Current Year 10 2020/2021 support thread

Hello, can I clock in? (Waves) DD is starting Y10 and has opted for Art, Psychology and Drama. Mild SN so at stages we've wondered whether she could do GCSEs, but she's in a very supportive small school (no pressure, lots of emotional support) so keeping fingers crossed. She loves Art and is actually doing a fair bit of it unprompted so I'm really pleased about that. Good luck to all of our teenagers for the next few years!

Hi all! I was hoping somebody would start a year 10 thread so thank you @Alsoplayspiccolo

My DS has opted to do drama, latin, computer science, all three sciences, Spanish and then obviously maths and both English.

Like a pp mentioned ( can't remember who sorry) I am concerned about drama and did think about emailing school to see if he could switch to something else. Alas DS loves drama so much, so we decided to just go along with it regardless.

He's had no homework to do over the holidays but has been doing Duolingo Spanish and Memrise Latin every day.

All organised with stationery and folders and just keeping everything crossed that they go back full time in September.

All our exam boards where in the options booklet we got with a basic syllabus which was quite useful.

We had an email with all the suggested revision guides earlier in the summer too.

The Corbett maths flashcards (higher or foundation) are great.

When it became clear they weren't going back last year the school sent out info regarding which exam boards and syllabus they are following. I've bought some of the cgp guides they recommended and some of the textbooks. I've encouraged Dd to at least familiarise herself with the topics they will be covering. She's also going to watch rsc Macbeth so she's at least got some idea of what's going on (she hates reading)

RE also compulsory at DS's school, so they do it as an extra half GCSE. But after lots of complaints, DS has decided that it's really quite interesting, and we had lots of good discussions over lockdown inspired by his RE work.

We've only been given a minimal amount of work over the school holidays from school - mainly read one book for English - and no revision. Though I would anticipate having missed end of year exams (well they have had some tests from home but not in exam conditions and school gave out participation rates and they were ) I would expect tests early in year 10. Not expected to start y10 curriculum here though any work DD volunteers to do I'm letting her. As long as its a resource following their exam board think it will be fine though good to have a break too. We haven't bought anything other than stationary, seneca subscription though free version is good and Audible subscription for books. DD has a few CGP or similar type guides we got before, not sure if they are just gathering dust though.

DD and DS haven't met up with anyone since lockdown started. DS is no surprise as he's suspected autistic, very bright but won't / cant communicate / goes silent at school a lot / won't use mobile / e-mail but DD is normally very sociable. No idea what is going on there, seems happy and says she wants to study rather than socialise. Unusual issue to have with a teenager but just going with what she is happy with, when she was socialising it was non-stop drama and everything was one extreme or the other and so don't miss that.

Thank you for starting this thread!

This will be my 3rd lot of GCSEs - DS1 had his Alevel results yesterday (which on balance he is happy with though potentially missed out on an A *. DD gets her GCSE results next week, and I am anxious about them now.

DS2 starts YR10 next month, He is ASD, but his GCSes are - triple science, English x2, Geography, Maths, Photography and Woodwork.

I think GCSes were always going to be a roller coaster with him, throw in potential school closures and all the possible complications and it's goingto be hell.

Sorry forgot to say, RE is compulsory at DDs school too although it's not a religious school.

DD has chosen History, Geography, German, and Economics, (as well as the compulsory - Sciences, English x2, Maths and Further maths) but is a bit worried it might have been better to balance with a more creative option as all her friends have, but she doesn't enjoy those as much so I've tried to assure her and I think the worry will pass.

She's my only child so have no other experience. She's a smart girl and puts lots of effort into her work over the years - extra work, etc.
Through lockdown, she's coped well but both my partner and I work so she's been on her own and hasn't seen that many friends so I think it's getting to her a bit.

She doesn't allow me to touch her things let alone try to put in my prefered system but she is very organised.

I think schooling will be quite normal by the time they have their exams, aside from general changes that we've had in this 'new normal'. I doubt there will be much teacher assessment but she has informed me that she will work doubly hard next year just incase - without me even telling her!

Does anyone have any ideas of anything that they would need (revision guides, resources etc.) as my DD hasn't mentioned anything but keeps asking me if she needs anything - I took my GCSEs a long time ago, things have definitely changed!

DD also not sure if she needs to revise through these holidays as she has written revision notes for the GCSE courses she started last year (Sciences, RE) but is stressing about starting to learn some of next years curriculum. I don't want her to learn anything wrong, if you know what I mean and then be confused when school teaches it.

Good luck to everyone receiving GCSE results. Fingers crossed for you all.

Good luck to all those awaiting GCSE results, most of the A Level ones seem fine but a few think as a model has been used.

DD wanted to do triple humanities too but got vetoed by school in July (after applying in March) and she got made to swap Geography for computing for 'balance'. No idea how computing is more balanced when she has triple science and triple maths in there but guess it's a different box.

