Starting Year 11-GCSE2021 (title edited by MNHQ)

Feels very strange that Edexcel and AQA can have such different approaches for English.
AQA now seems like the 'harder' option. I have heard some teachers stating that they will change to Edexcel for this year!

Hope I can join. I have a year 11 DS too.

AQA have released guidance on the compulsory bits and poetry and shakespeare will be compulsory.

www.aqa.org.uk/news/changes-to-2021-exams-for-gcse-english-literature

Got an email from my ds school and they have confirmed they have dropped the modern text and will be learning the poetry.

Have been told that compulsory is both Shakespeare and unseen poetry, so even though my ds is not happy, I understand why they have dropped the modern text and focusing on the poetry.

First full week nearly over!

It's a biggish school and they've spent money over the summer putting in extra bathrooms. DS has one lesson in a very small classroom that according to my DD used to be a storeroom!

Wow, your school sounds better adapted than ours!
The one way system involves going outside quite a bit, but there is still one student entrance and one set of toilets for the whole lower school.

I know ISBN111 , i hoped it might be a little longer.

Thankfully each year bubble have their own section of the school including bathrooms & entrance. So the only cross infection could be between siblings, teachers and transport.

Mad that your DD only has 15 mins to eat lunch. My DS would struggle with that too as he's always been a slow eater.

Blimey WhatHave I Found.... already? There are a few cases in primary schools round here but not secondaries yet as far as I know.

My dd yr 10 is scheduled to go on an extra curricular residential in October and I am rapidly losing faith that it will happen. Which will be a huge disappointment to her.

Both are struggling with the one way system at school.... if they need to find a teacher it’s a lost cause, there are no lockers, and therefore nowhere to leave her laptop overnight. I am dreading her leaving it on the bus.
Lunch is 15 mins.
So an entire year group queue up, get food and eat it in 15 mins?
I have given them packed lunches.

One week in and there's been a confirmed Covid 19 case at DS's school. It's not his year bubble so we're to carry on as normal

It's been quite a change and he's spent more time in PE kit than her has in school uniform. There's no locker rooms so they have to carry every with them between lessons and lunches are spread in the school so it's one week cooked lunch followed by one week complete crap cold lunch.

DS's school all have exams at the end of this month to assess where they're at. Then mock GCSEs in January.

@UncomfortableSilence

Yep they have to leave their exercise books at school, which is quite honestly ridiculous!! They have to be quarantined for 72 hours but they obviously have the same lessons within the 72 hours so the 72 hours start all over again!!

Iheart Do you mean exercise books? That's a bit much DD is having to use lined paper in lessons, she can't bring her folders in to school but can bring the paper home so she can use it to revise plus we have most subjects text books here too.

Thanks Hello, that's kind of you, I'll look at the app and products.

Oh and @ihearttc that’s harsh! My younger child has that rule but as they’re not a GCSE or A Level year it doesn’t matter!

DS has been told today they aren’t allowed to take their books home, everything has to stay at school to quarantine for 72 hours so they have no books to revise/work from which is spectacularly unhelpful!!

@UncomfortableSilence... I know it's easier said than done, but hope you're looking after yourself. Not sure if sleep is through worry or being dragged from pillar to post, but when my Grandad was poorly and we had the DNR conversation, I used an app to help me sleep and bought all that SleepWorks spray for my pillow.

DS told yesterday they are dropping the Elizabethan England section in History, apparently there is a tricky question about a house that comes up... No idea what he's talking about 🤷‍♀️

Good to hear about the bully moving away titsywoo.
Teenplus... have you got a reintroduction plan yet? Hope first day goes well.

Re set texts, I contacted school today to ask and was given a list which included all the elements.... poetry anthology, inspector cals, shakespeare and dickens, so I don’t think decision has been made there yet.
Apparently history are dropping the normans, and carrying on with history of medicine.

I think they are going to need to have consistent marks in homework, plus the 3 sets of mocks the school have already scheduled to get good CAGS.

Still getting into some kind of routine here and arguing the toss over which bus to take to school. Sigh.

Thanks Hellohah and apologies for the bad spelling in that last post, sleep has been in short supply the last week.

Edexcel English info

Hi,
My DD is in year 11 and will he taking GCSEs next year - can I join you?

Edexcel have made Shakespeare and post-1914 literature compulsory.
There’s speculation over whether AQA will do the same. Decision should be mid-September. DD is hoping she can drop Great Expectations.

@UncomfortableSilence... Really sorry about your Dad's health news xx

He has now got his fingers crossed that they drop Medicine in History (it's the one they haven't covered any of yet - so makes sense, although I'm not sure if there is one section they need to keep, like they've had to keep Shakespeare in English).

DD said they were told today it's Germany that's compulsory.

DD was back yesterday, so far so good accept she's not happy there's no panini at lunchtime

She's done some decent revision both nights too so long may that last and she said she is trying to do her very best in her homework in case it's CAGs again next year.

Yep Shakespeare is compulsory so they are focusing on Macbeth now, they are dropping the Poetry I believe, I'll ask the Head of English in my school about the unseen.

Had some terrible health news last week about my Dad which even though I haven't told the full prognosis has really affected her they are very close so worried going forward as she's an anxious girl at the best of times

I think Shakespeare is mandatory- ds with AQA and have just read they have submitted to Oqual and hope to hear mid September!

I need to check with DS what his school has said. They spent all lockdown studying poetry so I can't see them dropping that. They haven't studied Shakespeare or Inspector Calls yet, so I assume it will be Inspector Calls that gets dropped.

I did say that it made sense to drop the book as opposed to the poetry.

He has now got his fingers crossed that they drop Medicine in History (it's the one they haven't covered any of yet - so makes sense, although I'm not sure if there is one section they need to keep, like they've had to keep Shakespeare in English).