most of it is course work which of course means getting help from parents or copying from t'internet.

I was the last year of the old O'Levels. it was 100pct based on the 1 end of year exam.

Re: A-Levels
 

It's great to see the kids happy but I wonder if they brought back the 3 'R's how many would actually get good results. I loved reading and (w)riting at school but was hopeless with (a)rithmatic and it saddens me to see SOME young people struggling with basic reading skills and grammar. I worked for the qualifications I have today after I left school because I wanted to learn not because I had to learn when I was at school. If there is anybody waiting for their results I have my fingers crossed. My daughter who is heavily pregnant with her second child is studying Criminology and has just passed her Psychology and Health Care Studies with the Open University so she is a happy bunny.:wub::wub:

Re: A-Levels
 

I only took my A-levels a few years ago and I can assure you that they are not easy. I worked really hard as did alot of my friends. Coursework is really time consuming and the standard has to be really high to do well. My parents told me that they never worked as hard as I did when they were at school...

Re: A-Levels
 

Well done Steffi!!! brillaint news that. A friend of mine is waiting for her son's GCSE's to come out, she is in UK at the moment so I think I am supposed to be going to go to the school here and get them from her, I am sure she will get in touch if that is the case. I know that I would have got more o levels had they been based on course work like they are today. I was a straight A student but only ended up with 5, school were well disappointed with me, I sat 10!

Re: A-Levels
 

Unfortunately they have even dumbed down degree level courses. I did the Law Conversion course in 2005-2005 and the majority of students got a Commendation. I did not work particularly hard and just missed a Distinction. Only needed 1pct more in one of the 7 subjects to get it.

This compares to my Degree back in 1993 when it was very difficult to get a 2.1 and the majority of students came out with 2.2's.

Re: A-Levels
 

The majority of students still come out with 2.2's. That is the average grade I think. You have to work really hard for a 2.1 and getting a first is rare.

Re: A-Levels
 

What ever happened to O'Grade and Highers A,B,C passes :confused:

Re: A-Levels
 

Correct me if I am wrong as its been a while since I was at school but in Scotland they sit Highers and I think they still do today:wub:

Re: A-Levels
 

Minister rejects exams review call


The Government has ruled out a review of A-levels as predictions of another record set of results revived the annual debate about dumbing down.

More than a quarter-of-a-million teenagers are due to receive their results after weeks of waiting to find out if they have won places at university. Experts expect the number of top grades to rise again this year, with as many as one in four exams awarded an A grade.

Liberal Democrat education spokesman Stephen Williams called for a review of A-level standards. But schools minister Jim Knight said one had been carried out three years ago, adding that it was a "real shame" the annual debate about standards undermined pupils' performances.

While sixth-formers celebrate with friends, there was fresh scrutiny of the subjects pupils have chosen amid concern that tough options are giving way to "sexier courses".

French and German, for example, are expected to see another sharp fall in exam entries this year.

Professor Alan Smithers, from the University of Buckingham's Centre for Education and Employment Research, said the proportion of exam entries awarded As could reach 25% for the first time.

"I think the A-grades hitting 25% is a matter of concern because it does not distinguish sufficiently well at the top end," he said.

Universities have complained that so many teenagers score As that they cannot rely on A-levels to sort the outstanding candidates from the merely very good.

Last year's results saw teenagers score a record number of top grades with 24.1% of all A-level entries awarded an A. This was sharply up from 22.8% in 2005. In 1997, only 15.7% of A-level entries were given A-grades.

The A-level pass rate has risen for 24 years in a row and is expected to rise again this year to about 97% of entries.