Improved Grades
GCSE & A-level
Call 020 7112 4832
Blog
There are many reasons for optimism about our children’s education and future; but there are hidden truths…
Much has been said about how many children have lost teaching and socialising time as a result of lockdown, which is true and, sadly, may be even worse than we thought. It is reassuring to see that the economic impact of the pandemic is turning out not to be as bad as it was previously assumed it was going to be. However, when it comes to children, there is a very wide variation in the degree in which children from […]
Why St Andrews is so successful; you can do it, irrespective of which university!
One of the factors attributed to the success of St Andrews is their teaching, especially the way they reacted to lockdown. Yes, like other universities, they moved their teaching online as a result of COVID-19, but they did small group teaching in a way that their students feel is better than other top universities. At Excel, we can very much relate to what St Andrews did well during COVID lockdown. This is because, at the start of lockdown, it took […]
The Top University in the UK is not Oxford or Cambridge
In its almost 30-year history of ranking universities in the UK, The Sunday Times has placed a university that is neither Oxford nor Cambridge at the very top. You should be forgiven for thinking it may be a Russell Group university, but it is not one, and it is not even in England. The top university, according to The Sunday Times, is St Andrews in Scotland. I will later highlight the success factor for this university but, before I do […]
The Number One Question asked by Parents of Teenagers… Answered
a conversation with a caring parent – written in August 2021 Dear Caring Parent I trust you and your family are making the best of the summer and that your son/daughter is looking forward to the start of the new academic year in September. I know we are only in the first few weeks of the summer break and everyone, including we parents, and the children just want to have a rest for the time being. This is especially important […]
Repercussion from last year’s A-level grade misallocation being felt by bright young people
A seventeen-year-old, with a national swimming award, and predicted grades of A*A*A has been rejected by Liverpool University and this is just one of many. According to The Guardian newspaper’s education website: “… Eve could have expected a string of top university offers in an ordinary year.” There is nothing ordinary about 2020, as COVID-19 meant school closure and GCSE and A-level grades having to be awarded by teacher assessment. This led to inflated A-level grades, especially at the top […]
Legal action over A-level grade misallocation
Here is a short story of Charlie, who was awarded A and B in Maths and Further Maths, respectively, in his A-levels by his teachers in 2020. His actual predicted grade in these two subjects was A* A*, so he not only missed out on gaining admission to Warwick University but has to carry these grades though his life, with all the ramifications for job prospects and other important issues. Just to prove to himself that the A and B […]
There is light at the end of the tunnel for GCSE and A-level students
Many young people who are in their final GCSE and A-level years have been studying diligently over the Easter break, and they are doing this in preparation for teacher assessment in the next couple of weeks or so. In most good schools where students achieve top grades year in year out, the headteacher and staff have decided to do some sort of teacher assessment – call it a test, mini-exam or whatever you like. In some schools, teachers are more […]
Is Online Learning the future for school children?
Is Online Learning the future? Closure of schools, caused by the lockdown as a result of the pandemic has forced society to learn how to utilise technology in solving a very big problem – loss of learning by children. However, before we get too excited about how brilliant online teaching technology is, and start thinking that this is the way for the future, we should perhaps look at things from a wider perspective. I’m not speaking about the fact that […]
Testing Blogs
This is just to test if this is working OK….
GCSE & A level merry go round – Exams, no exams… Actually, they’ll have a test!
For awarding exam grades at GCSE and A-level in the summer of 2021, a proper exam or test or some sort, which is marked externally, is the fairest for GCSE and A-level students. This will help to mitigate against unfairness and to ensure uniformity in standard. For a level-playing field, due to missed teaching time and the inconsistency in the quality of teaching that young people experienced as a result of disruption caused by COVID-19, the content of what is being examined […]
Success Tips
For your child's success, request it now.