GCSE 2018 no. 6: stress, struggles and success (hopefully) *Title Edited by MNHQ*

beenrumbled If you are anywhere near Worsley, there is a coach from there to Winstanley College, which is an exceptionally good Sixth Form College.

Stickerocks absolutely second everything others have said. Your DD and her friends shouldn't have to experience these things as such a young age but it's a credit to them that they are handling it so well.

The school sounds like they have done a really good job of supporting the community.

Thanks Teenmum. DD has her second day of Art today. So far so good. It will be very good to get all the art paraphernalia out of the way.

Not sure being anywhere on the scale of top grades/ lower grades adds particular pressure. I'd say it's absolutely down to the individual disposition, wherever they are on the scale.

Stickerocks really admire you and your dd s calm and supportive approach to all that is going on which I am sure will help you both through the exam period. it also reflects the common sense and balanced views I have apprecated in all you posts. It in no way lessons what you both and the school must have gone through but it looks like you are better placed to cope than most. Hope you can have a restful weekend and best of luck for the exam period.

Stickerrock I think your dd is very brave.
I hope everyone finishing school today has a good day/leavers' party etc - we plod on until and during exams. I believe there's a party at the end of the last exam week but nothing has been confirmed.

Stickerrocks you must be very proud that they choice to read what your DD had wrote, I hope she continues to bear up under the most difficult of circumstances, you may find after the exams that all what she has gone through will then come out.

Really hope your DD's exams go as planned - she certainly deserves it

stickerrocks - I cannot imagine what yesterday must have been like for your DD and all the staff and children ....

I think there will be different sorts of emotion today for DD...last day in school before exams..I think she will be happy to see the back of French and will be relieved there is NO more Maths.

Good luck to any DC who have Art today ...

snozzle hope she has a great time tonight.

A long tribute DD wrote was read out at her teacher's memorial & was also used at his funeral. Thank goodness they didn't ask her to read it as all the emotion of a year group photo (with two key faces missing), a Spanish exam and a memorial came out. NCS meeting in the evening - she could be sent to Newquay, snozzle!

Hesmylobster its OCR. I'll ask him what online stuff he has but I school has provided all the past papers I think. He has a lot of quizlets - self generated though. All my three DC seem to find it the most effective way to learn vocabulary.

Sandy would you mind me asking which exam board your DC is for Latin?
My DD1 is taking Latin GCSE this year alongside her A-Levels (as you do ) She has self taught, and is struggling to find past papers online.
If anybody else's DC are doing Latin and could provide links to revision material she'd be very grateful!
Thankyou!

Kingscote for one moment I thought they might be playing each other but that would be too weird.

DS is a fast bowler but a v low order batsman. His ideal would be to take several wickets and spend his time revising Latin vocabulary whilst consuming vast amounts of food. We judge cricket opponents by the quality of tea served

sandy, my DS also has cricket on Saturday. Do we hope they're out first ball so that they can revise quietly in the pavilion, or would a steady 50 improve their confidence for next week?

Rumbled that's great news. We're near Manchester too and dd has offers from Xavarian and Loreto. Both look like great options with good results. Xavarian is her first choice.

German went well today. She was really buzzing afterwards. She said it went loads better than the mock and she got very lucky with the unknown questions

No more friendship dramas but I have a call arranged with the year manager for tomorrow just so she's aware. I don't want it to escalate.

Dd has finished 2days of photography exam today.
All thought of revision and exams now completely out the window as it's her leavers ball tomorrow.
Just thinking now of nails and hair dos!

stickerrocks ball was in school hall for me too. Now at a hotel in Newquay. How times have changed.

Well done to all that have got first exams out of the way

hmc the history error takes me back to my biggest exam cock up. I loved history and did it for my degree. I was getting As right through GCSE (before the days of A*)

My first exam I somehow convinced myself it was 1.5 hrs long. No idea how I thought that. I carefully planned my time and finished with 5 minutes to read through my answers. Then I realised everyone else was still writing. It was actually a 2 hr paper. I was so shaken and upset I couldn't think what to do even though I had loads more to write, but no space to write it in.

I just sat and tried not to cry for half an hour. I still came out with a B but I'm still cross with myself nearly 30 years later

Rumbled great news. Sounds like you have some options opening up - what a relief.

During dinner DS observed that today he had the last Maths lesson, he will never have another one in his entire life. Interesting times we're living.

Another one under the belt - only 21 to go!

I have to admit I don't really 'get' geography - didn't do the GCSE myself. DS1 seems pleased with how it went and apparently he was able to deploy the case studies he needed. His last minute cramming (too late into the night I thought) worked well and he had some good facts to hand.

Now a bit of a break. Two English Language papers next week and then a week of hell (Latin x2, Biology, Chemistry and History.

Looking forward to a glorious bank holiday weekend. He has a cricket match on Saturday and for once I think the sun will shine. He says he's taking the Latin with him...

rumbled great news! Fingers crossed for him.
DS did lots of English revision at school - mostly by choice!

I hope everyone with exams today was not too stressed and did well.

DS1 came home today with another 6th form application form, it's for one 9f the most successful 6th forms in Manchester. Apparently the college has said it will consider late applications from his school because of the circumstances.

So hopefully he will get offers from the Manchester one, and also the more local large college.

Yes Cherryburn, CIE. Posters on this thread have definitely helped me (and dd) get some perspective . She's had an afternoon of happy maths revision today (who knew there was such a thing)

Yes that's a compliment he doesn't need really isn't IAmironMum - being voted most likely to get best results. Its a stressful time for every student - those at one end of the spectrum who are predicted the highest grades (and worrying that they wont get them) and those towards the middle and the other end, hoping they will meet the threshold for their Sixth form choice

Hi everyone! Hope all exams went well and that everyone is good.

Today DS's year voted for the prom award things. Every single person voted for DS for "most likely to get the best results" (apart from himself). He's now worrying again as 1) he's not going to prom and feels he's letting the teachers who organised it down, and 2) he's stressing about doing less than expected.

At the moment in Geography they're going over Paper 3 content and DS is like He says the questions are quite ambiguous and doesn't know what to write to get the marks. Any advice?

He's also a bit downhearted as today in English they did a practise Question 2 & 3 (Paper 1), and whilst everyone else was writing he didn't know what to put He barely wrote anything.

Tonight he's planning to make some French flashcards, and then do some Maths.

Very perky text after Spanish. Now onto a memorial service.

Hope art and geography have gone really well!
My history teacher at school always warned up to keep away from drama queens before exams! She said her best friend at school would get highly emotional just before an exam and drag everyone down with her, so my teacher used to avoid her at that point!
Going through mock English papers with my students this afternoon - based on last year's boundaries they should all pass, and in some cases quite well, but you just never can tell. I'm trying to be realistic about expectations. (They all have obstacles to overcome and all are over 18.)
I agree with comments about dusting yourself off after paper 1 - if there's another paper and coursework it will be OK, I'm sure.

hmc assuming we're talking about the same exam board (CIE?), History will still be graded A*-G this year. And absolutely no reason why she can't still do well.

My DS was saying that the consensus at his school was that yesterday's paper was tricky, particularly the 4-mark questions. So hopefully the grade boundary won't increase!