I think it's cruel

Agreed. There should be a few teachers/headteachers around telling the kids to walk away, or else telling the interviewers to back off till people have had a chance to read their results at least.

So, yeah, I'm blaming schools for allowing over interference as well as media bods for doing it.

I always presumed that the media have asked permission to be there before the youngsters opened their results.

Not sure how it works but I agree Sunseeker - it must be very distressing for the teenager if they get less than expected. Even if they do ask permission, it may sound great to be on the news at the time but the kids probably don't think through the consequences.
In Scotland the results come to your house or online so going to school to get them is a set up.
I don't know if that happens in rest of UK. My niece in Northumberland got results at home when she returned from holiday. She is 17 and has another year till A levels so I don't know what the results are for.

So many are keen to have their moment of 'fame' even if it is only measured in seconds and don't realise that nothing is as simple as all that.

Schools know students exam results the day before and they invite press to come in early where a few selected students also come in early to open their results. These students will have done well and their parents will have have been told that and they will have given their permission. I know this because it happened to us with one of our children. The school wouldn't tell us the actual results.

Exactly NannyR2016, we only select the students who are able to cope with the media attention. We know their results in advance, but still celebrate and commiserate with them when they open their envelopes.

I've had some lovely messages from parents today.

Elainel I'm guessing your niece has just sat her AS level which is the first part of her A2 level she will sit next year. The results in this year group give universities an indication of the final grade and their offers are often based on these results. However, it all changes in 2018.

Perhaps not all schools are as careful as yours Lillie. My heart went out to the poor girl on local radio this morning. The reporter thankfully didn't prolong the interview but went on to a young man who was happy with his results.

Poor girl. Let's hope a parent was around to comfort her.

We had to go to school to fetch ours. I can't remember if they were in envelopes or if the teacher had to shuffle through an open pile of papers on his desk to find each of our results sheets. It was all a bit of a giggle - can't imagine anyone bursting into tears over exam results. Certainly not now from this end of the telescope. In the end it only matters if you got your O or A-levels or not, no one is going to ask if you got an A or a D.

Having said that I wish all today's kids all the best and my condolences to those who didn't do as well as they thought. Nowadays it must be far more devastating not to get into the course you want to.

Think reporters must have had permission to be there, life is tough and we can't and shouldn't protect our children from all of life's slings and arrows.

Are you sure the schools know them the day before NannyR2016? It's a while since I had any involvement but my daughter is a teacher and I was under the impression they still came in to the school/college very early on the day. 'A' level pupils do know where and if they have been offered a Uni place before they know their grades.

I have been so annoyed at the reporting. Yes the proportion of higher grades are down but there are good reasons for this which get no mention.

I have never understood why GCSEs are not run like music exams so, a level 1 would mean you know what - 95% or more of the Level 1 curriculum and, once you have passed you move to Level 2 - whatever your age. High level music exams are held in high esteem but Grade 4 or Grade 5 still tells you what the student knows and not what they don't.

Heads and office staff get to see the results from noon on the previous day (Wednesday). They are sent electronically and have to be stuffed into envelopes for the students to open the following day (Thursday).

In future GCSE grades will be 9 - 1, with 9 being the top grade.

The reason that percentages don't directly correlate with grades is that exams differ slightly n difficulty from year to year. Some subjects are also recognised as having a higher level of candidate than others, eg. Ancient Greek. The government has decreed that no more than a certain percentage should achieve A* etc in each subject, so the grade boundaries have to be adjusted. This year the grade boundaries for foreign languages have risen quite significantly, so there are a number of pupils who have achieved lower grades than they expected, based on marks to grades conversion from previous years. Hope that makes sense.

@Gracesgran

When GCSEs were first introduced, a 'C' was not supposed to be seen as a pass grade, as it is now. The grading from A to G was supposed to show what a pupil could do, so a pupil with (for example) six grade Ds was to be seen as having achieved more highly than one with six grade Gs or no grades at all. Over the years, the obsession with league tables and 'failing schools' undermined that idea.

Do you have a link for MFL lower grades please Daphne? Thanks.

It's all carefully pre-arranged. DD2 read opened hers and some of her friends too- years ago. The TV Channel had contacted the school weeks before, students who would possibly produce shock or extreme results picked- and permission from students and family sought.

The overall percentages at each grade have remained fairly consistent, Lillie, but the grade boundaries have risen. You can compare them here...

qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/results-certification/grade-boundaries.html?Qualification-Family=GCSE

For example, last year the mark to achieve a C in writing was 35/60. This year it's 37/60.

This would suggest that the standard has risen, but the boards have been instructed to keep the final grades down. It's a particular problem in languages, as I'm sure you know, because the grades can be distorted by the number of candidates who are native speakers.

I belong to a Facebook group of MFL teachers and a number are complaining that they their candidates have not achieved the grades they were told to expect, because their results were based on last year's grade boundaries.

Having said that, all my private pupils achieved in line with or above my expectations. (Not that I'm boasting or anything )

Thank you, that's great.

It annoys me that pupils could be put off continuing with languages because their grades are lower than expected. They are difficult examinations, (compared with many!), and we should be encouraging the pupils, not disheartening them.

Well done for your private pupils.

It's 20 odd years ago since my DDs had their results. By the time dd2 's results were out there had developed a culture of bottles of champagne in the car park and parents with flowers to congratulate . I thought it was very bad form. My DDs results were very satisfying but I thought how awful for those whose results weren't good. I must admit I am a bit snotty about public celebration like that.

Thanks for that Lillie. I thought I remembered office staff dashing off to collect the results from the sorting office and stuffing the envelopes before the students arrived on the morning of the results - a left over nightmare perhaps

It was the change from 9 to 1 that raised my hopes that they would be able to take them sequentially. I always thought it would overcome the complaints (DM style) that students are coming out of school without being able to read or write. I don't think it will change because I think it is a good idea [wry smile] but getting 95% and getting a Level 6 seems better to me for both school and pupil than getting 60% and getting Grade C. You would also be getting a similar percentage - you might decide it only needed to be 75% - that's not so important - it's the knowledge you gain rather than the knowledge you don't gain at each stage. It would also take the pressure off in the GCSE year and mean pupils would move at their own pace in each subject. Speeding up and slowing down at different levels as they do.

Someone being interviewed from my daughter's college the other day was asked about 'grade inflation' and brilliantly (I thought) compared the increases in students doing well to the Olympics and asked if we were just getting more medals in Rio because of "grade inflation". Good answer!

dd you should feel proud and so should your pupils!

Why do they always focus on girls? Don't boys take exams get results as well?

Usually thin girls with long hair screaming and hugging each other.
They must get permission for filming from the school, also the pupils, ( the sensible ones will say a resounding NO.)

Roses I have noticed that too and yes the sensible ones will say No ! It is the 3 minutes of fame culture and quite nauseating and cringeworthy to watch .

There was a girl who didn't get the results she wanted to enable her to take a beauty therapy course. Could someone tell me what qualifications you need to take that course.