Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Sign in here if your child is in Yr11 - taking GCSE's this Summer.

527 replies

Milliways · 18/01/2011 18:48

Hi
Apologies if this has been done this year, but I found a similar thread very supportive when DD started the exam treadmill (not at Uni) and we are about to start again with DS.

Milliboy is 15, late Summer baby so cannot get a job until the end of the Summer hols, when they will have all gone. Good news is - this gives him more revision time Grin

He is at a boys selective Grammar school, so the pressure is on to achieve. He also wants to aim for a decent Uni so understands that good GCSE grades are vital.

Still doesn't make the whole process any easier for him or me :)

Who else has boarded the 2011 Exam Express?

OP posts:
NotaMopsa · 26/05/2011 21:25

jbj might be worth taking some paracetamol and or nurafen before tomorrows exam?

jgbmum · 26/05/2011 21:49

He can't take either without throwing up - sorry is that tmi?

But thanks for the thought!

NotaMopsa · 26/05/2011 21:54

poor him and sorry for typo

is it stress?

jgbmum · 26/05/2011 22:01

Partly stress, & partly tiredness through concentrating on books for so long, and dehydartion - I do encourage him to take water into school, and have a long drink of water with his breakfast. He only gets them 3-4 times a year, and generally takes himself off to bed for 2-3 hours and sleeps himself better.
Just bad timing on weds!

NotaMopsa · 26/05/2011 22:38

oh no good vibes and luck for tomorrow!

lawstudentmum · 26/05/2011 23:10

Hi, Just seen this thread and wanted to join in if that is alright with all - DD doing her GCSE's and I am in the middle of doing 3rd year law exams - STRESS... Why did I try to prove to myself that I could go to Uni at 37 and do law? Anyway supporting each other, but I worry that she doesn't seem to ever take a break and she is not eating very well, I keep trying to get her to go on a dog walk with me but she says she hasn't got time - I'm worried about her - not much sleep, not eating well, and stress not a good mix. Or maybe she can take it...good luck to all your dd and ds and to you all, it is hard to watch them go through this sometimes but I am proud of dd.

mumblechum1 · 27/05/2011 07:21

Blimey, I honestly don't understand why ppl like your dd says she doesn't have time.

DS does 2.5 hours per day, most of his friends do 45 mins to 1 hour per day and they're all predicted A/A* for at least 6 subjects, the rest Bs.

There's a limit to how much you can revise for, eg, a one hour chemistry module when the majority of the work (coursework and other modules) are already under their belt imo.

DS is still spending loads of time watching films with his mates, going to parties etc and I think a balance is q healthy.

mumblechum1 · 27/05/2011 07:21

(I mean time to relax)

MABS · 27/05/2011 07:30

poor ds jgb, good luck to him today. Physics is easily her worst, 4 hours spent revising with dh prompted me to go out house last night! Mine seems to be able to relax ok, just the waking up after thats a struggle :(

jgbmum · 27/05/2011 09:53

Thanks for the good wishes for DS Smile

He is fine now, and at school yesterday he did 2 practice Physics papers so I hope it goes well for him, and all our DCs today.

MABS · 27/05/2011 13:46

DD said physics could have been worse today!

Original poster
Milliways · 27/05/2011 16:22

DS thought Physics went well too :)

Welcome aboard LawstudentMum - good luck for your exams too!

OP posts:
frostyfingers · 27/05/2011 16:30

I have twins doing their GCSE's which is a nightmare, as they are really competitive with each other....

Younger dt has been unwell for two days, he came home mid morning yesterday with stomach pains and headaches, so I sent him to bed. Although he didn't have exams today I made him go in for Chemistry and Physics lessons and picked him up at lunch time. He's not eating much, looking like a sheet and not comfortable moving around either. He used to have stomach migraines when he was 8/9 which I thought they grow out of, but do you think he could be having them again as there's no nausea or upset stomach....

