Mocks. Is this not a bit too much?? Or am I being PFB??

[SmallDucks]

DS had 4 exams today,
3 exams in the hall which were between 1-1.5 hours long and then from 3.30-5pm a basket ball assessment (GCSE PE).

From 08.30am -5pm either in an exam or physically being assessed.

Tomorrow he has 1 exam but they felt today the basketball assessment was appropriate.

AIBU?

That is a long day. end y10?
The school have to balance exams with lost teaching time, so some choose to squash them together (ours did). Sounds like he is unlucky with how his options have been timetabled for exams?

Presumably they have more than the 1 student to consider??

That's a long day. Ds had two today - 3 hours. His mocks are spread out over 2,weeks, with his PE assessment taking a whole day.

I suppose the conditions were the same for everyone? Tiring, though.

Snippy and unhelpful! 🙄

That's quite normal, they have a lot of exams and assessments to fit in so some days are longer. Plenty of water and food and fresh air in breaks and they're alright.

Timetabling exams is a sophisticated process and it is done in a way to ensure as few clashes, fewest exams as possible. It probably comes down to the options your child chose. For mocks we timetable 3 a day but in real gcses it is only 2 a day unless there is a clash. There is also a limit to how many hours in one day too.

Basketball later shouldn't really be that much of an issue.

Does sound like a long day, and a shame the PE assessment wasn't done before the actual exams started (I think that's what they do for the actual GCSE iirc)

Ironic though considering this years GCSEs have been over a really long period, DS has mainly only had one a day (think a couple of days he had 2 exams) Thank god he's last one is tomorrow - feels like they started an eternity ago.

I am afraid I disagree AnotherDayAnotherDollar is correct. They don't timetable to suit the one pupil but there is a computation done to ensure the fewest clashes.

I had a day of A level exams that ran from 8 until 5 and then because of exam clashes in the afternoon (different boards) had to stay overnight at my HISTORY TEACHER'S HOUSE and go in and do the exam at 7:30 in the morning, before doing another full day of exams.

It's difficult to timetable so many exams and sometimes there are long days or clashes. It's a shame, but I'm sure he's up to the task with some encouragement. A neighbour's child has sat over 20 exams whilst undergoing chemotherapy, often going straight to/from hospital. Your boy will be OK.

Such a race to the bottom in standards for reasonable expectations of children and teens

Yes he will survive. Yes its not as bad as having chemo then doing exams.

But maybe ita not optimal and is stressful and won't help him get his best possible results ? ?

Yeah, presumably they are fucking over the majority of those taking PE....

Oh grow up.

As if I think they timetabled exams to suit my individual son.

It sounds tough but he will be ok.

In the 70s, some A level papers were 3 hours long. I remember having to do three in one day because of a clash. As another poster said, staying overnight at a teacher's house wasn't unknown either.

They're mocks aren't they? How is that fucking over the kids?

I didn't say he wouldn't be ok. 🤨

19 years old though?

PFB. Your world may revolve around them but it’s tough for schools to fit everything in

It is a lot, poor fella. Thank goodness it's mocks. Can't think why Young People's Mental health is in the toilet in this country.

Do they space things out more when it's genuine GCSE's?

There was still a big break though before the assessment? Can't see the issue.

"I didn't say he wouldn't be ok"

Well you asked if it was a bit much.

Four exams, between one hour and ninety minutes each, including one that was practical, over an entire day, doesn't sound like anything to worry about to me. I've had four children go through GCSEs, A levels and university. It's not optimum, but it never can be, for everyone, all the time.

Mine's just at the arse end of her GCSE's thankfully. She's the first one to go through the actual exams (older was Covid time), and yes, they're a lot better spaced, from my limited experience. She has had one most days, with only one day with two.

And in no way, shape or form, am I taking away from what a Herculean task it must be to schedule these exams!

SmallDucks

you are not being unreasonable. That’s an awful lot especially in the warm conditions today. As a precious poster said, there was no reason the PE practical couldn’t be scheduled last week.

The difficulty schools are having is running a long external exam season for 11 and 13 overlapping with mocks for 10 and 12. From a logistical viewpoint, rooming, invigilators, Exam papers etc, it's a logistical nightmare in a big school.