Exam Grades
Comments
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First.Aspect said:
Dude, that's a 0, not an O. No wonder you failed maths.briantrumpet said:kingstongraham said:
Understandable, it's only been a pass for the last 58 years.pblakeney said:
Sorry but if someone tells me that they got a D or an E I am thinking failed.johngti said:
At A-level? Grade E is the lowest pass, grade U if you don’t pass. IB does grades 7-1 across 6 subjects so more demanding than A-levels.First.Aspect said:I'm not being funny, but what's the lowest grade you can get? Is that a B?
Doubt I am alone in that.
I only discovered when I failed my A-level maths in 1981 that an 'O' was a grade.
It was actually the equivalent of a C at O level, which was a bit annoying as I'd got an A at O level.
But yes, not my greatest moment.0 -
rick_chasey said:
Languages weren’t compulsory? Yikes
Blair's government stopped them being compulsory in 2004, simultaneous equations being deemed more important than being able to communicate with people who don't speak your native language.0 -
johngti said:
Oh and they have to do maths, English and a science of some description too.
My impression from students I know who have done it is that it's a very demanding but good thing. None of them got more than their predicted mark. but all seemed to get a lot out of it.0 -
Most go on a gap year for some sort of cultural experience. Some learn a language as a result. This is opposite of classroom based language learning which is all about the language and not the culture.rick_chasey said:I don’t know anyone who went on a gap year to speak the local language.
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Is it not just a long holiday with lots of p!ss up on beaches with other gap yearers?TheBigBean said:
Most go on a gap year for some sort of cultural experience. Some learn a language as a result. This is opposite of classroom based language learning which is all about the language and not the culture.rick_chasey said:I don’t know anyone who went on a gap year to speak the local language.
That is pretty much exclusively my understanding of it for people who I know who went on one
Hence:
https://youtu.be/eKFjWR7X5dU
Anyway it goes both ways - you want to learn the culture? Learn the language0 -
No. Most people don't have the money for that. Also, lots of 18 year olds prefer to be overseen in some way so choose volunteer positions.rick_chasey said:
Is it not just a long holiday with lots of p!ss up on beaches with other gap yearers?TheBigBean said:
Most go on a gap year for some sort of cultural experience. Some learn a language as a result. This is opposite of classroom based language learning which is all about the language and not the culture.rick_chasey said:I don’t know anyone who went on a gap year to speak the local language.
That is pretty much exclusively my understanding of it for people who I know who went on one
Hence:https://youtu.be/eKFjWR7X5dU0 -
You sure about that? I wasn’t in a private school - state like everyone else and those who went gap yearing all went to the same places and the same bars and told the same stories - big p!ss ups, food poisoning, drunken sex stories.
All fine - why not - but let’s not pretend they were in it to learn the culture of wherever - not least as they wouldn’t stay long enough.0 -
Yeah I think that’s accurate. They get less free time than a-level students so they have to learn to manage their time properly so good uni preparation. The only problem I have is managing 300-odd bits of coursework. The IB diploma wasn’t really designed for big cohorts like ours!briantrumpet said:johngti said:Oh and they have to do maths, English and a science of some description too.
My impression from students I know who have done it is that it's a very demanding but good thing. None of them got more than their predicted mark. but all seemed to get a lot out of it.0 -
Everyone in my extended family who has taken a gap year, whether to volunteer or party, has done so in English speaking countries. Unsurprisingly.The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
Did they experience a different culture in any way?pblakeney said:Everyone in my extended family who has taken a gap year, whether to volunteer or party, has done so in English speaking countries. Unsurprisingly.
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TheBigBean said:
The trick is to pick a subject you're not very good at. That's obviously hard for all-round geniuses, but I had a number to choose from.First.Aspect said:
Congratulations. I missed out on a D by three whole grades.TheBigBean said:
I have a D at A-Level.First.Aspect said:
I think it is an achievement. Much harder to get than an A.pblakeney said:
Sorry but if someone tells me that they got a D or an E I am thinking failed.johngti said:
At A-level? Grade E is the lowest pass, grade U if you don’t pass. IB does grades 7-1 across 6 subjects so more demanding than A-levels.First.Aspect said:I'm not being funny, but what's the lowest grade you can get? Is that a B?
Doubt I am alone in that.
Or do your final German exam with a raging hangover. That will also get you a D, regardless of how pseudo-fluent you are.
