Year 11 GCSE Exam Support Thread

Aww sparkling. Have a (())

3rd time through with the most organised of the kids so we are very hands off. That's hard too! Plenty of time between mocks ( at least dec ones) and the real thing though if she hasn't done enough. My 2p from many parents evenings though- work smarter not harder. Science subjects ( and prob mfl) are all exam technique. Pick up the clues in the question that tell you exactly the way the answer should be worded and uses the words you've been told ( don't be my DS and try to frame your own " better" answer. That isn't what they want!)

I can't wait for it all to be over. DSs haven't started any revision. They haven't finished the syllabus yet. Their teachers are fairly low key at the moment. Mocks aren't until February. Not sure if that is good or bad. So many schools seem to be doing them before X-mas. Personally for us that gives us a breather as one of them has missed a lot of lessons and has more time to catch up on the missing material.

DS1 has had German words to learn. Hundreds of them. 120 on a sheet and about 18 sheets.

Hi Littleham. Thanks for the thread.

We've got another 7 months of this.

DS has a French oral on Wednesday. He says he's learned some of it... at least I've seen it printed out so I know it exists. Revising? In December? For GCSEs? I'f I'm lucky he'll have started by Easter.

Mocks are sometime next term, and we've already had the preliminary A level selection evening.

Mocks start on 8/12, been to one 6th Form College and got two more Open Evening this week.

DS1 holed up in his room revising all weekend.

The pressure is off (me) a little bit as DD's Plan B should, in my opinion, be her Plan A anyway, and so I'm a bit less worried than I was when there was only a Plan A iyswim?
But grades will be with them forever, so I do want her to do the best possible.
Thanks for the good luck for DD. English is one of her better subjects, and she has prepared well, so hopefully it will be OK.

Ds finished his mocks last week and has an interview for 6th form college this week, he is planning on doing A levels. Have the feeling it is going to be a busy 6 months for him. He did do some revision for the mocks but we have to wait until mid December before he gets the results back.

Place marking. We have another week till mocks here.

Good luck for your DD tomorrow Teenandtween.

How much pressure are school putting on for the mocks Littleham? I get the impression that DD's school are taking the approach it's about familiarisation with taking exams in the hall at this point. Trying to get info about CA's out of DD is like getting blood out of a stone, hence my delight that it is nearly parent's evening and my warnings about not remembering to get appointments have actually sunk in.

It is definitely much easier when they aren't your own! I live in hope boys will be easier and DS is more academic plus more decisive.

I am trying really hard not to stress and lose the plot. Mocks are first week of December. Just had 6th form open evening and have parent's evening next week which can't come a minute too soon. We've been to two 6th form colleges anc she wants to go back to one for another look, i've tild her to book herself on the shadowing day. Her report came last week and it wasn't massively encouraging.

And she can't decide whether she wants to stay where she is or go to College for 6th form . She's stuck deciding between 2 BTECS and A Levels. And I need to find someone so she can do the speaking exam for a language sh learns out of school via Skype - which is proving to be difficult but that GCSE could be the difference between her having enough to do level 3 next year or not.

I have just helped my friend's DD sort UCAS application and get offer for the course she wanted with poor AS grades but don't seem to be able to sort my own DD.

Oh, and add to that 6th form college applications as well ...

25% CA for English lit - Tomorrow!

Mocks not until January. At recent parents evening DD1 was asked whether she had started revising yet. I said she was too busy focussing on the CAs / Coursework. So far this term 4 MFLs, Science, Drama, History, ICT, and possibly English, can't remember.

DD coping OK, but has difficulty organising herself so I am a nervous wreck trying to ensure she keeps track of what is coming up and is prepared for it.