Is there a hand holding thread for Y11 parents and GCSE results yet?

[fatowl]

DD is waiting on GCSE results next Thursday.

She is bouncing around being a teen on Summer holidays (she is off in Ireland for a week with her friend's family)

I am beginning to feel a bit sick.

She is hoping to stay at school and do A-levels, but now the results are getting closer I'm a bit concerned we don't have a back up plan.

How are the rest of you doing?

Ds1 is being dropped off at school tomorrow. He'll text with results. He has to register with the sixth form and then go off with friends to celebrate/commiserate. I don't think he'd want to open them in front of us. He's quite worried about how he's done. His target grades were a mixed bag from A* - C, so we shall see.

I was wondering whether to resurrect our old GCSE support thread and then I saw this one!

DS getting extremely nervous. He sets himself very high standards and I fear is setting himself up for disappointment however well he does. I think the shots in the papers of hundreds of happy teens with 12 A*s are a thing of the past!

He worked so hard he deserves to do well but who knows!

Am dropping him off at school at ten but he doesn't want to open his results with his mates. He's going to come out to the car and then see if he wants to go back in again once he's opened them. Not sure if I can cope with the tension!

I have to collect for DS as he is away, and probably uncontactable by phone. Am I going to be able to understand what I am looking at?! Will there be very clear overall grades on the sheet or is it going to be a mis-mash of marks for CAs and exams, leaving me unclear what I am looking at?! DS casually says I'll have to find a teacher to help me!

Looked at the grade boundaries for the only ones I understand...Maths and Science. Maths looks hard for the B+ we were hoping for, but C looks ok. Fingers crossed/you never know. Science looks similar to past papers but on the higher higher end. But that's excepted/raising standards blah blah. Very interested to see that the biology paper (AQA additional) that had teens in tears has relatively low boundary compared to Physics/Chemistry.

Could someone link to the Edexcel boundaries? I have googled but nothing useful is coming up and the link to Edexcel on The Student Room isn't working?

Loads of parents always turn up at GCSE day at our school and come into the main area outside the library where the envelopes are dished out, though most keep a slight distance. AS results see less parents coming in and A2 is primarily students.

I can't begin to hazard a guess about DS - he got phenomenally bored of revision half way through the seemingly endless exams, so I don't know what that could throw up - I'm working on the basis of pretty much anything :)

I'm sure there will still be the 12A* crew Morvah, but there's expected to be a bit of a bloodbath in some schools which opted for the modular route and now have to go linear. Much easier for students in schools which are used to teaching for linear exams.

here they are and this is the ums/raw marks converter

ocr grade boundaries
aqa boundaries and ums/raw marks converter

No point in looking at grade boundaries, I haven't the foggiest idea what sort of marks DD gets. She's never let me see a marked past paper.

Can't ask her she's just said she's staying at her mates all day today. Fair enough, they have their AS results so it's probably a good distraction.

Holding everyones hands here. Especially those with a PFB or a child who has struggled.

we don't have any GCSEs this year to collect ( unless DD2 hasn't told me, which is entirely possible!) . They don't do early ones at the school.

Easy to say with my old lady had on ( and having had 2 kids through school exams now) but it really isn't that important to most kids. Yes you need to get reasonable grades to get into 6th form/continue your subjects but that's all. It's only Oxbridge and medicine etc where many A*s actually make a difference to uni applications. I think TBH there is huge un necessary pressure from schools. "doing your best " is what matters and if that results in B's and C's in line with your academic abilities that is excellent.

My kids are all 3 school years apart. That has been great. We've never had the A2 and GCSE clash, though the degree/A2 thing happened , it didn't have impact at home as DD1 was at uni!

I suggest letting your child collect results with mates but hiding in the car - with a huge smile and maybe a congratulatory bar of chocolate!

Can I have chocolate too?

ds can't remember which exams were which board !

We are away on hols-good move booking this week dh. Internet is dodgy to say the least, I keep getting dry mouth thinking about it. Dd keeps going quiet. She has her place in sixth form secure, but still.

Oh yes, chocolate - need to buy some this afternoon!

DS2 is distinctly uninterested in looking at the grade boundaries. I have just rushed into his room, laptop in hand, to try and get him to look at them, but he told me in no uncertain terms that he really didn't want to look right now, we will find out the grades tomorrow. He then told his friend on Skype that I was 'freaking out because the grade boundaries have been published'. I am not freaking out, I'm not even nervous really, just very excited. But then I am the kind of parent who counts off the days until reports or parents evenings.

No need for me to go in with my son, and he would kill me if I cramped his style so; the school is only 5 mins walk from our house. I just hope ds thinks to come back and tell me the results as he is off out to lunch with friends afterwards.

Just had a phonecall from DS's school asking him to come in half an hour before,the allotted results collection time.

Why would this be?

I asked the secretary if everything was ok, she said yes. I wish I'd asked WHY they wanted him to come in early now.

In a Year 10 exam he forgot to complete one third of,the paper.......blimey! I don't think I'll sleep tonight.

Thanks everyone. I have the feeling DS might 'fancy' the girl who's having the party and she's got wind of this. Unfortunately, she doesn't think of him in that way and has uninvited him in a panic. I'm going to take him for a curry with cider... having found out from MN that he can have a drink with a meal from 16 yo in a restaurant.

He did his 'ice bucket challenge' today and that's cheered us all up no end.

Cross post, Bacon. Hope it's some admin type reason.

Thanks Ellen I hope so too!

All sorts of terrible scenarios are going through my head........

Bacon is your son able? If he is it might be for a press photo. My DD1 had to go in early for that and I nearly had kittens!

Oh Bacon that's really unfair of the school to ask you that and not tell you why. A bit like if you get a call from the surgery and it turns out to be something really minor, but you've been panicking for hours!

It may be a really GOOD reason - perhaps he's done fantastically well!

Bacon the only reason will be because he's done incredibly well and needs to wave his envelope at the local or national press. They don't call kids in early at our school if they've top performers but I know they do at others. Anyhow, all schools will have their results in and counted by now!

Bacon Got a feeling it will be good news for you....surely they would have the decency to warn you otherwise. I wouldn't sleep if my Ds was told that!

I hope so! If he was entered for some GCSEs a year early, then it is unlikely to be anything bad!

Bacon, that happened last year, it's because he's done well! ( press photos)