Ben
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Experienced, yes. In a limited way. Did it change them? No.TheBigBean said:
Did they experience a different culture in any way?pblakeney said:Everyone in my extended family who has taken a gap year, whether to volunteer or party, has done so in English speaking countries. Unsurprisingly.
The partiers are still partying while the volunteers were caring before they went.The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
Well, we can thank the grade inflation for a decent cohort size this year. Applications, offers and first choices were all down and we racked up 46 students in clearing, most likely "adjustments" by students who were bound to go to lower ranked departments.
left the forum March 20230 -
Back on topic - the disparity between A grade attainment between state and private schools is eye wateringly big.
Really not good for society to have such disparity.0 -
No, but on the other hand, if there wasn't such a disparity, who would pay tens of thousands to get their offspring to a private school?rick_chasey said:Back on topic - the disparity between A grade attainment between state and private schools is eye wateringly big.
Really not good for society to have such disparity.left the forum March 20230 -
Does a Ski Resort Count? 😶TheBigBean said:
Did they experience a different culture in any way?pblakeney said:Everyone in my extended family who has taken a gap year, whether to volunteer or party, has done so in English speaking countries. Unsurprisingly.
(Joke - but I would argue that it widens horizons beyond ones own country for most people)We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
They either need to work, go somewhere with a very low cost of living or have independent wealth. I suspect most of your peers went to places like Australia and Canada on working holiday visas. I'm sure they would have done a lot of partying, but I imagine they also got jobs and did experience a bit of Australia.rick_chasey said:You sure about that? I wasn’t in a private school - state like everyone else and those who went gap yearing all went to the same places and the same bars and told the same stories - big p!ss ups, food poisoning, drunken sex stories.
All fine - why not - but let’s not pretend they were in it to learn the culture of wherever - not least as they wouldn’t stay long enough.
I'm a huge fan of gap years and encourage anyone who asks to take one. Denying there is a part of it which is a cultural experience seems to be a bit petty and more born out of jealously than anything else.
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I'd argue that 3 years working abroad post graduate would be much more beneficial than a gap year. But this is way off topic.TheBigBean said:
I'm a huge fan of gap years and encourage anyone who asks to take one. Denying there is a part of it which is a cultural experience seems to be a bit petty and more born out of jealously than anything else.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
It's not an either or situation though.pblakeney said:
I'd argue that 3 years working abroad post graduate would be much more beneficial than a gap year. But this is way off topic.TheBigBean said:
I'm a huge fan of gap years and encourage anyone who asks to take one. Denying there is a part of it which is a cultural experience seems to be a bit petty and more born out of jealously than anything else.0 -
I don't know anyone of my year who went on a gap year. They either got jobs or went to Uni after A-levels.
Of my close friends, i'm the only one who went to Uni and the only one in my family to do so.
I think they're a good thing for some people, some kids turn up at Uni and arent ready for it, it's good to see something of the world before spending another 3 or 4 years in education on top the 11 they'd just completed.
Similar to Pross, i did German for 2 years at GCSE, but had done French for 5 years, starting in Primary School, can't remember that much though to speak, but can understand a bit. Starting a German language course for work next month.
On the comment about Welsh, when i was there last month, around Caernarfon, all the kids seemed to be speaking it to each other and their parents on the beaches and in the corner shops etc?0 -
I'd say the gap year very much encourages the 3 years...TheBigBean said:
It's not an either or situation though.pblakeney said:
I'd argue that 3 years working abroad post graduate would be much more beneficial than a gap year. But this is way off topic.TheBigBean said:
I'm a huge fan of gap years and encourage anyone who asks to take one. Denying there is a part of it which is a cultural experience seems to be a bit petty and more born out of jealously than anything else.We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
elbowloh said:
I don't know anyone of my year who went on a gap year. They either got jobs or went to Uni after A-levels.
Of my close friends, i'm the only one who went to Uni and the only one in my family to do so.
I think they're a good thing for some people, some kids turn up at Uni and arent ready for it, it's good to see something of the world before spending another 3 or 4 years in education on top the 11 they'd just completed.
Similar to Pross, i did German for 2 years at GCSE, but had done French for 5 years, starting in Primary School, can't remember that much though to speak, but can understand a bit. Starting a German language course for work next month.
On the comment about Welsh, when i was there last month, around Caernarfon, all the kids seemed to be speaking it to each other and their parents on the beaches and in the corner shops etc?
The problem is though no-one else in Wales understands Cofi Welsh.
NB. Cofi is to Caernarfon as say Scouse to Liverpool.
