Thread 32 - Corona Cohort 'May' the Mumsnet force be with them for their venture to exams

[OrangeCinnamonCroissant]

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 31

CONGRATULATIONS ZEBRACAT !

You're welcome!

Good luck to all our DC with GCSEs and A-Levels (and other exams too!).

DD had a bit of a wobble earlier but has calmed down and gone to bed now. Hopefully once she's got one under her belt she'll feel less anxious about the whole thing.

To be honest I am trying to focus on other things at the moment. DD was picking up my stress which I really don't want. When I'm not with her I am cracking on with other things to take my mind off it, or watching new netflix shows to distract.

I am letting her get on with it however she thinks best, being a listening board for when she wants a moan, feeding, buying her whatever she needs and basically keeping out of the way when not wanted. We played catch for 30 mins after school today sat down in the front room with a tennis ball. DD chats (moans) I listen -made the mistake of suggesting a few things (not wanted). I thinks it's her way of destressing. She is currently doing a Mamma Mia workout in the front room (revised beforehand). She will revise after until 12.00/12.30ish and then go to sleep.

Her first exam is next Tuesday & Thursday. Then another 8 after half term...

Leavers Hoodie ordered (no idea when they will arrive.. She has persuaded the yr group to swap the fancy dress theme (that they aren't allowed).. from beachwear (hawaiian) to Letters of their first name so DD now has to find something to go as starting with J. (oh joy).

Hope you and DD are ok @BlueMarigold if you haven't already got grey hair .... ;-)

I'm similarly cutting the DCs some slack around chores, tidiness etc, cooking whatever they want, helping DS revise amd keeping out of DD's way. She has her
first two GCSEs today. For myself I'm spending as much time outdoors as possible, sitting in the garden or going to my allotment after work. My allotment is as much about having a quiet space to escape to away from the house as growing veg.

DD's exams start a week today with Psychology, then she has English and Further Maths on the Wednesday. She seems to have 3 most weeks, mostly midweek, never on a Friday.

I'm mostly distracting myself and trying to stay calm by making plans for the summer when I'm not working. Also trying to make life as easy as possible for DD, planning nice nutritious meals, have also been doing her washing and even hoovered her bedroom the other day, which I don't think I've done since she was 8!

It sounds like, other than the occasional wobble and moan, our young people are coping very well.

I asked DD about the water bottle thing, she said they can take any bottle as long as it doesn't have a label/writing on it. I double-checked the guidance online and that says the same, which is good because we're aiming not to buy any bottled water this year (in the UK at least).

Glad the pizookie went down well, singing. It's an easy storecupboard favourite here ( I always have chocolate chips in the cupboard 😄😄).

DS needs 7s in his A level choices, which is fine except he hasn't made his A level choices yet! He's mentioned history, English lit, drama, classical civilization and German vaguely, in addition to music and music tech which are definites.
Unless something drastic happens, he should be on target for 8/9 in lit, history, drama, and at least a 7 in German.

Also that's awful about the spec - glad everything okay for your DS but I do feel for those kids. Seems there are stories like that every year.

I'm feeling quite anxious as well now...going to mainline Rescue Remedy and see if that helps!

Ds is incredibly chilled and confident so his state of mind is rubbing off on me! Dd is still a bit all over the place and has decided to go to school today in the hope she’ll revise better there (I doubt it). Ds can’t understand why she doesn’t just get on with it. The irony is that dd has always been the reasonably hard working one, with good grades and reports, whereas ds has been a nightmare! But as with all things, if he thinks something is worth doing, he gets on and does it. He just never bought into the idea that homework/revision were necessary before year 11!

There's a mn update for the app. I have just updated.

And I can now do paragraphs. So that helps.

Like Crazy, ds is very relaxed, revising hard. Requested some new gel pens to try, at 5.30am this morning, which I Amazon at 5.31 obviously. I feel very calm. Unnaturally so.

Goth (not Golf...) Day went well yesterday - photos reveal a fantastic selection of boots amongst DD's friends! School Uniform today.

She pressed the button on her accommodation choices last night - 2 at £109 a week, 1 at £137. They all looked nice, so it'll be fine whatever she gets. The offer holders' message group is very active as they compare notes on choices!

DD is very envious of her friends who get some subjects 2/3 done before half term - she doesn't start until the week of the 13th!

Good luck to Classics people today.

Yes...good luck to those taking GCSEs.

Ds doesn't have his first exam until next Thursday. History, the most difficult paper apparently. I've told him he has to be at school at 8.45am for 9am exam. He just shrugged. He usually leaves at 8.45am on a normal day. They have to be in at 8.50 usually. When he first passed his driving test he left at 8.10am so he could get there and park, plus not get stuck behind the school buses on country lanes. He gradually got later and later, now the buses are well gone before he leaves. He must arrive late as it takes a good 10 mins to drive there. But lessons don't start until 9 or 9.10am so he's obviously there by then. It will be fun getting him out on time next week. Then it's a few weeks until the next exam. He has 5 altogether. Some of your dc's have so many. His last is on 28th June.

