Applying for Uni 2019 Part 6: exams, leaving school/college (the end of an era), a long summer holiday and Results Day on the horizon

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Just when exam season gets fully underway our previous thread has almost filled up. Everyone welcome .

I think that sounds fine. Please reassure him that sounds really valid and sensible!

I am sure there is an Anne Tyler on the spec somewhere so they are keen on her. I find her dull. Was it something to do with an Iranian woman? That might be 'Digging to America'?

zxcv123 agree it's a very healthy approach. There is no point in comparing answers with friends as it can only potentially cause more anxiety. They just need to adopt an 'onwards and upwards' approach.

DS has started going into school to revise. He's just got back after putting in a nine hour day of study.

He's got three papers - tomorrow afternoon through to Thursday afternoon.

Thanks, Piggy. Glad your ds survived the tech ban and the squashed together papers.

Sounds like the mathematicians and scientists have lots of papers left... We're done tomorrow after history P2.

Will keep checking in.

And hope JustAsking's ds is getting better and gets special consideration from the exam board.

First exam (history) seemed ok. Chemistry yesterday he said didn’t go so great - not any subject areas they hadn’t covered - just a hard paper.

Third exam this afternoon and then two tomorrow. Main thing is for him to not get too worried about single papers and keep looking forward. He felt he did really badly at further maths last year but still got a high A which hopefully gives him confidence

Well it feels like ds has finally started !
He has had study leave since 10th may and just geography exam the Wednesday before 1/2 term.
Chemistry today .

I did say to him on sunday .. i bet you are chomping at the bit to get going now .
He agreed and said the first exam felt like a mock .

Well that's English lit completed... for all AQA students

I can hardly believe it!!

Wow I cannot believe English is over in two papers.

Bizzey that's a lot of study leave - a month with only one exam done. I am sure that by this stage they all just want to get them done and dusted and look to finishing.

I know. It seems almost unfair that after two years studying (?) 7 texts, it's just two papers and that's it. Doesn't seem enough to be able to demonstrate all you can do.

Eng lit A level in my day was 9 texts, 3 x 3hr exams (but no coursework, obviously).

Danglingmod agree. It doesn't give much 'slack' for under-performing in one paper either, does it?

Yes, I did A level Eng. Lit. and did as you did exams wise. Lots of very dense literature to read, including three Shakespeare play, Emma, Kim and two very long Dickens novels.

Justasking how is your DS doing (and hope are you recovering too)?

Two Shakespeares AND Chaucer (and we did another pre-Shakespeare play).

Two today - maths and history. Feels like only just started, he has 13 exams overall as he is retaking further maths

Don't get me competing on A Levels! I did Scottish CSYS and we did WHOLE AUTHORS! I did 'the tragic works of Hardy' so 4 Hardy novels! The complete works of Robert Burns (obviously..) , creative writing and King Lear. In one year.

I do think the current A Level places lots of demands on students, though. Lots of random comparison. A very eclectic assortment of texts. And heavy on (often unfamiliar) context. Plus, lots of unseen, which I don't think I had back in the day.

No exams for DS1 today.

Oh, God, I forgot! We also did Brecht! Three Brecht plays.

OP your A Level sounds really, really old fashioned. Are you 83??!

We also had a long essay. I did mine on Shaw. It's all flooding back to me. I have NO idea how we got all that done. Knowing my school, we did way more than we needed to.

Wow! Brecht at school! Yes, I'm not saying it was "easier" in our day, and we didn't have unseen or had to know about literary theory or (much) context, but I think three papers lets you show off better than two.

I doubt she is, Piggy. I'm mid-forties and mine was four 16th century or earlier, two 19th century, two early 20th and one contemporary novel.

Itscoldoutthere, DD found her first paper hard. Since then we've had two oks and one very positive. It's so hard to know what it's all going to translate into.

Agree with zxcv123 and NewModel, they should try to avoid worrying about what others have written in their exams. DD found her GCSE maths very hard on top of which others had different answers, so she felt she'd got a 5/6, ended up with an 8, so you just can't tell.

MrKlaw, that's a lot of exams

Brecht is on the new gcse drama syllabus

...well techniques are. Pupils have to devise a play and perform it using the techniques

I did Brecht for A Level English (in English) and , confusingly, for A Level German (in German...).

I may have that wrong, though,as I think I did Brecht for German Higher.

You did A levels and Highers??!

I did Highers and then CSYS, so basically like doing AS and A2! But with completely unconnected content.

Nowhere near 83, Piggy!!! Agree my course does sound old-fashioned and really dull (I reckon the average age of the English teachers at my school was about 60!). I don't think there was anything 20th Century in there. Closest was Tennyson.

Brecht would be very hard work.

The modern way of studying English Literature sounds more interesting albeit very challenging.

Did anyone's DC do Edexcel maths today? My DS said it was a nightmare with questions he had never seen before. He said it was the hardest exam he had ever sat. It is all over Twitter. He is really upset.