GCSE Summer 2020 - Thread 11 Carry on Corona Cohort - Starting New Terms and Settings

Dd is roughly doing 2-3 hours a day, though she's only doing about an hour at home and does the rest in study periods

The study periods are supervised so they do use that time too.

DD has also been told about the one hour of independent work too but she says that includes homework. I am not sure since she’s getting a lot of homework so she wouldn’t have time to do anything else.

She mostly does Art at home as she can’t go into the art rooms during lunch anymore

2 to 3 hours in the eve sounds about right unless they are using every single second of study periods/lunchtime. DD has been told ‘1 hour independent work for every taught hour’.

@pasanda I think the teachers are just trying to scare them into working hard so they get off on a good foot.

At my DDs school they are being told they have to sit an exam next week and if they don’t pass, they will lose the place on the course. However, after speaking to previous students, it seems they don’t actually kick people off the course unless someone has done no work at all.

Ours isn’t a selective school either.

DD seems to be getting a lot of hw though. She’s getting 2-3 hours a night! Is that normal for 3 A-Levels?

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I think he will just change his future plans , sadly. But that's OK.He'll find his way!

@Piggywaspushed and @pasanda, so sorry to hear your kids are getting a substandard offering. It’s so unfair. Piggy, could your ds do Spanish privately if that was key to his future plans? Pasanda, fingers crossed that they’re empty threats and/or other students voluntarily drop out so there’s no pressure on numbers.

Our school has now shut the 6th form until after half term. All Yr12 & 13s been sent home to do online learning instead. Must log in at lesson time as usual. Works well for DD tbh as she has to self isolate anyway for 1 week, then 1 more week before a 2 week half term.
The school now has 8 cases (5 in 6th form, all but 1 Yr13).

@pasanda that sounds really tough for your DD (and you). I hope she manages to stick in there, and show them she is worth her place and can thrive with or without their help (ideally with)...

@Piggywaspushed - sorry to hear no Spanish.. Can he do it as an extra with a tutur (how about the teacher as she can't start in school for some time).

Fools - glad DS is settling in now.

No extra stuff here for DD (even before being sent home). They are purely just having their lessons at the moment, no form time even. Desperately trying to reduce risk of mixing.

We are on the Wirral where even more local measures just been announced. Maybe now people will take not.

Surprises me that even now, I've seen whataps convo where adults are trying to change their dinner bookings with friends to Friday night before the no mixing with different households in restaurants etc comes into force. I have been out with someone from a different household since my birthday in early March! DD has been out for dinner with friends but at least she had been with them at hockey or school anyway.

@pasanda sorry to read about all the issues. It sounds chaotic and I'm not surprised you're beside yourself. Fingers crossed it works out in the end and your DD can do the A levels she wants.

So they are doing one week in, one week out in a rota then? I guess trying to limit the number of kids in at any one time. Frustrating.

Piggy and Pasanda sorry to hear your DC schools are not delivering. We all know that the UK education system has many inequalities but this year is just desperate - the Spanish teacher not being able to start and Pasanda DD having so much on line is an additional unfairness to stick in the pot! It is great to hear on this thread about the people who are being well taught and thriving, but also throws up disparities.

Just catching up!

Piggy so disappointing that Spanish a mess. Dropping seems sensible.

Christopher Its hard to get over a sense of injustice but you must be delighted with those marks. Good for confidence.

DD has two General Studies lessons. Study and life skills. The new Sixth Form head got them to fill in a form asking what they'd like to discuss. Proper sex ed was popular! We'll see what they do...

So far we've been okay on the Covid front. Several off with flu, colds but all negative tests so far. I know it won't last but I'm hoping DD gets a good chunk of teaching before the inevitable email.

The film was Alien.

I am hoping they need bums on seats Piggy

By the way, the 'if you don't do this, then this happens' approach is common in my schools in some notorious subjects. It rarely comes to pass because the school needs money and students have to have a certain amount of 'guided learning hours' to attract funding!

The invariable consequence is they drop the 'mean' subjects and end up in the 'nice ' ones!

