19 'a*'s

[mollykins]

is it really necessary to get that many?

my maths teacher said he had a chinese girl who came to england when she was 10, barely speaking english.

When she left school when she was 16, she had 19 a*s.

But whats the point, after i've done my a levels i probably won't put my gcse's on my cv, apart from ict. And gcses are only a gateway to a-levels and a levels are only a agteway to university and once you've past that gate, whats behind you is pretty much irrelevant.

[mollykins]

Plus most schools aren't able to elt you do that many.

If you want more than 11 at my school, you have to do btecs but you can only get equivilent to 'a's in them, not 'a*'s. and anyway universities only count them as one, even though they are equivilent to two or four.

[redman41]

It's what you achieve in life mollykins is what's important. Aim high as a good Career/Job is what brings in the money needed for a fulfilling life, well apart from Boyfriends/Marriage/Children etc etc......

[mollykins]

exactly so what ws the point. The surprising thing was that her results were only third best in the country.

[mollykins]

And if you're working that hard, surely you haven't got a life. I'll hopefully end up with all as and bs but i also go to cadets and go out sailing and to town and the beach etc with my family and other friends.

[saxy_jag]

I suspect your teacher, like many of the breed, is bending the truth somewhat in an effort to get you lot to up your game.

There are some who are able to take one or two GCSEs at an earlier age - a girl in our class back in the 1970s (O' level days) took an O' level in Serbo-croat at 13 because that was her family's language and she took the exam through her national family association.

It's interesting that when I was at school, you were considered to have done well if you managed three O' levels. By the time my kids took their GCSEs it had gone up to around seven or eight. I hear of kids these days for whom around ten is the average expectation. Stupid thing is that when they get into employment they can have enough GCSE/A level/degree certificates to paper a wall with yet still lack the commonsense to be able to fill up a photocopier.

[boxtops]

It does seem a bit over the top but many Asiatic people study intensively in their youth and do very little else. However - Molly - you will find that application forms do usually ask you for grades, I am still having to put them if I apply for new posts and I left school 40 years ago, we were all put in for 9 subjects.. Also, bear in mind that many employers (mine in the NHS is one example) don't want c.v.s, they want everyone to fill in the same application forms so they can compare like for like applications without having to search through c.v.s with different layouts. You will need to show your GSCE results in future life, believe me, as well as your A levels and subsequent degrees!

[mollykins]

saxy he doesn't expect people to be that good and thinks she didn't have a life other than studying.

[boxtops]

..and I did say that in my post, studying is seen as vital by some Asian cultures.

[buildersmate]

There is no point in getting more than 10 GSCEs.
I took 4 A-levels to try and maximise my chances of getting into Cambridge Uni, but still didn't manage it with 2xAs and 2xBs.

[Mosaic]

Other answers have alluded to the key issue her, namely the difference in educational culture that exists between th UK and many pacific rim countries. Rightly or wrongly, the best of UK education at present is aimed at developing collaboration, thinking and problem-solving skills. The old model of western education which spread across the globe is based on rote-learning, memorisation and repetition (in writing) of approved 'facts. This is the model used in China, for example.
Allied to this is the simple fact that the societies of China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea are exceptionally conformist. There is simply no notion of being held back in class because of another pupil's bad behaviour, and everyone from parents downward conforms to rules and customs. I have seen primary schools of 2000 primary schoolchildren, with classes of up to 60, in Taiwan. There was no notion of any child being given special help, as any child not able to chant along with the rest would be ignored by the teacher and his peers until he stopped attending school.

And that too is a factor that skews the statistics - ie as schooling is paid for by parents, not freely provided by the state, there is no recording of or concern for the children who fail to attend - they do not exist statistically, and so the children who attend school are all 'bright'.

[mollykins]

hhhmmmm intresting

[Eve]

I agree with Boxtops, I still have my GCSEs on my CV and look for them when I'm recruiting even though most of them are educated to at least postgraduate level and most have professional qualifications as well.

They can give a good indication as to how well rounded someone is academically and highlight possible issues.

I look, in particular, for maths and english as good grades in both are important to me although I often can't believe the lack of simple skills and common sense lacking in many graduates these days, lack of spelling and grammar in particular.

A Levels don't tell me someone's standard of maths or english (unless they have taken them in English language or maths or similar), same goes for degree level.

[dothawkes31]

I have been intervewing this last week to fill 3 vacancies, 1 is a 4 hour shift on a friday night and the other two are a 5 hour on a saturday and a 6 hour on a sunday, the GCSE results on a candidates cv are one of the filters we use to short list or interview, if the candidates do not have at least a C for English and Maths we do not consider them.

[dothawkes31]

I don;t know why I bothered answering actually molly as your posts generally get on my wick so ignore me.

[trt]

When I was in business, I used to try and employ Far Eastern people as they were more hard working, honest and loyal compared to UK people.

[237SJ]

trt - that sounds like discrimination

[trt]

Call it what you want 237SJ,

but it was a fact!

[mollykins]

Thats intresting dot and jenna, we're told that aslong as you pass them all and get onto the a-level classes you want it doesn't matter and that in a few years time you don't need to put them on your cv. My form tutor said he hasn't done for several years.

[Eve]

it does depend on the job and bear in mind that experienced professionals may have less need to list them.

Obviously if I was looking at lawyers with years and years of experience over and above any professional qualification then that would be different as issues would be likely to be noticeable elsewhere in their CV. Similar for teachers.

Every piece of information is a very useful way of whittling down candidates though. Not long ago, I went through over 170 CVs for just one potential position and that is in no way unusual for the type of vacancy on offer.

Every single one of them was educated to postgraduate level (degree then professional qualification(s)) as was required for the job.

All sorts of thing matter, you have to whittle them down somehow to select candidates for interview.

Certain things make it easier to discard them, bad spelling, grammar, poorly written letter and letter writing technique. Then there are the qualifications, what they got, where they got it (as I went into in more detail on some of your other questions) etc... GSCE results can also be telling as to how rounded they are academically, especially maths and english.

Experience can also count for a lot even for junior roles. Someone who has worked previously and can show they already have a work ethic and other skills which come with working, especially when they don't necessarily have to, can go a long way in showing real world experience outside of the education bubble.

Similarly, A Levels can also say a lot, what was taken and the grades that were received.

I am often suspicious about qualifications which aren't mentioned on a CV, especially for more junior roles in case there is a reason why they have been left off.

[boxtops]

Here here jenna, agree with you entirely. I had 46 applications in 2.5 days for a part-time admin job recently - there have to be many ways of sifting the applications to get anything like a short-list, and basic Maths and English qualifications are a must. I think Molly is being poorly advised if she's being told that GCSE results won't matter in the future.