Is there a hand holding thread for Y11 parents and GCSE results yet?

I am not sure whether is is worse for a child to be wracked with nerves over collecting their GCSE results, or so unconcerned that they have forgotten all about the whole thing.

I find my son's lack of concern vastly exasperating - especially since I am aware that it is entirely possible that he WON'T get the grades he needs...

DD1 has just got invited to sleepover at BFF's.

Given how stressed she was over AS level results, I'm not sure this is a brilliant idea.

Next January there are no GCSE exams just functional skills and iGCSE in English.

For English and maths there is an resit in November, the 4th for English if I remember correctly.

Please hold my hand. Just had my first cross words with DD1 as the tension builds.

I suppose it's too late now, but I am frustrated with her that she is expecting poor grades to avoid disappointment. My worry is that she has had this attitude since Year 10 and has aimed too low.

She should get into college, no problem, but her course choice might be limited by her grades. With no long term career plan, this doesn't bother her either.

It's going to be a long 43 hours!

I believe Nov and Jan resits still happen, bu they are reserved for resits rather than early entries. I think...

Do we know if January resist still exist, by the way? I should probably know this, but with all the Gove changes I confess I have completely lost track of how the examination system now works (apart from the module to linear shift).

One amusing thing to do is to creep up virtually silently behind him, and then watch him practically run in the air like a cartoon figure, whilst looking for a weapon with which to potentially defend himself. It's naughty of me, but it is highly amusing.

Thank you. Although being an educationalist it is always a bit professionally embarrassing when your children cause ripples on the education water, so to speak. His sister had massive form in this regard.

In his defence, however, if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, he is the person to be standing near at all times. His ADHD radar make him the most observant, quick reacting person I know. I told him this week he was a top class stone age hunter in the wrong period of history. I mean that.

Is it not Thursday yet?!

Sorry for you and your DS too BM. But there's always the access route, as (given your username :)) I'm sure you well know. I get the impression that the best schools and universities are very willing to listen and accommodate students with genuinely bad situations.

After a GP criticised the decision of a psychiatrist during a routine medication review, my DS took himself off his ADHD medication during Year 11 and it now appears he has bombed his science IGCSEs. I am a nervous wreck waiting for the GCSE results. He has finally, finally appreciated why he was put on the medication in the first place, and gone back onto it so he can complete the summer holiday work he was set, in case he does actually get into a sixth form somewhere. The standard of the summer holiday work he has done since going back onto the stuff is outstanding. But god knows what happens next if he has utterly crap GCSEs. I hate that busybody, big headed GP and I wish we had never listened to him.

DS1 needs a B in one of the English GCSEs to get his place in his chosen 6th form. He was disgusted that the S & L element was excluded after he'd done fairly well it, an A. He's hoping for a B in Eng Lan and Lit but he did find his Lit poetry exam hard.

I'm proud of him in any case. He may just scrape an A in Eng Lan, this from a natural scientist and mathematician who had a speech delay, has a DB with ASD and really struggled with English in primary school. Crossing everything.

todayisnottheday best of luck for your DD. It must have been unimaginably difficult for you all.

Losing speaking and listening and doing two language CAs right at the beginning of Y10 are likely to combine to give my DD1 a C in English Lang. she will not be pleased. A few universities general entrance requirements are a B, regardless of course. One local sixth form wants a B too.

I'm in! DD is a bright girl and worked well for her GCSEs but she is plagued with anxiety too and the exam season itself was a fraught time for us. She knows she did pretty well in her coursework but she sets herself incredibly high standards. Her one big worry is maths - she wants to do A level but needs at least an A to get onto the course.

Good luck everyone!

DD's school doesn't give predicted grades or release any coursework grades in advance. The lack of coursework grades has been a bit frustrating because it would have been nice as a gauge to how well it was going; but reading on here about all the pressure to achieve high predicted grades, I think it is a good strategy on the school's part not to play that game.

DS1 went to an open day plus at Oxford in July, and was assured there that the odd blip in a set of good GCSEs (ie not all A*) was not the end of Oxford aspirations in his science subject.

He didn't have a particular aspiration to go to Oxford, but he does now which makes the results more nervewracking for him.

He did Maths and Eng Lit last year.

With regards to English Language, his school have double entered them they did IGCSE as well, I think because it retained the Speaking and Listening? Mostly though as insurance against changing grade boundaries. It was a very long English day as both exams were on the same day.

todayisnottheday I hope your DD is ok now.

todayisnothteday that's completely terrible. No set of exams is worth that, though I know there's little or nothing one can do to convince some students. I hope life is more in perspective now - poor thing. Not sure about the practicalities, but there's always scope to take exams alongside others - so maths alongside her ASs? Provided she's calmer of course.

Thanks, Agggghast. I did wonder.

I hope the boy you write about can somehow scrape a C.

They will get a separate grade for Speaking and Listening such as it is.

Yes we went ahead with the November entry and did really well but we have a high EAL (40+%) and some of the children who joined during year 10 and the few, 10% cohort, who didn't achieve at least a C, sat in the summer. These children might not have a target of a C but at least a few of them might have achieved a deserved grade in the past. For example the lovely boy who has ASD and is scared of writing anything not perfect on paper so who fails to write enough for the C. Yet he is a very bright boy who is easily an A grade candidate. His outstanding S and L would have given him a fighting chance, he already has A* in Maths. In his life the lack of English will inhibit his progress even though he is completely literate. Makes my blood boil!

Same here unexpected.

agggghast did your school consider doing the Eng Lang early when the speaking and listening element was pulled? I think that was a disgraceful thing to do when that cohort were already halfway through the course and most people had already completed those elements. DS1's school decided to go ahead with the exam in November last year as they could still include the S&L results then, so he already has an A in that (he was a bit disappointed as wanted A* but he is not a languages person and will not be taking any for A level) so as far as I am concerned, it was a blessed relief to get that out of the way.

Hello todayisnottheday. Hope your DD is okay now. There is a lot of pressure on DCs today. DD1 had AS results last week (which thankfully were ok) but prior to the exams she was having acupuncture to help her deal with stress - this was after she got very stressed last year.
After AS results last week and seeing friends dealing with A level results, we are almost forgetting about DD2's results this week! She has already got maths and English language so has her place in the 6th form - just needs Bs in the subjects she is taking.
Good luck all.

I'll join in! Dd sadly ended up in hospital through her gcses after taking an overdose so we're both terrified. She's applied for dispensation but didn't do any of her maths so doubt she'll even get a grade. Goodness only knows what will happen next

Exexpat - I can relate to that. Ds2 is a Maths bod too - best in his year of 270 pupils. Trouble is, his brother, also good at Maths, got a C at A level after only one year, only got a D in the GCSE Add Maths, and his friend, who was the top of his year, only got a B. So I know that even good mathematicians can fall at the Add Maths hurdle. I hope my son has done as well as yours, but am prepared for a lower grade. Fortunately, although he is brilliant at Maths, it doesn't interest him as much as Science so I don't think he will want to do it at uni.

As for the German - yeah, know where you are coming from too. At the beginning of the year, ds was saying he wouldn't get higher than a B. I persuaded him to think differently. I thought it would become a foregone conclusion if he only set his sights on a B. Sure enough, he got an A in the mocks and A*s for all his internal tests and now actually hopes for an A 'at least'.

He seems fairly sure about the Geography (another favourite subject) but it sounds like he completely bombed in RS. It was his first major exam this summer and he admits he just hadn't got his mind in gear, spent ages faffing about and then didn't have time to finish.