Thread 27 Covid Cohort Snow or Like Spring? Let's Do This Thing!

[OrangeCinnamonCocktail]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting. It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

Our DS/DD may go down various paths (such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will most likely find us within the Further Ed board.

previous thread found here

Just looked up the Edexcel Biology. The topics included cover a lot of Topic 9 and 10 - which they haven't done yet. Great .

Does anyone know, or have a hint, at how the grading will work as OCR say that the rest of the course can be referred to as part of an answer. So if the Ace all the notified content will that be an A, and A's for those who demonstrate knowledge of the other content? Or is knowing all the warned content going to be a B, and referring other content will bring it up to an A, or A??? Argh.

Yes, what would have been helpful would have been if they had produced a grid for reach subject showing the percentage of the exam which will be on each topic. I expect there will be analysis soon from the teachers on YouTube.

Eduqas website crashed... Surprise!

Only seen A Level film via Facebook which is very very very vague.

I have just downloaded our three (OCR Physics A, Edexcel Maths, AQA PE) and all look helpful. PE is very specific - this is an extract:

^3.1.3.2.1 Sociological theory applied to equal opportunities
• The interrelationship between Sport England, local and national partners to increase
participation at grass roots level and under represented groups in sport.^

which seems almost too helpful to me! If teachers/students pick up on this, grade boundaries could go up instead of down!

@Monkey2001 I think the AQA points are simply quoting the elements of the spec to be included. It is those that are precise, so I don't think it is particularly helpful. Need to compare carefully with each spec to check.

@Wheresthebeach I think this will be crucial. I've seen it suggested both ways. One saying it is really going to disadvantage those capable of the higher grades and one saying the opposite!

OCR very clearly states that the topic areas are given in order with those listed first having the highest mark allocations. AQA doesn't seem to give any differentiation?

Found the OCR and AQA announcements for DD and she says the geography looks the same apart from water cycle and urban drainage have been removed. Maths is the same and economics virtually the same. Also please note in most at the beginning of each PDF it says that if there is a synoptic question - students will get marks for mentioning relevant themes in the wider syllabus that might not be in this specification. Biology she is looking at now. I think the benefit will be in the grade boundary changes mentioned on BBC and other media outlets so post exam rather than in the exam itself.

Yep same here Piggy. I've finally got an error 403 - forbidden blue screen come up. Will try again later.

@Monkey2001- I’m on a similar wavelength!
I’m thinking DD will need to be at the 2019 grade boundaries to achieve the same- despite the ‘inflation’ being set at 35%

Well dd has just sent me an excited text about history, with what was previously in the spec and what’s in now. So she seems to think it’s a big reduction.

@Seeline the thing which is odd about AQA PE is that there are only 7 subsections of the curriculum in paper 1, broken down to the level I described, so we know that the long questions will test:
3.1.1.6
3.1.2.2
3.1.2.3
3.1.3.1.2
3.1.3.2.1
3.2.1.1
3.2.3.1.10

That seems very specific to me! I have not checked how much of the syllabus that is yet, but looks like a very big steer.

@Monkey2001 DD is doing AQA for two of hers and they both seem to have taken slightly different approaches!
Business simply gives the module subsection and title. Psych gives the sub module title and then various bullet points underneath. It's going to take a careful comparison with the spec to work out what has been left out.
I don't think any of it will be particularly clear as to what the actual questions will be asking giving the set up of each exam and the type/variation in questions on each paper.

The ones who will be really advantaged in PE are those with teachers who really focus in on how to get the marks within the context of the advance information. Some teachers will create question banks thoroughly testing the curriculum areas which will be examined so that their students will see very familiar looking questions on the papers. Others won't. I fear that the ones who have lost out on education over the last 2 years will be the losers in the advantages given by this advance info too.

I'm beginning to feel that this is actually just muddying the waters.

I can only imagine that to get an A or A* that you need to reference the rest of the content. DD says it's helpful because it gives her a core to work from, esp for Chemistry. For the others she's going to make sure that she knows the core content, and then continues to revise the rest.

As long as this content doesn't limit the grades to something like a C....

All seems very underwhelming to me.

It seem, as ever, a bit of a lottery depending on your subjects!

@Piggywaspushed

It seem, as ever, a bit of a lottery depending on your subjects!

And the board!

Wheresthebeach, what’s the point of the boards reducing content, to reflect disruption to learning, but then intimating that you can only get the higher marks if you know all the content? Surely that has the same effect as leaving the content as it was pre-Covid? Those students who have been worst affected will be most disadvantaged either way.

Ds is gutted. Out of sociology they've taken class gender and ethics which is his favourite topic.

I've looked at History and can't understand where they've taken out anything. I am assuming his teachers are going to be able to advise.

@Oblomov22

Ds is gutted. Out of sociology they've taken class gender and ethics which is his favourite topic.

Is that AQA? I couldn't see much had gone at all tbh!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn dd sent me what was originally in the spec and then the new version. I assume she's understood it correctly? She reckons a whole topic has been taken out. I haven't looked because I'm not really that familiar with the syllabus anyway!

@crazycrofter there's so much in there it's impossible to know what's been removed without going through with a fine tooth comb. I'm leaving that one up to his History teacher to explain!

I am none the wiser with History either.

Just on hold to RHUL admissions dept.....