Y13 support thread, anyone?

[cardibach]

I remember our GCSE one 2 years ago. It was a haven! I hesitate to start this as I'm not totally confident of wanting to post DDs results in the end, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
So, how's the revision going? What are the tricky subjects for anyone's DC?
DD is revising steadily, but then she always does and has had some disastrous module results, so not filled with massive confidence. Biology is her issue - she knows and understands it but can't seem to give the examiner what they are looking for. We've had papers back and her tutor says she hasn't answered anything incorrectly, just hasn't said precisely what the examiner wants. Seems so unfair.

I'm stressing. Anyone else?

HP you are right about the resits - it makes the whole exam period so long and impacts upon time for A2 revision. As the AS are first, these have got priority for revision when she should have been preparing for A2. DD would have been better getting her resits over with in January as she is exhausted already and still has 9 exams to go.

whatsinaname DD is ok thank you, very tired. I feel I am on eggshells too and I only have one child doing exams.

cardi pleased the English went so well for your DD - fingers crossed for that A*

bruffin I'm very jealous of your spa day, that sounds great. I could do with about 2 weeks at one to recover from all this

Hi whatsinaname01 DS had mechanics today as well, AQA M3. He was quite pleased with it. Only 3 down out of 16 though.

DD was quite pleased with English but isnt sure whether or not shes done well enough for the A*. Ive told her to forget about it now and concentrate on physics and geography. DS (y12) did stats today and thought it was his best exam yet!

little secret - 16 exams!!! Wow!

We have 9 to go out of 12 here - nearly as bad.

Glad English exams went well.

Heeded warning as exams go on they become more tired!! Friday night and my Ds was not heeding an earlyish night - had to stay up with friends!!

An adjustment for me is that we can't tell them what to do so easily anymore - own little independent beings!!

prettydaisies It's so hard to judge how well you've done in an English exam isn't it?. At least with Maths it's right or wrong (I think). DS doing a lot of maths and by the time he gets home he can pretty much work out his mark and then it's just a matter of where the grade boundaries are.

Isummerdip He is doing 4 A levels plus some extra maths modules plus 3 STEP Maths exams. Last exam is not until 27th June.

YLS 16 exams of my gosh ! Your DS has a whole marathon there, very best wishes for him, hopefully he'll achieve or exceed whatever grades he needs.

I feel quite guilty that DS1 only has two exams left both in the same subject, and a week and a half break until the next one is scheduled - not until 18th June. He was very pleased about how his English Lit went yesterday, so quite buoyant at the moment.

summer you are right - as the exams go on, they become more and more tired, DD is exhausted already and has done 6 so far. I am also finding that my advice about getting to bed early is not being heeded!

secret DD has a friend who is doing STEP papers, and says that there is no 'actual' answer as there are several interpretations to a question. It sounds very difficult, and such a lot of exams! DD has 15 altogether and it is such a lot.

boys3 pleased the English went well for your DS. I find it is a mixed blessing having a large gap between exams. On the one hand, they can get a bit of rest, but on the other hand, it is easy to lose some of the momentum.

DD manically revising Chemistry for Monday today - this is one she is particularly worried about.

Fantasea My DS is doing the same but also has a physics paper on the same day. I don't think he knows which to pick up first. I think one day for each over the weekend trouble is he's really had enough now- starting 4th week of exams.

3 exams this comimg week then 4 in his final week including 2 maths
At least they will all be over in time for me to watch Wimbledon in a more relaxed state of mind

Glad that on the whole everyone seems to feel exams going well, fingers crossed for the next couple of weeks

whatsinaname same for DD - starting the fourth week of exams and is really flagging. That is the downside of having to do resits isn't it? It just extends the whole process.

Glad everyone seems OK so far. DD seems to have a relatively light exam load with 5 A2 and exams (and 2 AS resits). 4 A2 exams to go. She is revising for Chem 4 on Monday, though she has watched a couple of episodes of Orange is the new black series 2! She is most worried about Chem 5 I think, she said she would wear the supergirl T shirt I got her for that one!

DS also has chemistry on Monday. It's his least favourite subject but he has done all but 2 past papers which he plans to do tomorrow.
He has had a couple of nights out this week but is working pretty none stop when he is awake at home.

HP my DD is worried about both Chemistry A2 exams, enough to wear the supergirl t-shirt for both I would think.

My DD is worried about chemistry in Monday too - but this is her first exam. Everything else to follow - 7 papers in all ( 3 maths, 2 chem 2 bio).

No one could have worked harder than she has but she still thinks it's not enough!

