Dd is getting in a real state about GCSEs. Any words of wisdom?

[0tterish]

She is revising lots, but she's just come to me crying because her first one is on Friday and she keeps getting lower than she wants in her practice papers.

I HATE seeing her put all this pressure on herself.

I don't know what to say to her other than that she can only do her best.

That wasn't the right thing to say though

Honestly, top universities will not bat an eyelid if she doesn’t have ‘perfect’ GCSEs. Show her some of the entry requirements on their websites

Sounds like you have a great relationship.

She doesn't tell me much and this has just exploded really

Honestly, top universities will not bat an eyelid if she doesn’t have ‘perfect’ GCSEs. Show her some of the entry requirements on their websites

Isn't it just about a levels? Or do they look at GCSEs?

One of my students flipped out in class today. When I spoke to them later it was clear they were just stressed. I asked about sleep and they said they're staying up late to study. I said school finishes at 3 so plenty of time to play a bit of sport, study and switch everything off at 9 to have some downtime before bed at 10. Don't think they will stick to it but hope they do. Poor things are stressed at the moment and just had enough.

No, there will be GCSE requirements there too

My son is starting this week, including that biology exam which I think he has been quietly stressing about. I bought him some flashcards for biology this weekend and we've been doing the quickfire questions. My eldest has already been through this and one tip, which I'm sure your daughter already knows, would be to make sure she reads the questions properly and answers all parts of the question. Also, I would say that you can resit any of these exams again if you want to, as long as you pay, so it's never the end of the world if one or two don't go your way.

One of my teachers almost 50 years ago now, gave us some very good advice:

Read the question.
Read it again, and decide what they are actually asking you.
Make bullet points of what you need to include.
Then answer the question.

(The point being, many points are lost by wasting time answering things that haven't actually been asked, and by failing to include things that have been asked. )

my DS didn’t get all 7s and above and got an offer from every RG he applied to. He took economics, maths and history at A level. I know he got a 4 in Spanish. 5s in two of the sciences. Lots of 6s, maybe one 7 and I know he got two 8s and one 9. He got AAB at a level.

GCSE grades in subjects completely unrelated to the degree course are not important for RG.

If she is going to study economics, she really only needs 7 or higher in maths at GCSE. 6s in English- writing intensive courses. But a 5 in biology is no issue imho.

There are other options. Sitting a GSCE with learndirect costs £300 or so - points can be built up over time and in a format that might work better for your daughter. Nothing that happens now will be the end of anything.

I was a kid who panicked. My sister is 7 years younger and studied in the Labour years when she did coursework and modules inmnstead of a stupid Govian focus on memorisation. Her exam experience was completely different because she went in knowing to a high degree of certainty that she had the grades she needed for her choice of university.

Amongst so many other things I hate what the Tories have done to our kids in exam years. It's pointless cruelty.

OP I have a degree in Economics, I did well at GCSE but dreadfully at A-Level. I got a U in maths, N in Chemistry, D in Biology and D in General Studies. The 2 D’s were enough to get me into an ex Poly to read Economics where I got a 2.1. I’ve had a 25yr career in investment banking despite my shitty A levels & distinctly bottom class Uni. There is always another way! Good luck to her, she sounds like she’s really worked hard and deserves every success.

I used to remind students that

• they would benefit by underlining salient words in the question and to frequently refer back to those words when answering;
• that rewriting the question to introduce the answer (which they’d learned to do in primary school) was good practice but there was insufficient time at GCSE;
• examiners were looking to award points, not penalise;
• they daily walked past examiners in school corridors - they were not a race apart from the teaching staff they knew. In fact many of them were examiners so I named them to provide calm;
• that it was important to have a plan - how to apportion time per element of each paper according to the marks available;
• to frequently check the time on the exam hall clock to pace themselves;
• to not “flog” a question in a panic: it could always be revisited or a plan of where the answer would lead had they had more time;
• to complete the front of the exam script after the allotted time if it was allowed.

HTH. And you mum? Stay calm, don’t reflect the angst or indicate you might be feeling it, turn the other cheek and good luck!

God, these poor kids are so hard on themselves, been through this with gcse, a levels, now bloody uni, it’s so tough.
once they start a level no one mentions gcse, then uni, no one mentions a levels.
and how frustrating only wanting a Russell group, lovely she has a goal, but at what price

My Dd used to compare how many hours a day vs how many hours her friends were doing. I told her not to worry that she was “only” doing 5 hours a day - everyone is different and studying longer might not be as productive. She ended up doing brilliantly! Everyone is different so tell her not to compare herself and wish her the best of luck!

“You do your best, and that is enough”

”If Plan A doesn’t work, don’t worry. We’ll kick the shit out of Plan B”

we’re things I found myself saying a lot.

I have no advice, just sympathy as my DD is also very stressed and anxious. Anything I say is wrong! Just keep having her hugs , chocolate and fruit, and looking forwards to June 19th!!! She starts hers on Thursday!

1. You don’t need to do your best - just have a go.
2. Breathe!
3. Read the question, underline the important words in the question, work out what you need to do.
4. Answer question.
5. Go back to the question and check you’ve answered it correctly.
6. Get plenty of downtime and rest - it’s impossible to perform well when you’re tired.

Good luck!

In my experience:

If you get A levels, GCSEs don't mean much
If you get a degree, A levels don't mean much

When you find a job, all of it will be pretty useless and they will want 5 years experience...

I worried myself stupid the whole way through my education. Defined my self worth by grades etc. Once you've been working it all gets put into perspective but at the time it's everything.