Prelims 2018

[Groovee]

I know some people have already sat their prelims.

Ds started with English today. He has modern studies tomorrow (both Nat5) and Dd has higher business which is one she is crashing.

Ds has said that now his UCAS application is in, he might miss some of the registrations where he doesn't have a class timetabled till later (His registration teacher was the main pastoral care teacher for UCAS advice and support).

DS has Spanish tomorrow afternoon. Not his strongest subject! He started Madarin in S1 but by Feb of S2 we realised it really wasn’t working and the school agreed to let him switch to Spanish so he’s done well to catch up, but still has a year and a bit less exposure than the rest of his class.

Mandarin!!

DS2 has Mod Studs and Music Highers tomorrow.

Ds is maths today and Dd has a drama practical.

Ds says Maths went ok.

Dd sits drama after lunch.

Hope everyone's exams go ok.

Don't think F2f too hopeful about either of his today, or any of the others...back to school for 2 and a half weeks and then off again for a week!

F2f? DS2!

DD doesn't start her prelims until next Monday. Wonder if her high school is last to sit them? I know some local schools were the first two weeks of term and some are on study leave now. She's remarkably steady considering the freak out she had at the start of December. Fingers crossed it lasts.

Reader - they do seem really late. Ds' prelims were finished before Christmas - but he does have another practice run (not done as formally as prelims) in late Feb/early March so I believe

Our school does S4 prelims in December but S5&6 in January. I don't remember them being this late the previous two years though.

No ones heard from Dd. Hoping it went ok.

Ds has graphic communications tomorrow x

I hope your daughter got on OK, Groovee

She said it went badly.

Ds said Graphic Communication was all done in 45 minutes instead of the 2 hours but the whole class were done.

Oh, I’m sorry it went badly!

DS has been studying all morning. He has his final two tomorrow (Philosophy and Computer Science/IT/whatever it’s called these days). They are two of his favourites but I think he’s starting to feel he’s sat enough exams so I’m trying to encourage him to just push through.

One of his friends has two exams today and two tomorrow. Ouch!

Dd got so anxious in her physics that she walked out and came home.
Not going well here at all

I'm glad I'm not still doing exams - sounds like a lot have had a tough time. Hopefully the real things go better.

Dd got a C in higher business. She was one mark off a B. The case study threw her.

Ds said chemistry was so so. He was fine with what he knew and struggled a little bit.

DD has chemistry on Friday, her last one.
She's not well either, another chest infection so antibiotics and steroids, she's prone to them.
On a slightly brighter note she took her boyfriend to meet her school friends yesterday which went really well.

I'm getting through it by eating lots of cheese

IHaveBrilloHair - better that she does it in a Prelim than in the actual exam.

Can she put her finger on why she felt she had to leave? Did she just panic or was it because she didn't feel well? There are techniques she can learn to address feelings of panic. Idly she felt she didn't know the stuff, then she knows what she needs to work on - whether on her own/revision, with the school or a tutor.

She suffers with anxiety and takes meds for it, but she won't really talk about it.

A few results here so far. Ds2 failed both Nat 5 Maths and H Music - both scores in the 20s %. DS1 passed his Physics AH and got 30 something %for his AH Maths. He says the Maths score was consistent with the class but he'd done no study at all. One boy apparently got 1% but had just put down the same answer for all the questions and randomly got one right.

I think the results will be an opportunity to take stock and work out a study plan...

I hope so for you, and me too, but I'm not sure.
Dd is so capable but then just doesn't.
I need more cheese.

DS1 doesn't need to pass his exams, I'm sure he will do some study and do better in the real things though. He is reasonably motivated and has a bright future ahead of him, he is easy to support from that point of view and I hope he comes out his shell and sees that engaging with people will make him happier.

DS2 - well, he is my gorgeous baby boy. we had such high academic hopes for him but that just doesn't seem to be his future. He is bright and engaging and happy. He likes school, he is a decent human being and citizen. Things could be a lot worse. He just needs to figure out how he is going to earn a living. I'd rather not nail him to the study table tbh he needs to want it. He is 16, if he ends up doing dead end jobs for a bit after school and maybe even comes back to education as an adult, there are worse outcomes.

So, in essence I'm going to be encouraging and supportive but chill the feck out for the next few months. I didn't work as hard as i could at school, I didn't go to Uni and I had no clue what I wanted to do. DH was worse than me. We've still managed to make a decent life for ourselves and our family.

So good luck to those still to do exams and hope everyone gets the results they want, but if they don't then it's important to give it some perspective, maybe they may need to follow a different path to the one you or they hoped for but that's maybe not a bad thing and certainly not the end of the world.