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Cheated out of the grade she deserved

10:00am Wednesday 5th September 2012 in Letters

THERE has been widespread controversy regarding the English GCSE results and some headteachers are quite incensed about the alleged manipulated marking.
My daughter has received her English results and was pleased to get an A grade. This excellent result was mainly due to an inspiring English teacher at Cheney School, a Ms Corinna Swift.
However, there is a caveat to this happy tale. My daughter’s coursework was all graded at A* level and the only reason her final result was an A rather than an A* was that, inexplicably, her poetry exam was graded as a paltry C.
Even before the furore erupted, my daughter was muttering that “something fishy is going on here.” She felt certain that her poetry would be the best result as she had annotated every single poem and was very confident that she had achieved at least an A in this paper. She also writes excellent poems.
I believe that examiners have deliberately marked down the poetry paper in order to deprive my daughter of her much coveted A* grade. This was cynically done to fulfil a government directive that fewer A* grades be awarded this summer to curb grade inflation.
So my daughter has fallen victim to a political experiment because of Michael Gove’s pompous assertions that GCSEs are too easy and need to be marked more stiffly. He is vainly deluding himself that O levels were harder than GCSEs in order to massage his inflated ego.

He would like to consider himself to be so much brighter and more diligent than today’s studious generation. The GCSE exams are certainly not easier in any way from O levels.
I have looked at the papers and they are, if anything, harder than my O level exams. The marking yardstick was changed from the January exam date, whereby my daughter would have secured her A* grade. We have demanded a remark of the poetry paper by AQA because of the manipulated marking and I urge any other parents to do the same if they feel suspicious.
SUSAN THOMAS, Magdalen Road, Oxford

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12:30pm Wed 5 Sep 12

the wizard says...

Sorry to read your story and hear of your dismay, but be warned this is yet another dirty tricks by H M Gov to manipulate the public that they will have their way and "O" levels will return. That long, long, long belief by the likes of Double-Dip Dave and his cronies, and beware Grammar Schools will be making a come back as well, as those most vaulted of Tory institutions will re-appear at the profound cost of the working classes, promoting a bigger rift and divide in society. The next step will be graduation to Uni being made progressively harder, and then only from Grammar Schools, in their new form.
This is just the beginning, the thin end of a long wedge. Cam will only deny it but the signs of this are all there, and to deny it, is folly and short sighted. This lot are all for themselves, hence despite all the promises the Financial Institutions which placed us where we are have been allowed to continue almost unabated and the rich just continue to grow richer.

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Cheated out of the grade she deserved

10:00am Wednesday 5th September 2012 in Letters

THERE has been widespread controversy regarding the English GCSE results and some headteachers are quite incensed about the alleged manipulated marking.
My daughter has received her English results and was pleased to get an A grade. This excellent result was mainly due to an inspiring English teacher at Cheney School, a Ms Corinna Swift.
However, there is a caveat to this happy tale. My daughter’s coursework was all graded at A* level and the only reason her final result was an A rather than an A* was that, inexplicably, her poetry exam was graded as a paltry C.
Even before the furore erupted, my daughter was muttering that “something fishy is going on here.” She felt certain that her poetry would be the best result as she had annotated every single poem and was very confident that she had achieved at least an A in this paper. She also writes excellent poems.
I believe that examiners have deliberately marked down the poetry paper in order to deprive my daughter of her much coveted A* grade. This was cynically done to fulfil a government directive that fewer A* grades be awarded this summer to curb grade inflation.
So my daughter has fallen victim to a political experiment because of Michael Gove’s pompous assertions that GCSEs are too easy and need to be marked more stiffly. He is vainly deluding himself that O levels were harder than GCSEs in order to massage his inflated ego.

He would like to consider himself to be so much brighter and more diligent than today’s studious generation. The GCSE exams are certainly not easier in any way from O levels.
I have looked at the papers and they are, if anything, harder than my O level exams. The marking yardstick was changed from the January exam date, whereby my daughter would have secured her A* grade. We have demanded a remark of the poetry paper by AQA because of the manipulated marking and I urge any other parents to do the same if they feel suspicious.
SUSAN THOMAS, Magdalen Road, Oxford

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12:30pm Wed 5 Sep 12

the wizard says...

