Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

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Hecouldshine
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Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by Hecouldshine »

Ds has just got his GCSE results and they are good but he was predicted A* for drama, got nearly full marks for all the practical but a C for the essay, which he thought had gone well, so ended up with an A. Think it was AQA board. All his A* predicted friends missed the A* as well. And some in his class failed the essay paper all together. He will still do the A level but we wondered if anyone else was let down unexpectedly in the drama? Wondering whether it's worth asking the drama teacher about a remark?

Katymac did you post about the drama on mumsnet? (well done to your dd by the way - think you posted that she got her Maths OK, didn't she?)
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bruno2
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by bruno2 »

Dd passed this year's drama with an A*, which is the mark she was predicted. :D But last year she sat the Performing Arts GCSE and was predicted an A*, she was given an A* was the written part but for her performance she had a low C !!! She was devastated, the final mark was 21 marks lower than what the teacher predicted. We sent off for re-mark and it came back 16 marks higher !!!! So she ended up with an overall A , which was great but not the A* and certainly not the low C :x So its well worth having the paper remarked.

Well done to all the dd/ds out there who have worked so hard. :D
Hecouldshine
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by Hecouldshine »

Well done to your dd bruno2. Thanks for your advice. I'm increasingly thinking we should ask for a remark. Just heard of another boy who got a U for the essay, and a brilliant one who missed the A* as well. Wondering if it's just this school or a nationwide thing though.

Well done everyone for your hard work and results. Hope you can do the courses you've had planned. Ds still on track to do the A levels he wanted, unlike some of his friends.
He could go and he could shine, not just stay here counting time,
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Katymac
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by Katymac »

Yes - she did get her Maths - thank goodness!

Mine did BTEC Drama & it was a bit of a mess; they did a load of coursework which then wasn't entered (apparently) & the others (not yr 11) did some filming after the yr11s were on study leave, which was entered for them

So I'm confused :shock:
Hecouldshine
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by Hecouldshine »

Oh Katymac I'd be angry. Is there anything that can be done?

But congratulations on the Maths!
He could go and he could shine, not just stay here counting time,
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Katymac
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by Katymac »

I'm not sure it's worth making a fuss - I mean she is off to do Musical Theatre, they obviously think she is good enough

Anything I say to the school they can say "well she wasn't here much" can't they?

Business was so confusing - she failed all her controlled assessments & then still got a C
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by lynne »

Hi
I would get it remarked! Two years ago at my sons school ( a grammar school) not one person got an A* in GCSE RE. The school decided to take it upon themselves and pay for everyones to be remarked. They nearly all increased by at least one grade!
You only need for a school to get an inexperienced marker and the whole lot can be too low or too high! If the school agree's with you that the mark is low they may offer to pay the remark fee, if not you are expected to pay the fee yourselves (I think it is around £20!). The system is in place, and lots of people get remarked, so don't think you are making a fuss! You can either have a remark or get the paper back to see what went wrong. We decided to get the paper back for a physics exam that was unexpectedly low. That was a mistake, we should have had it remarked, but couldn't once we had had it back as it was too late. The problem was bad handwriting and so none of the long answer questions had been given any marks at all even though they were mostly correct. My son had to resit the exam! Though at least we managed to sort out the handwriting, if we hadn't known what the problem was we would probably had never done well enough to do the A level! (got an A* at A level! :D)
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by Livy2 »

Hi,

My DD got A, 5 marks off a A* which she was expected to. Our teacher has said all along that she cannot promise a A* as it is very difficult in Drama to get an A*. Only 1 student out of two classes got A*, but quite a few got A. My DD's performance group was not a happy group and she feels that the others could have worked harder and this is unfair when those students have affected her grade. The student who got A* was a single girl playing lead role in a group of boys so the whole emphasis was on her performance. Having said that, I am totally proud of my DD and she takes it all in her stride. This summer holiday has been a total growing up session for her, staying at home so she can go to rehearsals in London by herself, flying out on a plane by herself to meet us and generally being more responsible.

Having said that we did ask for her English Language to be looked at again as she is one mark short of B, but got A in Literature and was expected to get a high B or A in Language. Fingers crossed but at least she's got into her choice of Sixth form and this time, the school can't stop her doing her fave triple treat subjects + Eng Lit ! ;)
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Welsh Mum
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by Welsh Mum »

Just a word of warning - marks can go down as well as up on a re mark. Just something g to bear in mind.
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by igloobabe »

My dd's drama group run GCSE drama courses and they said the marks were disappointing this year compared to last. Also dd did PA at school but was in a class of kids who either wanted to do Music OR Drama, but not both, so the performance was not great! She got A for the written work but only C for the performance, despite writing the song for the group and playing guitar. I'm fuming that the school ditched GCSE Music which she would have passed standing on her head!
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by Hecouldshine »

Thank you very much for your thoughts, experiences and advice lynne, Welsh Mum, igloobabe and Livy2. I remember our drama teacher warning us about the written paper but ds has a B or an A in every other essay exam so I think it worth a remark. Even if he loses a few marks rather than gaining them his overall A looks safe. He was quite confident about the exam at the time.
He could go and he could shine, not just stay here counting time,
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by paulears »

Ask for the paper back, so you can have a look and see where the marks were lost. The mark scheme the examiners use is also available, so you could mark it yourself, following the rules. For the past few years, the trend with remarks is that more than 50% actually lower the mark, so you need to weigh up the possibilities. Getting the marked paper is a good way to start. There will be some fees, but it may show you where the problems are, which you can then address at A Level.

To be honest, if they can get to where they want to study next with the grades they get, I'd not worry. Once they get to the end of Level 3, nobody really cares that much about an A to A*, as the Level 2 qualification is always at the bottom of the CV!
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nextinline
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by nextinline »

Wouldn't worry too much. He has a great grade and most places audition anyway. They are far more likely to go on what they see than a mark based on a written exam. The Drama courses and Performing Arts courses at school are completely different from what happens in the industry. I have heard this said by many professionals who have many years of industry experience. Good luck in the future.
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by bruno2 »

To be honest I would stick with the A, its a fantastic grade,and I know most kids would be delighted to have the A. The only reason we had daughters PA papers remarked because the overall mark was a B and she was predicted A* and we were happy to have the remark as an A, although its still annoying. Good luck its your decision :D :D
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bruno2
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Re: Drama GCSE mark - anyone else think they are low?

Post by bruno2 »

To be honest I would stick with the A, its a fantastic grade,and I know most kids would be delighted to have the A. The only reason we had daughters PA papers remarked because the overall mark was a B and she was predicted A* and we were happy to have the remark as an A, although its still annoying. Good luck its your decision :D :D
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