Private GCSE - wtf have I got myself into

[DoggerDidIt]

DD year 10. We were talking about GCSE's etc and how difficult they are compared to when I was at school.

I ended up googling with DD if you can do private GCSE's and it looks like you can. So DD bet me I couldn't get a 7 or above, I said i'd do it if she did it with me and now I've agreed to do a private Psychology GCSE with her next year.

She's well up for it but i'm wondering wtf i've got myself into. Can she do a GCSE privately at the end of year 10? Are her teachers going to be pissed off with me? I looking at the books etc we need to order and planning how we're going to study it all.

Any tips gratefully received!

It's all very well you doing it, but she will be doing 9 or 10 at school. It doesn't sound sensible to just add another one for a bet.

(I hope you weren't saying they are easier than in your day. I did O levels, and I don't think the reformed GCSEs are easier at all.)

Why don't you take GCSE Maths?

I think you should do one of the GCSEs she is already studying.

You do also realise that for UCAS university applications all GCSE results have to be declared (even those done privately)?

I think you doing one is fine, but you absolutely should not be adding to her workload!! It reads v much about you but please think of her, she will have lots of gcses to revise for and the workload is so high, don't add your stress to her . You will only have 1! Dont at all ask her to do it with you :(

I think that while it might be fine for you your DD doesn’t need to do an extra GCSE, especially for a bet.

It sounds like yourr enjiying the thrill of planning books "we" need etc, please dont dont dont do this.

Sign up for your own with adult ed maybe if you want someone with you. Dont ruin your child's chance fo good gcses to deal with your own issues.

And yes her teachers would be super pissed off with you.

Wow. That sounds bloody batshit and weirdly competitive with your daughter.

Are you otherwise jealous of her because that's how it comes across.

I wouldn't get into a bet/competition with my child over GCSEs. Too much pressure all round. I can sort of see how it came about, but it doesn't seem like the best way to support a child through their GCSEs.

Why don't you do a GCSE she's already doing, perhaps her weakest subject so you can support and help her, rather than pointlessly competing with her and adding to her workload. I'd rather my children were concentrating on the core subjects rather than adding pointless subjects, especially not for my benefit!

No don't do her weakest subject - the pressure! And then there would be results day. I cannot imagine results day - if you do better than her she'll feel crap.

@CherryPlum I don't mean to compete, that's such a bizarre concept, but so she could help. I'd have loved if someone could have helped me with my maths gcse coursework at home.

God no! They have enough to do as it is without having to teach themselves a complete syllabus without support. There is also the risk that she might be so keen to beat you that she neglects her other subjects.

You do it by all means but while you are studying for just 1 GCSE and putting all your efforts in to it, she will be studying another 8/9 subjects. Not a level playing field, not fair and not what she needs. She needs to concentrate on her school GCSEs, not something done on a whim for a bet with her mum.

As a teacher I think it’s a fantastic idea for you to take a GCSE alongside her. I also, however, think it’s very foolish indeed to add to her workload in KS4. If she’s thinking of a career in psychology then the GCSE (and indeed the A level) are wholly unnecessary. She needs excellent maths and sciences.

If she is so able that she could easily cope with another qualification then ask her school about further maths or GCSE statistics.

Fucksake no.

If you must compete with your daughter and take one GCSE while she takes a full set, take one she is already taking.

Don’t go distracting her from her studies.

Why are you so competitive with your daughter? Jealousy? Feeling that you have lost out on something in life?

Do you buy matching clothes? Post mummy and daughter shots on instagram with guess who is the mum tags?

Well I did gcse dance privately in year 10. Didn't affect my gcse and the school didn't care.

Psychology is actually a good subject imo. When I returned to uk and before I embarked on my degree through OU I did AS level psychology just to get back into studying. It was an evening class.

Only A I've ever got!

She will have enough on her plate! Don’t get her to do another gcse.

Why are you so competitive with her?

Why don’t you do a separate gcse that she’s not doing, if you want to find out how difficult they are? She’ll be under enough stress with you adding to it.

*without

I think some people are being unnecessarily aggressive on this thread! It’s not competitive, it was a little mum and daughter ‘bet’.

Agree with others OP, do a gcse she’s already doing x

Once it's one she's already doing, that should be fine

It’s not competitive, it was a little mum and daughter ‘bet’.
Of course it's competitive that mum and daughter bet is a competition to see who gets the best grade. It's the textbook definition of competitive.
Completely bizarre when most other parents in the country will be doing everything to support their DC the OP is planning on adding extra work to her own DD just so she can prove her DD's qualifications are shit compared to hers and she is the best.

I agree with others that you seem to have got caught up in the fun and the preparation for this and lost sight slightly of whether it's really a great idea.

I think down the road this will be a cause of stress, unnecessary pressure and fallings out. I do think you should maybe consider whether the level of competition in your relationship with your DD is ideal.