A Level results

[SIRandyraven]

I took my O Levels back in 1979 and then went onto to do an OND and HND at Polytechnic in IT and then into work.
Never looked back.

My nephew has just got 2 * E Grade , 1 * D grade and a B Grade.
My wife says her sister says this is a pass.

In my days getting anything below a C was a fail.
Have things changed ?

[boxtops]

In the 1960s, O Levels grades in England were ABCDEO (a scrape) then FGH (fails) = I got an H for history.
A levels were ABC then O (which meant you failed A level but got another O level out of it) DE

[mike11111]

In the 60s O levels were not graded. My certificate shows simply pass or fail (or it would have done if I had failed any). A levels were graded, anything from A to E being a pass.

[ummmm]

They're passes. Just not good ones. E and above are passes. Depending on what Uni course they chose, they are unlikely to get the place with those results.

[tearinghair]

Are you confusing A and O levels, Sirandy? As far as I remember, ever since they've given grades for A level (it was marks in my day), A-E have been Pass grades. There used to be an 'O' grade at A level, which meant you'd nearly got there but nt quite; then later an N, which meant much the same.

[mike11111]

Obviously different boards and different systems had their own procedures. The Joint Matriculation Board who monitored my exams issued pass grades from 1 to 6 at O Level, but these were not communicated to students unless you could bribe the teacher. A Levels ran from A to E then O, which meant you had failed your A Level but were granted an O level pass, which only really meant something if it was in a subject that you had not already sat at O level.

[Buenchico]

Because GCSEs have replaced BOTH GCE O-levels AND CSE qualifications, the lower grades are still 'pass' grades, but at the old CSE level.

Here's a list of ROUGH equivalents. (There are two 'O'-level grades given, because the system changed from numbers to letters):

GCSE A* pass = O-Level 1/A pass
GCSE A pass = O-level 2/A pass
GCSE B pass = O-level 3-to-4/B pass
GCSE C pass = 0-level 5-to-6/C pass = CSE 1 pass
GCSE D pass = O-level 7/D (fail) = CSE 2-to-4 pass
GCSE E pass = O-level 8/E (fail) = CSE 5-to-6 pass

Chris

[sherrardk]

In terms of A levels all the grades A to E are passes and a U (I think it is) is a fail (ungraded).

[Buenchico]

I've just noticed that your heading refers to A-levels, but your question refers to O-levels.

If you're actually referring to A-levels, A to E have always been passes.

Chris
(One D, two Es!)

[ummmm]

I thought you got a U when the exam wasn't done.

[ummmm]

You got one D and two E's Chris?

I presume you done retakes?

[Buenchico]

U = Ungraded.

Most boards use X for 'absent'.

However that reminds of the day that I went into the school that I was teaching at on the day the examination results came out. One of the more troublesome (ex)-pupils was just leaving, clutching his examination results. "See, I told you I could do it", he proudly declared to me. I asked what he was referring to. He proudly showed me his results slip, say "Look, I got an 'A' for Maths!".

I then reminded him that he'd been entered for the CSE examination, where results were numbered, not lettered. I also reminded him that he'd not bothered to turn up for either of the papers, so the 'A' simply denoted 'Absent'.

I still wonder whether, if I'd not bumped into him as he came out of the school, he'd have spent the rest of his life believing that he was a mathematics genius!
;-)

[Buenchico]

Why would I do retakes, Ummmm?

I only needed 2 Es to start my teacher training, and to go on to get my degree.

[SIRandyraven]

Yes sorry ...
He took A levels and got those results ...

So they are all passes then ...

As I say I never did A levels ...I took O levels and then OND and HND

[Prudie]

They say an HND is equivalent to a degree these days.

[sherrardk]

Gosh Prudie - I've got a HND (only just remembered - can't remember what it is in though!) and a Degree - does that mean I've got two degrees?

[stokemaveric]

my cv is as follows...
left school at 16..with no exam passes
2 years on ''leisurely activities''
joined army at 18..
2 tours of duty in ni..
took part in desert storm..[iraq 1991]..
another 2 tours in ni..and countless of other encounters
left army in 2002..and i wouldnt change a thing..why get in debt to the tune of ££££££££££££ssss in university fees to work for the next 10 years to pay them off??? it doesnt pay to study nowadays unless your parents are multi millionaires and they will pay your university fees..and that is the ''tory'' way..like it or lump it unless you have a silver spoon in your mouth when you are born its going to be a tough ride...

[ummmm]

2 E's to do teacher training? Never knew that....I'm quite surprised.

[Prudie]

So they say sherr (as is an NVQ 4 for foundation and 5 for honours degree). Well qualified aren't you!

[sherrardk]

Ummm - teachers tend to keep it quiet about just how badly they did in their A levels (I can say that as an ex-teacher).

[Buenchico]

Prudie:
A Bachelor's degree (with or without honours) is ranked as FHEQ Level 6.

An HND is ranked at Level 5, along with a foundation degree:

http://www.direct.gov...Explained/DG_10039017