Just reading the last few posts I do get the sense - which I did have already tbh - that DCs have worked really hard, and without sounding patronising, or completely nonsensical the heady mixture of BGT and clearly creating some sort of odd chemical reaction; they just need in part to be aware of how much they actually know, and the sheer amount of knowledge that they have assembled. I do think that confidence can count for a lot at this stage, not some sort of brash arrogance, but rather a quiet, steely eyed inner belief, so that should they open a paper and think "oh sh*t" at first glance, they can take a deep breath and realise that whilst the question(s) might not be the ones they might have hoped to be staring down at they do have a massive bank of learning that they can use to answer each question to the very best of their ability.

I have to admit the sciences were never my strong point, so hats off to all the DCs taking Chemistry on Monday, and hopefully they will all find the composure to really do themselves justice irrespective how great or awful the exam paper looks.

Oh dear, DD in tears over Chemistry. She has done 2 old papers today and just scraped the A boundary. Most of the marks she loses are silly mistakes or she falls foul of the 'trick' questions. She needs an A for uni and expects to do less well in Chem 5 next week.

HP we have had tears today over the Chemistry, it is so hard to see them upset when they have worked so hard. We are in a different situation as DD is trying to get a C in Chemistry, which I know sounds low to some people, but would be an achievement for her. All the best for your DD for Monday.

Sorry to hear about your DD too Fantasea. The grade boundaries are so close together that a C grade is also a high achievement. It's all relative. I imagine there are a few poor souls who need A* in Chemistry. Is she doing Edexcel?

I told my DD to make a list of potential 'trick' questions - so hopefully she won't fall into those traps.

My DD is taking a gap year so potentially could resit next summer.

HP thank you for your kind words, you are right, it is all relative. DD has friends who need an A* in Chemistry but many seem to find it easy, but it has been a total nightmare for us for the last two years. DD is doing OCR. That is a good idea to make a list of 'trick' questions - DD is very weepy today but has been working at it since first thing this morning, and wants me to test her later. How is your DD feeling about it today? Hope she is a bit more settled, it is horrible when they are upset and you can't make it right

Thanks Fantasea. So sorry to hear your DD is upset. My DD looks a little drawn but she is getting on with it. She was going through the papers making a list of the tricks, earlier. She tends to make slight errors in formulas which in a multi choice question is a disaster. She also has gaps in her knowledge for example she got one question wrong as she didn't believe her calculation was right as it came out as a negative ph (which she didn't think was possible) although it was. she picked another answer. She does silly things as well like misreading tables and picking the wrong value for her answer.

HP OCR doesn't have multiple choice, it is just all questions with no choice on any of it. People think multiple choice is easy, but it really isn't as the other answers can easily throw you. My DD has the second General Studies in the morning tomorrow and then the Chemistry in the afternoon, it is the only day she has with 2 exams so a full day. My DD makes silly mistakes too as she panics and doubts herself. I have told her over and over again to believe in herself and to go with her gut feeling, as often her first instinct is correct.

Hello everyone. This is my first post. I couldn't resist joining in. My DS1 has chemistry tomorrow and is starting to feel the pressure. Good luck to all your DC's - sounds like they've all worked so hard.

Welcome RosieRain to the chemistry angst! Yes, I was really impressed by DD's commitment. In the end some of it seems to come down to the wording of the questions rather than testing chemistry which is a bit rubbish in my opinion.

Fantasea - luckily DD's school have all but dropped GS so we don't have to worry. Extra stress for your DD though. I must say in my Sixth Form days it was one of the more interesting things - I did Ancient Greek and psychology electives! DD goes to a super selective with a lot of medics and Oxbridge applicants so I think they throw everything at getting high grades in the main subjects.

Thanks for the welcome HP. Good luck to your DD for tomorrow.

Rosie welcome to the chemistry madness what board is your DS doing?

HP at DD's school they all have to do General Studies, but luckily there is not a lot you can really revise for it, which leaves extra time for the chemistry. My DD also goes to a super selective with a lot of medics and Oxbridge candidates too - all the lessons and exam build-up is geared for getting A. They have even issued the kids with a book on just A questions as the normal textbook 'isn't difficult enough'! DD has really struggled as she needs a lot more help and explanation than they are really set up to offer.

Oh dear. It's not going well at our school today (yes Sunday, first day of school in the middle east). One girl has gotten her self into such a tiz for tomorrow's gov pol exam she was hospitalised with an anxiety attack. The sad thing is she is ready for the exam, knows her stuff but the whole class are just feeding each other's anxieties :-( they were all tweeting each other at 11 pm and then some still going at 3 am. Ridiculous IMHO. At this stage I have stopped ds taking his phone in his room to avoid this.
Chem students were a little bit antsy today as well. I have my fingers crossed, have upped my choco stash and boxes of tissues in the library if for no other reason than they will need them for distressing.
Hold tight everyone the end is in sight.