# Brits: Please explain Forms vs our Grades. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-please-explain-forms-vs-our-grades/491217 "2009-03-29T21:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-please-explain-forms-vs-our-grades/491217/61 "2009-03-31T14:33:56Z")
One should perhaps point out that prowess in sports and games counts for very little in British schools (or universities) and nobody will think any better of you for having won the game against St. Swines’ First XI last week. In fact few pupils will even be aware that the contest took place, unless they have some direct involvement. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-please-explain-forms-vs-our-grades/491217/62 "2009-03-31T15:32:08Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > It appears not… > [http://www.ocr.org.uk/learners/faqs.html](http://www.ocr.org.uk/learners/faqs.html) > > (Yes, independent candidates are of course a different matter.) Well, that’s changed, then - when I took my GCSEs 17 years ago the results were sent directly to me and the same went for everyone else I knew at GCSE and A Level. Everyone was waiting tensely at home for the results slips to arrive. Maybe I grew up in a parallel universe to you or something, because it makes no sense that our experiences contradict each other so much! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-please-explain-forms-vs-our-grades/491217/63 "2009-03-31T15:53:21Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Well, that’s changed, then - when I took my GCSEs 17 years ago the results were sent directly to me and the same went for everyone else I knew at GCSE and A Level. Everyone was waiting tensely at home for the results slips to arrive. > > Maybe I grew up in a parallel universe to you or something, because it makes no sense that our experiences contradict each other so much! It would appear so, or the procedure changed between then and 1996…edit, make that '95, I took one early and collected that too… ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-please-explain-forms-vs-our-grades/491217/64 "2009-04-02T04:22:22Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > That’s interesting, Cerowyn. Was this in Ontario? The terms in the U.S. are “varsity” and “junior varsity.” The varsity team will be the best players, and the junior varsity team will be the not quite as good players. It depends on many things whether there’s a junior varsity team at all, including the state, the number of students in the high school, and the popularity of the sport. Sorry, missed revisiting this thread. Yes, this was in Ontario. The high school I went to\* for grade 13 only had one team, so I don’t know if it was unique to the first high school I went to. - Between England, Wales, Scotland and Canada, I managed to go to 13 schools in 14 years of schooling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-please-explain-forms-vs-our-grades/491217.md?page=3)