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

@Takeittotheboss 😂 your DS doesn’t play the guitar and piano and sing in a band does he? 😂

Maybe they will meet each other in Newcastle next in 2023 😂

@shimy so sorry to hear about the politics but fantastic acknowledgement from school of his true ability. I assume he has three politics exams like AQA so plenty of scope to make up for it in the other two. As for not finishing exams, that's my DS every time.

DS finally got up at 5pm and is busy revising for his next XBox exam. He reckons he knows everything for French and Law on Monday 🤷

@MirandaWest No singing but yes to guitar, piano and band!😎🤣
Fingers crossed for Newcastle. What's your DS's plans for in between?

Our love to you Shimy. @Shimy we will support you, best we can, no matter what.

I’m not sure Proggy as the Spanish students at DD’s school are pretty strong (with most having at least one native parent) so their general grammar and vocabulary was already high. DD is not native, and did say had she not been very proactive with apps and storing obscure, complex vocab these last few weeks she would have been toast. She found the oral and paper one more challenging than mocks, but not impossible.

DS foind AQA physics today really hard. He said the advanced information was completely wrong - everyone was really upset and seems the same on twitter. Anyone else had a child in AQA physics today?
He's found the rest so far mostly okay.

My friends son told me about this mistake in the exam yesterday @Piggywaspushed I was 😮😮

@Shimy Sorry to hear about your Ds’ struggle. But there will always be options. A friend of ds1 did not do as well as expected in his A Levels (family stuff going on) & was rejected by both his firm & insurance on results day. He was offered a place on a foundation year elsewhere (and they provided great pastoral support) - they could see his potential from his GCSE results. He then continued onto the degree course.

Shimy that is so good he has recognition from his school about the politics though can see it must feel ironic at moment. Really hope the of the papers go well for him, we’ll all be rooting for him.

Singingstones glad your DS found it ok. I asked DS if it was awful and he said it could have been worse but it could have been a lot better and I think he was just glad to get home to his own bed. He didn’t get much chance to speak to people after which probably was for the best.

@Volterra DS's reaction to the physics paper is very much in the context of him absolutely dreading it and expecting it to be impossible. He told me beforehand that if it was a bad paper he could get

Singingstones I totally get that ! Consensus on college group is that second paper definitely worse than the first.

What date are most of them finishing ? 23rd for DS.

For a bit of a rest bite if you get the change to go and see Top Gun - go for it - it was great, I loved it. Had to spend the whole time concentrating on not coughing too much, got through a lot of mints but made it :-)

DD was buzzing when I came home as she had been out with some friends from another school and did some hockey training (apparently climbed over the fence at friends school which probably not the best idea) but she had been comparing answers to Biology exam with her friends as same board. Her friends are A* students and they had similar answers so that really put DD mind at rest that she had done well as she was a little worried when she had heard of others locally crying during and after the exam.

She has got her hardest week next week apparently (Core Maths P2, Pysch P3 and Biology P2) so says no time to go out this weekend apart from exercise or revising with friends as has a lot to get through.

@mummyinbeds How is your DS? a day in bed could well have been the best thing for him as long as he can pick himself up after.

@Shimy well done to your DS on the politics award - It may feel bitter sweet but hope he can gain some confidence from it. When is his next exam? Don't worry if you don't want to reply but I really do hope the rest of the exams go well for him.

@crazycrofter glad your DD is better now. DDs friend fractured her metatarsal just before the Biology exam, insisted on taking it and went to A&E after, now has to wear the boot. More bothered that she will still have it when they all go to Spain. First thing DD thought of wasn't how much pain she must have been in, but how the boot will ruin her friends tan! ;-)

DS proclaimed physics yesterday to be 'fine' which was good as he was shitting himself after the hard maths. He then went straight out to get pissed.

Can also recommend Top Gun which both DS and DH thoroughly enjoyed.

Well done to all the exam candidates this week. I'm so glad it's the weekend.
@Shimy I'm so sad to read your update.
Just a thought, if your Ds reckoned the Politics exam caused him to panic & just completely blank, how about trying a anti-anxiety pill? Two of mine take them if needed for exams & I used to when I was young.
The medicines called Propranolol and is a beta blocker. It just blocks the fight & flight response & the adrenaline surge that causes individuals to not be able to think straight.
It's available for online ordering for situational anxiety.

DD has started using Propanol recently and has found it really helps. I was a bit worried about the idea at first but she has really benefited. I used to use a homeopathic remedy called Aconite before finals which I imagine was placebo but it ended up with a quite a few of us taking them by the end and I used to feel and no doubt look like a drug dealer handing them out before we went in !

@Volterra my great uncle practised homeopathy (as well as being a bona fide GP) and my mum had a whole case of remedies to hand - there was something for every situation. Arnica was the one that was wheeled out the most as it seemed to work on every ailment or accident, but I remember aconite too! 😂

@Takeittotheboss DS and his band are going to be working on the band a lot next year. They’ve had a few local gigs (have another one on 25th June) and have a song on Spotify and will be recording more.

He knows he also needs to get some sort of job too - think we will need to reiterate this point…

@Volterra in answer to your question, both mind finish on 21st
DS has two left and DD four.

DD finishes 24 June - 3 this coming week and 1 the following week.

DD finishes on 24 June - two papers this week and two next week.

DD also 24th - 3 this week and 4 the next - one being a double.

she’s run out of whiteboard pens, so heading out to Rymans.

24th June for DS. Three this week and two the week after. He's gone to his gf's instead of revising. Apparently you can't revise French 🤷

23rd June for DD- two this week and two the following week.
I’ve spent a small fortune on revision snacks today and warned DD that if she scoffs ‘em all over this weekend then there’s nowt more being bought until next weekend! 😂

June 24th for Biology. She has two this week, then 3 next. Why they put three science papers in the last week is anyone's guess. You'd think they'd spread them out a bit more.

DS finishes on 21st. He has 4 left - 2 next week and 2 the week after.

I am constantly buying snacks or so it feels.