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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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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:

LynetteScavo · 07/03/2015 17:04

DS has realised that he is not suited to course work, preferring a final exam, so A'levels will suit him better than a Btec, but he hasn't decided on which school. I think he'll spend two days at an induction at one school in June, and then hopefully possibly change his mind about going there.

I didn't decide until the day before term started when I was 16!

TeenAndTween · 09/03/2015 15:31

Have your teens finished their syllabuses (syllabi?) yet?

I think DD has now. Still some CAs to go for MFL and an ICT test, but now mainly onto revision and question practice. It is all seeming to get a bit close....

TheWordFactory · 09/03/2015 15:37

DS says he's finished most of his courses now and lessons are revision.

DD says she has finished most courses, but her physics teacher is having a cow desperate to round things up .

HSMMaCM · 09/03/2015 15:40

DD has finished most of hers, with most lessons being for revision, or finishing off controlled assessments. A couple of teachers are in full on panic mode though particularly the maths teacher, who took over from the teacher who was sacked at the end of last year!

We've just received the Easter timetable for extra lessons at school and DD has 3 full days off and a couple of half days (and the bank holidays).

ErrolTheDragon · 09/03/2015 16:57

I think mine still has a topic or so left for geography, and there's a few others not quite done yet. She's got her last drama CA tomorrow and one more German speaking.

She's also redoing her physics ISA as she thinks she could do better (it was a scraped A*)

SugarPlumTree · 09/03/2015 17:39

A bit more of syllabus in English and a bit in Ethics plus Japanese speaking. Last year Year 11 ' s had loads of Easter revision so expecting the same. Currently two or three sessions a week after school. Plus two more lots of 4 hours of Maths and is doing Maths instead of PE.

No sign of a timetable yet so just text a friend to see if her DD has produced one. Also a letter about the school become part of an Academy trust with a high performing one further along the county. Hopefully this plus a new Head will be positive.

I think she may be in a better place in her head about it all, fingers crossed.

Original poster

Littleham · 09/03/2015 18:13

Still finishing the syllabus for the three sciences, maths and additional maths. Why can't you hibernate in Spring?

OP posts:

LynetteScavo · 10/03/2015 18:58

DS1 tells me they have finished the syllabus in every subject except DT, which they haven't started yet. Well, they did a bit in Y10 but it's only a two hour exam, and half of that is designing something, and the other half is written, so there's not much to learn. There's only so much you need to know for a one hour exam. Apparently. Give. me. strength.

On the plus side, his lamp for DT is nearly finished. Only two more after school sessions to go, and by Thursday it should be complete. This lamp must be bloody amazing, because it's taken 1000 man hours (boy hours!) to create, and has cost me a small fortune in petrol driving to collect DS after school when he's stayed late to finish it.

bigTillyMint · 10/03/2015 20:26

Don't know whether they have finished the syllabus in any subject, never mind all!
DD is currently learning her French for a written CA, having done one of the speaking ones last week, hurrah! After that she has another French speaking one and a Spanish speaking one, which she is hoping to get done before Easter

There are 4 weeks back at school after Easter before they start, aren't there?!

ErrolTheDragon · 10/03/2015 20:43

Lynnette - that may not be too far off the mark with DT if it's anything like my DD's Electronics - they did cover most of the syllabus last year but from what I gather it wasn't that huge an amount to learn. I can sympathise about the lamp - my DD's tamper-detecting moneybox has similarly taken many girl-hours, not just the design and construction but also the write-up. I'm really quite impressed by what they have to do - market considerations, costings, risk assessments etc.

TeenAndTween · 10/03/2015 21:07

Tilly
DD has 3 teaching weeks, start exams week 4.
(breaks up Maundy Thursday so I guess you may break up a week earlier?)

ErrolTheDragon · 10/03/2015 22:05

Mine breaks for easter from Mar 28, back 13 Apr so she's got 4 weeks before the first exam.

SugarPlumTree · 11/03/2015 06:39

DD finishes 27' Mar, back 13 April. Think we may have had a break through. New tutor came last night, she is fabulous. Totally got DD and her learning methods and we got her last emergency slot so really lucky.

