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Original poster

Nat 5/Highers etc - Anyone getting ready with their S4 - S6 dc?

862 replies

weegiemum · 05/04/2016 15:39

My dd1 is in s4 and about to sit 8 Nat5s. I don't know who is more wound up about it - her or me! (and I'm a teacher!!).

Wondered if there's anyone else out there to hold hands with?

DD is sitting English, Maths, Ghaidlig (Gaelic native speaker), French, History, Art & Design, Physics and Design & Manufacture. First is English on 5th May.

OP posts:
Groovee · 05/05/2016 16:47

Great news Weegie

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 17:01

Apparently English was "pretty good". I had an extra passenger who felt it was maybe a bit too easy and that they'll adjust the grade bandings - that seemed to be the consensus from the post match analysis.

Thank you weegie that's very kind. DS1 hates Geography. he got a B in the prelim though. I have no idea what he knows or if it's enough Confused

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 17:03

pressed send too soon, meant to add that I hope they are all feeling okay about it once they've had a chance to chill and reflect especially those who have initially felt not great.

Superjaggy · 05/05/2016 17:08

Well I for one am glad that DS' first exam is out of the way! (Nat 5 English - he was not impressed at having to read about Frozen).

Magnum, we had the lost tie panic this morning too. Haven't actually asked DS whether he found it, or got a row for not having it, as he's chilling in his room. It certainly wasn't a pretty scene when I left the house this morning!

Lidlfix · 05/05/2016 17:21

Gllad today is over for DD2, Nat 5 and Higher classes. All seem happy with papers myself included. Magnum I don't think Nat 5 was too easy there was a tricky contrast question and a 5 mark own words where only 3 out of points jump out the rest require some thought. That's A B stuff though. If it was you that said up thread that your DC was doing Bold Girls that section was a dream. My Nat 5's were skipping out and couldn't wait to show me the paper! Smile

prettybird · 05/05/2016 17:34

Ds was pretty relaxed about his English. He said the questions were pretty vague but were easy to apply to the texts he had revised. He said if anything that made it more difficult Grin He wrote about "Fucking & Fighting" (which I believe is one of the Duffy poems) and the other question which was easy to apply to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (write about a character that you find interesting so he wrote about McMurphy).

He wasn't impressed with the close reading being about Frozen Hmm but it was much easier than his prelim (when he struggled with the Close Reading paper). He thinks he's done well enough to scrape an A but is confident of a B. Depends too on his portfolio - but his teacher had always been positive about it (to quote the scary teacher in S3, "He's found his voice; I can teach him his grammar but he's got to find his own voice" Grin)

He had 10 minutes to spare in both papers so had time to re-check his work.

He's complaining about the bump on his finger from all his writing. Both dh and I unsympathetically said, "Oh, we remember getting that!" Grin

He's looking forward to Geography tomorrow - one of his favourite subjects.

Groovee · 05/05/2016 17:56

Glad to hear it seems to have gone well for them all!

Original poster
weegiemum · 05/05/2016 18:15

Seems to have gone generally well for most people - relieved as it means dd1 wasn't completely off in her assessment of it.

I hadn't realised that the exams would be quite so stressful for the parent, as this was my first time in that position - it does feel quite similar to being a teacher! I had my mind taken off it by dd2 (who is in S1) as she was off because of the election, she's going on an outward bound course in June so we went shopping and out for lunch. Ds is still in Belgium with the school, he'll be home tomorrow.

Nice break until maths now. dd is taking tomorrow off and meeting her best friend, who goes to another school. Then its heads down, as maths is by far her worst subject.

OP posts:
Groovee · 05/05/2016 18:27

Our dd's sound similar Weegie. The maths tutor is coming on Tuesday for the last time.

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 18:33

Lidl yes it was my DS that did Bold Girls. He said he used a poem for the other question. No idea which. My DS didn't say too easy it was my other passenger but he'd been to the post match analysis while DS was still doing his 2nd paper so DS didn't have any views other than his own.

Neither of them are planning to do any maths study other than do a few questions to keep their hand in. DS has geography tomorrow, Engineering on Wednesday and Maths Thursday. He is pretty happy once he gets Geography out the way and then isn't worried about the rest (physics and Computing) until he gets to Art at the end. I've explained that there is not point worrying too much about that as it's only worth 20% of the mark. He had a disaster in the prelim and only got 14/20 - i've said that even if he only gets 14 again that's only a drop of 6% from perfect score in the Art essay when applied to the whole exam.

Original poster
weegiemum · 05/05/2016 18:33

As long as she passes, its bye-bye maths for ever. She can't wait!

OP posts:
OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 18:39

fingers crossed weegie x x - that's my fingers before anybody accuses me of slushiness :o

DS2 already panicking about Maths and French - he's been in S4 3 days! It's times like this that I wish I was rich and could ship them off to boarding school to be returned when all grown up.

prettybird · 05/05/2016 18:51

Weegie - ds feels the same about French. He's really looking forward to dropping it. Only a couple more weeks to go Wink

YoScience · 05/05/2016 19:19

Having spoken to DD I think she's actually done ok she is just never confident.

She's ok for geography tomorrow, that and history are her best subjects so hopefully they'll go well

She is another one that can't wait to drop Maths, she just passed the prelim so I really hope she can pass and not have to do it again.

Glad everyone seems to have done well. One down, 6 to go! Smile

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 19:23

This time next week we will be 4 down and 3 to go.

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 19:24

I thought she would better when she had time to reflect Yo It's good that she has a couple of favourites to build her confidence.

YoScience · 05/05/2016 19:29

Thanks onemagnum! I think she was a bit thrown with the poem, I think she'd hope a different one would come up but is over it now, I think.

I honestly didn't expect to be so stressed out by it all. Roll on the 20th May!! Grin

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 19:34

31st before we are finished!

YoScience · 05/05/2016 20:05

Oh are yours quite spread out then? DD has 4 next week (including 2 on the same day!) then a gap then the last one on the 20th.

hidingwithwine · 05/05/2016 20:08

DS has his last exam on the 30th and then he and his mates are off across to the west coast to live it up in his mates caravan for the final week of study leave ShockGrin

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 20:09

2 next week, then a free week, then 2 the week after and the the final one on the 31st. Then His DofE practice weekend from the Friday to Sunday.

4 in a week is a bit hard but at least then it's all done and dusted.

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 20:11

Also just worked out that when DS2 is doing his 7 Nats next year and DS1 is doing his 5 Highers, there is only one subject (Maths) that they will both be doing. That's going to be a nightmare I think.

hidingwithwine · 05/05/2016 20:14

Magnum my then S6 DS and S4 DD will both be sitting N5 maths together. DS might ace English but like his mother, maths is a foreign language.

The above scenario is a carbon copy of me and my wee brother in 19...88. I'd only done arithmetic O grade and needed to pick up maths O grade in S6 to get into teaching training college.

OwlMother · 05/05/2016 20:16

So relieved that the consensus is that English was easy - ds texted earlier that it was "perfect, all the questions were easy" which made me panic a bit! He has 3 next week so it's good to have had a positive start. He doesn't finish until the 2nd of June though so we still have a way to go yet! 1 down, 7 to go!

OneMagnumisneverenough · 05/05/2016 20:19

I got an A band 1 in Maths in 1982 - scraped a B in Arithmetic. Why could I do Maths when i couldn't count!? Never did Higher, hated Maths (and Arithmetic) According to DS2 I'm not the only parent who has called for a change in Maths class over the last couple of days - I thought the Pupil Support guy was a bit cagey :)