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Ive failed.

PetiteQuarkPetiteQuark Posts: 82 Budding Regular
edited March 27 in Work & Study
Ok so basicallyyy
Long time, no see.
Back in august, i got my results... I had a grade 4 in physics and a 3 in maths ( foundation maths btw)
And i was just... Speechless, i began crying so badly... I don't really want to talk about it alot because it was just horrible and ive felt just, really low and still feel a bit low.
ive felt like everything was stupid because seeing everyone else being happy with their results made me feel a bit jealous to be honest, and it just felt so so so depressing seeing that my life is dictated by a series of tests i did at 16, i haven't even done my bachelors yet! Everyone told me to give up, and i now want to give up on so everything now! , I'm trying to keep it as vague as possible and I would also like to say that i dont feel that way anymore.

the worst part was that i went to the college that i applied for back in November last year (i had the grades to do chemistry and physics back then when i did my mocks) and i spoke to the teachers... They just tried to talk me out of physics, and i still remember the look they had after seeing the paper with my gcse grades printed on them. I understand, my grades weren't good enough but can I atleast they could've allowed me to resit? (The secondary school I went to doesn't allow resits anymore)

I understand that teachers don't get paid alot, (which is wrong they should get paid more but that's not within my control, and I can't vote yet so i cant really vote for, who gets to be in power and invest more money in education etc.) And its also stressful dealing with some students and marking alot of papers. However, i don't think telling a 16 year old whos unhappy with her results to "give up" is the right thing to do. I was stressed, i used to get bullied when i was in year 6 up until year 9 for having really had acne and eczema and being quiet, and the pressure! The pressure from mocks and GCSEs! How I was [we were] told how important they are and that we must get the best results, but I never became angry at anyone, that's not the right thing to do!

But then as of September i go to a different college, currently im retaking my gcses (i cant just retake only 1 so ill have to retake 5) so I'm currently retaking higher maths, combined science higher, english, and statistics, I have never done statistics before and even if i passed english i still have to do it because i have to retake 5 subjects. It was actually really difficult finding a college that will allow me to retake my gcses, most colleges just advised me to just do another course (not science) or do a btec, but my mum didn't want me to do a btec.
And also, why is it that barely any universities accept btec applied science for physics? I was actually thinking of switching from retaking gcses to doing btec applied science, but i wasn't allowed to. But even then I'm a bit upset because even universities think that btecs are worth less than alevels :/
Im also going to be doing my maths resit exam in this month (retaking privately because i don't want to wait until next year) but atleast im doing higher maths and i could do alevel maths or computer science in January, I hope.

Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Katie12Katie12 Posts: 360 Listening Ear
    awww I am sorry to hear that you have been through that, it sounds like a very difficult time and you have done a good job at explaining such a stressful period. It is shame that you did not have the encouragement to try again so well done that you have kept on going that must have been difficult! I couldn't agree more about the amount of pressure that is placed upon GCSE students to achieve 'good' grades is far too high and it is disappointing that places like colleges and universities don't always take that into consideration because the pressure is a lot for anyone to deal with!
    Good luck with your Maths exam this month!! you definitely deserve the success
    sending hugs <3
  • AnonymousToeAnonymousToe Posts: 2,411 Boards Champion
    You’re right, your teachers shouldn’t tell you to give up. Exams and grades aren’t the most important thing in the world anyway. Don’t give up!!
    PS: good luck with your retakes
  • lunarcat522lunarcat522 Moderator Posts: 608 Incredible Poster
    @PetiteQuark I'm really sorry about how your results went, I agree, our future should not be determined by a bunch of numbers on a bit of paper. I'm also really sorry your teachers weren't as supportive as they should have been, they should never have told you to give up or talk you out of doing a subject! I just want to say well done for getting through it as school is not an easy place to be! You should be really proud that you managed to sit your exams as that is massive, especially if you've had a rough time at school!

    It's great that you're going to college to achieve the subjects you want to! Higher maths and combined science sounds really difficult in my opinion but I'm sure you'll do great in a more supportive environment. I personally really enjoyed studying English, but I was definitely more drawn to the 'soft' subjects rather than maths/science!

    Are you at college yet or is it next year? Good luck on your maths resit, hope it goes well! Computer science sounds interesting.

