Parents of Year 11's - in the midst of exams!

DD did AQA and said she thought it went well.

I'm not usually a twitter person but I have to admit I've enjoyed reading twitter posts following some of the exams this last 2 weeks. You get a feel for how ridiculous some of the questions have been and how easy or difficult the questions were. Some great humour out there too which is great to see despite these young people being up against so much pressure.

DD is chuffed to bits that she got loads of retweets in a tweet about the polar bear question. I think twitter is helping keep her going !

dd did OCR A core Physics last year and said that it was mathsy then. Her friends' verdict "We thought the Maths exam was tomorrow".
thesecond I remember last year and don't want to mention what happened with that particular Edexcel paper.
dd is busy doing practice Qs. Definitely doesn't want to take A level Maths but is hoping for a B.

Dd struggled with edexcel Physics and has worked herself into a terrible state about maths tomorrow

I've assured her that retakes at her new school won't mean she's back with the year 11s! That and chocolate have calmed her down a bit.

I'm looking forward to the twitter response to tomorrow's maths paper. It was quite funny last year.

No idea, Ds hasn't phoned/text. This is either really good, or really bad

Ds1 said that he got an early question wrong and that it threw him off his stride. After yesterday's geography I think he needs a confidence boost.
Saying that he did ok on the questions they discussed afterwards so it may not be as bad as he thinks.
He has decided that after he has had this weekend off-we think he needs a break- he is going to focus his revision on the subjects he feels he didn't do as well in, the hope being he can still do really well.
He will still do the other subjects on his list though.

Hopefully he will feel better after tomorrow's Latin, it's the first subject finished and he can dispose of his revision stuff.

Ds has eventually got home after train problem.

Physics was okay, but i think on the poorer side of okay. He already knows he has got some questions wrong, and this is a subject he wants to,do for a level.

Maths tomorrow, another a level choice.

Dd didn't manage to finish AQA physics but she liked the 6 point question. So she's a bit disappointed.

oh
I've spoken to DD and the more she has discussed it the more it seems she's done well and not badly think some questions have just knocked her confidence
She's not gcse aqa physics she's aqa igcse

Another maths boffin here in DS, so OCR Physics was right up his street, as there was a lot of Maths in it, he said. This is an A Level choice, so he wants to do well.

Business Fast Track was 'easy' too, so a much better day than yesterday

DD's response to the Physics (EdExcel) was not great. Her other exams have been "fine" or "good".

Physics got an unsure shrug of the shoulders and a mumbled comment along the lines of her not being sure but that she didn't think sh'e done very well.

It is her most disliked and probably weakest subject though.

Nwaiting to hear from ds about physics.

I'm a little nervous as he hasn't looked at it much recently, in favour of his other exams, and he wants to,do it for a-level.

Also, his exams are been going okay (apart from French listening) so,I'm waiting for a disaster to hit ... .

I'm in the pig camp, and if I miss a meal, I'll probably pass out.

Catslife It's not as if he's bothered at all, he said that he did the best he could and that's it. Onward and upward and all that. Maths is not his superpower, he's good at talking about how things work but calculating is another matter. This is the first exam he's had where he's not strolled through it, I suspect he'll be having another tomorrow (maths).

Thanks so much for all the helpful comments about food!

DD apparently didn't even manage a cereal bar this time, as she first tried to eat a packet of nuts DH had given her and her lips swelled up"! (no nut allergies previously in this house, and I hope not starting now!). So she did the exam without lunch, and on the remains of a not-entirely balanced breakfast about 5 hours previously (3 hash browns).

That said, on non-exam days, she seems to eat the large cooked brekkies I make her, so I shall have to continue my policy of feeding her up on non-exam days in the hope that will keep her going, a bit like a camel!

She said Physics was "OK". Big on communication she is not!

I only saw the Foundation paper knitting which definitely contained Physics questions!
Usually grade boundaries are lower for Physics than Biology or Chemistry as most pupils do find this the hardest Science subject. So I very much doubt that dcs who found it hard will have done too badly.

OCR physics was apparently full of maths - which is a good thing according to DS. He seems happy with it.

What a mix of reactions on here...DD came home saying it was fine...mumbled easy. I just sat there with a goofy grin on my face and made a suggestion she could do Physics for A level....she left the room with an eye roll

Her confidence must be growing as she has just printed off 2 past maths papers to do.....

I am going to be huger than huge after all these exams

I've discussed the paper and if seems to be she's dewelling on 3 questions and the rest of the paper was fine

Blazer found, complete with bus pass and locker key! Very relieved daughter.

Now I can focus on the Y11 and his Maths exam.

Edexcel physics was not the gift that biology and chemistry were (says DS). He had quite a bit more to say but nothing that is repeatable.

Sorry Fantasy, just read your post. If it was ok, she can't have failed, just probably trying to keep her expectations low so not to be disappointed.

fedelix, I could never have something to eat before an exam and no different as an adult, if I'm anxious, I can't eat or I feel sick. It's never been a problem, on the opposite, I perform better on an empty stomach. DD is the same, I've battled with her for years to have breakfast, she won't have it, but then who am I to talk!

Getting harder to get anything out of her after exams, but she said Physics was easy.

That's hard fantasy - and must be very hard if she's not with you but clearly upset. I do think they can get things out of proportion sometimes. She may well be wrong about how badly it's gone, but if she's not, life will nevertheless go on. She can even resit it if she badly needs to.

If DSD is getting too stressed and tearful I don't find reassurance works that well either. What works better is starting some conversations about completely different things so she forgets all about GCSEs for a bit. She'll pick up on a discussion about Game of Thrones or celebrity gossip, or various things my DD is quite good at chatting on about for ages with her. Once she's taken her mind of GCSEs for a bit her mood picks up and when she thinks about them again she's not so miserable. She also seems to find putting large quantities of revision notes into the recycling bin to be very theraputic