Here, here to everyone on the side of the "yes you need good marks" debate. We all hate ground school. What a tedious journey that one is.
But if one's general attitude to life is: "I'll just scrape by with the bare minimum", then who in the hell would want to employ someone like that anyway.
If anyone has that attitude and wants to be a professional anything, let alone pilot, then I would suggest that they're aiming too high.
As for the argument that all it takes is money to succeed... then look at those who drop out who had the opportunity. One could argue that it only takes money to become a racing driver. But you still have to be the best to win, and to have a winners attitude.
Attaining a job that fulfils many peoples' dreams is a privilege. That's why many people log onto pprune just out of interest and because it is something they would love to be able to do. Pilots are amongst the luckiest individuals on the planet. It may not seem like that to pilots at times. But to those who look up at contrails and dream, they are.
So does anyone who believes that a mere pass is good enough deserve to win a job in an airline? It doesn't matter if you only have a 76% pass, but it is crucial that a determination to be the best you can is a predominant part of a pilots personality. A wing and a prayer attitude aint good enough when 200,000kgs of pax, fuel and composite follows you around at 35000ft.
That said, if you are on an integrated course, your results will help you when the schools recommend their graduates to the guys they supply. Yes, recruitment people prefer an easy life and will jump on a recommendation. Graduates with the best grades and first time IR passes get the best offers. But like all things in life, the more distant exams, are the less important they seem. Experience rules.
That's my twopenneth. Over and out.