Year 11 GCSE support thread 4 - more exams

Another one here that had Symptoms for the unseen - god only knows what he wrote about it, but its over now and that's english Lit done for ever (for him). Various states of relaxation planned for the weekend, and then six days of heavy prep for a solid week of exams after half-term ...

but first ...

Dd did AQA conflict poetry - she's glad that's over, she was scared about the unseen poem but found it 'easy'. I told her that it worries me that she keeps telling me the exams are easy - most people worry they've done badly and then do better than they thought. She told me is a disdainful voice that she's not a 'self-defeatist' and if it went badly she'd know.

SugarPlum - I think, like Woolly said, there will be relevant bits to what she wrote so will still pick up marks. Dd said that a few people in her class read misread the question - something about about how the poets use place to present ideas about conflict. She said they all missed the 'place' part when reading the question.

I thought the same as Woolley Sugar .. love/relationship surely a fair amount of cross over there?
Glad dd's feeling a bit better Woolley and has found that support group - that sounds very helpful

Here dd literally bumped into her art teacher leaving the art room as she went in to hand in her art books at the end of the school day and before half-term deadline.
Teacher said 1 minute later and it could have been too late
Think we were cutting it a bit fine there and of course, though very relieved we made it, feeling like I should have been a bit more on the case with that one!

Ah well!
Half term
[ brew] ....

This is where the internet really comes into it's own, that's good she has been able to find some support. Thank you for being lovely when you have been through so much

DH visiting the chip shop on his way home tonight - if he can fight his way through the many caravans that were building up on the roads earlier !

Ds home, English went really well apparently, and that's probably all ill get out of him tonight. He's off babysitting for my sister's kids in a bit so I'm not harassing him or he may change his mind and I really can't handle a 6 and 4 year old tonight. I need wine. and possibly but would have to shop to get gf cake so wine will do.

Revision sessions next week are school Thursday and Friday he's going to miss Saturday class as we've agreed he can go to scout camp Friday and Saturday, especially as home has no exams on Monday and hes promised to revise everyday apart from Monday when he's off to the cricket with his dad and grandad to see Lancashire play.

Trying to get the right balance between fun and work without pressuring him as he is working hard enough.

Now time for and chippy tea. and relax.

Your poor DD. Stomach migraines are grim and are worse when stressed. As you say, thank goodness for half term.

DD is still a bit tired but much perkier than earlier in the week. She has joined a support group on FB so doesn't feel quite so isolated. Her condition is quite rare in under 18s.

Thank you Woolly, that's what I thought and the fact you have said it as well is cheering DD up. She just had a bit if a shock when she realised as was very invested in getting this one, hence getting in a state with a stomach migraine yesterday. Onwards and upwards and thank goodness for half term !

How is your DD this afternoon?

Oh Sugar surely there must be some cross over between the points your DD made and the 'love' points.

For you both

For you

Ds said the English lit was good and that they asked the right questions. I resisted the urge to ask if he had given the right answers ?

Same here, came out happy, spoke to friends then realised.

Unfortunately DD very close to having to do Level 2 and not 3 next year so not a great situation. She just can not do exams.

They can only do their best and she has worked so hard.... she said she thought she did great then spoke to her friends after and felt totally deflated! I feel for her.... hope your DDs isn't as bad as she thinks fingers crossed

Really sorry Sickandtiredofitall - your username sums up how I feel now !

Instead of answering 'how is love presented' she had done "how is the relationship presented' Not really mentioning love.

She said that was 18 marks, the other was 36 marks. I'm hoping she will get something for it as she did get the essence of the poem but didn't mention the key word she needed to. She needed this to be a C, just hope controlled assessment plus other paper plus the bigger question are enough to scrape it . But I'm not confident about what she put for one of the OMAM questions.

my DD wasn't too happy either! she said she has compared the wrong poems, Manhunt and Hour!

oh well what can you do! :(

Did she answer the opposite of the question Sugar?The reason i'm saying that is dd had prepared an answer to the opposite of the question asked ,in her revision notes.( can't for the life of me remember the question!).She said she could still use most of the answer.

Crap, she misread the unseen poetry question.

DD was very happy with the poetry! There were questions on her favourite poem and the unseen she had seen before! Teachers are told who the unseen poets are but not the actual poems. DDs teacher had looked at one poem for each of these poets so pupils could get a feel for the style and the one in the exam just happened to be the one they had looked at for that poet! Lucky coincidence!

She is now off to the pictures with a friend. I said she could have a day off as now nearly two weeks before maths and then music. 12 down 3 to go!

My parents were both teachers too, tilly - Dad taught me chemistry in what we'd now call year 8 and the sixth form which was a bit odd, I pretty much deliberately didn't discuss school much with them but the importance of education was totally understood in our house. DH has sometimes reflected that the exams and then university must have been pretty strange to his parents, especially his mother who as far as we could tell had had absolutely no education in science - one of the many intelligent women whose potential was tragically wasted during those times.

Errol that's the one. She said that she was now a dab hand at describing symptoms . By eerie coincidence I bought the new Hercule Poirot book this morning and the author is... Sophie Hannah. Not quite woo enough for the woo thread, though.

I'm impressed with your DD's restraint. I hope she enjoys the video.

Wooley - so glad that the maths and english went well for your DD and that she's feeling a bit better. Sounds like maybe the drugs are helping and not making her too drowsy? Though possibly she's been compensating with a bit of adrenalin and may need to sleep a lot during the blessed half-term - I think most of our kids will want to do that even if they're in rude health! Was she doing the AQA english?- if I've found the right poem the unseen was Symptoms which does look relatively good. Glad also that she likes the idea of 'mumsnet aunties'!

When she came down for lunch mine gleefully said 'I never have to do english literature again' and actually did a little dance, which is really not her usual style. She's having a break from work by watching some sort of video about space, one of her friends sent her the link on Monday evening (ie the night before her 5 hours of exams in a day) and she's nobly resisted looking at it till now.

She's at 10/22 now, English language is the first one after the hols for her on the Tuesday so she'll be glad when that's over.

DD was made up that two of the poems she and her bestie studied yesterday came up, although she said the unseen poem was hard (Edexcel IGCSE)

Woolly, so glad to see your DD has perked up - hopefully half-term will do her some good too.

DM passed the 11+ and went on to Teacher Training College and became an infants teacher, but always seemed pretty disengaged with my secondary schooling (also grammar school) Not like us now!

I know what you mean canny. My parents were teenagers during the war and both left school and went straight to work. I don't think they understood the impact of exams on their children and I certainly thought I was invincible and capable of handling anything at 16.

Now I find myself fretting for my children in a way my parents never understood. Worrying that their GCSE and A level choices are right for them and trying to get the delicate balance between letting them choose subjects that they enjoy and are good at while checking that the same subjects give them enough skills to give them a broad choice later in life. All while trying not to interfere and helicopter parent. It's bloody hard work.