What's the film?

I recommend Ken Browne's book 'Introduction to Sociology' for anyone struggling. It is GCSE based but it is so user friendly. Hefty but worth it!

It all sounds a bit chaotic pasanda!

No, her college is definitely NOT super selective. It is a city college under the umbrella of 'Activate Learning' and caters for A levels and 2 year, Level 3 'Career Pathways' in a variety of subjects such as engineering, hairdressing, media etc. It also does access to HE courses and Level 2 GCSE equivalent courses. So it's massive has a lot on offer.

Her first week commenced on 14th September and was online. Last week she was in college but had only 4 hrs f2f teaching for 2 subjects and only 3 hrs for Art because her teacher can't do the other hour on Thursday because she herself is doing a course!

This week is online and media teaching has consisted of a 46 slide powerpoint presentation of things she has never studied before. She now has to watch a 1979 film and write an essay on it, using 'media language' and this will help the teacher decide if she is OK to stay on the course.

Sociology - they have accepted too many onto the course so the students were told that they were considering asking those with the lowest GCSE grades to reconsider even doing it (dd is probably one of those). They all had to write their grades down and hand them in to the teacher. Then they changed their minds and will be deciding who they ask to leave, based on assessment/essays.

It is so, so different to her old school who were so supportive and well, just there to help! DD does not want to draw attention to herself in any way by asking for help as she doesn't want any focus to be on her and her GCSE grades. I suggested she email her media teacher her essay to at least see if she was on the right track. She won't.

Oh and still no further forward with maths retake.

She (and I) had such high hopes with this college. She hated school with a passion and was so looking forward to a new environment but this college is a shambles so far. Unfortunately, there is no alternative.

Sorry to go on an on about us. It's just really pissing me off

@Oblomov20 I meant that last comment for you. Then I looked it up. It is 15 years and 9 months.

I thought they can have a provisional licence from 16? They can ride a moped at 16.

So I phoned the school to double check DD doesn't need to self isolate - and they have said actually they think she should after all. Thankfully she hasn't seen the girl that tested positive since last Thursday (when the girl went home ill) and both were wearing masks when she did last see her at study.

Neither DD or her friendship group have any symptoms. She only has to be off until 8th Oct as was already a week ago since last contact made.

DD is miffed that she has to miss school, hockey training, and hockey match on Saturday. (1st league match of the season).

Yes we were told there would be baseline tests around half term to see who might not be able to continue with their 4th subject but not for those with 3 or other combinations of ALevels/Btecs.

No threats though. I am liking the new much more relaxed school after the super selective.

DS sits on his own in the common room and just gets his work done with headphones in. I dont like that he doesnt talk to anyone but he doesnt seem that fussed.

DD hasn't said anything about threats from teachers!

THey are having their first lot of tests this week/next week to inform their grade reports that come out before half term.

She was expected to sit the 2 business ones despite only having swapped onto the course the previous week and being off sick for 2 days of that week! She thinks it went OK. Geog and biology next week. I think psychology have been doing mini tests throughout - I haven't heard of anything more formal for that yet. They all seem to be testing on everything done so far, rather than checking for gaps from GSCE though.

pasanda, no, nothing like that, and I don't think they ever would as they are just delighted to have 'bums on seats' at dd1's sixth form, which loses many of its kids to the much more successful one in the neighbouring town

Is your dd in a school that places massive stress on its league table position by any chance

I think the 3 months is easy to mis-interpret, Pasanda is right in that it’s not before 3 months of turning 16, not 17.

Pasanda Why so little f2f teaching? Even if school/6th form is doing one week in one week at home surely it should be more than that?

No teachers are not saying that. Tests so far seem to be checking for any gaps in GCSE knowledge to ensure solid going forward. Though it looms over further maths but they were told up front probably 50% will not be put in for it in the end, they'll just do A level maths.

@Oblomov20 - I thought the same thing re 3 months and provisional so stopped the application - but I've now realised we could have done it - as moped licence as they can use that to drive with apparently.