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Secondary education

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Original poster

Year 11 GCSE countdown. Revision angst begins.

999 replies

Fastenurseatbelts · 01/04/2014 13:55

Ok. DS1 has broken up for Easter and we now have to all accept that this is it. He has been doing dribs and drabs since mocks in February and an hour- ish in the evenings of stuff set by teachers.

Nowhere near what I remember doing for my o'levels a million miles ago. Friends tell me their kids are doing nothing yet. Not sure I believe them though!

Waiting for reality to kick in with him but he still seems to be treating it all like an end of topic test in class!

What's happening in your house? Are you staying well out of it or like me walking round waving a CGP guide 24/7!!!!!

OP posts:
MrsMaturin · 15/05/2014 23:03

eatyourveg - yes I think that's right and that's what's here link

About the only bit of biology I can remember is that veins carry blood to the heart and arteries carry it away.

Dd seems a lot happier now chemistry has gone ok. I hope she gets questions she relishes in history tomorrow

Ohwhat - if the kid still has a temp in the morning then you'll need to get her to a GP for a sick note and contact school immediately as well. Don't panic but depending on location etc I would be inclined to drive her to school and conflab with them as to the best course of action.

MorvahRising · 15/05/2014 23:06

ohwhat oh no! your poor DD. All fingers crossed she feels better in the morning.

And coconutty poor DS, hopefully it isn't as bad as he thinks. Did the teacher do the post mortem for the whole class? This doesn't seem very sensible - what's done is done after all and there's no point worrying people unnecessarily.

nocomet DS loathes Of Mice and Men and normally he enjoys pretty much any kind of book as he's a voracious reader. He's fed up with having to construct elaborate symbolism for everything that happens, and says that instead of having to write stuff like 'this symbolises life's passage as the flies pass through the beam of light etc etc', what he really wants to put is 'the author wrote this because he thought it sounded quite good and he couldn't think of anything else.'

MrsMaturin · 15/05/2014 23:13

dd was saying she is looking forward to the poetry paper, is happy with An Inspector Calls and yes, needs to revise Of Mice so I guess a certain disenchantment with it is pretty general.....

LowCloudsForming · 15/05/2014 23:16

This is all so reassuring! My son also found the Edex iGCSE rather surprising - he said that there were many long questions and that there was one question on a topic nobody had ever encountered. He enjoyed the Chemistry paper on Tuesday. History and English tomorrow - boy, what a week. All my kids have exams. Kitchen is strewn with books. Roll on the end of June - aagh!

Nocomet · 16/05/2014 07:46

Morvah same here, she enjoyed her Romeo and Juliet essay and likes an Inspector Calls and say's about a boy is ok.
Poems she can tollerate, althiugh Carol Ann Dyffy annoys her, but all the wordy discription in of M and M, grrr.

Nocomet · 16/05/2014 07:47

Morvah same here, she enjoyed her Romeo and Juliet essay and likes an Inspector Calls and say's about a boy is ok.
Poems she can tollerate, althiugh Carol Ann Dyffy annoys her, but all the wordy discription in of M and M, grrr.

MrsMaturin · 16/05/2014 07:48

dd seems positive about history. Hope she has enough time

Off to give them a lift in a minute.

LowCloudsForming · 16/05/2014 07:53

MrsMat - there is never enough time! They'll be fine - or rather, we can do nothing about it anyway….chill time.

AtiaoftheJulii · 16/05/2014 08:12

dd2 has History today (Crime and Punishment I think) and said she was going to do the long 16 mark question first to make sure she finished it. Whilst keeping one eye on the clock at all times! She seemed to be feeling well-prepared last night so hopefully that feeling stays with her.

LIZS · 16/05/2014 08:15

ds very relaxed about History Hmm - Cold War . Just had an email from Head of Maths suggesting topics which may come up on 2nd paper !

LeapingOverTheWall · 16/05/2014 08:26

DDs Sociology teacher correctly predicted a lot of the questions which came up, so the class is delighted Smile. Day off for us today, although still in school for planned revision classes till lunch.

AtiaoftheJulii · 16/05/2014 08:27

Ohwhatfuckery how's your dd this morning? Hope she makes it through History ok.

MrsMaturin · 16/05/2014 08:32

Chill time! Errrrrr not very good at that! I can conceal my fretting from dd but I can't ditch it altogether.

Ohwat - thinking of you. Hope dd is ok.

eatyourveg · 16/05/2014 08:42

Thanks MrsMarturin made a quick card with a basic diagram which he has taken to school.

Ohwhat I hope your dd is ok and that the GP will be accommodating if a note is required. I expect your dd will be quite upset if she misses the paper.

Post mortems can serve a purpose if carried out the right way ie the pathologist for ds's paper noted that tourism came up in the Ice section so Antarctica is less likely to come up as the case study for eco- tourism on Thursday therefore suggesting that whilst not discarding it, because technically anything could come up, it might be a good idea to really swat up on the Kenya one instead.

pigsinmud · 16/05/2014 09:12

Is there anyone watching this thread that is relaxed? Life is completely normal for me at the moment - ds1 has his GCSEs and that's that. We've all been through it and probably A-Levels and University finals (8 3 hour exams for me and I was stressed then!).

