Finishing year 13 in 2017

Counting down the last few days now. DS1 had music yesterday and has C3 this afternoon. C4 on Friday then that's it!

They are doing exams in the sports hall which is nice and cool so that's good.

Best of luck to everyone!

My understanding, after living in a hot Muslim country, was that children were not meant to fast, and that there were a number of other exceptions including travellers, women who are pregnant or people who are unwell. However the spread of a Wahhabi interpretation of Islam means things have tightened up and it is now not unusual for children to fast.

(In the past there was also a general understanding that young men doing manual work outside in the tropics could drink water during the day, but an expectation that older people were more observant. This has changed. More frightening was a Muslim pilot friend describing landing a plane in the late afternoon with an elderly Captain who had chosen to ignore the travel exemption and whose hands were shaking on the controls.)

Its difficult here in summer, not least because of our long summer days. But things like wearing full burka in the tropics, including very young girls, are also causing problems. (And indeed vitamin D deficiency problems in the UK.) What is culture and what is religion, or can the two ever be separated? And then what accommodation should be made.

I suspect there are no right answers.

It's true, there isn't a set rule. There are various different interpretations and schools of thought. It's up to each person to decide how they observe their fast.

One of my dd's friends has become nocturnal in order to manage exams during Ramadan. He revises during the night after eating and sleeps during the day. With this heat, it must be a bonus to be revising during the night when it's cooler.

I don't think there is a set rule - I found an interesting document containing advice for schools www.ascl.org.uk/download.B28773D7-A5D7-4B07-99E67827D2850F79.html ... I've not read it all as it's quite long but it's evidently very much open to interpretation and individual needs.

Maths C3 (OCR) this afternoon too.

This hot weather is such a pain.

Ds has maths this afternoon too.
After offering him sympathy for having to do exams in the heat he revealed last night that he is doing his exams in the sports hall which is air conditioned. He has also been in the same seat for exams on Monday and Tuesday which is right where the cool air blows out.
I am now feeling less sympathetic!
Hope your Ds gets through the day ok LineyWimey.
Good luck to those with exams today.

Mentioning iftar meals and Ramadan I was thinking it must be hard for muslim students to have Ramadan falling in June this year.

Sorry to hear your DS got woken though Liney, that is annoying whatever the reason.

I thought DD seemed tired when I went in to see her already up just after six but she did seem more awake and with it by the time I dropped her off at school. Also a little frustrating that I couldn't get her to have any breakfast. Ah well, never mind.

A bit cooler here too, but DD has for the first time in 6th form gone in a dress rather than black skinnies.

Her exam isn't till the afternoon (C3) but DH is taking her now - there's another problem on the main road.

Good luck to all doing exams today in this heat. Politics here today, then History 3 tomorrow (500 pages of content). DS' friend has the same but with the addition of maths this afternoon which is tough.

goodbye, just my neighbours eating an iftar meal, nothing out of the ordinary. With his window closed, he wouldn't have heard it at all! Hence the planning ahead ...

Anyway, it's done now, and they're an hour into Biology. He says the first paper was quite odd.

Thankfully a little cooler here this morning. DD will be in her Biology now. She's learnt so much for it, I hope she gets some good questions and some of it comes out
X fingers crossed!

That's massively bad luck Liney - what kind of noise at that time of night, did he say?

teta same here, DS has Biology and Maths. Next door woke him up at 3.30, noise till 5 he says, which was coming out of their patio doors. He had options to (a) sleep in spare room, or (b) shut his bloody window to keep noise out and turn his cooling tower fan thingy on that I bought him yesterday. But no. He's now knackered for two key exams. Ffs.

And I think there's trouble with the train tracks in the heat.

Same here teta, morning and afternoon. No particular confidence being exuded here as DS went off - that first Biology was dire.

Good luck to everyone today. Biology in the morning followed by Maths this afternoon.Hope it's not too hot to think in the Maths!

Thankfully cooler here today, chemistry 2 yesterday and bio 2 today.She is giving herself the evening off after this as has a week until the final Chem and bio papers. I am counting the days. Post GCSE dd2 lounging around as we all work and even was heard to say she was bored yesterday.

Good luck to all those with exams tomorrow - not great timing for this hot weather!

Dd has two tomorrow as well - Biology and Maths.Apparently it was roasting today in her school in the afternoon exam.So she is dreading tomorrow afternoon.Its so hot and I couldn't sleep last night because youngest Ds decided to get into bed with me.

Four exams here this week incl two tomorrow.

A swim in the sea helped with the heat yesterday :)

Glad to hear the chemistry went well for them!

Mine has been revising physics in the garden, rewriting notes - a while ago she'd asked me to get her an exercise book, I got 3 and she's needed them all. Past papers have been done inside early in the day before her room heats up.

Good luck Ono's DS, that sounds like a big week. As DD says about tomorrow's Biology will be nice when it's over!

DS has a heavy week with three exams Tue - Thurs and all very content heavy. He hasn't been outdoors in weeks and I'm afraid he will succumb to rickets at this rate! I don't know how he is keeping it together as I am melting in this heat.

How are people dc managing if they're in the heatwave?