GCSEs 2012 support thread

Geography today here - went 'OK' . I'm a bit worried about maths tomorrow though and Physics on Wednesday - lots and lots of panic revision going on, but she seems rather shaky on quite a lot of it and I fear she's left it too late to get too grips with the concepts properly.

Bringback thanks for your advice - I spoke to the exam officer today and he said no problem to giving me the results but added that if dd e-mails him the day before he will e-mail her the results in the morning so I won't have to go in after all - result!

DD had German listening and Statistics today, said both were fine. Only German reading to go next week which DD enjoys then it is all over bar the shouting. Sixth form induction at her new school next week, one thing ends and another starts.

Lots of our parents go BringBack1996, but they mostly stay outside the gates and wait for their DCs to come out.

DS had german, also geography today. He thought the german was ok, listening not his strong point.
Geography fine.

He only has one more. DS1 has had his last A2, so don't expect to see much of him from now on as he will be catching up on his missed social life

DS had german listening today, not sure if it is AQA, but he said it was easy . He does struggle with german but usually does find the listening bit the easiest.

DS has just come back from an apparently awful AQA German listening :( Did anyone else's DC do it and how did they find it?

I would love to go with him, not just for DS but to see all his friends who I know have worked so hard.
I will be at work though and slim chance of time off that day.

For our girls school, parents def go in for GCSEs and AS and A2. It's a really social occasion. Less so for the boys school where a few parents go in but most are made to hover in the high street on the corner, waiting for the boy to come back and deliver the news!

Cardi, I teach at dd's school too - and I've had two year 11 groups this year so it's tenterhooks for me. I'll have to be very careful not to look up her results before her. Or at least not tell her I've looked :)

BringBack, we get loads of parents in and it's a lovely atmosphere.

Last exam for my darling girl today, thank God. She is a dippy wreck at the moment. I'm looking forward to her just lazing around and starting to feel human again, poor love.

At GSCE at our school loads of parents go in. Less for A2. With DD1 I had to drive her in (rural, too far to walk, no public transport) but said I'd stay as far away as she wanted. Initially she said stay in the car park. As we got nearer to the school she said maybe come a bit of the way and as we started walking she said if you stay by that tree I'll dash in to get the envelope but don't go away. For all the others I did pretty much the same.

cardi, at the school you teach at do students tend to go on their own? I don't want to turn up with DS and mortify him as there are no other parents!

I teach at DDs school, so I always go in for results day anyway! Not sure what I'll do this year - probably let her go in first and collect her results then follow her in to get the results for the students I have taught.

Where Ds is at school (in the middle east) most children will be away so very few go into school. Basically we just ring the school and a bank of teachers answer the phones and give the results to the student. We will get up ealy in the Uk to try and get the results as soon as poss.
Regarding rewards we have already bought a PS game and taken him to dinner on the day of his last exam, so thats it probably. Nothing on the day but we are hoping for a special breakfast like Cardi suggested.

glaurung it might be worth checking out your DD's school's policy on collecting results, only because at DS's school you have to inform the school before results day to say a relative will be picking them up rather than the student themselves. I suppose to stop someone else stealing your results!

DS hasn't talked about results day yet. I can imagine he'll want a lift in (he's very adverse to walking!) but not sure if he'll want me to go in with him. I hope he does want me with him though, even though that's unlikely.

DD will be back at school when the GCSE results come out. Y12 have to go into school in the morning then they get sent home at midday to get their results on line at 2pm.

Dd is away on results morning but will be home by the evening, so I think she wants me to collect the envelope for her rather than wait for the post. Whether she wants me to open it and text her results to her or wait and open it herself when she gets home remains to be seen.

Last year her school didn't let the yr 10s go in on results day at all - they had to wait until the beginning of term to know their module scores, and even then had to wait until they had a lesson in that subject, so not even the first day back in some cases. That was a bit annoying to be honest.

Hmm. I've always done rewards, I try to reward effort rather than achievement as the two DCs are obviously different.
They don't get a lot of stuff or cash from us on a regular basis and so I don't feel it's too much. Generally I try to reward when they have put the effort in rather than when they get the results.
In the case of the GCSEs I have done it a little differently. I have promised cash for good grades in the 2 or 3 subjects that DS1 needed to work at. He is very good at Maths and sciences and was happy to work on them at the expense of, for example English and French which he hated.
When it comes to DS2 it will be different. He will need much more hand holding and no pressure from me, although I wouldn't be surprised if he got very similar results as DS1.

DD's school has staggered times the Yr11 can go from 10am, yr9&10 from 12 noon till 1pm. You can see the school from the top of our road so I don't think DD would wear me giving her a lift and sitting in the car outside some how!

I really want to go with DD, but I don't think it's the done thing. I'll be going to my own school anyway, to see our Yr11's open their envelopes.

DD doesn't get hers until after 1pm though and my school will be done by mid day. I'll be an emotional wreck by then!

With the two eldest DC for GCSE results, they went to school with their friends, and I had to wait until they could be bothered to call me. In one case, it was several hours later because the last friend to be collected was still in bed !!

It was a similar slow process in collecting A level results, but probably because they already new from the UCAS website that uni places were confirmed so the results were going to be fine.

I got mine a small present, and gave it to them the night before results day, in recognition of work rather than attainment

BeingFluffy* I'm going to wait in the school car park while she goes into the school to collect the results and see her friends. When DD1 got her a few years ago, I burst into (happy) tears which DD1 found funny but DD2 would be embarrassed by.

Does anyone go with their DC to collect their results? I assumed my DD did not want to be seen with me; but she just said she would like me to go along and open the envelope for her. Don't think she was being sarcastic!

I meant more pleased, not less!

BringBack1996 with DC1 we knew a contemporary was told ahead that he was getting £100 for each A* awarded. My own DC scored identical grades but I really wasn't in a position to give that amount. She didn't mind at all, in fact I don't think she thought much of the £100 thing. I could see a financial incentive or promise as storing up future problems and being ultra divisive between siblings if awarded pro rata on either grades or application. DC6 has worked really hard after a slow start in Y7, 8 and 9 (he's taking all his exams in Y10). I can't imagine he'll equal the others but I couldn't possibly be less pleased with his effort, whatever the grades. I'm very glad I didn't make a noose for my neck at the start, it would be cruel in this situation. Even if one rewarded for effort, that would have been impossible too as between my lot - very hard to quantify. I suppose it's ok to give a set amount regardless of grades or effort and I can see it works if there's only a single DC.