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 !

Good news @Delphigirl - he’s peaking at the right time!

@Delphigirl What a confidence boost for him!

Thanks everyone. That and the NEA mark has done wonders for his confidence so now HE is beginning to think he can do it - which is so important. Aurgh yes please let’s just accelerate through the next six weeks!

Time seems to have taken on dual speed at the moment - going both incredibly quickly and incredibly slowly. Don't think that is possible but still... I think I just want the exams to start now!

@singingstones my DD doesn't have any practical papers for biology, just has to have done class practicals through the course (and I think they've relaxed the number that have to be completed this year). Does she have to do an actual experiment? I remember doing that for my physics A-level 35 years ago....

Yes @Seeline, they do an experiment in one exam and then the second practical paper is more in depth analysis of results that they are given, it's the same format for physics. Apparently they are "easy" (says the child who got a D in the practical mock - that was 60+% though, the grade boundaries are tiny)

@singingstones what board is that? DS had to complete 10 practicals with write ups but I don't think they have to do it in an exam situation (edexcel).

@seeline I did Physics A level and don't recall any practicals as art of the exam? What did you have to do?

Yes @JustHereWithMyPopcorn sounds like DDs - hers is OCR

This was in 1986 (London board)! We were basically given the apparatus and asked to carry out an experiment that we would have covered at some point in the previous 2 years, write it up and do some sort of analysis with the results.
There were 12 of us in our class - 10 of us all played instruments and sang and were really hoping for a sound one. We got Hook's Law (AKA spring stretching!), which actually was really easy. I got an A for my practical!!

@seeline I did London board in 1988 and didn't do it, I wonder if they phased it out or I just have a shocking memory! 😂

It's WJEC. Apparently the physics one was something to do with dropping something into sand. He thinks the biology one will be testing for photosynthesis but will find out later.
They have separate practicals at GCSE science too but they have been dropped this year as part of the covid adaptations.

Great news Sazzy and Delphi.

I just want this over now, DD in bed with a migraine. I'm worried that she's suffering so frequently and hope that she's okay once exams start.

That gave me a panic re practicals! Thankfully DS is OCr for physics and chemistry and all practical bits already done. Phew 😥

@Seeline I did London Board Physics in 1986 too! I remember the practicals being pretty straight forward, you just needed to be able to follow instructions.

DS did OCR sciences in 2019 and they just did practicals in class during Y12 and passed or failed (I don't think anyone failed). This lot could not do very much, so I think it was relaxed. Not an issue anyway. GCSE practicals ended for us when the number results came in, which was a good thing for DS1's school as they were ridiculously mean with practical marks.

Wow -so many physicists! I went to an all-girls grammar so didn't realise how unusual it was for girls to do such subjects (I did maths badly as well). When I started Poly I was told several times by other students that I couldn't have done maths and physics with the geography I was doing as my degree as I was a girl!!

Yes I get the impression that the practicals are relatively easy to do, but hard to score lots of marks in, iyswim. DS was talking about marks deducted for the y axis not carrying on to the top of the page, even if you are not using the top bit for your graph. And a rho symbol looking too much like a p 😮

@DoggerelBank thanks for asking. DS is still on Hold for Newcastle. Plymouth and Nottingham have now rejected all the people they had on hold and told them they can only stay on the waiting list if they reject any offers they have. I am still expecting a small number of offers before 19th May, but that he will probably be on hold until results day 😥. I am going to advise him to apply for Sports Science if he can stay on the medicine waiting list with an alternative offer from Newcastle, then if he gets an offer he can then apply for accommodation so he is not left with the dregs if he gets an offer in Clearing. Bloody Covid!!

So sorry to hear this Monkey , that's a load on stress on top of the situation with your MIL. DS's friend didn't have any offers so is going to firm Medical sciences at a Welsh University. Such a difficult year for so many 😪
DS had sent through what he thinks are his mock grades. If so then pretty much on track to meeting his Bath offer with some more revision, a bit of luck and a fair wind behind him so nice to have some good news. Hopefully he'll decide on insurance this weekend and can join the button pushers .

I was going to say tough decisions ahead for those who are sitting on offers whilst also on hold for their favourite - but it can't be that tough, surely nobody would reject an offer in order to stay on a waiting list. Here's hoping other unis follow suit and things start moving. And then presumably there will be another big chance for movement come results day when people go from two choices down to one or zero. But jeepers, that will be almost a year since he applied, it's ridiculous. I hope he is bearing up ok.

Thanks @singingstones . You are right, there is no real decision to be made for people with other offers but on hold for their favourite. There are people in tricky situations like a DC over on the Medicine thread who has an AAB offer from Edinburgh (contextual) but would get a BBB offer from Newcastle if they got an offer at all, and is not confident of getting the grades for Edinburgh, but they will have to accept the Edinburgh offer unless Newcastle release more info about positions on Hold list. I don't think there will be many insurance places released as most Medicine offers are AAA, so if the Firm doesn't take them the Insurance doesn't have to. The movement will be due to people not getting the grades; in a normal year around 40% of offer holders fail to meet the grades, nobody knows what it might be this year, or whether the medical schools will be flexible or use their waiting lists.

@Volterra if you know the friend well enough to advise them, you could suggest they go onto The Student Room for advice before absolutely deciding to do an alternative degree. It is cheaper, quicker and much less competitive to take a gap year and get some good experience and re-apply as a school leaver. Lots of graduates end up doing undergraduate courses for which no fees loan is available, so it is very difficult if you are not from a wealthy family. DS1 took a gap year and got 3 offers second time round. There are loads of people on TSR who has no offers last year and have multiple offers this year even though this is the most competitive year ever.

Congratulations to @Delphigirl's DS. That is a solid improvement in all areas and long may it continue.
@Monkey So sorry everything is till up in the air at this time and yes lots of strategic playing to make sure he is not left scrambling for what's left on results day. I wish him all the best.

Re - Study Leave, DS gets study leave just 3 days before his first paper, is that normal? anyway, I much prefer he stays at school and studies there. We spend far too much time arguing when he's at home. He's just gone back after his COVID isolation and to be honest it was hard not screaming at him to shut up and quit moaning about everything. The dining chair was not good for his back, he can't think straight, the house is too quiet (I'd have killed for a quiet house when I was doing mine a hundred yrs ago). Plus lots of times caught him in bed just scrolling on his phone. He is far more productive at school.

DD: So in our final week, we are having a different fancy dress each day - Monday it's Icons, Tuesday it's primary school uniform, Wednesday it's Pink, Thursday it's Golf...

Me: How lovely - you could wear your grandfather's diamond patterned jersey and one of those eye shades!

DD: (in a voice of strained calmness). No, Mother. Not Golf - GOTH!

Me: Well that's lovely too...

@KingscoteStaff Sounds like a very odd combo themed fancy dress altogether. Primary school uniform, why???

Thanks Monkey, I did say that had heard a lot of people look at it as a 2 year process and there was talk of him reapplying but his Mum said recently he decided not to. What difficult decisions some of these DC are in.

Study leave here is after half term. That's really made me laugh about the golf/GOTH !!

@seeline I also did maths and further maths for a year (but gave it up because it was hard!). I also went to an all grils school but it wasn't a grammar just a plain old comp.