Countdown to exam results. Anyone else feeling anxious?

[jellybrain]

Waiting for DS1's Gcses results on 22nd of August. He did really well last year but, all the talk of moving grade boundaries has got me worried. Fingers are very tightly crossed for maths as this is the subject he struggles with most.

We don't have a reward policy as such, but after good reports etc have always been for a really nice meal out and toasted their hard work. This has carried on to bigger exams too. Personally, I don't believe in 'bribes' for exam results, as lots seem to do. I think they have to learn to work hard for themselves, and great results are the best reward they can get. But that's just me! . Interested to see what others do though.

yes, I've always balked at the £10-per-A type reward, but then I wonder whether mine might feel short-changed if their friends' parents do things like that... Assuming they get any, of course!

DD1 would never ask for or expect monetary reward for exam success. She, unlike my other two DC, has an appreciation of What Stuff Costs.

Mine don't get anything. We never have, but we took them out for a meal when they had finished their exams.
DD got AS results last week and is now trying to sort out universities and personal statements. I think she was too scared to really think about it before.
DS gets GCSE results on Thursday, so a bit more angst here!

Remembering now, Dd did one GCSE last year, and I took her for lunch and asked if there was anything she especially wanted that it would be a good time to treat her to, and she wanted some jeans, so I did. Will prob do something like that again, I guess.

So no-one's planning any big-wow rewards then? That makes me feel reassured!

Nit - DD1 is going to see Richard II at the barbican in the autumn without her sibs. So if she wants to view that as an exams reward (unlikely to be applicable though :( ) then I suppose that's up to her but realistically I'm not going to sell her ticket if things have gone tits up. And we both know she is going as an excuse for me to go, anyway!

We went to see Midsummer Night's Dream outside yesterday (next time I'll be taking at least one blanket... because dd had a letter from the English department outlining set texts and recommended reading, and saying they should see a Shakespeare play. (Am trying to ignore my misgivings that it also listed TMOTF by George ElLiot, and Brideshead Revisted by 'Evalan Waugh', and hoping it just got sent via a non-literary oriented secretary .)

We all enjoyed it, but the first thing she said this morning was 'I know what I forgot to say about the play - why was Puck wearing that fanny pack??'.

Better than glitter and briefer-than-briefs, I suppose...

Such a shame it wasn't The Tempest! Was that the one with David Walliams?

Both Brideshead and TMOTF have been A level set texts in the past and are therefore on most recommended reading lists for A Level lit students. I'm not fond of either but they are on our suggested summer reading list.

I have no problem with the texts themselves, englishteacher, just the mis-spellings of the authors' names!

No David Walliams, Russians - quite a small-scale production at a local agricultural college (touring, but there ATM). I kept expecting to see Pip Archer round every corner...

Oops sorry - reading quickly! Yup that is bloody awful. I still don't like them though.
If they have a departmental secretary in English they are very lucky! We don't - I'd keep a close eye on them.

Oh, I am a sod for the old close eye

Kite Runner and Dorian Gray are the ones she has to read - which is pretty standard too, from what I gather.

Have no idea what time to go there on Thursday! Have checked my emails and not found any info on times! Is there a standard time to go in?

The information should be on school website. Schools don't have a standard time. Ours is 10am. I'm always more nervous about GCSE results.

Beginning to get nervous now! DD seems calm and not bovvered. Hoping for some As but know she's failed IT as she never finished the work. Sigh. No rewards plan but said I'd pay for to go out for a meal with boyfriend. Didn't set a qualifying level so I guess she gets meal whatever.

I want her to do well but need to not be sniffy if she doesn't. Somehow!

Dd wants to go on her own to get her results so we will both be at work desperately waiting for a phone call! I don't even know if I will be able to take the call when she rings - aaargh!

No treats planned here (although we may have to come up with something) and certainly don't pay per grade etc. Success should be its own reward!

mindgone At our school is 10.00 as well, some schools open earlier, but if you can't find out from the website it is probably a good time to aim for!

GCSE related dreams have started. DS went to get his results and got the expected C's for them - then he exclaimed 'But where are all my other results?' it turned out he had in fact done 21 GCSEs in all !!!?) and the other results would be made available the following day.... WTF?

Creamteas, thanks, will aim for 10 then, unless he hears different from his friends. Results dreams started here a long time ago! And me too!

Doors open at 9.00 here, but Y10s are asked not to go until 11.00 if possible. Which makes sense, but DS is a bit miffed to wait a bit longer. Plus he wants to be sure his friends go at the same time.

We aren't planning any treats for results this year or any other year. We reward the work put in for exams/music grades etc.

DS can go at 9.00am. I'm not so nervous about these. I found waiting for AS results last week more scary! I think I know that DS will have done well enough to go into his school's sixth form and he doesn't need hundreds of A*s as he won't be applying to Oxbridge, so currently feeling fairly relaxed. This all might change of course!
At DC's school AS results couldn't be collected until later, as A2 results were given out first. They don't do any GCSEs in Y10, so not an issue here.