A Level Results....guess what :-)
Discussion
Turnips said:
That ginger lass can jump freakishly high!!!
There is a blog which explores the hypothesis that UK newspapers believe that only attractive girls in low cut tops do A-Levels.Bing o said:
I'm just seeing fat overpainted people. Should I get a stiffy?
I see no fat overpainted people here.......The Platonic Ideal for an A-Level Results Day story photograph should ideally involve:
1) Blonde…
2) Twins…
3) Going to Oxbridge…
4) Leaping for joy…
5) Holding aloft their results…
6) …But not so high as to obscure a glimpse decolletage.
turbobloke said:
Use Psychology said:
turbobloke said:
That, or head off to the City and earn a packet 
well yes, but he said his son wanted to make drugs so it seems he wanted to do something that would benefit society 
Asterix said:
What is your point ?cuneus said:
Asterix said:
I thought it obvious.
Nope it's not even English.An examination that covers a number of different disciplines that isn't subject to manipulation by individual national education boards. From what I can gather, it also promotes far deeper immersion in the subjects and relies more on thinking for one's self - rather than learning to pass an exam.
I'm not saying what is wrong or right, I left education nearly 30 years ago, but the amount of passes now seems unreal and the IB seems to show that we need to be more realistic.
My daughter did the IB this year. IIRC, it is marked on a percentile basis - the top x% yet a 7 (the top mark in a subject), the next y% get a 6, etc.. This means that you can never have grade inflation (and, again IIRC, it was the way that O levels and A levels were marked in my day). It meant that a smarter set of kids in the next year are not recognised but universities and employers would know where a candidate stood relative to their peers.
I'm not sure that IB is totally understood by the British universities. Oxbridge require 41 or 42 points which is supposedly equivalent to 6 As and A*s at A level. Not sure all schools understand how to teach it either as it is very different to A levels (my daughter's school absolutely did and she is off to St Andrews - yay).
I'm not sure that IB is totally understood by the British universities. Oxbridge require 41 or 42 points which is supposedly equivalent to 6 As and A*s at A level. Not sure all schools understand how to teach it either as it is very different to A levels (my daughter's school absolutely did and she is off to St Andrews - yay).
turbobloke said:
Looked at my old school in that list. (Still the top school in the area 
)Interestingly, when I went there, the 6th form block was an old vicarage in the grounds.
This year 313 pupils took A levels. You couldn't fit 313 pupils into that vicarage if you packed them in like sardines.
The numbers taking A level must have increased exponentially since the mid 80s.
turbobloke said:
My old school doesn't exist - odd that as I rung them about a week ago to find out how to get copies of my GCSEs.Hooli said:
My old school doesn't exist - odd that as I rung them about a week ago to find out how to get copies of my GCSEs.
A number of schools - particular;y the top ones - have ceased to report. The reason for failing schools is obvious. Top schools won't report as universities judge people against the school average rather than comparing to national averages. This is not a specifically British problem, nor it is necessarily an artifact of the coursework-over-examinination trend.
I've got a couple of Chinese lads working for me at the moment on University work placements. They do 2 of the 4 years outside of China. When I was CV sifting for these positions, all the Chinese candidates had grades of 85% and over from their Chinese courses. Now they're good, but they're not _that_ good.
They told me this is partly cultural and partly a consequence of competition in the Chinese university marketplace. Students don't want to go to universities that give low grades, so there is universal grade inflation.
When I was at school (20 years ago) we just didn't work very hard because we didn't need to. I got multiple offers from good universities at around the 3 C level, drank my way through university, got a 2:2, and walked into a decent enough job and was earning good money within 3 years.
Now it seems like the poor feckers are scrabbling over each other for university places and ending up serving cakes in Greggs.
I'm a bit out of touch with the British education system but surely the easy solution is a single examination board for core subjects and a bell curve for awarding grades.
I've got a couple of Chinese lads working for me at the moment on University work placements. They do 2 of the 4 years outside of China. When I was CV sifting for these positions, all the Chinese candidates had grades of 85% and over from their Chinese courses. Now they're good, but they're not _that_ good.
They told me this is partly cultural and partly a consequence of competition in the Chinese university marketplace. Students don't want to go to universities that give low grades, so there is universal grade inflation.
When I was at school (20 years ago) we just didn't work very hard because we didn't need to. I got multiple offers from good universities at around the 3 C level, drank my way through university, got a 2:2, and walked into a decent enough job and was earning good money within 3 years.
Now it seems like the poor feckers are scrabbling over each other for university places and ending up serving cakes in Greggs.
I'm a bit out of touch with the British education system but surely the easy solution is a single examination board for core subjects and a bell curve for awarding grades.
HundredthIdiot said:
Now it seems like the poor feckers are scrabbling over each other for university places and ending up serving cakes in Greggs.
A humanities PhD and it's up the ladder to flipping burgers.HundredthIdiot said:
I'm a bit out of touch with the British education system but surely the easy solution is a single examination board for core subjects and a bell curve for awarding grades.
Unfortunately all must have glittering prizes these days including those at the bellend part of the bell curve.turbobloke said:
Unfortunately all must have glittering prizes these days including those at the bellend part of the bell curve.
I don't see the problem with recognising limited academic achievements. If I'm recruiting burger-flippers I'd quite like to know whether they'll be able to read the orders.HundredthIdiot said:
turbobloke said:
Unfortunately all must have glittering prizes these days including those at the bellend part of the bell curve.
I don't see the problem with recognising limited academic achievements. If I'm recruiting burger-flippers I'd quite like to know whether they'll be able to read the orders.The point is that today all must have glittering prizes, including those who shouldn't be taking academic courses at all because they're not suited to an academic curriculum. However to call a course vocational means Guardian readers will think that only thickies take it so that's out as well since nobody is thick these days and all courses are equal even those more equal than others.
Anyway if you recruit a PhD to flip burgers they'll probably be able to read the orders.
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