Sorry to read your story and hear of your dismay, but be warned this is yet another dirty tricks by H M Gov to manipulate the public that they will have their way and "O" levels will return. That long, long, long belief by the likes of Double-Dip Dave and his cronies, and beware Grammar Schools will be making a come back as well, as those most vaulted of Tory institutions will re-appear at the profound cost of the working classes, promoting a bigger rift and divide in society. The next step will be graduation to Uni being made progressively harder, and then only from Grammar Schools, in their new form.
This is just the beginning, the thin end of a long wedge. Cam will only deny it but the signs of this are all there, and to deny it, is folly and short sighted. This lot are all for themselves, hence despite all the promises the Financial Institutions which placed us where we are have been allowed to continue almost unabated and the rich just continue to grow richer.

Take a fairer approach

10:00am Friday 17th August 2012 in Letters

I HAVE to agree with Green Party spokesman Cllr Craig Simmons’s economic calculations regarding the Temple Cowley Swimming Pool.
He is probably correct in stating that it is more cost effective to save the Temple Pool than to get rid of this much-loved facility.
Although I fully appreciate that deprived areas such as Blackbird Leys deserve extra investment in leisure facilities, I feel that the needs of Temple Cowley and east Oxford residents deserve equal consideration.
The city council needs to adopt a fairer and more balanced approach here instead of favouring one particular electoral ward at the expense of other wards.
Interestingly, my youngest son came home from school one day and said that he is upset with Oxford Labour as they want to shut his favourite pool! Clearly even 11-year-olds are getting involved in this political debate at school.
The Green Party secured an exceptionally high vote in the Temple Cowley Ward last May for this very reason.
Let us hope that a very long stay of execution will be granted for the much-loved Temple Cowley Swimming Pool and that a fairer approach is adopted by the city council regarding leisure facilities.

SUSAN THOMAS
Magdalen Road
Oxford

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1:20pm Fri 17 Aug 12

Sid Hunt says...

"deprived areas such as Blackbird Leys" - 'deprived area' seems to be en vogue currently appearing in several letters to the OM. Can any of the claimants actually substantiate the 'deprived area' claims?

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7:56pm Fri 17 Aug 12

mytaxes says...

Why is it a "deprived area", what about the other areas in Oxford that are getting less and less for their council tax? How much will council tax increase next year to pay for their madcap schemes?

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Oxford Politics

We’ve made it worse

6:02pm Monday 16th July 2012 in Letters

 RECENTLY the Taliban executed a young woman for adultery in line with the strict Sharia law in Afghanistan.


 Ironically, Sharia Law is now prevalent in Libya thanks to the monumental incompetence of our Foreign Secretary William Hague.


 Under the democratic regime of deposed Gadaffi, Libya had exemplary rights for women.


 Indeed I would go as far to say that Colonel Gadaffi was a good leader.
Under his rule, Libyans had free university education and free electricity.
Even the unemployed were entitled to receive a comparable wage as that of a working person. Women had full and equal rights.


 Gadaffi was correct in saying that the rebels were Al Qaeda.


 William Hague was the prime instigator of the military action. He fancies himself as a Rambo action man.


 There are those who believe that Gadaffi was behind Lockerbie or the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher.


 There is no proper forensic proof to corroborate either of these theories.


 The shots that killed the WPC could not possibly have come from the Libyan embassy.


 Gadaffi was smeared and used as a fall guy.


 His son also gave millions of pounds to the LSE.


 Our Government has cocked up by killing Gadaffi and enabling repressive Sharia law to take the place of the democracy.


 Libya is a mess now thanks to William Hague.


 Well done idiots in the Foreign Office. You have excelled yourselves again.


SUSAN THOMAS,
Magdalen Road,
Oxford




Zaxharias Ziegla says...

Though time prevents menton of them all, I should have thought Gaddafi's choice of friends rather gave his game away.


Back in the 1960s there was Jean-Bedel Bokasser 1 of Central Africa; later Charles Taylor of Liberia (tried and convicted for crimes against humanity at the Hague); and more recently that charming fellow 'Bob' Mugabe.


Perhaps Susan is hoping for a script witer's job with The Now Show?

7:16pm Tue 17 Jul 12

Fantomas says...

