Science GCSEs level 1 start this week!

[OrmIrian]

I'm hyperventilating on behalf of DS1.... who had one wobble the day before he went back to school but is now irritatingly calm. I am dragging him kicking and screaming through his revision books. We have had lots of eye-rolling, tutting, surreptitious looking at the laptop, attempts to distract me with the Flight of Conchord DVDs.... but we've finished Biology! Hurrah! Exam on Thursday

Just chemistry and physics now.....

It's a bloody nightmare. I avoided science as much as possible at school and just scraped a C in biology. At least it makes DS feel better - he does at least know more than me.

Anyone else ?

Cornwall isn't ghastly. It's absolutely beautiful.

The effort put in to ensure these children are not plied with alcohol is immense but, in many cases, they bring it with them and - in some cases - actually given it by their parents to bring.

Something is ghastly about this, but it isn't Cornwall.

I'm assuming this in in England?

My DS is in Yr10 but in Wales, he had examns in the 3 sciences and in history and geography in the middle of December. I don't know if he has any more coming up.

Apparently the ones in December were to sort out which Sets they were going into and the sciences were to decide on double or triple award.

We've had a diary from school showing everything for all years on it and there are a lot of GCSE exams on there but it doesn't say if they are Yr10 or Yr11.

hahahahahaha

at Cornwall isn't ghastly

She means the teen alco-drug parties there, not Cornwall actual (I assume)

Hullygully. Indeed the parties are ghastly. Dangerous too when you build in the alcohol fuelled formula, sea, beaches, tides and cliffs.

GCSEs really demand a lot of effort from day 1 of year 10 now. Whatever people say about them, anyone coming away with grades on their fair target will have had to put in some consistent effore.

And last night he came with a load of maths hw?
To be completed by tomorrow......

Let me join the team. Biology on Thursday, ICT on Friday, Chemistry and Physics next week.

While some kids suffer from the lack of confidence, DD has an opposite problem - "I know EVERYTHING, LEAVE ME ALONE!". Exactly the same shouts and stomping I had prior to math this autumn: she had Statistics in Y9 and Knew Everything Without Revision. That story ended in tears, and apparently did not teach her anything.

My yr11 DD is so laid back about her exams at the moment that she's almost horizontal. Why do children seem to be one extreme or another?

My ds is 10 and has biology tomorrow, these are the same modular exams from 15- 20 years ago yes?

The 40% comment up there somewhere scared me a bit!

Ds is pretty chilled but does appear to have been doing a fair amount of revision and being staying for revision classes.

Yr9 statistics went very well so I have been trusting his judgement.

I fucked my gcse's up massively and am trying not to assume he's like me. He's not at all but I do worry about him.

Now I am worried. DS is also doing ICT. Why isn't he doing exams now to?

Perhaps he is. perhaps he just hasn't told us.

Orm, isn't he yr10 like mine?

Some people are talking about exams further on, I believe.

Yes, yr 10. I guess so.

Just checked school website for the exams timetable and there is nothing else he should be doing. Phew!

I didn't realise the exams were only an hour long. He;s going to have to knuckle down quite quickly

More bio tonight

My DD is doing the flippin iGCSEs for science- they are sooo hard as no course work or modules, just an exam at the end so you need to know and remember EVERYTHING.

They are supposed to prepare pupils better for the rigours of A level science but if she is not great at science and not looking to do do A level anyway- I so wish she was able to do modular science.

I have been helping her with the Biology and DH has basically learned the chemistry (which he has never studied before) and the physics (which he took) from her book in order to revise it with her.

I think between us we could take and pass the exams ourselves!

She has her science mocks on Thursday and next Monday so we are expecting lots of tantrums and door slamming for the next few days!

My son has some exams (GCSEs) this week and next week. I don't revise with him.

A friend was telling me about her raised cholesterol the other day. She was somewhat astonished when I told her all about the HDLs and LDLs and their journeying to and from the liver. It was all I could do not to draw a diagram.

I just found a past paper (Jan 2010) online. was working my way through it and panicking because I couldn't do all of it. had to remind myself that it wasn't me that was doing it.....

The bit I hate most is the sodding menstrual cycle and sodding FSH and LH Aghhhhhhhh

Yus!

I didn't much care for it when I was experiencing it either.

If GCSEs are going all big-bang again, does that mean that these exams are meaningless? I mean if DS is doing these modules now will he also have to do the BIG end of year 11 GCSEs too>

Meh! Ignore me, have answered my own question.

You are all making me feel a bit bad now! DD1 is doing the science papers and I haven't been revising with her at all - she has just been squirrelled away in her room with her books. Think I will go ask her if she is ok

Ds did english yesterday and maths today. Still got ethics, physics, chemistry, biology and geography. Always ask if he wants testing (got some science revision aids which are good so just read out the questions and look up the answers). Geography is something called "sustainable decision making" English was something to do with newspapers - couldn't really help on that. Was a bit worried about english as he failed his mock as simply didn't answer two big questions due to his bad time management. Hopefully this was sorted by teacher in after school revision and extensive classroom revision - said it went "Okay" which was what he said after the mock. Can't help with maths as it looks beyond Einstein level to me - said it went "okay" today -

Hullygully - agree about the menstrual cycle bit! Did that last year - never knew it was so complicated! Now an expert on the workings of the female body, protons, neutrons and nuclear fusion.

My daugher blames me for forcing her (I didn't, I just strongly encouraged it) to take triple science instead of double. She loathes it.

She has two interviews for colleges next week as well, to add that stress into the mix, and has to prepare 2 different 10 min PP presentations for each.

She came home earlier in a foul mood, stropped around all over, then burst into tears. I feel really sorry for her, she has got into such a state lately. She is considering junking the idea of studying a levels and doing a BTEC diploma thingy .

She is now sitting watching repeats of the OC, sucking her thumb after having eaten two bowls of coco pops. Bless her.

Polgara - don't feel guilty, I was the same with dd until recently. I don't think there is a right way or a wrong way to approach revision, somethimes I actually think I don't help dd and just wind her up.

Folks - tomorrows biology paper is worth 25% not 40% of the total marks of the biology GCSE, same with chem and phys. It's unit 1, then ther are another 2 units, each worth 25%, and the controlled assessment also worht 25%.