DD seems happy about it now, I was initially annoyed as she's predicted a 9 in geography and a 5 in computing but that's largely as highest grade the school got was a 6 and computing is mixed ability, three teachers in a year and DD had a computer that didn't work for a year as she was new to school. She's done the whole computing seneca by herself since for 40 hours or so and made lots of notes so think it will be OK. I was terrified at first as most subjects I can help with but computing is a mystery to me.

DD has just kept music as a hobby, she wanted is as an option in y9 but oversubscribed so had to change to drama and she had no drama in y7 as not taught at her then school and none in lockdown apart from things like write your own play with no guidance so we thought that too risky.

I have also said about importance of co-operating with teachers incase its teacher assessment. DD will do the work and extra but not communicate whilst on lockdown other than with the maths teacher. She's in adamant it won't be teacher assessment, I doubt it will but who knows. She does English Lang a year early, quite annoying as her weakest subject. Though at least she started reading (well Audibling) again over lockdown.

I'd like to join too, I've been an occasional poster on the current y11 threads. Mine is doing Latin, History, Geography, RS (compulsory but it is a church school). She is quite severely dyslexic but manages very well. Her weakest subjects were MFL but finds Latin easier as it has more history/culture content too. My older DS has more severe SENs too (has an EHCP, DD doesn't need one).

DD is arty and musical but has declined to take any arts subjects at GCSE as she doesn't find the theory side very interesting and doesn't much enjoy group work as the others mess around too much. She says she'd rather keep them as hobbies.

maybe obvious, but I am also stressing to DD that, in light of this year's fiasco, that coasting through to Christmas of Year 11 and then starting to work properly (as her brother did in part) is not a good option. On the basis that teacher assessment might be used again at some point in the future, I think our Year 10s have to treat every piece of work as important.

I will try and get out of RS for DS, think they let SN kids out of it and some government rule if you write can get an exemption though DD said people who tried this had massive battle but won eventually with a snazzle-frazzle-razzle from school. DS normally refuses RS lessons but I got them to do them over lockdown by not telling him it was RS, was the philosophy half. He just asked if it was some wierd extra curricular thing and I said yes and he said that's fine then.

We have compulsory RE too, no idea why, non-religious school and not the greatest results in it but I don't like it either. You have to take half as an extra or take full course but 0.5 as an extra would mean DD had 11.5 incl on Level 3 which is crazy so effectively she had to chose it. Though she prefers doing full with children who want to do subject than mixed ability compulsory half where the kids just mess around as they don't want to be there. She moaned about it for 13 years, coasted in it then start of lockdown decided she loved it, started studying it properly and went up to predicted 9 (from 7) by putting some effort in. Though am glad its an easy subject to study if we go into lockdown again. School didn't really do any practical subjects during lockdown - it was just teach yourself and a title.

DD isn't doing ebacc either, a lot in her school aren't, its a very sciency school. My husband is French though so she's good at French and she did German at grammar but current school its one language maximum.

Hi everyone
DD1 will start y10 in September: 2x English, RE (compulsory, scowls), maths, triple science, Spanish, Engineering and Geography.

She will (or not?) be the 1st person in the family to do GCSEs: DS will be going into y12, so missed his GCSEs. (Tries not to think about next week’s results.)

DS is very academic but struggled with organisation used to keep everything (from pe stuff to notes and folders) in a massive box in his room and was very resistant to change.

Start of y10 he agreed to a systems overhaul, and we bought a job lot of white magazine files from IKEA. Each one got labelled with a subject, and he kept notes, exercise books etc from y10 and y11 in them.

He and his sister both say that quizlet is ‘amazing’- I think it’s an on line version of revision cards, which they both embraced but now prefer the on line version. They argue that they can access them all via their phone when they are on the train to school etc, rather than carrying piles of cards around.

Also spent a tidy sum on CGP revision guides, (often recommended by teachers) for the sciences and DT. I bought the English lit ones for the books/ plays DS was doing, and he said those were helpful too.

Good luck to all the y10s : I really hope it goes smoothly. (I work in a primary, and my secondary 2 have worked hard but really missed the human interaction).

My ds is doing English x 2, Combined Science, Business, Maths, Computer Science, PE, Food Tech and History as his ks4 choices. They start in y9 at his school.
He's not doing eBacc as he's dyslexic and struggled with MFL.

Yes seneca seems good for revision and is one thing DS will do. He does also love a whiteboard though last time he had one he just wrote alpaca party time on it and I've never seen him write a list in his life. He has autism so its so much harder to organise him, I've had to read and write everything for him in lockdown. May need to do that for next 5 years. At least DD is super organised.

Oh yes pastel highlighters are a necessity apparently. She's ordered files for each subject to keep notes in at home and then a smaller binder to take back and forth to school - the idea is she will sort and file any notes/handouts each evening.
I bought a big whiteboard for her room last year which did help to keep the 'to do lists' up to date and stopped things being forgotten.