Thread 34 Covid Cohort - Heat 'Waving' DC to final exams and drinking more

[OrangeCinnamonCroissant]

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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. It's all relative!

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 continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will find a thread within the Further Ed board.

Possibly a move to Parent of Adult Children Board in future? Post Results?

Previous Thread

Uh oh Christopher, good luck with that, hope it's something and nothing

Oh dear @ChristopherTracy and @Oblomov22 . I have a feeling of panic every time ds’ school name comes up on my phone, as I’ve had so many calls home over the years!

Oh no @ChristopherTracy I hope it's sorted.

@Oblomov22 I'm always trying to remember who has a dc in year 8 like mine. I hope we have a supportive thread like this one when ours are a bit older.

TAGs would be ludicrous!!

AQA have lost the plot ….

edexcel paper 3 not a hit here but wasn’t a hit on Twitter either …..

biology paper 3 …… this Friday and then Relax !

@icanbewhatiwant
You and I will be first on that thread!

Re Chemistry AQA not all students will have done the first paper or possibly able to do the third due to COVID . Not sure what the answer is ? Use the predicted grade for this paper?

Sounds like todays exams were harder that some then, hopefully still ok.

Anyone with exams tomorrow? There doesn't seem to be any for AQA (day off from all the complaints).

DDs DSA assessment has been approved - I am blown away by all the support she is going to get. Not only laptop, printer and tones of software but also 30 hourly sessions per year for specialist 1 to 1 study skills support.

If any of you think there is anything up with your DS/DD it's certainly worth paying to have an assessment if you can afford to. I am now grateful that the school didn't just give her extra time as she wouldn't have needed to have taken the assessment and wouldn't have known for sure she is dyslexic - hence even more support at uni. Re extra time etc that is something DD will need to sort out with Uni (with my help).

Hope those with Covid are feeling better or at least on the mend. Sorry to hear about missed exams, I really do hope a suitable alternative is found.

DD has had a full afternoon of revision (got out of bed 11.30ish apparently). Now playing hockey and I suspect having a drink after as no exams tomorrow.

Hope those that have finished get to go out with friends/family and have some much needed fun. Hope those that still have exams can hang on till then ;-) although doesn't hurt to have a pre session ;-)

@Oblomov22 @icanbewhatiwant i will be with you as I have a DD In Year 8. @Heifer I am in the middle of trying to get said DD assessed for dyslexia.

Yes, history tomorrow heifer DS has no way of getting home and is not staying at school til 3pm with nothing to do. Sadly, this means I may have to leave the world's most boring meeting to go and fetch him. Gutted.

God, I hope they don't go to TAGS for chemistry. To be fair DS is OCR chemistry so not affected but his grade now would be significantly better than his assessed grade as he has put shed loads of targeted and focused work into specific weaker areas of chemistry in the last 6 weeks.

DS had AQA maths today. Haven't seen him since but he sent me a text that said "yeah went well", which is as communicative as he gets . He is out celebrating the end for many of his friends and staying over tonight. He assures me he has done plenty of work for the last Chemistry exam on Thursday...

@ChristopherTracy That must have been a panicky phone call, I hope all is easily resolved.

@Heifer Excellent news on the DSA.

Lovely to see DS walking on air now that the exams are over. Should know about the job in a couple of days, but I am not optimistic as his interview was only 22 minutes - I don't think he gives very full answers. However, Maths was good and he and GF are off to Cornwall for a few days. They have done their shopping and it was full of fruit and veg (and meat/eggs), no alcohol!

There seem to be a number of suggestions on twitter (but unconfirmed) that the forthcoming AQA Chemistry Paper 3 has also been leaked. That may be why there now is discussion of TAGs - if they have to wipe out two whole papers I can see that is really the only option left.

let’s hope that isn’t the case- poor kids. DS has cursed OCR B for 2 years but is hoping to do better than any TAG would have given him, so is pleased to be doing OCR now.

But they have a back up paper! It just makes no sense.

I foresee fines coming AQA's way.

AQA seems to be a bit of a shitshow this year ☹️

What a complete mess AQA is this year. @Monkey2001 i hope DS has a lovely lovely and well deserved holiday.

What is on today ? Good luck to them whatever it is 🍀is everyone done at the end of this week or does it go into next week as well?

i was reading a question on predicted grades on WIWIKAU and was thinking how ago that all feels . I know there have been ups and downs over the exams but I think they all handled it so well especially given their lack of exam experience.

I agree @volterra, I have been impressed by DS and his friends’ hard work and stoicism.
I hope after this week they all go and have a fantastic , fun, adventurous summer. They deserve it!

If you give TAGs you give those kids an unfair advantage over those who not only those who genuinely would have done well but those taking OCR Chemistry. And all children competing for a place at a uni where they have completed different a levels they had to sit and these kids get a TAG.

All boards have a contingency paper that can be used if you know in advance that the paper is leaked. If you don’t then you have the contingency day at the end of the exams. Alternatively you can attempt to investigate the source of the leak and the students who saw the paper (harder now we have advanced technology and remote payment systems).

My son once got given the an alternative paper for gcse as it had been leaked.

@Heifer the support at uni is amazing. Contact the disablity student team at the top two unis they have applied for if they haven’t been in contact already. They are great at advice before starting.

@Piggywaspushed good luck to your DS today for history and anyone else taking it. Has he got any plans after and during the summer? Sounds like he has worked his socks off so well done him.

Only 3 more days to go and then I can start stressing about the foreign holiday with friends etc

@Monkey2001 when will your DS here re job? Good luck to him but I'm still hoping he gets his place at Newcastle too.

Thanks @Fruitybasket . I they have both been in touch and I was just waiting for approval from DSA before completely the form.

Good luck today anyone who needs it for anything

Last history today then all finished! I think it’s only an hour, as well?!

I can safely say it will be a massive relief for EVERYONE in the household!

Geography this morning for DD and then that’s it!!

DS finished tomorrow. I’ll be so relieved to finish exams but sad that that’s them finished at their school.
I think it’ll take me a while to decompress.

I hope everyone is well? I've had a slightly stressful week (not dd or exam related though thankfully!) so I've completely lost track of the thread. I hope the exams have been positive and that the train strikes and whatever on earth is going with AQA hasn't caused any upset.

DD was happy with yesterday's Maths paper 3 (edexcel). She has two Further Maths papers left, Mechanics today and then Decision tomorrow and that's her done! Mechanics has been her most difficult paper in mocks but she's put in a lot of work so I hope it goes well today.

I honestly have no idea if she'll make her grade requirements for Birmingham, it's just so difficult to predict isn't it, and she's feeling the same. I think we're just going to try and switch off from it until results. Dd has some nice things planned with her friends next week and then we go on holiday the week after.

Good luck for the last week everyone!

Last one this morning for DS too, Edexcel History, his timetable is showing it as 2h 15 mins but I'm not sure if that includes his extra time or not.

I'm here to hold hands @ExtremelyDedicated 😁, I'm sure DS said it was 2.5 hours. I'll go and check the timetable....

Good luck to everyone else today.