Year 11 GCSE Exam Support Thread 2

word - ITA. Ok for a few maths prodigies and the like but otherwise it seems misguided especially if it leaves kids with a void in a subject between the GCSEs and 6th form. So on that basis perhaps QODs school is not being unreasonable about the FM as presumably the ones who did maths last year are able students.

yes, WF, one of the early ones was in her mother tongue, which gave her an A* in Year 8 without attending any lessons.
The other one was Latin in Year 10, it was an extra one.

WordFactory, thanks for writing that, DD has taken 2 early and is doing 12 this year, we are trying to persuade the school to let her drop one.

She will still have 13 which seems an awful lot.

DS's school do only 9 or 10.

errol taking GCSEs early should only ever be done in the pupils interests INVHO for exams they will easily get an A* and could use the space in their timetable to study further or begin a new subject.

It should not be about schools collecting GCSEs like stamps!

Oh Errol, fancy asking, how could you - naughty bench for you

Hi QOD, that does sound like an incredibly heavy workload, is she bearing up ok?

I've just been checking when DD's bus pass runs out. Conveniently it's after study leave starts so I'll be on taxi duty for a month until exams end.

14! Gosh. I work ( part time) at Oxbridge and we never look for oodles of GCSEs. It's always quality over quantity.

DD is taking 10 and DS who is in an absurdly selective school has taken two already and will do 9 this Summet ( though admittedly an AS alongside).

With all the extra curricular stuff they do it's more than enough.

Wow, that's a lot. DD's is also a high rated gs but they do 11 as standard, have never gone in for this doing some early. FM is an optional extra (think Latin too but she was completely uninterested in that). They were allowed to do the after school fm classes with no pressure to do the exam if they didn't want to which I thought was sensible. And because it is an extra it can be used as her DofE skill so it's probably saved her time!
She did her last written German ca today so think she's just got to finalise her computing but when I asked her about it (just showing an interest) she snapped that I was nagging.

It's insane. She took 3 early, ad did most of her year and then the whole government stating you have to continue to learn Maths meant that as she'd got her Maths Gcse "out of the way " she still had to be taught it but as she got an A had to take Further Maths ffs. So even harder
Her single sex grammar was in the top 25 in the country for results ...but they are excellent at teaching to achieve many good gcse but as I said, not so great at A
It's ridiculous to do so many
The previous year did them ALL early and either re took or started AS early!

Good to see you QOD

Wow, 14 subjects with 3 already under her belt - your dd is a bright girl!
Mine's "only" doing 11 (I think - maybe 12?) - and I thought that was a lot

Oh coffee how sad

It's crazy. I do a pretty well paid job ... with 9 good O levels alongside people with none. It's not the be all and end all once you're in the workplace

Hi!!!.dunno.how I've missed this.

Dd takes the first of this year's 14 subjects next Tues. Ugh
Tool 3 early so 2 A's and a B under her belt. But revising for so many subjects is tough
She wants to do Maths and Sciences A levels so is focused on those but of course every other teacher thinks their subject is the most important
Grammar school that churns out great gcse results but not such great A levels so she's moving on for 6th form hopefully

Juggling, that is a beautiful poem - we had some of it, including that bit, at our wedding.
DH is doing a good job of keeping steady, strong and stable, I am just trying to keep my trap shut!

Coffee, French R&L is one of DD's first exams too.

After the angst this morning dd3 came home and tidied / vacuumed room / changed her bedding without being asked. Think she may have felt a bit guilty.

HSMM, sorry for destroying the happy mood, well done to your DD! Nice of the teacher to show her happiness too.
Is she now only doing Reading and Listening?

My DD does French too and it is by far her worst subject. Her R&L are amongst the first exams.

Well done mini HSM too.

Another oral out of the way.

I know, terrible. An extremely clever girl with many friends. It makes me want to go round schools and hand out Papyrus leaflets about the help out there.

How very very sad about that poor girl.

A girl at DDs school died in difficult circumstances a couple of years ago ( could have been suicide, could have been a bizarre tragic accident ) and it knocked the kids for six.

So very sad coffee So sorry for everyone that knew her

I was thinking today of those words about the archer and his bow and arrows (by Kahlil Gibran) Something like as the archer loves the arrows that fly so too he loves the bow that is steady. Thinking that we need to be that steady, strong, and stable bow ATM, even if it does seem slightly boring sometimes.

But watch those arrows fly! We are so lucky to have them and to be able to watch their flight however far or near they fly, however on target or wide of the mark they hit the board - or even fly right passed it! Never mind if they do

They will always be so loved by both the bow and the archer x

Coffee that's awful, that poor girl and her family :(

Coffee that is so sad 2 girls did the same last year at a local school which is a big part of me trying not to pressure DD and let her know we will find a way forward whatever happens.