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But you’re into dance music so that probably reflects your social circle.rick_chasey said:You sure about that? I wasn’t in a private school - state like everyone else and those who went gap yearing all went to the same places and the same bars and told the same stories - big p!ss ups, food poisoning, drunken sex stories.
All fine - why not - but let’s not pretend they were in it to learn the culture of wherever - not least as they wouldn’t stay long enough.
I don’t know anybody that did a solely hedonistic gap year.
Sure, they/we all got wasted on whatever was the preferred poison but those were odd moments.
I did outdoor pursuits instruction, my mates did similar or cultural stuff.0 -
One thing is true though. Brexit is a bit of a blow for some gap years. No idea what skiing industry will do.0
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Yeah, northwest Wales and Anglesey is one of the areas that has always retained it as a first language for many. It is also widely used as a first language in southwest / west Wales (there's a small area known as little England beyond Wales where English has always been the main language), parts of mid Wales and a fairly small area in the Upper Swansea Valley but as Womack said it was pretty much driven out of existence in much of the more populous areas of South Wales. The language was actually banned for "official" (Court) use following the Act of Union but it was really the immigration due to the industrial revolution that killed it in the southeast. My area, being near the borders, has never really been a Welsh speaking area though. The number who speak Welsh has increased quite a bit since the early 1990s but has started to drop again according to the latest census.elbowloh said:I don't know anyone of my year who went on a gap year. They either got jobs or went to Uni after A-levels.
Of my close friends, i'm the only one who went to Uni and the only one in my family to do so.
I think they're a good thing for some people, some kids turn up at Uni and arent ready for it, it's good to see something of the world before spending another 3 or 4 years in education on top the 11 they'd just completed.
Similar to Pross, i did German for 2 years at GCSE, but had done French for 5 years, starting in Primary School, can't remember that much though to speak, but can understand a bit. Starting a German language course for work next month.
On the comment about Welsh, when i was there last month, around Caernarfon, all the kids seemed to be speaking it to each other and their parents on the beaches and in the corner shops etc?
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Usually either South America or Thailand, Vietnam etcTheBigBean said:
They either need to work, go somewhere with a very low cost of living or have independent wealth. I suspect most of your peers went to places like Australia and Canada on working holiday visas. I'm sure they would have done a lot of partying, but I imagine they also got jobs and did experience a bit of Australia.rick_chasey said:You sure about that? I wasn’t in a private school - state like everyone else and those who went gap yearing all went to the same places and the same bars and told the same stories - big p!ss ups, food poisoning, drunken sex stories.
All fine - why not - but let’s not pretend they were in it to learn the culture of wherever - not least as they wouldn’t stay long enough.
I'm a huge fan of gap years and encourage anyone who asks to take one. Denying there is a part of it which is a cultural experience seems to be a bit petty and more born out of jealously than anything else.0 -
Doesn’t need to be hedonistic. It was a long holiday. Most people I know did the Saturday job for long enough to support most of itmorstar said:
But you’re into dance music so that probably reflects your social circle.rick_chasey said:You sure about that? I wasn’t in a private school - state like everyone else and those who went gap yearing all went to the same places and the same bars and told the same stories - big p!ss ups, food poisoning, drunken sex stories.
All fine - why not - but let’s not pretend they were in it to learn the culture of wherever - not least as they wouldn’t stay long enough.
I don’t know anybody that did a solely hedonistic gap year.
Sure, they/we all got wasted on whatever was the preferred poison but those were odd moments.
I did outdoor pursuits instruction, my mates did similar or cultural stuff.0 -
A lot of technical degrees offer an industrial placement year these days, which can be done abroad.0
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It would be really tough to fund a year of partying in those places with a Saturday job and without any interaction with the locals.rick_chasey said:
Usually either South America or Thailand, Vietnam etcTheBigBean said:
They either need to work, go somewhere with a very low cost of living or have independent wealth. I suspect most of your peers went to places like Australia and Canada on working holiday visas. I'm sure they would have done a lot of partying, but I imagine they also got jobs and did experience a bit of Australia.rick_chasey said:You sure about that? I wasn’t in a private school - state like everyone else and those who went gap yearing all went to the same places and the same bars and told the same stories - big p!ss ups, food poisoning, drunken sex stories.
All fine - why not - but let’s not pretend they were in it to learn the culture of wherever - not least as they wouldn’t stay long enough.
I'm a huge fan of gap years and encourage anyone who asks to take one. Denying there is a part of it which is a cultural experience seems to be a bit petty and more born out of jealously than anything else.0
