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Original poster

Year 11 GCSE Exam Support Thread

967 replies

Littleham · 23/11/2014 12:17

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.

OP posts:
TeenAndTween · 25/02/2015 06:31

Errol Clear zip pencil cases in at least Smiths and Sainsbury's I think.

DD has received new predicted grades following mocks, now looking much more sensible (some were clearly too high before). I've agreed a 'priorities' list with her from now until the end of term. CAs take priority, then question answering technique, with actual revision third.

caroann58 · 25/02/2015 07:58

Hi Fresh, I was just trawling through these old posts when I spotted yours. I have a similar situation with DS2. Nothing picked up at prep school and passed CE into Senior School. In Year 9 It dawned on me that something may not be quite right. He was still not tying shoes laces properly, did not pick up IT things as quickly as his brother and was still asking me what seems to be slightly naive questions about things. I flagged school who did nothing and finally had him tested at a Dysparaxia centre. Not really dyspraxic and not dyslexic but has slow initial processing so takes longer to pick up new things or spot links. Now approaching GCSE's and the school have been very disappointing in their lack of help apart from giving him an extra 25% time in exams. We now have a new SEN teacher at school who is finally showing some interest and help but I wonder if it is too late. Highly achieving school who have suggested we may wish to look elsewhere for 6th form in case he does not achive minimum 6 B's. We think he will but very upset due to their lack of support which could have made so much difference if put into place 3 years ago when I first raised the issue. Good luck with your son.

ErrolTheDragon · 25/02/2015 11:57

Thanks T&T.

bigTillyMint · 25/02/2015 12:47

Errol, I bought a load from Amazon last year as my two seemed to be constantly needing them!

T&C that sounds like a good plan. DD hasn't mentioned her CAs for a few days - had better check where she is with them!

Caro, that is very frustrating.

TeenAndTween · 25/02/2015 12:53

Ooh Tilly Terms & Conditions, perhaps that should be my new user name Grin

DD has 4 MFL CAs which are all expected in next 6 weeks, added together with Drama final performance script, that is a lot of 'off rote' learning.

bigTillyMint · 25/02/2015 13:02

Oops! That'll be my phone!

CAs are the worst. I wish they would all be dropped by 2017 for DS, but I bet they won't.

ErrolTheDragon · 25/02/2015 14:27

I have mixed feelings about CAs/coursework. Some of them I'm barely aware of, DD seems to just get on with them. Others are a lot of work - but that's in the subjects where I don't see how you could do without them (Drama, Electronics, Computing, and the science ISAs - also for those that do them, Art and Music).

I think she's probably one of the people who would do better with more exam, less CA - but there's a lot of kids who really don't get on well with exams. TBH I think a mix of both is not at a bad thing. DD came up with a nice solution - they should do both, but then the final mark should be some sort of average weighted towards whichever style the candidate was better at.

bigTillyMint · 25/02/2015 15:25

TBF it's the memorising MFLs that are the worst. It's also that she finds juggling doing them and revising difficult. Loads seem to hate them, whether they are good at them or better at exams.

LineRunner · 25/02/2015 15:33

Yes, this memorising MFL is causing stress. Big load to do tonight.

ErrolTheDragon · 25/02/2015 15:40

Oh, the MFL memorization...Hmm - regardless of whether your DC is good at rote learning or not, that's one of the areas where they do seem to have lost the plot in GCSEs versus old O-levels. I don't think I know anyone who thinks that they're a good way of learning a language.

TeenAndTween · 25/02/2015 15:53

Agree re MFLs. Crazy way to examine knowledge of a language!

(Mind you the method for the CAs is one of the reasons DD is doing 2 MFLs).

bigTillyMint · 25/02/2015 16:45

When DD chose her options in Y8, she/we had no idea that she would need to memorise and regurgitate texts for 60% of the marksAngry

ErrolTheDragon · 25/02/2015 17:57

Mine had to do an MFL whether she wanted to or not - fortunately she didn't want, so it's just the one.

HSMMaCM · 25/02/2015 18:27

DD's biggest stresses are over the french controlled assessments !

Original poster
Littleham · 25/02/2015 20:13

DD went to a lesson today where they went back over a topic studied two years ago. She had forgotten they had even done it. Oops!

OP posts:
LynetteScavo · 25/02/2015 21:49

Ds is looking at a school for 6th form tomorrow...his DT project also has to be finished tomorrow and it isn't. He will miss a DT lesson.....DH will be missing most of a days work to take him.....

roisin · 25/02/2015 21:59

I bought ds2 this revision planner: it seems well designed and is working well for him. Possibly a useful resource for other people?

He did some revision in the run-up to mocks (Jan), then had had a few weeks' off. But over half term we sat down together and agreed priorities for the next couple of months and he's written a revision timetable focusing on his target/priority subjects up until the end of the Easter hols.

www.amazon.co.uk/REVISE-Revision-Planner-Revise-Companions/dp/1447967828

bigTillyMint · 25/02/2015 22:06

Roisin, what is in it exactly - the info makes it sound like a big wall chart?

roisin · 26/02/2015 05:59

Ha ha! Yes, it has a big wallchart with space for 20 weeks of exams/revision planning, which is helpful. Also stickers for people who find that helpful or "fun"!

ds2 has found most helpful sections to review all his subjects and prioritise them (on a single page), then lots of sections for each subject/paper - "revision hit list". He's used these after mocks and when planning revision to jot down which areas to focus on or what revision tasks he is going to do.

This means that he can sit down to a revision session and just turn up the subject in his planner and remind himself of what he needs to work on.

Later in the book there are pages to write more detailed revision timetables than the wall chart. I may encourage him to use these when he starts exam leave, but for now the wall chart has enough space for him.

The book also includes various general revision hints and tips.

Nothing is rocket science and you could duplicate anything in here very easily; but we've found it a useful tool, not ridiculously complicated. And actually particularly helpful to have everything in one place, in a spiral-bound notebook, rather than on endless loose bits of paper.

roisin · 26/02/2015 06:03

I hope that's helpful: I don't work for Pearson, but I did work in secondary school for 8 yrs and have seen ds1 through GCSE and AS exams and this is one of the most useful, realistic resources I've come across.

Year 11 GCSE Exam Support Thread
HSMMaCM · 26/02/2015 07:06

When is it the exams begin? Is it 8th may? (Depending on subject obviously)

bigTillyMint · 26/02/2015 07:10

Not sure, but I think DDs first is 11th May.

Will look to order it roisin - anything to help!

ErrolTheDragon · 26/02/2015 07:31

DD's school has a timetable on their website for all the gcses relevant to their pupils (I guess it depends on what boards as well as the subjects) - that runs from May11 - June23. You might want to see if yours has anything like that posted.

TeenAndTween · 26/02/2015 08:25

DD starts 11th May, completes 12th June.
But apparently they don't go on 'study leave' until the half term (so until half way through the exams), which may be right for many pupils but I'm not convinced is best for my DD.