    I just want to say don't feel discouraged or set back in any way as everyone goes at their own pace, on their own journey with all sorts of different challenges to overcome. I had the realisation that it wasn't actually me that was the problem, it was the school and the teachers, as when I arrived at college, everyone was so much more supportive and caring, that I ended up doing really well both academically and mentally! I'm really glad I took the college route before thinking about university as it's helped prepare me really well and has boosted my confidence so much. It's also a lot more diverse, I've found as there's all sorts of students from different backgrounds such as international students, mature students etc. It's much less cliquey in my opinion.
  • PetiteQuarkPetiteQuark Posts: 82 Budding Regular
    edited November 2023
    @PetiteQuark I'm really sorry about how your results went, I agree, our future should not be determined by a bunch of numbers on a bit of paper. I'm also really sorry your teachers weren't as supportive as they should have been, they should never have told you to give up or talk you out of doing a subject! I just want to say well done for getting through it as school is not an easy place to be! You should be really proud that you managed to sit your exams as that is massive, especially if you've had a rough time at school!

    It's great that you're going to college to achieve the subjects you want to! Higher maths and combined science sounds really difficult in my opinion but I'm sure you'll do great in a more supportive environment. I personally really enjoyed studying English, but I was definitely more drawn to the 'soft' subjects rather than maths/science!

    Are you at college yet or is it next year? Good luck on your maths resit, hope it goes well! Computer science sounds interesting.

    I just want to say don't feel discouraged or set back in any way as everyone goes at their own pace, on their own journey with all sorts of different challenges to overcome. I had the realisation that it wasn't actually me that was the problem, it was the school and the teachers, as when I arrived at college, everyone was so much more supportive and caring, that I ended up doing really well both academically and mentally! I'm really glad I took the college route before thinking about university as it's helped prepare me really well and has boosted my confidence so much. It's also a lot more diverse, I've found as there's all sorts of students from different backgrounds such as international students, mature students etc. It's much less cliquey in my opinion.

    Im currently at college this year, im retaking 5 subjects (they didn't let me retake only 1 or two)
    I know ive moved schools twice during my gcses, i went from doing combined science to triple and though i really liked doing triple science, there was alot of maths in it, but i was a bit naive and thought the chance of the paper being mostly 'hard maths' questions will be less than the chance of the paper being mostly essay based questions, which turned out to not to be the case. That was very naive of me ill admit. But now im in year 12 and im doing combined science (again) and ive been predicted with a grade 9 so thats good.

    Sometimes i feel like yeah, it wouldve been a better idea to do something else; physics is a very 'brutal' field, the competition is intense and so is the academic pressure.you're right, it would be a better idea to do something else. But then i dont exactly have the grades for doing 'soft subjects' either (i have a grade 5 in history and english language lol) and anyways ive been told its too late for me to switch subjects because there's no places left in most courses. I was planning on doing an apprenticeship or btec applied science but i wasn't allowed to change courses.

    but then i think there's also probably going to be intense academic pressure with 'soft subjects' aswell. Ive only known about the rough academic pressure in stem fields because of other people's experiences, how some people think theyre better because theyve got good grades and they're doing a 'hard' subject. I actually remember a guy like that in year 7 and he constantly used to make fun of my maths grades (i was rlly good in science, somehow even though my maths isnt too great, but ive been practising maths alot recently.)

    And its a bit sad because some people go into stem for the sake of curiosity and to understand the world around us, and then there are others who just do it because either their parents made them do it or because they just want to make it known that they are [academically] intelligent.

    Ive heard of how some people want to push the school leaving age to 18 (because america's school leaving age is 18), but i would disagree because people go to school much later than they do here in the uk. They begin education at the age of 5 rather than 4, and they go on to secondary school at the age of 13/14 (year 8) rather than year 7 (11/12) and im saying this because i have some relatives who live in the US, there's also less academic pressure over there aswell. And i know this would sound very weird since id love it if i would have had 2 more extra years to do my gcses. But so many people are just better off specialising and doing what they want right now at 16, my friend's doing biology alevel and shes excelling in it. I'd love to be in her place and im a bit jealous id admit. Just because my grades weren't enough for physics shouldn't mean that no one else gets to do it, thats unfair. So i hope that the school leaving age remains 16. Im actually a bit worried about that, even though it won't really affect me, but it'll affect my younger sister whos started secondary school, i don't want her to be stressed as much as I was.

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 34 Boards Initiate
    Hiya! I think your determination is more impressive than any grades you get. I definitely understand how it feels to get a bad grade and it is really disheartening. But as long as you keep pushing and staying determined I believe you’ll make yourself proud! My best advice would be to try not to think about the outcome as, for me personally, I always tell myself the work isn’t worth it because I’ll do bad in the end. And then you end up surprising yourself! You can’t predict how you’ll do but what you can do is put the effort in and do your best :)
  • PetiteQuarkPetiteQuark Posts: 82 Budding Regular
    @PetiteQuark I'm really sorry about how your results went, I agree, our future should not be determined by a bunch of numbers on a bit of paper. I'm also really sorry your teachers weren't as supportive as they should have been, they should never have told you to give up or talk you out of doing a subject! I just want to say well done for getting through it as school is not an easy place to be! You should be really proud that you managed to sit your exams as that is massive, especially if you've had a rough time at school!

