GCSE supporting - to half term, and beyond!

I watched & played a lot of football during mine( Italia 90!)

DS just got past half way - it's full on to Monday - then 7 days then last one.

But he has benefited from doing so many last year at end of Y10.

I could have written your post word for word. Zero Spanish revision done here for today's exam....just maths and History for tomorrow

I can’t remember procrastinating this much or being this cocky.

When I did my GCSEs I became a huge cricket fan having never watched it before or since. If there had been a GCSE in cricket I would have been laughing.

Ds isn't half way yet. Is anyone else the same?

Ds said RS was a difficult paper and they all found it hard. However another one bites the dust!

We had panic this morning - the school very late afternoon to let in be known they could stay home on study leave if they just had an afternoon exam - so DS finally decided to do so.

DD2 went into school - then a barrage of phones from her and his friends worried sick he wasn't there as they had RS exam this morning.

The exam sheet by door said this afternoon - took ages to boot computer up while DS was running around preparing to run in - finally got exam board timetable up - and we were right was this afternoon. It's really nice they cared - bu they were wrong they sat it with him this afternoon.

He spent this morning at home working himself up just afternoon exams really don't suit him - I was the same. It's done now - I would have said he wasn't that bothered but when it came to it he did want to do well.

DD is back from the 35 minute paper on Islam (RE short course), which seems to have gone OK though I'm not sure her definitions of prophets and angels are going to get her that many marks.

Back to the flipping Cold War. Why is there so much of it - it's only half a paper!

I watched a lot of The Man from Uncle

When I had my GCSEs I remember a sudden obsession with watching Inspector Morse.

I think I can hear DD revising behind me (pen clicking, we are working in the same room) but don't want to look in case she stops and wants a natter! She is such a procrastinator. She's had all day but only just got down to it in last 10mins.

DD is revising for her Maths with Harry Potter on in the background

I asked her about the Life of Pi question and she said she agreed with it and looked for the funny bits. Turns out everyone came out of the exam saying 'yip, yip, yip' to each other so I guess they all saw the comedy in it.

I meant Okay maths now at least, since that what he wants to do for his A level. And he thinks he did so badly on paper 1. Making small mistakes and not answering all. Even forgetting formulas. I just don’t get it. I’d expect him to be studying more intensely instead of whatever this is with Harry Potter.

How is the Maths and History revision going? It seems a bit intense here, and DS is very low. Trying to watch Harry Potter again. We are on Deathly Hallows at least I think. Ffs ! Lol I have told him he can watch ALL the damn Harry Potters back to back in two weeks because youngest ds will be in school, me and DH not home all day so he can have the whole house to himself. I am fighting Harry Potter here. Okay. Maths.

He’ll be up in the morning I guess revising and spending good revising time watching Harry Potter. Seems backwards to me. Being predicted good grades has made him cocky and complacent with bouts of panic revising.
I would love to give up.

DD said Spanish went OK too. She said Listening was good and reading had some tough bits but OK overall and better than mocks. I thinks thats the best we can hope for.

Spanish went “ok” this morning as DD now home after signing herself out to do maths revision at home with no distractions in school but maybe a bit of love island catch up too… I’m not worried she’s pretty self motivated and needs some de/stress time first before maths which is a strong subject for her.

The IB is accepted as an alternative to A levels for university entry, the EBacc is a performance indicator for schools and is of no benefit to students, other than to steer them towards more 'academic' subjects. There isn't a sixth form at ds's school, it's an academy and the sixth form is at another site. Thankfully, because I'm not overly impressed with his school, he has no interest in going there and has a conditional place at a sixth form college that offers his choice of A levels

HippyChickMama
At DS2’s school they only offer the International Baccalaureate qualification and it they also push hard for the students to stay, rather than go to another local school to do A levels. The majority leave.
It’s interesting to know that re clearing.

I think the partial agreement was because the marks scheme required the answer to be evaluative so mostly agreeing but slotting in a ‘however’ was the easiest way. Works the other way too of course.

Ds is fairly academic and has a clear idea of what he wants to do for A levels and beyond. His school are very keen to push the academic students down the EBacc route and I had to argue the toss with them to get him out of triple science so he had more than one option subject, there was no way they were going to allow him to not take a language too. I had his head of year in year 9 telling me, an academic, that universities value the EBacc. I explained very politely that they don't and that all of the years I have worked on the clearing hotline, I have never once looked at the EBacc when considering entry criteria. Ds is okay at Spanish, he is likely to come out with a 6 or a 7 but he hates doing it and would prefer to spend his time on History which is one of his A level choices

DS2 has definitely sacrificed Spanish.
A linguist he is not!
At his school, students have to take a language, Spanish or French.
Whilst in theory this is a lovely idea - as English speakers we tend to get complacent.
But, not all children enjoy or respond well to learning a new language and his very low grade (he’s doing Foundation level) will go on his records.

That is great. Good on your DD. Mine is not hugely into revising but has been relatively conscientious throughout school which I think is paying off now (at least I hope it is). English is her one wobbly area but she has developed a love of reading in the last year which has made me so happy. She feels her English exams have gone as well as they could for her which is all you can ask for really!

We have a fairly "easy' week this week. iGCSE Eng Lang is out the way, so just Maths tomorrow morning and Biology on Friday afternoon. It's one of the few weeks when most of the kids are in to sit the same exams (and then hang about to socialise). Just 6 more to go for us.

Either our children go to the same school or this is widespread advice. I feel your pain/ especially if English was your subject at uni. I am trying instead to simply admire the bull headed determination to do all her revision completely independently as I didn’t think I would see anything like this if you had asked me 6 months ago. Her work ethic is pretty impressive.