Thank god it's half term and they can have a breather.

emmspemms · 27/05/2011 16:42

DS did quite a lot of revision for physics yesterday ( or so I thought smugly to myself , but then I found him on the xbox......)
Physics was OK though, the exam was only 45 minutes and together with biology and chemistry makes a Science GCSE. Is that what everyone else did?
He wants to take A level Biology next year, so needs a good result .
Half term ! Hurrah !
It was DH turn to oversleep this morning, I was at work , he woke with a jump at 07.35 and was in a huge panic , DS had leisurely shower , "ordered " a fried egg and bacon roll and still caught the bus at 08.25 !

Cupawoman · 27/05/2011 16:50

My son had chemistry today but feels he messed up 'the calculations' as everyone else had the same (different to him) answers. Sad Oh well. Time will tell.

balia · 27/05/2011 18:18

Very pleased half term is here - DD had her last Maths lesson (exam is first day back) and is very chipper, off to spend the night with her grandparents and then going to a party tomorrow, so she should have a really good break. And she'll have to clean her room this week - it'll be a nice break from revision.

mumblechum1 · 27/05/2011 19:01

Emmspemms, some are taking three separate Science GCSEs, which is what ds is doing.

He had chemistry today and said it wasn't anywhere near as hard as he'd expected (the teacher had put the fear of God into them Grin.

He's off to Devon for a week partying with his mates for half term so there will be zero revision.

A lot of the girls are apparently still getting into a twist about revision and planning to work all over half term.

kangers · 27/05/2011 20:14

My son is not going away this week- in fact my DD is going to Anglesey with a friend so just 2 BS here- it may mean he can concentrate a bit better. I am justb praying he sues the time well.

Loshad · 27/05/2011 23:00

I don't think suing the time will help him Kangers Grin

kangers · 29/05/2011 20:32

loshad ! uses!
He has done nothing all weekend- back to square one. Only works when under pressure.

NotaMopsa · 29/05/2011 20:41

oh agree Kangers - i find this hard 'just chilling' 'need a break'

me 'errr ... ok' wanders off silently weeping and tears some more clumps out

mumblechum1 · 29/05/2011 21:45

DS and his mates were doing some serious partying this weekend, he's just getting over it now (dodgy kebab, apparently Hmm)and packing for Devon so has done zero work since Fri, and I can't see any being done next week.

Don't fret, NotaMopsa, they'll all be fine. They're not THAT hard, and they've done most of the work already in coursework & modules.

mountaingirl · 30/05/2011 22:23

I have just had an argument with ds1 over his feeble time spent revising. He came back home Friday from boarding school, said he was tired so agreed to have the weekend off and relax.

Today he finally sat down at 1:30 to do maths. Did a one hour paper, stopped and marked it. I made him a cup of tea... Persuaded him to do more, he did part of another paper. By the time I had collected ds2 and come home, half an hour maximum, he had finished and packed up. If he was lucky he had just done 2 hours...he refused to do anything else, any other subject so we got into a shouting match when I was looking at his exam timetable. He has science, geography and history amongst others coming up. Has told me he'll do the latter two at school! No he won't!! He thinks 2 hours is enough and that his friends are doing less. I must say I am surprised at others going away etc. Surely this is when they should be revising?

mumblechum1 · 30/05/2011 23:37

tbh, 2 hours is about right imo. Many of ds's friends are doing 45 mins to 1 hour per day, and they're all super bright grammar school boys and predicted a minimum of 6 or 7 A*/A.

As I said earlier in the thread, there's often not that much to revise as they've done 80% of the science stuff already.

Maths is different, though, and I'm expecting ds to go for it for a couple of days before the exam on MOn.

frostyfingers · 31/05/2011 09:07

Just wonderful - my ds's had done their French and German speaking exams, huge sighs of relief all round. Only to discover that some numpty of a teacher (not the subject teacher) had DELETED, yes DELETED all of it - the whole year's speaking exams so they have to resit.

So, on top of all the stress they have to find time for re-revision, and re-sit two more exams. What's more we have had no official notification from the school, nothing. I'm so cross on their behalf I could strangle the wretched person......

Swipe left for the next trending thread