Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

Original poster

Thread 33 - Lovely Jubbly Jubilee Break, then back to Exams

1000 replies

OrangeCinnamonCroissant · 27/05/2022 17:10

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

OP posts:
Piggywaspushed · 12/06/2022 10:10

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 10:06

@Piggywaspushed teachers don't identify similar pupils - its based on z scores by the exam board ....one of those lovely agorithms

Are you sure that that applies this year?

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 10:12

Thanks @ProggyMat DD is very self critical and the econ paper 1 was her first exam 3 weeks ago so she struggled with stress as it was the first one AND can't remember in detail the questions or her likely score. It wasn't a good paper for her and the way I got her calmed down at the time was to say its one of 3 so you can show your stuff in the next one. Paper 2 was solid but not stellar so an A not A*. So this needs to be solid but not stellar again to ensure the A.

She wants to sit it at the moment but it adds a layer of stress to proceedings .......

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 10:13

@Piggywaspushed have the guidance printed off and highlighted for this year.....

Wheresthebeach · 12/06/2022 10:15

Presumably you can notify the Uni that DD had Covid and they may well take it into consideration.

The Uni's may have more issues like this to deal with than they expected. DD was suppose to see a friend today but got a message saying she's not coming as the entire family has Covid now. It's going around school again, so I want her to stay at home, not go into the library before exams and frankly stay away from people. Hoping Monday's Chem exam is okay so she's at least got one exam of each under her belt.

Wheresthebeach · 12/06/2022 10:18

@seeline That sounds similar to what our school is saying.

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 10:22

DD has only mixed with those in the exam room and as she has dyslexia - she knows it’s one of only 6 pupils and 2 staff. To say I’m p*ed off is unreal. She’s driven in we’ve been super careful about not going out and mixing since the week before the exams started

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 10:24

@Wheresthebeach thanks for mentioning and she will contact them but her course is over subscribed so I think it’s unlikely they will make any exceptions at Durham

icanbewhatiwant · 12/06/2022 10:29

Ds had already decided if he caught covid from me he wouldn't test and just go in to sit the exam. But thankfully no one else in the house caught it. So we didn't need to think about it. It would have been a bit irresponsible to go in on day 1 of symptoms, I'm glad we didn't have to consider it. But by day 5 I'm sure it will be ok as long as they feel ok. As far as covid goes, there would be less of it about if they were just going in for exams. But Ds is to go in every day for revision lessons as normal.

Ds has 2 more exams left, both RS. One this Tuesday and one 2 weeks later on 28th. He is expected to go in to school every day until 28th.

I notice a few dc's have history exams still. I thought exam boards did exams at the same time. Ds has done his 2 history exams. Are yours doing a third?

Takeittotheboss · 12/06/2022 10:30

@Fruitybasket sorry to hear your news.
My DS is also sitting Economics with the target of an A, but usually Astar. He pretty much felt the same about the first exam, so maybe the grade boundaries will reflect that?
Agree it's very frustrating and difficult to know which way to go, b!*! covid.

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 10:41

@Takeittotheboss Thanks for this - as DD says if she knew her marks for the first two papers she could make a decision - she feels crap and couldnt keep her eyes open on Friday and fell asleep at her desk. She was pretty rubbish yesterday and today she has got up but not great and we can hear the coughing downstairs through the ceiling.

As she needs an A its a harder call - if this was a mock she wouldn't go in as she feels unwell but if she goes in and does badly she forfeits durham, if she doesn't go and and fails to get the A she will regret not trying.

Maths is luckily not one of the A levels she needs so Tuesday can be a good or bad day and there is no impact.

Biology is Friday and needs to be a solid effort but I would hope she will be much better by then.

Piggywaspushed · 12/06/2022 10:47

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 10:13

@Piggywaspushed have the guidance printed off and highlighted for this year.....

Right, OK.

So much confusion!

Madhairday · 12/06/2022 13:12

Thanks @EwwSprouts - I'm glad your DS got on ok with the physics paper. Was that AQA? I know on Twitter there were a load of posts about how some of the questions didn't fit with the AI and DS thought so, it was definitely his worst so far but the others have gone ok so hopefully he'll come through it all right.