Ds will need a clear water bottles. But I hope a normal lid is ok as I just use supermarket water bottles with the label taken off. We have quite a few clear pencil cases hanging about. But I can imagine Ds just wanting to carry a few pens.

Yes, DS only has 6 papers, one of the benefits of AS exams I suppose. He still has 3 in one week though, the week of doom he's calling it. He reckons he's on track but I'm not sure he would say if he wasn't, so we will be kept guessing until August.

Now, about that - he can get his grades from 9am at school on results day, but I think it's possible to look on UCAS earlier than that and see where, if anywhere, you are going? He's adamant that he doesn't want to know anything until he goes to school but I have his UCAS login. How on earth am I meant to resist having a look?!

Sorry for not responding to all the Biology folk, I got side tracked with DS2's norovirus attack - yay!! Gutted that no-one is doing Edexcel B, I'm concerned that DS is misinterpreting the guidance on the content. I'm worried he's not going to revise everything he needs. 😑

He's in school again today for a 'muck up day' which isn't actually one it's just a BBQ thing. They are not allowed in the school buildings so thank god it's not raining.

Well DS 1 is home with his rash.
Thank you for all the advice guys.
Boarding school as predicted passed the buck & said he had to see his home Gp. So a phone call plus some pictures sent in line ended up with a diagnosis plus cream. The rash on his face, which looks like weeping psoriasis & is very itchy , plus his hives from his ADHD drugs mean he didn't sleep again last night. Don't know how long more we can persevere with this ADHD treatment. I'm seeking advice from the clinic as to the Max. Dosage of antihistamines I can give him.
He's rattling 💊

I came back from dropping ds2 off for his Gcse's to hear ds1 speaking to his Pe teacher online & sitting in the living room, as it's the best spot! So now I have no living room I can sit in, where I normally work.

Sorry to hear about the noro, Just 😬

What's your question about the bio adjustments for this year, is it one of those subjects where they helpfully tell you a list of topics but also that you need to know the other stuff as well?! WJEC have been good with their advance info but DD is in this position with AQA economics, there's a list of topics to focus on but they say anything could still come up in multiple choice or broader questions.
Can you ask the bio teacher?

@singingstones I honestly would check your DS's track, but not admit to it. Otherwise you may not find out whether he's got in for hours.

Umm @Just that doesn't sound good re. The Norovirus. Can you email his Biology teacher to reassure yourself?

@singingstones @Cantonet we don't know the arrangements for grades pickup yet but I wouldn't be able to look at DS's track before him even though I have the login. Don't get me wrong, I have looked before but I think this is too big a thing. It's got to come from them to us and be a genuine delight or (hopefully not) genuine disappointment.

Poor DS on the skin front @Cantonet, that's really hard for him.

DS has exams on Weds and Thurs next week then 10 more after half term. Helpfully they have just put major roadworks on the only sensible route to school which will last 6 weeks. It will add another 15-20 mins to an already 30-35min drive each way. Grrrrrr.

It's a tough one - if it's good news I'd like not to know and to have that moment when he tells me. But if it's bad news it would be helpful to know in advance to help manage the fallout. I might suggest he changes the password so that he is in control. He can give me the new password the night before if he wants me to look.

@Cantonet I'm so sorry to hear about your DS, could the rash be stress driven or is it definitely the meds?
I had something that sounds very similar happen when doing my finals at uni, my face was a mess with it. I went to the GP who just wanted to give me a steroid cream but I didn't want to use it and it cleared up after my exams.
I was very stressed to be fair.

@singingstones yes, they have given a list of topics for the long questions. he's really focussing on those which is obviously good but being slightly dismissive about the 1-4 mark questions not needing the revision. I have reminded him that one mark was the difference between him getting a B in his last mock instead of an A. Not sure it's sunk in.
@Cantonet he tells me that his Biology teacher has told him to do this. 🤔

It's hard to fathom isn't it - the list of topics to concentrate on is superficially helpful but then if you could be asked anything, you need to revise it all anyway.

In economics we have assumed that the longer essay style questions will be from the reduced list, but that her answers might benefit from passing mention of the other stuff. And the shorter questions could be anything. So ideally would revise everything but if she only revises what's on the list, then hopefully not too many marks lost.

(If there's time for the info to be of use and it wouldn't annoy your DS too much, I would email the bio teacher myself to get some clarification.)

exactly @singingstones, it's easy to see that the big questions are worth a lot of points BUT every point matters. DS won't listen to me even if I contacted his Bio teacher. I'll keep plugging away at him in the hope that it settles in. To be fair to him, he seems quite focussed on his revision, I hope it continues...

Cantonet, that sounds very painful. Poor ds.