Result Day!

[Hatchorder]

I would just like to wish all those hopping around or wringing their hands with a sweat on Good Luck with your results today. It is just another step on the journey towards being an officer, but one of the most important. I hope you all get the results you need.


Well done if you got the grades.

Ian

[endure]

And don't keep us in suspense. Post your results! We're as nervous as you all are. Good luck.

[McBoo]

I keep telling myself there's nothing I can do now, they're already there in the envelope... Still really nervous! Mind you, only AS so if I do awfully I'll have a chance to resit.

Good luck everyone!

[KeiranNewberry]

Well done if you got the grades.

And if you don't, there's always the HND route.... :-)

[Chiefy]

At our age just waking up is a Result....."go me!"

[Inland Pirate]

Managed to do better and worse than I expected simultaneously! B in general studies and history, which I'm really pleased about having done it all in a year, and E in physics and biology, an achievement in itself considering I failed all this year's units! I'm just relieved it's all over and done!

<< Just discovered that too...

[Midge]

IP wells that's over and done with now, time to move on !
Youngster was pleased with his AS got the good grades in the subjects he wanted and the dodgy one in the subject he doesn't like. So he hes A History, B Sociology, B Biology, D Chem C Phil & Ethics.
Hope everyone else has got the grades they had hoped for.

[Hatchorder]

I have just had an email from a potential cadet to say his grades were not as predicted.

Personally I do not think they do any favours to you all by having 120 UCAS points as a requirement, and in no related subjects. I am not saying any of you will have done this, but in reality when you have passed the interview and you know you only need certain grades then you all tend to take your foot off the gas a little and sometimes do not get the grades you thought you would.

My son definitely dropped a grade in every subject, bar one, because of this. His comment to me after the interview, and his letter of offer, was “If I don’t turn up for the final exams I still have enough points to get the grades I need”! Of course he did work hard and do the revision, and do the exams, but it was not as if his life depended on it so he definitely relaxed a little.

The world does not end if you drop a grade in your A levels unless you fall below the minimum required to do your course. Many of you will have had offers just saying "so long as you meet the requirements of the course". I don't know of anyone who has had a conditional offer saying "You need a BCC".

So.........

Pick yourself up, ask yourself a question, "Could I have done more or did I relax a bit?" Now answer it honestly..........

Now go and ring or email your sponsor and give them the GOOD news if you have made the minimum grade. Then follow it up with a copy of your results and your certificates later in the year when you get them.

If you did not get the grades needed then do not panic just yet. There are other options that are alternatives to the FD that you may still be able to do. Speak to your sponsor, tell them the truth and be honest. Ask them what options you have and go from there. You may have impressed them enough that they still want you, but will accept you are doing a different course.

Also, you all know your marks and what the cut off point is for each grade. Have you thought if you are only a couple of marks away from a grade of asking for a remark? If you are slap bang in the middle of a grade then a remark will not realistically give you a better grade, so again be honest with yourself.

Now do yourself a favour. Take a deep breath, go and let your sponsor know your grades. They need to know to finalise their plans as well, and the longer you delay the more difficult you make their lives as well.

Ian

[Inland Pirate]

I think the 120 in unspecified subjects is dangerous in that it almost sets the bar too low - people expect you can't fail, which in turn puts pressure on to do well, to at least prove yourself.

The fact that I only needed 120 probably means I did not get the absolute best I could have, if I'd been chained to a desk and made to work 20 hours a day, but I think that's good in a way that you don't have to work yourself in to a breakdown because you need A*AA to do this course.

[Midge]

Spot on Hatchorder, and in addition, if you discover the career isn't for you, then you may need better grades for any other choices you have to make. Been trying to hammer this point to youngest one who keeps saying they only need D's this is for a different career his other option of career requires AAB, ABB.
It's the minimum requirement, there are others that maybe able to show better predicted grades so always aim for the best that you can do, when it comes to offers I would expect sponsors do look and might favour a candidate who is predicted higher grades if in all other circumstances they have two that are identical but only one place.

If only we could give them some of our hard earned wisdom!

[Hatchorder]

At our age just waking up is a Result....."go me!"

Now that made me laugh! How about getting through the night without having to get up for a pee? Not there yet - but won't be long no doubt!

Ian

[BeachedTurtle]

I Passed my BTEC Level 3 Engineering with the grade Distinction* Distinction* Distinction, so im happy . Also a big well done to everyone else.

[Hatchorder]

I have just had an interesting conversation with a recruiter. It seems it is the same every year, and in their opinion the grades do always seem to drop on final results day because of the lower grade requirements. They are already getting the "I have failed" calls today and it is a struggle for the recruiters - they book the places on FD courses and HND courses separately and so the Colleges have no spaces left. It is not that the recruiters will not take you - it is the colleges that do not have the space on the other course. The only thing that those who have not got the grades for FD can hope for is to get a space because someone else who got offered a HND did not get the grades and so the college has a space. I know you are then trading on some other poor bugger's misery, but that may be the only hope FOR THIS INTAKE. Remember, you may still have the grades for an HND , you may just have to wait until January to start it.....

But the biggest nugget in the conversation was that if you then go off and study a Btec at a local college, preferrably in a maths or engineering bias, then those that really want to go into the MN usually succeed and then come back to the training companies 18 months down the line with UCAS points falling out of their ears, more focused on study because they have already tasted failure, and a further 2 years of maturity under their belts and so get looked at more favourably that they did last time because it shows stickability and a desire to overcome their adversities.

Remember - this may be a second chance. Their are many kids who will not get that opportunity, so make the most of it and go out and make it happen if you really want it.

Finally, if you decide you are not going to carry on trying, or cannot get to Uni for another subject then it is not the only path in life. I am a great advocate of apprenticeships and career training, so get out and do some research. There are plenty of websites that can help you such as www.notgoingtouni.com. Go and have a look, see what they offer by way of advice and training and sort it out. Sitting their glum right at this moment is allowed - tomorrow it isn't!

Chin up everyone!

Ian

[Midge]

I Passed my BTEC Level 3 Engineering with the grade Distinction* Distinction* Distinction, so im happy . Also a big well done to everyone else.

Well done.

[MrStealth]

I haven't collected my results (mainly because I'm scared legless as to what "delights" await me).

I do think that having the very low UCAS point requirement is detrimental however. When I applied for my cadetship, I was already in the 3rd year of sixth form studies, and had UCAS points coming out of the wazzo (I had over double the minimum required UCAS points). When I received the offer of cadetship, I definitely took my foot of the accelerator. What's the point in working yourself ragged if you've already got the grades you need, especially when there's no conditions attached to the offer?

Personally, I think it would be much better if sponsors only set the minimum grades AFTER interview. Obviously there would have to be a minimum requirement to attend an interview, but perhaps it would be safer if left at GCSE level, to ensure a more level playing field. That way, sponsors can judge people based on who they are, rather than grades - and those who are lucky enough to get an offer will then be able to be "pushed" to achieve, instead of merely being allowed to flounder at the final hurdle. It will also allow those who decide that a career at sea is not for them a 'second chance' to go down the university path.