Thread 33 - Lovely Jubbly Jubilee Break, then back 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. Possibly a move to Parent of Adult Children Board in future?
previous thread

Sorry my posts are always so long, I'm actually fairly quiet in real life! I think it's just because I have no one else to talk to about this.

12 exams @mango0 ?! DD has 8 and I thought that was a lot compared to some.
Mind you, she also did a btec which was coursework so I suppose 4 a levels would equate to 12 exams?

Sorry to hear about the WJEC shambles. One of the bad things about having too much really hard stuff is that the grade boundaries get squashed together, so it becomes a bit more random whether you get the right grade.

@mango0 don't worry about long posts - you should have seen some of my rabbles! :-) Totally get about not being able to talk about a lot of this in real life.

How awful that some papers have been ridiculous and in some cases just wrong! Haven’t all these dc been through enough without all the extra stress and worry now they are in the midst of it?
Dd has RS this morning and Politics this afternoon. She’s put in plenty of work but sadly, as I’ve said before, that’s not always reflected in the grades she gets which I find so sad for her.
Thinking of everyone sitting exams today and wishing you well x

Good luck to all today - especially those doing Biology this afternoon ...

@mango0 DS does further maths but AQA which seems to not be as popular as OCR and Edexcel for maths. He found yesterday’s exam hard but he hates pure further maths.

He also has 12 exams (or 13 if you count the last further as the two exams it officially is). 4 down and 8(9) to go! He is tired but day off today before Physics tomorrow then his heaviest week of exams Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week.

it should all be over two weeks today though, got to look ahead!

DH has got him a (very well paid and relevant to CV) summer job where he works (as they have a particularly busy patch this summer) but I am in the middle as DH is getting pressure for DS to work all the hours and start straight after exams but DS wants a few weeks off (which I fully get). DH then thinking DS is ungrateful and clearly has too much money. I am stuck between them trying to negotiate a couple of weeks off for DS after exams before he starts and make DH realise that DS is grateful but does actually need a break. (To be fair DS does also have a brief holiday with me very early July, one with his mates in early August and a family holiday early September so he won’t be worked to the bone all summer!)

Why does it always fall to us mums to smooth the paths?!

Good luck to all the DC with exams today. Hopefully only AI based questions of reasonable difficulty!

Good luck to them all!

Good luck everyone today, may the papers be kind!

DD realised in the car on the way in that she has Welsh GCSE this morning, not the English paper she was expecting, so that's a good start 🙈

Good luck to everyone with exams today. DD has her first Biology today, her least favourite so I guess good to get it out of the way.

Geo was long, and she was struggling afterwards with her eyes so I'm glad the ones from now on are shorter.

Going to pop down and wake her up and have a breakfast discussion. We've decided to drive today again to avoid trains. All the other exams are in the morning so driving in rush hour won't be great. I think she may cycle, which worries me, broken chain, flat tire etc.

I see there is discussion of taking train strike into account if kids miss exams as they can't get to school. So they will award the grade if one exam done.

What a mess, and just horrible stress for the kids at a time of high stress.

Good luck all, sounds like a busy day today although we don't have anything.

That must have been a "moment" @singingstones but seeing people with Y11s reminds us of what our Y13s were spared/missed out on. I think exams are an anachronism which don't test skills relevant to modern life.

Arrrrggghhh -Biology day!! 😱

Good luck to everyone today for all papers, the sun is shining so I'm hoping the exam gods are in a good mood! 😄

Good luck all!

DD not looking forward to biology - most to learn and definitely least confident on it. Just hoping business this morning goes well 🤞

She's going to stay at her boyfriend's tonight as neither have exams tomorrow. They've hardly seen each other since exams started as they only do one subject together, so due a bit of time together.

DDs worst exam this afternoon - Drama and Theatre. It’ll be a long one as with extra time then add on some rest breaks she’ll be exhausted. She hates writing essays with a passion and I think there is 3 to do. Thank goodness 60% is already done as NEA.

Good luck all today!!

I’m not sure what is going on with WJEC. We were trying to buy some new clean copies of texts for Drama students to refer to in exams but the ISBNs for the books WJEC were specifying were for older editions which are out of print. Not helpful when a question says something like “what is meant by blah blah on P 21” when that bit is on P22 of the new edition.

DR has drama this afternoon too, Paddington. She was buzzing last night after the relief of geography, and looking forward to this afternoon's exam - theatre is her thing, so she's got a head full of ideas (which she decided to share with us at 11pm, on our way to bed...).
Like your DD, she gets extra time and movement breaks, so she's in for the long haul.
Hope it goes well for them both.Hop

Good luck to the biologists!

she's got a head full of ideas (which she decided to share with us at 11pm, on our way to bed...).

This made me laugh @Alsoplayspiccolo - what is it about teens that makes them always leave the important discussions/their wish to have a lengthy chat just as you are heading to bed/out the door for an important meeting/the crucial reveal at the end of a 10 part series?!

So true @Seeline and @Alsoplayspiccolo ! All our intense discussions happen after 11pm 😂

dd still feels really unwell and barely slept again but it’s not covid and she wasn’t really too ill to go in. I just hope she doesn’t bomb today’s exam as grade boundaries in RS are very high. She usually gets 90% plus but if she’s tired and headachy that could mess things up.

Fingers crossed for her Crazy

Good luck to everyone for today!

@Monkey2001 You don't need to explain anything, I didn't take it that way at all. I thought it was quite funny actually which is why I put the emoticon there. The joys of communicating on social media!

Oh dear - just had a text from DD saying the layout of her business paper was not what she expected.... Hope she managed OK, and it doesn't take her mind of biology this afternoon.

Hope she’s able to do herself justice, crazy. Rotten timing for her.

Ha, yes, Seeline, DD manages to crash in, talking very fast and loudly right at the cliffhanger moment in anything we’re watching on tv!

Oh how rubbish ! I hope this afternoon is kinder to her.