Ds1 is fairly relaxed and I think we're all going about life as usual which is a great example for ds2 (2 years behind ds1) as he suffers from anxiety and nerves.

So, everyone relax. It's a few exams, that's all Smile

bruffin · 16/05/2014 09:42

It might be a few exams to you

but dd needs to get at least 5 b's to stay in 6th form and A's to do some of the subjects of her choice, so that she can go to uni to do the career she has wanted since she was 12. Saying that, she is actually quite cheerful at the moment, she has history today which is her favorite subject.
but we also have DS doing his A2s at the moment.

Bouncingbeans · 16/05/2014 10:02

Really do wish I could be chilled! I hide it well from DD but so much resting on results as she wants to do A levels and go to uni, but is not an A star student by any means so will always have to work hard to achieve what to some would be average results.

At the moment it is the fear of the unknown for her, because its her first time to do these exams, and my first time with her (although have a much older DC too so not completely new to me). They are hearing rumours about this year being a readjustment year so that everything could be marked harshly which isnt helping.

Just trying to get the balance right so that she knows that I am here for her and proud of her whatever the results, but also she does need a few pushes along the way so I cant completely leave her to her own devices. This was something we have spoken about a few times and she is happy that I have encouraged her to put in extra hours along the way but I know her well enough to know when she just needs a hug and a cup of tea!

pigsinmud · 16/05/2014 10:07

I wasn't suggesting I don't care, but I have left ds1 to sort himself out. He knows what he needs to do, but I have no idea if he's ready or not. He has said himself that he's very inconsistent - maths varies from A* to B and don't even ask about English! So on results day nothing will surprise me. He needs certain grades to stay on, so fingers crossed he gets them.

Perhaps you are all unburdening your stress on here, but I have pictures of frantic parents and children!

Needmoresleep · 16/05/2014 10:32

I think you are being unfair.

People use the Internet as a way of unloading anonymously. Posts in some corners of Mumsnet (bereavement, fostering, debt, elderly parents, life-limiting illness) are often moving. Our job is to hold it together for our children.

We have been lucky. The first few exams went well, so DD was not phased by a "strange" paper yesterday. (No more questions, another exam today so she moves on.) In contrast one of her hard working friends misread a question in one of her best subjects and then struggled in her worst and so is really down with half her papers still to go. GCSEs are the first external test our children have had. It can be tough for them.

DS kept the process to himself. However DD is likely to apply for courses where GCSE grades will count. She is also dyslexic and experience is that she retains oral information better. So she asks us to test her.

The expectation is that if she does well this time round, she gains confidence and becomes more self-reliant. However at 15 if she asks for help and support it seems right to give it to her. And right to ensure that home life is calm and low key.

Nocomet · 16/05/2014 10:43

I think the degree of stress depends on the child, parent, predicted grades and requirements for furthet study.

Some DCs, especially more able ones, get very flusted by exams.

While some moderately abled DCs seem totally oblivious of the need to do any work at all.

My lovely neighbour absolutely tore her hair out over her wouldn't work and didn't get the grades for collage DS.

DD does drama with several similar DCs they drive her to distraction to.

No study leave and lots of revision classes may help this latter group, but seeing tbeir mates/teachers and dissecting the exams will not help the former.

Teachers, really should know better.

sausagedog12 · 16/05/2014 10:44

I usually find that the people who say they are not stressed are normally the people who are just that. Never underestimate the power of denial.

MrsMaturin · 16/05/2014 10:59

Thanks for that Schilke. That's really what I need right now - a guilt trip. Angry

Look - I respect that you know your child and what is going on with them. Could you please do the same for me?

My child is an extremely able student with A* targets across the board. She wants to consider oxbridge application. So her GCSE grades DO matter in that sense. They do NOT matter to me and to dh. We don't give a stuff quite frankly. But they matter most to dd herself. She sets herself high standards, that she can live up to yes, but it's not by any stretch of the imagination an easy time for us. The changes this year - they were originally going to do maths and english in November but then school withdrew them because of uncertainty over grade boundaries - have not helped.

I am using this thread to unload and so far I have really enjoyed sharing the ups and downs. I don't need you mentally rolling your eyes at me so if that IS what you're doing then please stop.

Bouncingbeans · 16/05/2014 11:06

Just heard from DD, history didnt go well as she ran out of time and left some questions unanswered, first time that has happened. She is really upset as wants to history at A level. Sounded so despondent on the phone, feel so sorry for her. Just hope she can keep up the momentum now, and not let a couple of bad papers this week knock her confidence for the rest of them.

bruffin · 16/05/2014 11:11

DD rang me as well Bouncingbeans. I could hear her on the phone last night for hours explain german history to one of her friends, yet she says she forgot everything in the exam (hmm) She also wants to do history for A'level but its not crytical to her career choice.

Bouncingbeans · 16/05/2014 11:18

Sounds exactly what happened to my DD Bruffin, she said her mind went blank and she spent valuable minutes trying to remember some dates and other details and when she 'lost it' for one question, she couldnt pull it together in time to complete the paper. Sounds like she was clock watching all the time too as she knows how much time they should allocate per question.

Told her to come home (revision classes in her school not compulsory), and take a break for this afternoon. So much still to do for next week though so the weekend will be a busy one.

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