Year 11 GCSE Exam Support Thread

[Littleham]

Is anyone else fed up with GCSE's and the stress they create? Thought I would start a support thread for the following few months. Mocks start next week at my dd3's school.

25% CA for English lit - Tomorrow!

Mocks not until January. At recent parents evening DD1 was asked whether she had started revising yet. I said she was too busy focussing on the CAs / Coursework. So far this term 4 MFLs, Science, Drama, History, ICT, and possibly English, can't remember.

DD coping OK, but has difficulty organising herself so I am a nervous wreck trying to ensure she keeps track of what is coming up and is prepared for it.

Oh, and add to that 6th form college applications as well ...

I am trying really hard not to stress and lose the plot. Mocks are first week of December. Just had 6th form open evening and have parent's evening next week which can't come a minute too soon. We've been to two 6th form colleges anc she wants to go back to one for another look, i've tild her to book herself on the shadowing day. Her report came last week and it wasn't massively encouraging.

And she can't decide whether she wants to stay where she is or go to College for 6th form . She's stuck deciding between 2 BTECS and A Levels. And I need to find someone so she can do the speaking exam for a language sh learns out of school via Skype - which is proving to be difficult but that GCSE could be the difference between her having enough to do level 3 next year or not.

I have just helped my friend's DD sort UCAS application and get offer for the course she wanted with poor AS grades but don't seem to be able to sort my own DD.

Good luck to your dd for English lit tomorrow TeenandTween

Mixed for dd. OK with some subjects ( 'fine' is the most common response I get) but a bit of a meltdown over English as she hates the unseen poetry bit of the exam.

SugarPlum - Teenage girls! If only we could all advise someone else's dd instead of our own, it would all be so much easier.

Good luck for your DD tomorrow Teenandtween.

How much pressure are school putting on for the mocks Littleham? I get the impression that DD's school are taking the approach it's about familiarisation with taking exams in the hall at this point. Trying to get info about CA's out of DD is like getting blood out of a stone, hence my delight that it is nearly parent's evening and my warnings about not remembering to get appointments have actually sunk in.

It is definitely much easier when they aren't your own! I live in hope boys will be easier and DS is more academic plus more decisive.

The pressure is varying from subject to subject. Some of the teachers are playing it quite low key, but one of the teachers has reduced half the class to tears and had people running from the room in a state of hysterics! (luckily not my dd yet). The annoying thing is though, it is her best subject and she has decided not to do it at A Level as a result!

Place marking. We have another week till mocks here.

Ds finished his mocks last week and has an interview for 6th form college this week, he is planning on doing A levels. Have the feeling it is going to be a busy 6 months for him. He did do some revision for the mocks but we have to wait until mid December before he gets the results back.

The pressure is off (me) a little bit as DD's Plan B should, in my opinion, be her Plan A anyway, and so I'm a bit less worried than I was when there was only a Plan A iyswim?
But grades will be with them forever, so I do want her to do the best possible.
Thanks for the good luck for DD. English is one of her better subjects, and she has prepared well, so hopefully it will be OK.

Mocks start on 8/12, been to one 6th Form College and got two more Open Evening this week.

DS1 holed up in his room revising all weekend.

DS has a French oral on Wednesday. He says he's learned some of it... at least I've seen it printed out so I know it exists. Revising? In December? For GCSEs? I'f I'm lucky he'll have started by Easter.

Mocks are sometime next term, and we've already had the preliminary A level selection evening.

Hi Sparklingbrook

We have all been holed up in house all weekend due to the dreaded revision (or more often procrastination). She has declared that she has forgotten all her GCSE French words. ALL of them....

We've got another 7 months of this.

DS1 has had German words to learn. Hundreds of them. 120 on a sheet and about 18 sheets.

Hi Littleham. Thanks for the thread.

I can't wait for it all to be over. DSs haven't started any revision. They haven't finished the syllabus yet. Their teachers are fairly low key at the moment. Mocks aren't until February. Not sure if that is good or bad. So many schools seem to be doing them before X-mas. Personally for us that gives us a breather as one of them has missed a lot of lessons and has more time to catch up on the missing material.

Aww sparkling. Have a (())

3rd time through with the most organised of the kids so we are very hands off. That's hard too! Plenty of time between mocks ( at least dec ones) and the real thing though if she hasn't done enough. My 2p from many parents evenings though- work smarter not harder. Science subjects ( and prob mfl) are all exam technique. Pick up the clues in the question that tell you exactly the way the answer should be worded and uses the words you've been told ( don't be my DS and try to frame your own " better" answer. That isn't what they want!)

Good luck to all those witb offspring doing mocks and CA'S this week.

DD overheard me just now complaining to DH about the Russell Group booklet linked to on Sparkling ' s thread where someone says it should be compulsory reading for all students , regardless of ability as it is about keeping options open. I dutifully forwarded it to DD who refused to read it. She has come in to tell me not to worry, she will get 5 GCSE'S and she is starting revision tonight, she will be doing an hour.

Please please please let her decide to do BTEC next with continuous assessment, I can't bear the idea of her trying A Levels. She has dyspraxia which does not help with the whole being organised thing.

I have two in year 11. Do I get a badge? Different schools too, so mocks spanning before and after Xmas.

Word, also have two but at least they are in the same school. Slightly different abilities though which doesn't always go down well.

Me too!

TeenandTween, WordFactory DD also doesn't have mocks till after Christmas - not till Feb actually, having just done some internal exams. And a load of CA's before then. And sixthform visits/applications. She is quite stressed and so am I, worrying about her being stressed!

Dd is ramping herself up something chronic!

She does have a lot on. Mocks, CAs etc but she also has far too much extra curricular stuff; choirs, sports teams, DofE, lead part in the school play...

I've told her something has to give and she has chosen to give up singing lessons in the New Year. But frankly they're not that time consuming! Still, it's a start I suppose.

Goodness - twins in year 11. You do deserve a medal TheWordfactory and MEGirl!

The extra curricular stuff doesn't help with all the stress. We have just axed one thing. Shame but it is necessary for everyone's sanity.

Marking my place too
DS has mocks next week, doesn't appear to do anything revision-wise unless nagged into it and seems to be heading for a rather uninspiring (for him) set of B's or worse if he doesn't pull his finger out.
How much do you take the horse to water (provide space and opportunity to study) and how much do you try to force it to drink?? He's 16 not 12.....

DS2 will be doing this next year and is not even slightly academic so am dreading that even more than this year, C's will be an achievement for him.

Onemoremum, that is what I am struggling with the forcing to drink thing. I am currently at the point where I feel I'm going to encourage but not force the point as I feel she needs to be taking control of her learning at this stage. I'm monitoring and will provide all the help needed plus have accepted she won't be revising for Additional science after getting a D for Core last year as she says she hasn't a hope of a C. I think she might possibly with stacks of work but am more worried about a C in Maths.

I take my hat off to those of you with twins, I have a friend going through it this year who also has the different school/ability thing. Last year another friend survived GCSE year with triplets so I feel quite pathetic flapping about one.