To want to know what will happen with my year 10s GCSEs next year

[bigbananafeet12]

It’s now looking like schools aren’t going back in June. If teachers unions are not happy to return then, I can’t see what will be so different in September so who knows when they’ll be in. They’ve already had 5 weeks of ‘home learning’ with another 9 to go until they break up for summer. My ds has not been required to submit one piece of work since he left school on March 23rd. He has to do the work in his book and mark it as completed on Frog. Subsequently he’s had no feedback on anything he’s done. I’ve asked him to ask teachers if they can look at his work but he’s 15 and doesn’t like making a fuss. I try my best to look at what he’s up to but frankly have no confidence in my knowledge of physics etc! I also know that if I try to get too involved he will not be happy and at least now he is attempting to do the work. I don’t want it to be a battle.
I had a glimmer of hope that if he was back even part time in June we could ensure he was still on track and it would help restore his enthusiasm but obviously this looks unlikely.
So how on earth will schools have time to teach the GCSE syllabus plus revise as all previous years have been able to do. I know we’re having a global pandemic but to be honest I’m so worried about DS.
This is not a dig at teachers.

My yr 10 DD is working non stop. Hours and hours. She has always been a dedicated student but without the natural breaks school offers she just keeps going. I think she migybe using it to distract her from the whole virus thing. I think she will really struggle to return to school. Interestingly she doesn't think she has actually learnt that much.

Mine just logs on and works till it is finished, usually about 9.30am-4pm with a half hour for lunch. Not sure how it is going though but he does do quite a bit

Yeah my Ds reckons he is doing more work than at school but not really learning anything

@Mikki2019 my DS thinks he is doing more work than at school too, don't know if that is because they don't have the faff of changing classrooms and getting all their stuff together. However, he seems to be doing ok in tests so hopefully he is learning something!

We (my area) are not allowed to use zoom

We don’t use zoom either

I think there are some security concerns about Zoom. And the fact that not every family has access. I wish they gave them a list of documentaries and dramatisations to watch for History and English (and other subjects where there are suitable documentaries available).

It might not fit the curriculum exactly but it would have been easier and I could have joined DD. I love a good documentary.

I've thought I'd that but it's hard with so many different channels now - they'd have to be BBC or Channel 4 ones basically - some interesting stuff on Netflix and loads of families will have it, but then the ones who don't will be left out.

OP I totally get where you’re coming from. I could have written your posts word for word. My DS is year 10, predicted to get 7s and 8s.

His school are setting work, and he’s sitting at the table in his room putting in the hours. But only a couple of teachers are asking for work to be sent to them, and none of them are marking it.

I wasn’t too worried at first, because at the start of lockdown he was due to sit mock exams, so they were mainly revising and covering topics they’d done already. But since the Easter holidays they are on to new modules, and he isn’t getting any feedback at all.

He tells me it’s OK, he understands it etc, but without a teacher checking what he’s doing, how does he really know?

And of course, he’s 15, and has banned me from contacting the school. We also had an anonymous parent questionnaire, and of course I expressed my concerns, but nothing has changed.

I try and tell myself they’ll all be in the same boat, but I only have to read threads like this to know that it isn’t true. Private schools and some state schools are clearly offering far more feedback and interaction than my son is getting.

I am resigning myself to paying for tutors next year if there hasn’t been a dramatic turnaround when the schools eventually reopen.

@Mintychoc1 My school is marking and giving feedback. Yr 10 are the priority so feedback on all work. KS3 get feedback once per week per subject. I teach 48 yr 10 pupils and 600 KS3 pupils (The part time teacher of my subject is off sick so I'm covering her classes). It takes me about 3 hours to mark each Yr 10 class and two days to mark KS3. At the moment, I'm focussing on deepening understanding but I'm going to have to move on to teaching new content soon. My subject is highly practical so it is difficult because I can teach the theory but without the practice it is a bit moot. It's so frustrating. Your son should expect some feedback from his teachers though.

I wish they gave them a list of documentaries and dramatisations to watch for History and English

there's plenty of stuff to watch on free to air TV - BBC Bitesize has plenty of material for KS4 and BBC 4 has some documentaries that may fit in with A level study. And there are things on Youtube. Although I am not sure "reading or watching around the subject" really works for GCSE, the exam boards seem to have very rigid mark schemes about what they want to see. At A level there's more scope to broaden your knowledge and bring into an essay and be given credit for it.

Yes I agree about the very rigid mark schemes..I remember when DS did history last year, there are certain question types - I think it was 4 mark, 6 mark and 10 mark questions and very specific methods for answering. I think in the 10 mark questions which were like a mini essay, you had to explicitly state what your conclusion was going to be in the introduction, which I always thought was odd. Then every point you made had to be PEE (point, evidence, evaluation) and you had to be very specific. I think a few documentaries would be helpful for GCSE, but I would just get the text book and work through because it is quite limited as to what they’re looking for.

I'm afraid if a 15 year old banned me from contacting school I would do it anyway. He's too young to make that decision. You can ask for him not to be told!

@cologne4711 - I know but she won't watch them with me for the reasons you give.

She seems to have developed RSI (or similar) with all the note taking she is doing. She is writing more at home than at school. Something needs to change.

And of course, he’s 15, and has banned me from contacting the school.

Why on earth would you let your 15yo ban you from anything? My poor dc wouldn't have much luck with trying that - their father is the headteacher.

This is a diffiuclt time and I don’t want to have any more fights with my kids than I need to. My teenager is currently staying quite positive, working hard, and being generally reasonably pleasant. If I contact school the teachers may contact him directly, make a drama about it, and he desperately doesn’t want that. I have to respect his wishes. I’m a single parent too, which always makes these things harder.
My Mum was forever going behind my back with regard to school issues, and it caused me great upset and embarrassment.

@Mintychoc1I 100% understand. My ds is exactly the same. He’s doing the work set without a fuss and I’m grateful for that. The last thing I want to do is rock the boat and put that into jeopardy.

Is anyone else finding theirs is working better on some subjects at their own pace at home?

Mine has a processing speed issue, however just got great feedback from his English teacher and an A* in a piece of imaginative writing (Yr10) having the time to do things at their own pace seems to help in this case anyway

Other subjects I'm not sure about though..

www.heart.co.uk/news/children-home-learning-summer-holidays/

Well I think it's silly to expect them to work through the six weeks holidays.
Mine have been doing a full days work so why should they have to work through the summer as well?
And surely the children who most need it won't do it anyway so it makes the gap even wider.

I disagree with Yr 10 being expected to work through the summer, beyond the projects we would normally set.

Oh well my son's college have just sent a letter - they are effectively giving up any idea that the students will be back before September.

Virtual lessons until the end of June and then perhaps a face to face 1 2 1 with personal tutor.

Apparently still doing exams next month. Goodness knows how ds is supposed to do an exam in the subject he's not had lessons for since mid March. The other two subject areas have been very good at virtual lessons.

I am really upset for him. Six months without seeing friends. I hope it's all been worth it.

Screwed over by Brexit and now screwed over again.

Mine is doing exams now You can imagine how keen he is! It’s not helped by the fact he can’t actually access some as there’s some technical issues and they’re due in Monday. I’ve emailed school for the last 3 days and been told it has been referred to IT. Emailed teachers to try to get the exams sent a different way and had no replies. I’m so frustrated I could cry.

Are these mock exams? Completely unfair to set mock exams during this time. We dont even know for sure what the exams will look like next year.