Hope everyone's DC gets on well this week - such a stressful time for them all (and for us!)

HarrietDVane · 12/06/2022 17:14

I notice a few dc's have history exams still. I thought exam boards did exams at the same time. Ds has done his 2 history exams. Are yours doing a third?

@icanbewhatiwant OCR History has a third paper on 22/6.

ealingwestmum · 12/06/2022 17:21

PreU also had 3 history papers. But no NEA element.

Piggywaspushed · 12/06/2022 17:49

DS has three history papers. Presumably because Gove couldn't stomach too much coursework. One of the papers goes in tandem with the NEA and is quite short.

LimitIsUp · 12/06/2022 18:04

Sorry to gatecrash the thread - I won't contribute a lot as you have been together for ages and it seems intrusive, but its proving interesting (and less isolating reading this - in our rising panic) to follow the thread to see how your Y13's are finding the exams. Felt a bit odd just lurking so am declaring my 'in the background' presence. I have a Y13 ds who is doing psychology, biology and chemistry (and really regretting the biology and chemistry since he feels he would end up with better grades if he had played to his strengths and selected Georgraphy and History instead back in 2020 - too late now!!)

singingstones · 12/06/2022 18:07

All welcome, Limit, people come and go all the time. What are your DS's plans / hopes for next year?

crazycrofter · 12/06/2022 18:15

Welcome @LimitIsUp , please feel free to post as much or as little as you like! Your comment about subjects interests me as year 11 ds needs to decide on a third subject to go with Sport and Business, and his options are History, Biology or Economics. Is Biology very hard? Dd has told him it is, based on her friends’ experiences.

Isthisjustnormal · 12/06/2022 18:20

Welcome @LimitIsUp : feel free to join in, people drop in and out all the time for various reasons!

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 18:22

Hi @LimitIsUp we’ve had a lot going on as a family so I have not been here for past four weeks. DD has had to manage with minimal support - DD has had mixed feelings on the exams despite working hard on revision. She’s geography ok, biology ok and one economics ok and the other she got flustered on and wishes it had gone better. Some time now for the biology revision after tomorrow so getting easier ….

LimitIsUp · 12/06/2022 18:30

Thanks all - you're very welcoming 🙂

Singingstones he doesn't know what degree he wants to do at University, or have any inkling about future career plans so he will be taking a year out maybe two whilst he ponders that and earns some money in the interim.

Crazycrofter Biology is pretty taxing yes - with a lot of content to remember and a savage marking scheme. If he compares psychology to biology and chemistry he feels - in his opinion of course - that biology and chemistry are twice as hard as his psychology A level (and he has enjoyed the latter a whole lot more)

LimitIsUp · 12/06/2022 18:33

Fruitybasket - that's the hardest thing to stomach, when they have been working hard on revision and yet an exam paper or two hasn't gone as smoothly as it should

Ds has had two psychology papers so far which he felt went well, a biology paper that was okayish but is dreading Chemistry tomorrow and feels under prepared

Piggywaspushed · 12/06/2022 18:40

DS has sociology and economics tomorrow. I am hoping he relaxes a but after that as he has barely emerged this weekend.

It'd be nice if the unis maybe sent a reading list or something to keep him occupied after exams. Is that still a thing?

ExtremelyDedicated · 12/06/2022 18:51

@icanbewhatiwant my DS has a third paper for Edexcel History, it also has an NEA.

@LimitIsUp welcome to the thread, I also read your post with interest as I have a y11 DD who has been saying she will take history, biology and psychology for the last 6 months (no particular degree or career chosen yet) and all of a sudden said a couple of days ago that she thinks she ought to consider chemistry instead of one of them, which has alarmed me a little as she is quite severely dyslexic and IMO needs to cut herself a little slack with subject choices.

Fruitybasket · 12/06/2022 19:01

@Piggywaspushed some unis do have reading lists but not many - most of the kids work for money or chill and party - my DD is working at a festival and going two long weekends abroad with friends! Plus a mid week break touring the country doing theme parks. My DSs did trips with mates and inter railing … plus some paid work for spends for uni

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In
This thread is not accepting new messages.