GCSE's 2021

[barbites]

Dd is due to do her GCSE's next year. As of 15th June she will have 2 hours a week at school (no teaching) and I cannot see things being back to normal in September. There will be no mocks to use as a guide. Will this cohort of children actually get a qualification?

I understand it’s pretentious to say anything much because so many are facing incredible hardship. Yet, OP asked about 2021 GCSEs. Whining and complaining does not help her, nor all those pupils. Throwing ideas out there is what will
help in the end. This is an emergency Virus causing this and solutions are needed. @Uncomfortable has made a great point above that those Secondary pupils with no tech access or not engaging with visual, virtual lessons should be classed as vulnerable and allowed on-site for lessons.

My dd is in the same situation, it's such a worry.

She's started to meet a friend so I am saying no work no meet up which I don't really want to do as seeing her friend has greatly improved her mental health

That's why I let mine have access to the console - they tend not to play games on it but they use it to chat. Socialisation is so important, mine doesn't yet go out and meet friends - he's barely left the house since lockdown started unless I make him go out.

Most schools are prioritising those students when they return. Sadly there is usually a crossover with students who aren't accessing online stuff and students who won't return to school.

This whole crisis has proved inequality and disadvantage are structural problems and schools only paper over the cracks.

Essentially, schools need to go back. Fully. No distancing. Not yet but this is just unsustainable long term. Either that or we fail our kids futures.

@bol87 what do you suggest though just allow the virus to spread?!

@venetianblue doesn’t matter if the household as access. My kids are saying their parents use the computer during the day. Hence me zooming at 9am is no help

Throwing ideas out there is what will
help in the end

Except mostly people on here have zero idea about how schools actually work and the ideas they throw out are a bit shit. Then they get the hump with teachers and tells us we’re lazy/have a can’t do attitude/are militant/are moany.

It’s wearing especially thin at the moment.

Throwing ideas out there is what will
help in the end

Do you really think schools haven't thought through the ideas you come up with? It's quite offensive to think they haven't.

If anyone had a magic answer we would all be doing it.

Discussed this with my teacher brother yesterday. He said there are rumblings that exam boards will slim down the syllabus for at least next year. So, for example in English, students will study fewer texts so they can concentrate on getting them right. The questions will be just as difficult as previous years but because students won't have had lots of texts to go through it means they can concentrate on getting good marks in the ones they do.

But not all schools study the same texts at the same time, so there would need to be choice of questions to answer.

I thought most would be doing a school day at home not just a few hours a week. Our state school has contacted those not engaging with the work on google classroom and called them in to sit at computers to do it there. They ranked them 1-3 on completing it etc. Mine is a bit slow with work but to get it all done needs to do about 9.30-4.30 with half hour for lunch..I also get emails to chase up any work not finished at the end of the week- the school mark and email them for it as well. Year 10

Orange blossom

We are chasing non completion but also very aware that most of our students don't have access to a device for more than a couple of hours per day. So we set stuff that can be completed on paper once the initial question has been copied and notes taken. Every school is different because they know their demographic.

Not sure how leaving out parts of the course will work as like a pp said schools teach different parts at different times.

Science teacher at my school said there is no way they will have time to teach the full course now.

Science teacher at my school said there is no way they will have time to teach the full course now

I’m English. We won’t either, except in a very cursory way, with little/no time to practice analytical writing at length.

Schools need to go back in September (full time, no social distancing) otherwise state school secondary pupils are fucked. The children are not all in the same boat - all the children I know in private schools are getting 4-6 hours teaching (proper teaching not some holding pattern or Q&A sessions that are no more than kids texting questions about stuff they are somehow meant to have taught themselves) as are a number of the local grammar schools. It will get worse if schools are allowed back in Sept but the number of pupils at any one time is determined by space/social distancing measures - the privates will already be getting their acts together to get al pupils back whereas the majority of states will be just as shambolic as they have been for the past 11 weeks.

I see Herc, yes similar here but what they are doing is getting those students into school in uniform to sit at computers under supervision and do the work- (so providing the computers that way) Just a different way of trying to prevent some of them falling behind I suppose.

MrsF

To be clear: who are you blaming for this?

whereas the majority of states will be just as shambolic as they have been for the past 11 weeks.

Absolute BS.

A few states have been rubbish. Most have worked their arses off to try and make online learning a success. Read the thread for the plethora of issues with delivering live lessons. All this pandemic has shown is that private school kids are privelidged. (and they have judgemental parents who don't realise the school fees aren't the only difference).

not all schools study the same texts at the same time, so there would need to be choice of questions to answer

which isn't remotely difficult to organise on a question paper. If for example the set texts are An Inspector Calls, Macbeth and Jekyll & Hyde, you put questions on the paper about all of them, but the students only have to choose to answer questions about two of the texts. It really is that easy. I am sure someone will try to tell me that it isn't, but it is. If an exam paper is usually 90 minutes with 3 questions you make it 60 minutes with 2 questions.

Yes orange. We have tried that. The kids don't come in and we have no power to force them.

The optional Qs thing works fine in some subjects but not in Others. Maths would be a disaster. Better to just teach what we can and get on with it.

Ok maybe it depends on the school, perhaps. / catchment. distance as well.

Yep definitely. Inner city with lots of parents who don't value education. Difficult to get them in during normal times.