Going into Y11 support thread

[OddBoots]

Eep, it's GCSE year where we all wonder just how involved to be and just how many changes the government will make at the last minute.

Hopefully together it won't seem so scary.

Re CAs mostly it depends how much the teachers are prepared to cheat. the exam board guidelines are very strict and allow for very little teacher help. In English, for example, they are explicitly not allowed to provide suggested essay plans or structure... That's not to say of course that it doesn't happen up and down the country. That's why it's not a level playing field.

I would be happier if coursework were scrapped completely in all academic subjects at all levels.

Would like to join please

Ds1 is a bright child who will do well if he works at it

He seems to understand the importance of doing the best he can at GCSEs so it will open the next door for him...but he might just be saying that to shut me up

He did no work in the holidays and has not started any yet but we'd did look at his desk space and what he felt he needed, revision guides etc

Worried that he needs to start now

I do know a few teenagers who were convinced that the schools predicted grades were gospel and were quite crushed when they didn't get them in the exams

Can I join?

I've been through this once before with DD1 but DD2 is a completely different kettle of fish.

Her Geography CA is stressing her out and her teacher isn't helping her stress levels much.

Forecast grades look good - Graphics and Art are both looking excellent as is English. I can't complain about working over the summer - all her coursework is up to date and she went to a design summer school. She wants to switch schools for 6th form to one that offers design courses so that's going to add a bit of pressure.

Having seen her big sister off to Uni she is also keeping her eye on stuff that will look good on her personal statement. It's a shame that teenage years are hard enough without having to make these sort of choices now.

Argh. The school have just published their provisional grades for the summer's GCSEs. 80% of DC passed. DS1 didn't (D). I do not see DS1 as being 'in the bottom 20%' academically (he's in the 2nd maths set in a school where several 14 year olds have Maths A levels; he's in the fast-track triple science set; he does only one art/craft, electronics (as required)).

I am at a loss as to how to help him more. He's just had a successful Work Experience fortnight working at a civil engineering company; he starts into Y11 on Monday. As I detailed earlier, we've subscribed to MyGCSEScience and he's doing a topic a day but often grudgingly and doesn't write up any of his own notes on the print out (which becomes his revision file), despite discovering that his method of 'learning' evidently doesn't work.

I have a A4 sheet to write my response to his report but I don't know where to begin!

Tansie I think all schools do things differently so I'm not sure what you mean by provisional, is that what they expect them to get? By pass do you mean a C or higher? Are these for particular subjects, you mention maths and science, is it these they don't expect him to pass?

Sorry if I'm being a bit thick.

These are, effectively, the results. Presumably they say 'provisional' if a few are going for a second re-mark etc.

Tansie: do you mean these are the results of the GCSE they took early in yr10? You mention above Business and Communication GCSE.

DS's school do 2 GCSEs 'early' in the summer of Y10, (i.e. the end of the year, alongside the Y11s doing all of their GCSEs;) statistics for the top maths set and Business and Communication Systems, whole year group.

I'd like to join too!

DD is currently doing work experience and is not looking forward to going back to school. She hasn't done any work all summer bar trying to get her art that she should have finished last term done. I think it is going to be a long, hard term never mind year!

And I agree about CA's - she did so many last year, it seemed to be just about one a week. So in a constant state of trying to prepare-worry-paralysed and so doing nothing