At this late stage it is playing the game. So she wants to see what happens if she does the higher Maths paper as she said some fare better with that. She also does English which is good as DD'S English teacher says she is struggling with poetry, as are a fair few in the class.

She tutors loads of children locally so a mine of info re the schools. Feels DD has fallen through the cracks in the system which I think is spot on. DD is going to have to work her butt off but both tutor and I emphasised once done it's done and she can chill and I think she is up for it, though looking knackered. Have to her we will schedule some treats in a long the line.

Still no exam timetable, Easter revision class info, details about when study leave starts. So different to when she started the school. The letter came yesterday about them considering becoming an Academy so RIP our LEA, I think that is them all converting. The Tutor said there is no way she is going back to teaching and described Education here as broken. I don't disagree and think I am going to see a lot of tutor the next few years as clearly will need to plug the gaps. I have never wanted to use the private sector before but now I totally get why people make huge sacrifices. Unfortunately our local one is 24k a year for Upper School. People use private for you ger yrars ti get them into tye Grammar so few independent schoold for 13 plus .So it's tutoring for us for the next 7 years until DS leaves. DD will be having sessions from the start of A level (if she gets on it, she still doesn't want to do BTEC). Lesson firmly learned.

ErrolTheDragon · 11/03/2015 07:45

Sugar - so glad you've found a good tutor. But it's such a shame that education in your area seems to be such a mess. A lot of kids won't have the level of parental support yours obviously have.

bigTillyMint · 11/03/2015 08:05

T&T, yes we all break up on Fri 27th March, back 13th April like Errol and SugarPlum!

SugarPlum, that's great news about the tutor. Fingers crossed! DD said she went through her maths mock paper with hers last night, and she had dropped marks on really silly mistakes. So now she knows she can do the maths, she has to work on not panicking and taking time and care!

DD says she is getting dates for Easter revision, but no timetable as such yet. And no idea about study leave.

All the secondaries in our LA are academies. Some converters (like the DC's), many under the big carpet umbrella!

And Yes to planning in treats! Any good ideas, apart from food?!

Fairenuff · 11/03/2015 08:18

Ds breaks up on 27 March too. Four weeks back then exams start. He has the full timetable.

First exam on 11 May but study leave doesn't start until 25 May, then he has a further 3 weeks of exams, last one on 19 June.

A total of 29 exams, over 5 weeks, so quite a lot.

bigTillyMint · 11/03/2015 19:53

I have just counted DD's. 27 exams, 11th May to 16th June.

ErrolTheDragon · 11/03/2015 23:28

Wow, that's a lot! Mine seems to have 23, which includes the FM. I guess it depends on the subjects - she's got 3 (drama, comp. sci and electronics) where there's just one exam because the coursework /CAs count for 60%

SugarPlumTree · 12/03/2015 17:38

That does seem like a lot, no idea how many DD has don't all feint but I have good news. Her Japanese exam she passed counts as a GCSE for 6th form so she is down to needing 4. Plus the Head of 6th form spoke to Art dept. about her doing A level art (not doing it for GCSE) and they have said they are happy to have her which she is pleased about.

TeenAndTween · 12/03/2015 19:30

DD has 15 exams only during the exam period, plus a drama performance soon after Easter break. That will be quite enough for her.

bigTillyMint · 12/03/2015 21:43

That's great news, SugarPlum! Japanese GCSE sounds really hard - is it her first language? Surely she didn't learn from scratch at school?!

SugarPlumTree · 12/03/2015 22:12

Big variations in the number of exams they all have then. She started teaching herself Japanese from YouTube then has been having weekly Skype lessons for several years which got her through the first JLPT exam last December. She now has a local tutor as she needed someone to take her for the GCSE speaking exam in a couple of weeks l

ErrolTheDragon · 12/03/2015 22:26

That's great sugar!

bigTillyMint · 13/03/2015 06:49

Bloody Hell, SugarPlum, that's a massive achievement!

auntpetunia · 13/03/2015 08:29

wow sugar that's brilliant, my ds is planning on learning enough Japanese to get him through his trip to Japan which is end of July. He reckons he needs to know basics like toilet, no entry, please and thank you, and hello. :0

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