GCSE 2019 support thread 6

Also another question.. at leat I’m briefly diverting you although not off the subject entirely. Is it the norm to offer financial reward seems to be popular at my daughters school.

Another lurker here, but only over the last couple of days!
My Dd is collecting her results tomorrow morning as well. Feeling very stressed because she has worked so hard and worried how she’ll cope if all the hard work hasn’t paid off. I found it easier with my older kids who didn’t work very hard!
Good luck for tomorrow to all the Dd and Ds’s!

We're off to the allotment in a minute. DD2's usually OK about going to help but she really wants to go this evening to take her mind off things.

I've been going out for a walk in the garden most evenings this week to ease the nerves/get some fresh air and realised this afternoon, that I've made a 'path' in the grass where I've been walking in a circle

I’m lurking because my daughter is going into year 11, she went from a grade 8 to a grade 3 student as she has a boyfriend and it’s been a nightmare, anyway that aside can I ask year 11 parents when did you start look at 6th forms? Thank you and good luck for tomorrow! X

I love watching this thread every year. It is such a stressful/exciting time for parents and yr 11 students. DD is long passed school age, but I remember it well. However, I work in a secondary school, so theoretically I have 300 student results that I'm nervous, anxious and excited about.

I have spoken to our data manager today and results are ready for 9am tomorrow. I don't know the facts yet, but the head teacher has said, 'well, it's not a complete car crash!' Not sure what to make of that!

I wish you all the best of luck and I'm sure you don't need telling, it's not the end of the world. Your LOs will shine where and when they need to, be it tomorrow morning or in years to come.

Im stress eating like nobody's business. He knows im nervous as he kept coming up with wouldn't it be funny if..... insert disaster scenario here and i couldn't get results and i had to tell him to stop.

Ive made him his favourite for tea and he is tucked away on the playstation for the night. I wish i was as easy to distract.

Yes frugalkitty, I got a lot of “calm down, mum”. I’ve also found the whole thing frustrating, especially because my friends with DCs the same age (admittedly all girls - don’t know whether that makes a difference) said they have had to beg their DC to take a break because they’re working so hard. No chance of that in my house!

Delurking too to say zen1 I also have an irritating lazy DS! He's capable of 9s across the board but I really don't think he's put the effort in to do it. He wasn't nervous about the exams and isn't nervous about tomorrow, although I am because I know he will kick himself if he hasn't done well. He's a classic example of being able to lead a horse to water but not make it drink. His college interview is on Friday, I guess the only course he wouldn't get on if he's mucked up is Further Maths, but that's a 4th subject so not the end of the world.

I've just found the whole process frustrating to watch if I'm honest. It's worked in his favour because he does well in exams and usually pulls it out of the bag but I don't know that he really understood the need to actually do the work thoroughly (and revise it!) beforehand, he just said "chill mum" a lot and didn't push for it. Grr!

And breathe. Sorry for ranting a bit, I'm just glad I'm not the only one who's twitching about results!

Signing in... exhausted today.

Just back from my sister (who lives about 3hrs away) who is in week 3 of 5 weeks of treatment for cervical cancer.

In one of the previous threads I mentioned the dilemma we'd had in not telling DD - partly due to the early days of "not knowing what we are dealing with" partly not to cause stress around GCSES and also because of recent family bereavements due to cancer would mean Dd would only view the news through that cataclysmic prism.

Anyway a couple of weeks after start of holidays we told DD - as to be expected she was very upset but we were able to visit my sister and DD could see/chat/be reassured. So all good there (although DD was mildly affronted that everyone knew except her )

Anyway between DDs social life and me juggling work and travelling to sister's at least 2 days a week, results have been pushed firmly from our minds - bliss!

I get reminded of tomorrow ever so often and get anxious- I think her school will be fine with continuing with a-levels even if she's had a blip. I just desperately don't want her to be upset tomorrow iyswim - rather than bothered about the results per se.

Dd and friends have organised a mini "gathering" this afternoon/tonight as they figured they may as well be together and have a laugh rather than stress in own homes.

Have really enjoyed these threads and wish everyone for a day mainly filled with hugs and smiles and plans for the future (even if it's not the original plan)
♥️🙌🍰🍾

I really don't think the grade boundaries rising, if that is the case, is anything to worry about given they are still aiming for comparative results - boundaries have to move a bit with each exam as it is impossible to make them identically difficult (I think it is a bit different when a new exam like the maths a level comes out with ridiculous boundaries). Vast movements do suggest a badly calibrated exam and perhaps would be a bit more worrying.

nolanscrack - I assume our DSes are at the same school given your name - agree it is misleading that so many children are excluded from these stats by IGCSEs, which I too suspect should logically diminish in use now that GCSEs are reformed (I think that even more so for pre-u vs a level and wish schools would hurry up to move over )

Is anyone managing to hide their nerves from Dc. I confess to being snappish this morning for no reason other than I read the grade boundaries are predicted to rise from last year. It’s slow torture at this point, trying to stop swinging between it’s all good and the worry of what if!
Truly wishing everyone all the best for the morning and hoping everyones dc achieves their required grades to progress!

