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Original poster

My son is crushed. Just crushed.....

366 replies

yomellamoHelly · 19/03/2020 08:50

Year 11. Spanish oral exam on 1st April. Drama performance within next month. Art coursework still to finish off. Written exams as per schedule.
It's all hit him as he looked at his Class Charts this morning and all the work that's due / been set. It's all revision / prepping for upcoming assessments. The enormity of the change has hit him.
I know something will be sorted out eventually, but so so sad for him. He's upstairs sobbing.

OP posts:
FedUpWithThisToday · 19/03/2020 08:55

Sad sending my thoughts to him Flowers He'll be ok

mondaynoon · 19/03/2020 08:58

I think the schools have done a fantastic job of supporting the children mentally over the last week or so. Now they are closing the reality is hitting them. Sad

Hopeful201 · 19/03/2020 09:12

I have to admit I cried when I heard about the exams. The amount of effort they have put in and no chance to shine-let alone no prom, socialising, festivals etc all the fun they were looking forward to. I just hope they find a fair way to get them their grades.

GaraMedouar · 19/03/2020 09:18

Yep, my DS was due to do GCSE’s this year, has worked really hard and was likely to pull his mock grades up a couple of notches . Apparently they are still going to have a prom later in the year. Flowers

dottiedodah · 19/03/2020 09:24

All Good wishes to your poor Son .I feel really sorry for the kids ,they really have had the rug pulled from under them havent they? Try to talk to him about the reasons why ,and how BJ is doing his best to keep us all safe (doing a jolly good job too .)Like the daily forecasts and feel a lot better with a strong leader like him in these dark times) .There will be more opportunities for him as he goes into 6th form and Uni. My own DS was due to go to the States in April with his GF, obviously disappointed but as my DM used to say to me if I was moaning "Life is full of disappointments!"

namechangenumber2 · 19/03/2020 09:25

Truly gutting isn't it ☹️

OneInEight · 19/03/2020 09:30

I am gutted for ds2 too. He should have done his GCSE's last year but due to anxiety and mental health issues was not in a fit state. He was on track to get a few this year which would have given him a much needed boost to his self-esteem but that has now been taken away too. I know we are lucky that we are all in good physical health but I do feel really sad for him.

Xenia · 19/03/2020 09:31

I think it is dreadful exams are cancelled in England. I believe Scotland is keeping them going. I wonder if there is a way to bus children to Scotland to sit GCSEs there or where course work/modules allow let them sit international GCSEs instead in England just as Singaporean students sometimes might sit English GCSEs in Singapore?

DontDribbleOnTheCarpet · 19/03/2020 09:31

My son is in the same position. He has effectively left school now. His Art portfolio isn't quite completed but would have been if the school hadn't closed. He has worked his socks off at Physics and Maths after less than stellar mock results and was doing much better. Then to cap it all his driving test was cancelled. The kids who had theirs yesterday were allowed to take their tests, but the next lot were for Friday and are now cancelled for the foreseeable future.
He has a part time job which is some comfort for him, but if that finishes it will break him.

DogInATent · 19/03/2020 09:33

Exam grades are likely to be decided by Teacher Assessment. This means that all the course work, preparatory work, mock exams and assignments he's been doing will be important evidence his teachers will use to support giving him a grade. None of his work has been wasted.

Pamalarrrr · 19/03/2020 09:34

Ah bless him Sad after the initial 'wayhayyy no school' I think reality has hit home here too. All the effort of mocks and excitement of '3 months off while you lot still work', prom, hanging out with friends all gone for them now.
Shirt signing being done today and tomorrow.
In the big scheme yes, they'll cope. But it is a lot going on for them atm

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 19/03/2020 09:35

My son was a school refuser so he is not fussed but I am gutted for him as he was due to sit his GCSEs this year and has applied to college .

As others have stated though, on here and in the media, there is talk of them happening but later in the year but how would that affect college intakes ?

FVFrog · 19/03/2020 09:35

Same here DS18 has been putting hours of revision in and is absolutely gutted he won’t get to take them. I think it was a premature decision.

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 19/03/2020 09:36

Oh . After reading what @DogInATent put up he has no chance then . Sigh .

gingersausage · 19/03/2020 09:36

@Xenia don’t be ridiculous. I don’t think exam logistics are top of anyone’s list in the middle of a bloody pandemic. Just occasionally there are more important things than a list of grade numbers on a sheet of paper.

1forsorrow · 19/03/2020 09:36

Try to get him to look at the positives. The school will be setting stuff so he can still get on with it. He will now have more time to work, how long does he spend travelling to school, how much time is spent in registration, moving classrooms, being disrupted by other people. I used to home school, we reckoned with primary you could cover a school day in under 2 hrs, senior school kids in 3 hrs. I know you must feel awful but do try to be positive with him.

Hope you all stay well.

ZuzuMyLittleGingersnap · 19/03/2020 09:37

Oh, bless him.

Such an unsettling, stressful time for them all.

The Mix (peer support for under 25s) might be be of use?

SussexBonfireViking · 19/03/2020 09:37

Same here. My oldest was meant to be doing his A levels, and its just hit him that this is the end of his school career, and what now?

He has worked so hard, on his NEAs (History, English and Biology)

We had a call from the school today (he has aspergers) asking if we want him to still attend (vulnerable group) but he would be the only one there, we declined as, well, we think it would be worse for his mental health.

the only bright note is that his history essay mock was "absolutely incredible" (Russian Revolution, he's very interested in it) (not so stealth boast, but i'll take what i can at the moment)

GreenWheat · 19/03/2020 09:37

My heart is breaking for all those Y11 and Y13s out there. This isn't my children this year, but I really hope a solution is found for them.

Whichoneofyoudidthat · 19/03/2020 09:38

GCSE exams cancelled? What are they going to do re final results? (I’m not in UK)

1forsorrow · 19/03/2020 09:39

I think it is dreadful exams are cancelled in England. I believe Scotland is keeping them going. I wonder if there is a way to bus children to Scotland to sit GCSEs there or where course work/modules allow let them sit international GCSEs instead in England just as Singaporean students sometimes might sit English GCSEs in Singapore?

What a wonderful idea, let's close schools to slow the spread and then put thousands of kids on buses for journeys of several hours for some of them. If you want to spread the virus this seems a wonderful idea indeed.

TheStuffedPenguin · 19/03/2020 09:40

I have to admit I cried when I heard about the exams. The amount of effort they have put in and no chance to shine-let alone no prom, socialising, festivals etc all the fun they were looking forward to. I just hope they find a fair way to get them their grades

Really ?

yatapina · 19/03/2020 09:40

The uncertainty must be very stressful for students due to take exams but i'm sure it's not a decision they've taken lightly and contingency plans will be announced soon!

With that said, I really don't think that sending groups of students from a high risk area to a lower risk one would be sensible!! 🤔

goodbyestranger · 19/03/2020 09:42

Agree with Xenia. I have a Y13 due to take A levels. If you ship out all the kids from schools except for key workers then surely the Y11s and Y13s could have been spread around each school site for the exam period only. I'd have though perfectly possible to keep a safe distance. And for those students actually hit by the virus over the exam period, use a special mechanism for those ones only.

Very miserable to have school life ended so abruptly.

overnightangel · 19/03/2020 09:43

“ think it is dreadful exams are cancelled in England. I believe Scotland is keeping them going. I wonder if there is a way to bus children to Scotland to sit GCSEs there”

FFS Confused