GCSEs 2012 support thread

[Kez100]

Here we go........hold on tight!

I did most of mine in year 10 so I only have 5 exams in may (2 already finished :P) then I am off until September

English Lit today too for my DD -- on her birthday no less. M+M on friendship and death as a theme in Romeo and Juliet. She was shaking when she came out, poor lamb. Hope she did ok. She said she ran out of time for second question but had detailed notes/plan. That was turned in as well, is there a chance examiners will consider her notes for marks too??

She has poetry on Thursday and first paper for English Lang on Friday. No coursework so the exams are 100 pct of her mark.
Breakfast was sausage and egg buttie and coffee, and a few drops of Rescue Remedy pre exam!

secret the arm seems maybe slightly better, but certainly no worse (still has raised red lines running up the veins though) and she coped OK today in spite of a headache. Thanks for asking. I think the antibiotics (started yesterday) should improve things soon. The problem with them is taking them 4x a day on an empty stomach (I've been told ideally you shouldn't eat for 2 hours after taking them) and with her grazing habits it's hard to find any moments when her stomach is empty let alone 4 such moments every day!

Good luck with the PE theory your end too.

BackforGood that sounds a bit of a mad way of doing things! I find it fascinating the way that different schools approach the same exams. I'm sure DS is doing the same exams as your DD MagnetaDreamer but doing everything at different times. I do think its hard work to take all both the exams in year 10 though.

DS has done all the controlled assessments for English Language and will take the exam next week English Lit will be done in year 11. DS is on course for an A* but I don't think he would be if he'd been doing bits of both at the same time

WebWiz - I was a bit sceptical when DD told me they would be sitting exams in both in yr10. But there has been alot of cross over work. DD has done a CA for English Language using Of Mice and Men, plus a Speaking assessment that was also based on OMAM so I can see why they would enter for the first Unit exam in English Lit as the work has been covered and is still fresh so to speak.

I suppose each school has its own way of doing it. At least with the English Language one year then English lit the next then I can keep track of what it going on I find the science modules provide enough confusion without adding more from other subjects.

Oh yes, don't start me on the farce that has been the science modules and resits.
Sorry Webwiz I added an extra 'z' on to your name earlier

Science is indeed a nightmare. DD sat a module at the begining of yr11, which she had already sat in yr10 and got a B for, because her teacher insisted that she needed to do it!

THEN, just 2 weeks ago, she suddenly got a feeling that she hadn't been entered into a module that she missed due to illness in yr10! Sure enough, her Science teacher hadn't entered her and his response was, 'oh, good job you noticed that!'

Good luck to all your DCs! And remember that GCSEs aren't the end of the world :)

Thanks cinnamonnut but don't tell ds that yet.

Good luck to all of yours :)

My DD has a second Chemistry module on Thursday, then two History papers to do after half term. She is still in Y10. So far she has done a maths module in Y9, another in Y10 and Physics and Chemistry in Y10. At least when I did O levels it was all over in a few weeks...hers go on for years!

DD1 has 24 exams - nearly all done linear already which actually I am happy about as she is youngest in year and Year 10 exams didn't go that well (so 3 of 24 are resits). Think hers must have started earlier as 8 done now and 16 to go (finish 20th June). Mice and Men today, like most others, and English her waekest subject (along with German) but she seemed happy with it so that is a result already. Our biggest success was Maths which we don't know the result of yet but which, after 5 years of Maths terror, she though was "hard but I think I did OK". Reduced several to tears so was apparently horrible.

Food intake also very wierd - lots of cups of tea though and endless Mr Kipling cakes!

Morning all. PE today. Breakfast is chicken Fajitas with strawberries raspberries and pineapple with orange juice. Whatever he wants is fine by me with Egg fried rice to dinner tonight ;-). Secret squirrels, ds here also hoping for an A/A* in PE. Pressure is on tomorrow though 2 exams each day, chem and eng lit (poetry) on Thursday and Friday is DT and economics.
Good luck everyone, we can do this and of course our dc.

IGCSE Physics today. DD doesn't find this easy so I will have lots of fingers and toes crossed.

What an interesting breakfast Idontknow- lucky DS.

Where is best place to buy Revision guides . Ann planning ahead as ds2 is y10

We have some from school as they are working them hard and they have exams this week in y10 in full control conditions he is hoping to get a few out the way for next year if grades are high enough

But am trying be organised for next year to .

My laid back teen is tired and stressed and is now battling a chrons flair up to despite extra steroids

RS here today, he hates RS

RS here as well

Nothing here today, Ds is still fast asleep in bed.

Revision resources we have used:

CCH guides are preferred here (but we have used Letts to, which were OK) - make sure you get the ones for the right exam board and specification (they seem to keep changing!)

For English Lit you can get York Notes for the books and maybe the anthologies but the specification covers lots of books and poems and the schools choose which to study - so don't buy until you know which ones your DC will be examined on.

Find past papers and mark schemes online and print them off (I did get fed up with printing off Maths and paid for a set of three from CCH website, so if you want ease you can do that but it costs - also make sure you get right exam board and specifiction.).

Just two revision classes here today and the others she will study in the library, I understand.

DS is at home today and in a shock turn of events he is awake and in the shower! I thought it would be a good couple of hours before he surfaced so this is a pleasant surprise :o

Try and find a revision method that works.

I've a non-scientist too - past papers were her thing. If she is sitting foundation some questions (well they were on the old spec) were common sense or comprehension - knowing that gives you some confidence you can pick up a few marks and then they just need to work on improving those marks with work.

Well done Bringback DS.......I look forward to the next report from you - that his books are open!

IGCSE Chemistry this afternoon.
DD1 is pants not great at it. A C grade will do us just fine!