    It's great that you're going to college to achieve the subjects you want to! Higher maths and combined science sounds really difficult in my opinion but I'm sure you'll do great in a more supportive environment. I personally really enjoyed studying English, but I was definitely more drawn to the 'soft' subjects rather than maths/science!

    Are you at college yet or is it next year? Good luck on your maths resit, hope it goes well! Computer science sounds interesting.

    I just want to say don't feel discouraged or set back in any way as everyone goes at their own pace, on their own journey with all sorts of different challenges to overcome. I had the realisation that it wasn't actually me that was the problem, it was the school and the teachers, as when I arrived at college, everyone was so much more supportive and caring, that I ended up doing really well both academically and mentally! I'm really glad I took the college route before thinking about university as it's helped prepare me really well and has boosted my confidence so much. It's also a lot more diverse, I've found as there's all sorts of students from different backgrounds such as international students, mature students etc. It's much less cliquey in my opinion.

    Im currently at college this year, im retaking 5 subjects (they didn't let me retake only 1 or two)
    I know ive moved schools twice during my gcses, i went from doing combined science to triple and though i really liked doing triple science, there was alot of maths in it, but i was a bit naive and thought the chance of the paper being mostly 'hard maths' questions will be less than the chance of the paper being mostly essay based questions, which turned out to not to be the case. That was very naive of me ill admit. But now im in year 12 and im doing combined science (again) and ive been predicted with a grade 9 so thats good.

    Sometimes i feel like yeah, it wouldve been a better idea to do something else; physics is a very 'brutal' field, the competition is intense and so is the academic pressure.you're right, it would be a better idea to do something else. But then i dont exactly have the grades for doing 'soft subjects' either (i have a grade 5 in history and english language lol) and anyways ive been told its too late for me to switch subjects because there's no places left in most courses. I was planning on doing an apprenticeship or btec applied science but i wasn't allowed to change courses.

    but then i think there's also probably going to be intense academic pressure with 'soft subjects' aswell. Ive only known about the rough academic pressure in stem fields because of other people's experiences, how some people think theyre better because theyve got good grades and they're doing a 'hard' subject. I actually remember a guy like that in year 7 and he constantly used to make fun of my maths grades (i was rlly good in science, somehow even though my maths isnt too great, but ive been practising maths alot recently.)

    And its a bit sad because some people go into stem for the sake of curiosity and to understand the world around us, and then there are others who just do it because either their parents made them do it or because they just want to make it known that they are [academically] intelligent.

    Ive heard of how some people want to push the school leaving age to 18 (because america's school leaving age is 18), but i would disagree because people go to school much later than they do here in the uk. They begin education at the age of 5 rather than 4, and they go on to secondary school at the age of 13/14 (year 8) rather than year 7 (11/12) and im saying this because i have some relatives who live in the US, there's also less academic pressure over there aswell. And i know this would sound very weird since id love it if i would have had 2 more extra years to do my gcses. But so many people are just better off specialising and doing what they want right now at 16, my friend's doing biology alevel and shes excelling in it. I'd love to be in her place and im a bit jealous id admit. Just because my grades weren't enough for physics shouldn't mean that no one else gets to do it, thats unfair. So i hope that the school leaving age remains 16. Im actually a bit worried about that, even though it won't really affect me, but it'll affect my younger sister whos started secondary school, i don't want her to be stressed as much as I was.

    I mean people in the US go to school much later than they do here in the UK.
  • PetiteQuarkPetiteQuark Posts: 82 Budding Regular
    knej23 wrote: »
    Hiya! I think your determination is more impressive than any grades you get. I definitely understand how it feels to get a bad grade and it is really disheartening. But as long as you keep pushing and staying determined I believe you’ll make yourself proud! My best advice would be to try not to think about the outcome as, for me personally, I always tell myself the work isn’t worth it because I’ll do bad in the end. And then you end up surprising yourself! You can’t predict how you’ll do but what you can do is put the effort in and do your best :)

    Thank you. I have my gcse (retake) exam tomorrow for maths so i just hope it goes well since ive been practising alot.
    and yes, i do agree sometimes life is full of suprises (:
  • ebyrne556ebyrne556 Moderator Posts: 1,199 Wise Owl
    Hope your gcse exam went well @PetiteQuark sending positive vibes <3
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