Prelims 2022/23

[CrabbitBastard]

DD is now in S4 and has been told her prelims will be starting at the end of November which seems a bit earlier than I remember? Is this normal? Will they get any study leave and if not, how should she be studying?

I know past papers are more for the final exams than for the prelims. She says Bitesize is shite but she does always do her homework and I got her some 'how to pass' books. She also plans to start a 'study club' with her pals where they take it in turns to go to each others houses to study. I'm a bit worried they will mess about although tbf they do tend to all get good grades in tests so far. I've told DD if I get any hint that they aren't really studying, then the study group stops!

Any one else's DCs preparing for prelims? Any tips from teachers?

Oh your poor kid, I'm sorry to hear that, he has done well in his prelims so far.

Ds has sat higher prelims for English, physics and maths this week and has computing and chemistry next week. Seems to think he's done OK so far

DD got an A for English paper 1, a C for English paper 2 and has paper 3 next week. Has done better than she thought but still insists she's 'crap' at English. Not sure what the overall mark will be or if they give an overall prelim mark. Apparently the teacher said paper 2 (RUAE) was harder than the Higher English one.

Still waiting for ds3”s English results but he did find paper 2 very difficult. He is supposed to get extra time for his exams but hasn’t been given it for these prelims and didn’t finish maths or physics. So far A for music and B for chemistry so a good start!

If he doesn't get extra time for prelims, he doesn't have evidence that he needs it for the exams. I wouldn't be happy about that at all. Have you asked the school why? Message his guidance or learning support teacher (or the school office) and ask someone to call you.

That’s not good! He had extra time for most subjects last year. I had asked him to speak to his teachers and guidance teacher, she is usually brilliant, about it but I will definitely contact her myself. The school have a named person who is supposed to sort this out. She contacted him a couple of days before his computer science exam to ask if he wanted to type it (crash higher so no precedent from last year) so I’d thought it was all organised. It was when he said he’d didn’t finish chemistry or physics I discovered it wasn’t. He has ASD and DCD which affects his processing and writing speed. It also helps if he is in a smaller room which comes with having the extra time.

Son has sat here more timed assessments this week. He turned his 47% in History into a 65%, and his 67% in Physics into an 80%. God bless insulin haha.

Maths was so frustrating. He felt well during the first paper and got 89%. Went into hypo during the other paper and got 60%. No separate accomodation or extra time, and he didn't feel like he could deal with it properly when everyone else was trying to do an assessment. So, couldn't pause the clock and treat his medical condition, and also potentially put himself in a dangerous state.

Meeting with the school after half term...

That’s great that his results improved so much.

Poor wee soul having to go through all that before Christmas though.

Do you think it will take him a while to us just to what he needs to do in different circumstances? It must be hard.

Do you mean why might he need extra time? His blood glucose will fluctuate far more than a normal teen's, so it's harder for him to concentrate in exam conditions in the same way. The actual experience of exams is also likely to mess about with his blood glucose levels more than a usual day (the adrenaline and nerves will impact how his body responds to insulin).

Half term here. Our only goal is to get the English folio in the template and submitted. I've read over his latest draft and feel confident it's sitting quite high, so it'll be great to send the damned thing in and get it gone!

How is everyone's kids doing with the English folio? Deadline soon for N5!

DD has submitted her English folio. She has a tutor who checked it over and thinks its a high standard. She also did better in her English prelim than expected but RUAE was hard and because English Higher is needed for pretty much every uni course, a tutor is important. We've also gotten her tutors for the two subjects she got Ds for. Costing us quite a bit but if it helps her develop study skills then that's worth it.

@FuckingHateRats No, I was just meaning it must be difficult for him to adjust to e.g. what to do if his levels change mid-exam.

Yeah, it's why he needs separate accomodation really. He has to stop the clock and check his blood and treat it with glucose and a snack, and wait for his concentration levels to return to normal before continuing. It's a lot, poor kid.

@FuckingHateRats Dgs (11) has diabetes and his levels can be affected by so many different things. He was diagnosed when he was 5 so we’ve had plenty of practice but I still make the wrong call occasionally. Your ds sounds as if he is copying really well with it but do push to get the conditions he needs for his exams.
Ds3 is still waiting for his maths results but ABBBB for the others. That’s better than I was expecting really so all good so far!