Starting Year 11-GCSE2021 (title edited by MNHQ)

Likelihood is that she will stay where she is unless the exams don't go to plan as her school have a high threshold for staying on. This probably would have been the case regardless of Covid.

We have heard nothing, plus we're in Manchester so God knows!

On a side note, have your DC been making any decisions on colleges or A Levels?

It will be stress to go, and stress to not go. It is causing stress already.
I think the least worst is to get there with 30mins to spare by missing the last lesson of the day only. It also means I'll be there only just in time too and need to leave early/promptly. I am furious annoyed to have been put in this position.

@TeenPlusTwenties I know your DD has been struggling, would a wedding be something she would ordinarily look forward to? Could it be used as a distraction for her or would it add so much extra stress?

DD has been set a lot on the poetry to do over summer, she spent a good 3 hours today up there.

Teen difficult one, I personally wouldn't be happy missing any days that close to exams. Tough call. How is your DD doing?

The English Lit change will help a lot I think. I don't quite get how they can do it without changing the length of exams though...?

While we're here chatting, how would you all feel about a (very) close relative booking a wedding for a school day early May and expecting your y11 to miss school to attend?
Though whether my DD will be in a fit state to even sit the exams is somewhat unclear right now.

Reading that 3 out of the 4 texts for English Literature only need to be studied and 3 out of the 4 History periods need to be studied will be a huge help for my DD. She had Poetry and Shakespeare remaining to study for English so hopefully they'll miss out the Poetry. Reduced content in these two subjects alone will reduce the workload come next year I think.

Thanks for sharing @UncomfortableSilence

Looking at the document they haven’t made a decision about delay, they need more info to do that so that decision will come later. Considering they (AQA etc) published the draft exam timetable for 2021 back in Feb you get an idea of how far in advance they try and plan things.

Cancelling exams will always be an option too but of course they can’t announce that now as what will all the students and teachers do between now and then, there’d be no motivation, at least with the last cohort they had learnt most of the curriculum by the time the cancellation was sprung on them.

Not much at all

I saw our schools provisional calendar today and the exams are in from 7/6-3/7?

Reading that not much has changed. I really hope they delay the exams until the last half term.

How's everyone doing?

Just checked my work emails and an email from AQA has a link to today's update on the exams....

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/exams-and-assessments-in-2021?cldee=ZmluYW5jZUB0aGVjYW1waW9uc2Nob29sLm9yZw%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-d037c72e1f42e8118137e0071b6e3551-3dd8788f2cc040eeb115a1d066a0f20f&utmmsource=ClickDimensions&utmmedium=email&utmmcampaign=Support2020&esid=4bd5627e-96d5-ea11-a813-000d3a385a1c

@indy69... This worries me also!
I have read on here that some schools are dropping triple science and doing the double because of the time lost. This isn't an option for DS as he is only doing 8 GCSE's (including the separate sciences).

He's quite a smart cookie BUT in previous parents evenings I've been told he knows the answers but doesn't necessarily use the right vocab when answering exam style questions. It's not that he hasn't learnt stuff, it's that he doesn't know how to format in the way the examiners want.

However, I think that's why they're doing the longer lessons... Not only can they teach something in depth but also in a way of how to answer the questions.

I guess I'm putting a lot of faith in the school, probably misplaced as last year the school had a pass rate of 40% in English and Maths 🤦‍♀️

My son is starting his in September also. He is doing triple science, geography, computer science, art and design.

Not much homework going on at the moment. I'm going to let him enjoy the school holidays before all the school work kicks back in

We have been told what is happening when they go back @indy69

Staggered start/finish times, year group bubbles with different entrance/exit for each group. Each year has their own area of the school. Classes based on their science sets. School day for year 11 will be form, lesson 1 (1 hr 40), break, lesson 2 (1 hr 40), lunch, lesson 3 (1 hr 40), short break, lesson 4 (1 hr).

DS has had some end of unit assessments but nothing exam-y.

He has Maths lessons through the summer as well, which he's not too happy about.

DS did assessments via forms online and an aural for his MFL via teams. his report gave his assessment grade and a working at grade. He needs an average of 7 across all subjects for direct entry to sixth form . currently he's just under due to a 5 in one exam. He's not learned how to revise and practice questions yet everything night before but annoyingly he did well on it in majority of subjects. Hoping to get him to make a set of revision notes over summer as there is some much for English, drama , RS and biology

DD had end of unit tests and some assessments but we have been given no results or grades, we got an end of term report directly relating to their engagement with home learning, parents evening was cancelled due to lockdown so the last proper assessment we got was at Christmas.

She's been told to expect lots of testing/mocks in September so has been told areas to revise over the summer.

I have emailed the tutor as hoping these grades are not used for the final GCSE if the exams do not go ahead next year. Apparently they will do more assessments when back and then mocks in January. It just seems so up in the air.

Hi hope you don't mind me joining in. Just wondered if your schools like ours did assessments during the lockdown. Ours did- and just got the results via their end of term report.

They have marked down DS due to not having handed some parts in however it seems the google classroom link didn't work to tell me there was anything missing. So for example, a B/C in science even though two A's, due to the third being missing. First I had heard

Also DS qualifies for extra time due to slow processing speed and has struggled with it all being online. There has been quite a lot of work and assessments instead of their usual summer exams.

We only got the letter from the SENCO about extra time at same time as the report. I know things have been tricky but feeling a bit lost with all this. Also as the tutor rang to tell me DS was engaging well- they got the ones not engaging into school to work on computers under supervision. He's been working every day from about 10am-5pm so I feel sorry this has happened as he is able.

Also subjects such as DT and music have bene tricky and his grades have really slipped. I have to pay for music tuition due to the GCSE but that has been online too. He hasn't been managing that properly and not predicted a D.

DS1 and DS2 are in Y12 and Y10, so we’re facing the perfect ‘shit’ storm next year. Not sure I am looking forward to school start in Sep, followed by mocks in Nov. I don’t think any schools would, understandably, have got a mitigation to deal with hone learning - so quickly during lockdown. Also, the Ofqual consultation proposals do not make good reading; as one poster put it - ‘it’s just minor tinkering at the edges’. Our school does 2 year GCSEs, so a bit dicey for us. That being said, there is still a fighting chance. We have missed studies in half of March and all of April and May; nothing is really done from June onwards - so hoping to catch up in the summer hols.

Finally, I urge all posters of Y12 and Y10 to complete the Ofqual consultation, from their child’s subjects perspective, and submit by 16 July. I would say the same for current Y11s, too, as many will sit AS Levels in 2021.

DD breaks up this Friday, she has her first time back in school Monday and Tuesday to really just have chats with all her teachers. She can't wait.

The independent schools may have broken up but DD is in the state sector and has one more week of ‘school’ which involves going in for a few hours on Tuesday plus reduced home learning as ‘they don’t usually do very much in the last week’ quoting DD when I asked why her schedule for next week was so slim.