Please tell me your positive stories of your GCSE DC's with messy handwriting

[chomalungma]

He is allowed to use a computer in exams but I don't quite know how that will work for all subjects.

He tries but gets very defensive when talked to about it and I try to help him.

He knows his stuff - but it's so hard to read his handwriting at times.

I really worry about this being a factor in exams - as I am not sure how it works with laptops and GCSEs, especially with maths and science.

Positive stories would be appreciated.

My son used a laptop for GCSE's , the group using them normally sit somewhere seperate from the main group, he should also be using it in all mocks etc and in lessons for note taking. It makes a big difference and he can practice by doing past papers. Also ask the exam co ordinator to go through with him how to lay it out etc before the actual exams

How do you use them for maths?

I really worry about it.

Honestly for maths it would be nigh on impossible. We recommend students write for themselves if at all possible.

Laptops are great for most other subjects but Maths is so difficult to write on a screen even with plenty of training.

Even students who are entitled to a scribe usually write themselves in Maths because so much of the process of working things out is putting pen to paper.

DS used a laptop in about half of his GCSE subjects (those with extended writing). In the rest (maths, sciences, MFL etc) he had to write by hand. His writing looks illegible to me, but they managed to mark it and he got 9s in all of those subjects. I think the exam markers get used to deciphering a range of handwriting.

This is giving me hope! Dds writing is terrible!

DS looked into using software (LaTeX) for writing his A-level notes for Maths / F.Maths, but found it too time-consuming to use for class notes or homework.

There's an iPad app called mod math that I've been using to try to encourage DS to write his tables out. He's primary though. It's not a calculation program, you have to do all the maths yourself. It's like a maths exercise book.

There are special exam markers who specialise in reading dreadful writing! My youngest son’s handwriting is awful but didn’t need sending to a special marker.

I think he can get a writer or a transcriber for the exams if he really can’t write.

I think the exam markers get used to deciphering a range of handwriting

I hope so. He knows his stuff but his writing is not very good,

I have terrible handwriting and got 77% on my last uni exam. Finding a pen that I could hold comfortably and trying to slow down helped.

Ds uses a laptop for all subjects with extended writing but not the sciences and maths etc. His handwriting is pretty poor but he also has lax joints which cause him pain when writing. He's waiting for mock results!

Finding a pen that I could hold comfortably I agree with this. I have a hand tremor so writing is really shit on a bad day, I find chunky pens/pencils much easier to write with. I've been known to borrow my dc grippy pencils.

Finding a pen that I could hold comfortably and trying to slow down helped.

Yes. DS's OT found that the Stabilo Easy worked best for him (he may be the only 17 year old still using one!) followed by the Lamy Safari.

He may be entitled to a scribe. I always wrote but it is tough and I was given extra time. Laptops are more common these days then when I did my exams.

My sons writing is and was appalling, didn't stop him from achieving 2 A*, 6 A, B & C

I was amazed as I knew he was bright but i found his handwriting almost undecipherable

I'm assuming you just mean messy as in cba rather than a SEN issue? My ds fell into the former camp, he was warned by several teachers at GCSE (he did very well) but got a few shocking AS results, which when papers were remarked it transpired that he got zero marks in many questions because of illegible handwriting. He too had been very defensive and 'it's not my fault' despite various warnings from the school. Thankfully the school allowed him to repeat the year and his writing has got a bit better.

^ Scrap that advice. For some reason the first line didn't initially load so I've just read that he is allowed to use a computer so there must be an identified need rather than him just having shoddy handwriting. Apologies.

Mine used a laptop for his A levels. He's left handed and always had messy writing. He's now doing a law degree so it worked out fine.

There's some positive stories on here - so that's reassuring.

School have been a bit crap about all this - and I worry a lot about him.

My dd has add and dyslexia at 11 she had the writing age of a 7 year old. I’ve been pushing the school for help. She is now in year 10. They are useless.