Delurking here - I used these threads more for DS 2 years ago, while DD has been in some ways more stressful (puts far more pressure on herself, and is far more personally anxious), and in some ways easier (she has worked hard and steadily).

DD is holding 2 6th form offers. Both should be achievable, unless something very strange happens, but she has doggedly refused to 'count her chickens' so tomorrow could be something of a whirlwind of decision-making, telephoning and booking places on relevant transport.

DS told me I had to wait in the car when he got his results three years ago, I was the ONLY parent sitting there and eventually one of the other mums came and fetched me. He had told me he would come out and tell me his results but didn’t. DD is allowing me to go with her but wants to open them on her own.

Delurking too
This has been a lovely group to read thank you all!
I'm getting DD results tomorrow. She several time zones away camping
I'll do an early food shop for distraction and get results about 930 and I'm at a football match tonight.
Should all be good for her chosen sixth form
Best of luck to all

Our day could be rather long...
Results at school from 9.30am
Then gp coming over
Then out for lunch
Then - hopefully - 6th form enrolment at 4pm
I may hit the 🍸tomorrow night!

We haven't got a plan b either so I've spent the time since the exams finished whittling about what dd might do if she doesn't get the grades for her desired A level subjects. Despite my research on local schools, none of them offer dds choices at lower grades.

Dd on the other hand generally shrugs her shoulders and says "we'll see". I think her nerves are starting to kick in, she had a nightmare about being on the stand in court, with her teacher giving evidence as to why she should be allowed to do 6th at her school. Her grades could go either way, as she was diagnosed in yr 11 as being dyslexic and once support was put in place (after mocks!) she worked like a demon.

I want to be by her side as she opens that bloody envelope, and if she doesn't open it quick enough I want to snatch it out of her hands and open it for her. But obviously I haven't told or shown dd that!
I've been trying to get her to say how she wants to play it for ages, (I've booked the day off work after all), is she going with friends? Are they doing anything afterwards? Etc etc.
Last I heard, I'm allowed to drive her to the school and sit in the car and wait. I suspect she might change her mind once we arrive though and shell want me to walk in with her. I did offer to go out for breakfast afterwards and that put a smile on her face.

So those without a plan b...what is your plan if the grades aren't what is needed? Dd has had a clear idea of what she wants to do for a long time, and it needs good a level grades to get to university. How do we overcome non entry to A levels?

I'm wondering if I could appeal given the late dyslexia diagnosis but not convinced it will work.

CarrieErbag ~ Those cakes will probably get eaten tomorrow, after your postman's been with the results!

I've just remembered that when we get to the school tomorrow, DD2 wants me to open the envelope and read the results before she does. That isn't helping my nerves.

We are still quite chilled, DD has been kept nice and busy today but she’s feeling a bit nervous. She was fine all through exams so I think this is just anticipation rather than nerves. She’s predicted good results and I think she’ll be fine. We’ve got a dash for results in the morning and then a trip across town to enrol at sixth form, and then as DS says “it’s all over by 11.00”.

Ds has just done his last day at work, I’ve been quite impressed with his work ethic over the summer but suggested he enjoyed the final week off to have some fun before 6th form starts. He needs 5 C’s to progress to a sports academy to do A levels and play his chosen sport but I hope he gets at least B’s for the science subjects that he wants to take A level. Plan B will be a double BTEC sports and Welsh Bac which give him an equivalent of 3 A levels if he wants to proceed down the University route in the future.
Good luck to everyone tomorrow.

Oh yes, zen1 I have one of those who doesn’t care about certain subjects as he sees them as superfluous. I’m more of a ‘it’s there, let’s ACE it!’ person. I sometimes think it’s less effort just to slog on steadily at all the subjects than do a crazy balancing act of revision, bu they won’t be told! Fingers crossed for him anyway.

Worth remembering those-more than- 7 at 9 results-exclude many of the most academic private schools,the number will go up as they switch back to GCSE from IGCSE,the figures will be a lot more meaningful in a couple of years.

Thank you DeRigueurMortis .

Saucery, he had 3 sets of mocks over year 11 and the results were mixed (usually 5-8s), but the last set he got a 4 in maths even though he was predicted a 6/7 because he did zero work. They had no set homework in year 11, just suggested ‘revision’. They were given access to lots of past papers / resources but he just saw it is optional so didn’t do it. He is much better when given a specific piece of work to do. Having said that, he is the kind of boy who can gauge how to do just enough to scrape by, so fingers crossed that will be what’s happened, though it winds me up that he is capable of getting very good grades in all subjects, but doesn’t see the point if he’s not doing them for A-level!

I'm laughing at all this housework people are doing to keep busy, I've made 2 massive cakes, but of course nobody has an appetite.