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.

[BeckAndCall]

My DD is having nightmares every day over AS results onThursday. Poor little thing. In order to apply where she wants to do what she wants, she knows she needs a 93 average UMS score and you just can't guess if you've got it or not. Still, 4 more days and we'll know.

We need to plan massive distractions for the next few days.... For me as well as her!

[Tinuviel]

DS1 is home ed and took 2 this year. When I asked him if he was getting nervous, he just said, "Oh, I'd forgotten about those!" So just me here worrying.

[englishteacher78]

I'm a teacher. I'm more nervous about results day now than I ever was as a teacher.

[BrigitBigKnickers]

Another nervous mum and DD Waiting for AS results on 15th August. DD is amazingly hard working and spent every hour God sends working for her exams. Against all expectations pulled a load of A grades out of the bag last year for GCSEs but thinks she has done really badly this year.

Will be so disappointed for her if she doesn't get the grades she deserved. Keeping everything crossed.

University applications next- unfortunately she has no idea what she wants to do-more angst ahead methinks.

[mindgone]

Mumslife, why will it not be possible this year?

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

Gove. :(

[boschy]

yes Gove. had to sweep past Sunday Times story yest about falling maths and science results. luckily for DD1, she's got her (mod) science in the bag at roughly an A - v proud of that one. but maths _ i can only predict a disaster.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

Boschy Did you mean to be so incredibly insensitive?

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

mumslife Yes. And with typical Govian skill, he has devised a mechanism to 'deal' with the effects of the cheaty, game the system schools which enter pupils for bite size modules every 5 minutes, which allows those kids to keep their results but hammers the non-cheaty terminal exams all at one time kids. :(

[mindgone]

Russians, I didn't find Boschy's post at all insensitive! All our DCs are going to do better at some subjects than others!

[heronsfly]

We are getting nervous about next weeks gcse results too,my dd2 has worked so hard, but all the talk about grade boundaries moving is adding to the stress.i keep telling her that everyone will be in the same boat but thats not much help for this years students.

[mummaemma]

DD1 has her AS level results. Only waiting for Art Result as already got her Distinction * award for her Business diploma. She's hoping for a B. fingers crossed.

[MrsWeasley]

Waiting for 2 sets of results for my DS1, GSCEs and AS on the 15th he is adamant he failed so has already applied to redo it again. My biggest worry is his confidence he had the worse teacher imaginable - in fact an absolute bully. Telling DS is isn't good enough (when it was one of his strongest subject and everyone else said he would have no problem with it). Telling the class repeatedly, that he shouldn't be in the class (this was done whenever my DS wasn't in the room). Teacher emailed everyone details - books to read, assessment details but not to my DS (said didn't have his email address but its on the system and other teachers had no problem - teacher had my email address so could have sent it to me if there was an issue! I'm just hoping he hasn't failed by too much iyswim!

[MrsWeasley]

Perhaps we should have a mumsnet party to celebrate/numb the pain? I could start testing now if that helps

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

mindgone the fact that you didn't find it insensitive is irrelevant to whether I did! I'm sure if the parents of kids who go to schools which game the system and who have loads of modules already completed under the older gentler way of marking want to have an 'I'm alright jack' thread, then there will be plenty of takers. Because after all there a plenty of schools which have been gaming the system, that's why we have the new everyone must do badly marking system. But for a parent to come on the anxious thread and be all boasty about her kids's successful gaming of the system seems a bit much to me. But then, I'm an anxious parent of a child who did all terminal exams. But since this is the anxious thread, I didn't expect people to come in here being all boasty and 'I'm alright Jack'.

[twistyfeet]

A level results here and then checking UCAS to see if he got into his first choice of university. This will be the third time I've done this. I've gone grey I tell 'ee, grey!

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

heron Everyone's NOT in the same boat. That's the desperately unfair thing about it all. The kids who did loads of modules last year are in the QEII or similar while the kids doing terminal exams this year are in a leaky rubber dinghy. So, for the rest of their lives, the kids doing terminal GCSEs this year will be at a major disadvantage compared to those of their cohort whose schools gamed the system. The kids whose schools did the very thing that the newer harsher world is supposed to be fixing. What Gove should have done, was wipe out all last years modules, then everyone would be in the same boat. Or, wait until everyone has to do terminal exams to introduce the harder nastier regime. But no. He didn't do that. He chose to advantage the kids whose schools are doing what he doesn't like, and disadvantage the kids whose schools are not gaming the system, and doing things the way he says he wants them done. Because that's fair and makes sense. To a lunatic.

[mindgone]

Russians, I didn't realise there was so much disparity this year! It's stressy all round

[olivevoir58]

Doing modular exams is not 'gaming the system' it is simply following the rules of the present system (albeit a system that will no longer exist after this intake). What is gaming the system is entering borderline C/D students in every available sitting of an exam until they get an all important C at the expense of quality teaching and learning and denying those students opportunities for studying other subjects. It is also entering weaker students for btecs instead of gcse because it counts as a gcse equivalent in the league tables. Schools did not have to do terminal exams this year, so it's a little unfair to say that schools choosing to do exams in a modular way are 'gaming the system'

Last year my dds school entered their students for the OCR modular maths exam. Their maths results dropped by 14%. The terminal maths exams were far easier to get a C on so no modular exams are not always easier.

Maybe we should wait and see what next week brings before getting hysterical.

[heronsfly]

Sorry Russians , i didn't realise that so much had changed this year, all the schools round here are working to the old system and next years exams will be the first straight exams.
Mrs Weasley,can i join and bring lots of

[notrege]

Hi - I have to declare an interest here, I do work for a university but am also the mother of 17 year old triplets. If results do not turn out exactly the way you expected and the student is good at/interested in arts, media or architecture it is worth considering creative arts degrees? they often have different criteria or will take portfolio work into consideration.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

Modular exams have always gamed the system. That's why they are so popular. And that's the main reason for the frade inflation that has been apparent for so many years. And of course modules don't have to be easier in and if themselves, except for that whole not doing all your exams at once (although pretending you have done) thing but all the information management being leaked to the press and to teachers at the moment indicates that for most subjects the results are significantly down this year, and most people believe (because if the way it's being handled and based in the English experience last year) that the much lower results this year will be because of harder marking. So anyone in this year's cohort who did loads of science modules last year, when marking was less politically controlled, will be at a massive advantage compared to a child of similar ability doing either modules or terminal exams this year. I guess this year's Y10 module takers are potentially as screwed as the terminal exam takers, but they might benefit from a relaxation next year IF there is a huge outcry this year and it looks like it might be politically advantageous to the Tories to fiddle with the marking again.

A proportion of this year's GCSE cohort are sacrificial lambs to Gove's ego. And people adopting an I'm alright jack view while admittedly unsurprising is still not very nice to see.