7th September 2012 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The publication of the A’ level results revealed that there has been a 0.4% drop in the number of students gaining the top grades of A and A*. As a result, more students have missed their first choice offers than in previous years and have had some difficult decisions to make. Some will attend their insurance choice university and can look forward to starting University in September. However, many of the top universities are now making extremely high offers, meaning that even an insurance offer may not be attainable if students didn’t manage to perform superbly on the day of their exams.
As private tutors we have been preparing students for A’level exams rigorously, offering revision strategies and encouraging students to eat healthily and get rest when not revising. We also know that, for all the preparation, the difference between an A and an A* can come down to whether magic happens on the day. Sometimes a question inspires, sometimes not. Sometimes nerves get the better of students, no matter how many practice papers they have done.
In addition to this, Ofqual, the exam boards’ regulatory authority, has recently required exam boards to moderate exams by taking the schools GCSE results into account, supposedly to ensure that results for year groups remain consistent. This is in response to the government’s concerns that the success of students in previous years indicates that exams are becoming too easy. It is certainly frustrating for both student and tutor when the goal posts are continually moved, and even straight A students can find themselves scrabbling for a place through clearing. During this time of extreme change in the way exams are administrated and universities are managed, we would do well to remember that thousands of young people have to suffer the consequences.