"The shots that killed the WPC could not possibly have come from the Libyan embassy"


If you have any new evidence, (not conspiracy theories) pertaining to this then I hope that you'll bring them to the proper authorities.

10:51am Wed 18 Jul 12

Megs says...

I worked, on women's issues, during the 1990s, in countries where there was Sharia Law. Some have recently seen revolutions and some military action from foreign organisations and countries. I can assure Susan Thomas that extreme, unacceptable behaviour towards women, for which Sharia law may have been used as the excuse, existed in many of these countries and certainly predates the UK's & it's allies interventions in the cases she mentions, of Afghanistan and Libya. Further, the women I have worked with in such countries know that freedom from dictatorship is a fundamental aspect of human dignity. They have not been ignorant the fate they might face if dictatorship is removed and tentative democracy introduced; but is it not perhaps conceivable that they might like to engage in the battle for their own rights in their own nation rather than have some Susan Thomas blethering on about how much better it all was before, under the old regime?

Oxford Politics

Printed in the Oxford Mail

Good leadership

10:00am Wednesday 14th December 2011 in Letters

IT WAS brave of PM David Cameron to give the V sign to Europe. He has shown some true leadership at last.
The eurozone is a sinking ship and frankly we are better off out of the vessel.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy only want us on board their sinking ship in order to exploit our financial services with a transaction tax to bail them out. Sarkozy is two-faced and was really underhand towards our last Prime Minister. He is not to be trusted.
We are better off trading with China as it has not signed up to the loss-making Kyoto protocol and therefore will be able to grow its economy, unlike Europe which has committed itself to this ridiculous treaty. 

SUSAN THOMAS, Magdalen Road, Oxford 

End of an era

10:00am Tuesday 15th November 2011 in Letters

KEITH Mitchell has done a fantastic job as leader of county council and his departure will mark the end of a golden era in Oxfordshire politics.
During his decade of leadership the county was consistently rated as excellent by the Audit Commission.
Keith is an accountant and he has managed the county finances shrewdly.
He also put in a phenomenal amount of overtime into juggling and balancing the books.
He was undoubtedly a safe financial pair of hands, unlike many politicians and bankers.
He is neither extravagant nor wasteful and that is a rare attribute in this reckless age.
Sadly his own party has let him down with the stringent local Government budget cuts.
Keith should have a word with David Cameron and William Hague about the misguided policy of increasing foreign expenditure at the expense of local spending. Much foreign aid is ending up in corrupt departments. One African official has spent millions on a property portfolio in Mayfair with the foreign aid.
The local Government spending cuts have led to a furore over library closures. A moderate, blue-stockinged lady was incensed at her description as a radical left winger when she voiced concerns about library closures.
Keith, who I have always found to be polite, charming and courteous, is understandably stressed and has lost his diplomacy under pressure.
He certainly has a way with words and I will miss his hilarious comments and hope he continues to write to the Oxford Mail. 

SUSAN THOMAS, Magdalen Road, Oxford

Turbine spells trouble

I TOTALLY sympathise with the Harwell villagers’ protests against a wind farm on their doorsteps and they are certainly not ‘nimbys’.
These large concrete structures are not so very green or renewable either. They use huge amounts of concrete, which is not a green material and need a lot of maintenance and repairs.
Remember the damaged blades at Conisholme wind farm that some UFO enthusiasts thought was caused by an alien encounter?
It was probably caused by ice build-up on a static blade during a freezing winter anti-cyclone.
The subsidies for these endless repairs come from hikes in green taxes in all our energy bills.
These surcharges added to fuel bills hit pensioners and the poor hardest.
Never mind if impoverished people freeze to death if the winter is harsh again because the wealthy chattering classes who are worried about global warming will be smugly satisfied to see our beautiful landscape littered with these gargantuan follies.
The only people benefiting from wind farm turbines are generally the rich landowners who become even more wealthy at the expense of the ordinary citizen. Lots of people have become very rich on the green carbon-con pound at the expense of others.
Turbines damage wildlife and the infrasound can be very unpleasant and may be linked to health problems.
Infrasounds at seven cycles per second causes anxiety and nausea.
Wind turbines do not protect the environment; they damage the countryside.
It is time for some innovative thinking for energy supply as I predict that one day all wind farms will be dismantled as they are really not that cost effective.
SUSAN THOMAS