2019 Scottish Exam Support Thread

[Groovee]

Just getting started on this year's thread.

Only got Ds sitting 5 exams this year in S5. 🤞🏻 but Dd will be home most of the time as she's on placement.

DD finished biology Nat 5 at 2:30 too, but no one was allowed to leave the exam room until 3.15.

She said it was ok because there was an ant on her table so she played with that for 45 minutes.

Dd had higher biology today, found paper 1 ok but she didn't like paper 2. Modern Studies tomorrow, so no rest poor soul!

My DD2 started with Nat 5 Biology today and also finished early . She's pretty laid back but can't tell how she's done .Either disaster or triumph I think .Some posts on Twitter about the Nat 5 paper being ridiculous but she didn't get yo chst to teachers as she just wandered home. Maths on Frid

Hello everyone, I'm a bit late to the party but DD had her first Nat 5 yesterday (biology). She said it was "quite different" to the past papers but she's been on Student Room and thinks she's done ok. Maths next, the subject she's least confident in, so the entire household will be glad when it's out of the way ☺️

Superjaggy that was us last year! We have a breather now till next week, then it's higher Spanish, English & Chemistry!

Biology for DD4 yesterday not sure if she's done enough for the B she wants to continue to Higher , but she always thinks the worst. Modern Studies Nat 5 for her today and Higher for DD3. Now DD4 has Applications of Maths Nat 5 tomorrow, Nat5 Maths on Friday .contemplating midweek gin . Then I double up as maw and in house English expert

The Mail has picked up the story about Biology being "weird". DS was not thrown at all by it and didn't think it was unfair. Said there were a couple of head scratching questions which is to be expected and that he couldn't remember if the heart's left ventricle was on the left as you looked at the patient, or from the patient's perspective.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6981395/Furious-students-slam-Scottish-exam-board-biology-paper.html

He did panic as he looked at the Mail images though as they are all from the Higher paper. Typical reporting in that they don't really understand the system and garble on about Nat 5 / Higher as if it's the same thing, headline says "nat 5" and the images are all Higher papers, the article also says "students aged 15 and 16 have sat the biology and higher biology exams, which form part of the National 5 qualifications, over the past few days". Well researched reporting, that's for sure.

Wouldn't be exam season without some people creating a stooshie about one of the papers though, would it?

Higher maths today to luck to all DC sitting this today! Dd wants to study this at uni but she doesn’t trust the SQA after her friends experience with higher biology! Come to think of it maybe today may be full of biology!!😉

Dd2 has Higher Maths today. She will be fine as long as she doesn't let her nerves get to her. She keeps calling to check things, I'm on the bus to work and feel that I must sound like a performance parent. "now don't forget to write + c in the integration"

DD doing H maths today. Got a B in the prelim but would like an A. I just hope she doesn't panic and end up with a C as she wants to do AH maths (fancies an economics degree). I will be glad when this one is over. I have a maths degree and still work in maths but have been rubbish at helping out.

Know what you mean about the nerves and that’s just me!!! My husband has a maths degree to so has been trying to help but as for me I barley passed my o grade so am no use whatsoever!!! Think that’s why I come out in a cold sweat just thinking about it!! Let’s keep our fingers crossed it goes well for them all!🤞🍀

Ds away for Higher Maths, he really wants to do AH so is putting pressure on himself. Like someone else said, I'm hoping his humour will improve now he's started! Dd2 has a day off today after exams fri, mon, tues , wed. Nothing till next Thursday now. She's away to Stirling to meet the boyfriend from his maths exam - loves young dream!

Donkey I couldn't understand the people complaining about the graph questions as we had been doing these with Dd the week before, so they must be taught in the course. They are her least favourite certainly, but being able to interpret data seems fairly important to me! Dd doesn't seem to think it was unfair, just not any fun. As you say, there are always complaints of some kind. Good luck to all the maths people, we get that next year - dd's maths teacher told her she couldn't handle higher, she then got an A in Nat5, so next year it is.

Yep, Maths. DS also wants to do this at uni so it’s his big one. He wants to do AH Maths and Statistics next year so hopefully it will go well. E came downstairs the other day to announce that he’d gotten 100% on one of the last papers only to dampen that a bit by saying it was the third time he’d done the paper!

Dd who is really good at maths usually in the 90s said it was awful!!! Way harder than the specimen papers and not far behind the 2015 paper!!! Better hope they lower the grade boundaries!!🙈

DD found H Maths okay but she's more a 65-75% girl. She's hoping to be the right-side of the A boundary. How did AH maths go?

DS thought it went really well. Am now hoping that’s not a case of overconfidence which he is prone to.

Glad your 2 found it ok. My Dd could well be over catastophising it. I suspect she has done better than she thinks!!🤞😉

Mine thought Higher and AH were OK. Harder than last year but not as bad as they could have been.

Seem to have been a few trick/unexpected questions which needed keeping the head.

Dd2 enjoyed the maths exam and thought it went very well. Lots of her friends didn't think it went so well though.
Ive had a look and there were quite a few straight forward questions, some variations of standard questions as well as the tricky ones. There were also a few questions that if you have done the pre 2010 papers would have been familiar. As the paper was longer there was more repetition of topics so good or bad depending on you confidence in those.

Ds has higher PE, Human Biology amd maths out of the way, he’s always done really well at biology, always had As but I’m not holding my breath for his suits as he said he found the paper really hard.
English next week then an almost 3 week break till Geography

Hi all
Did anyone's DC do the AH Mods paper yesterday.

The whole class found the questions very difficult to decipher and fit their knowledge and learning around.

Good luck with N5 Maths today. Remind them that if paper 1 is bad then paper 2 should be easier. It should be about 60% level C content over both papers.

Nat 5 maths for my DD today, I hope it's not a stinker! Good luck to all other mathematicians

Opened my mouth to wish DS luck with Maths this morning and he cut me off with "I know mum, exams are about getting the best mark not getting them finished as quickly as possible, take my time and go over the answers again".

So maybe it is sinking in.