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Secondary education

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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:
BackforGood · 06/12/2014 12:52

dd is camping all weekend!

Sparklingbrook · 06/12/2014 12:53

Shock It's minus temperatures.

auntpetunia · 06/12/2014 13:18

Have had no problem so far with extra time thanks for askig sugar he didn't surface till 10:30 this morning he's done some science and then sounded like he was on one of his games but when I went in they are all skyping while doing bbc bite size geography!! Shock so I'm not going to nag he does seem to know what he's doing.
He should have been away with scouts this weekend as he's off to Japan in July to the world jamboree but too many of them where revising they cancelled it. Am glad it's bloody freezing here.
Good luck everyone

BackforGood · 06/12/2014 13:34

I know Sparkling - have seen a couple of FB photos with the frost all over the tents and the ground, and steam rising from people's breathing! Rather them than me. Madness I tell you! Grin

BackforGood · 06/12/2014 13:35

Oooh! How exciting auntpetunia - my dd is off to the WSJ too! Smile

Original poster
Littleham · 06/12/2014 14:01

DD3 fairly exhausted. Mocks followed by a school trip. Roll on Christmas holidays. This term is always so demanding isn't it?

She did fine in the mocks, although they were given some of the questions beforehand so I think it was just the school's canny way to get them to start some revision!

OP posts:
bigTillyMint · 06/12/2014 14:24

Glad to hear your DC seem to be coping with their mocks - fingers crossed they all get the results they are hoping for.

Have all your DC finished all their CAs/ISAs yet? DD is very stressed ATM - she has had both biology and French this week and hasn't done as well as she hoped, partly I think because she seems to be paralysed with the stress of worrying about everything she has to do and wasn't really focusing when she should have been preparingHmm

auntpetunia · 06/12/2014 15:50

Oh wow backforgood we can stress about that together after the GCSEs are over!! 3 week in Japan at 16 bloody scary.

Anyway it seems he's done enough revision now and is blowing Klingons up!

BackforGood · 06/12/2014 16:31

auntpetunia - he'll have a ball.
My ds went to Sweden in 2011 and still raves about it now. He'd just turned 15 when he went. Stayed in Copenhagen before the Jamboree then HoHo in Poland afterwards.

Dd's unit have just heard they are doing their hoho first.
How you getting on with fundraising?

Sorry for hijack e eryone - its exciting to find someone else going! Smile

auntpetunia · 06/12/2014 17:06

Fundraising all done!! Thank god, got 2 more instalments to pay but we've got the money in the account so don't have to worry now. They don't know when they are going for their hoho yet. It's very exciting but a bit frightening.

SugarPlumTree · 06/12/2014 19:15

My DD is off to Japan next summer too ! Not with Scouts but to a language school which seems incredibly scary but I'm trying my best to chill out about it. She has to apply for a bursary from a local charity by end of the month towards it and is off to London to sit the Language Proficiency tesy tomorrow - too much really on top of her mocks but can't help the timing.

Her school let her drop an option she hated this year and take the GCSE as she has weekly Skype lessons. That's great but we need someone to do the speaking exam with her which has been a nightmare to find but I have finally had an email this week from Someone prepared to do it . It's really difficult as I am utterly clueless and don't speak a word of it.

HSMMaCM · 07/12/2014 09:43

DD's mocks start tomorrow. She's shopping with a friend today! She is behind on a CA she missed for French.

HSMMaCM · 07/12/2014 09:55

SugarPlumTree that sounds exciting and scary at the same time.

OneMoreMum · 08/12/2014 13:18

Aargh went to 6th form open evening last week and our school want a minimum of an A in maths to take both Maths and Computer Science A-levels. They also 'strongly recommend' you take A-level maths if taking Physics or Chemistry (only Bs required in those), so everything is now hanging off getting an A in maths.

Maths mock results came in last Friday - got a C on last year's non-calculator paper, missed a B by a couple of marks and he apparently does better on the calculator paper (which they didn't do) but - aaarghh!

Only good thing - if you can call it good - is that he didn't do much revision for maths, concentrated on science (no results for those yet). I've got the big stick out and the maths revision books and we're going all out on the maths from now on...... just hope it will be enough!

IrianofWay · 09/12/2014 15:40

Good lord the stress!!

I have aged 10 years in the last week. DD is going through mocks.

2 years ago DS1 was totally unconcerned re GCSEs - I mistook his lack of concern as confidence. It was, in fact, indifference Hmm His GCSEs were a disgrace....

DD on the other hand is heading for As (in theory) and her teachers are really hoping for good things. She has worked really hard and last night after 6 solid days of exams she had a meltdown. She couldn't remember any chemistry - swore she has never covered it. All suggestions that they were just mocks were met with renewed sobs and cries of 'they won't let me do A level biology and maths if I don't get an A !!" She has messed up her revision, her GCSEs and her life. I pried the laptop from her knee, the revision books from her hands and gave her a glass of water. This morning she thinks she may have 'exaggered a bit last night'. No shit sherlock!! But it is a tough regime - today is spanish reading, english and chemistry. She has a bad cold as well and is wandering around looking as if someone has punched her in both eyes Sad I had a bit of a weep on her behalf after I went to bed.

OneMoreMum · 09/12/2014 15:54

My sympathies Irian! What's worrying me is this is just the mocks!! Only good thing is that DS1 is now suddenly Mr Studious and staying late every day after school for revision work (at least that what he says he's doing....) so perhaps a good kick up the backside was just what he needed!

SugarPlumTree · 09/12/2014 19:20

Do you think they mark hard on the Mocks Onemoremum? My friend who had children the year above said she thinks they do.

Sympathies from me too Irian. Not easy any of this. Some old woman lives in my mirror, very scary she is.

Mock results are coming in, if you could all pass me some tissues and Wine that would be great. U in Ethics, F in Maths, D in Science and D in Geography. Highest anyone got in Ethics is a D and teacher sent home a list of another year group showing what they got in the mocks and what they got in the real thing. The U's went on to get B's so I am trying not to panic.

Clearly I am going to have to get a Maths tutor. Am in the middle of sorting the Japanese speaking tutor who it turns out lives a fair trek away. I'm asking school if I can take her out for last lesson every other week as she managed to persuade them to let her drop one of her options so it is now a study period for her.

Nothing is ever straight forward.

homework · 10/12/2014 07:19

Got an email from one of his teachers saying that there doing another set of mocks after Christmas , god why ? They just did a set after the October half term , why do they need to redo them .
He's got a btech exam to do anyway , when do the actual real exams start , as there seems no let down from the constant revision .
At least we found a couple of courses and sixth forms that he likes the look of , now to find time to fill in the forms , also have interviews to attend with these .
This year eleven just seems to be full of stress not just for them but for us poor parents too.

bigTillyMint · 10/12/2014 07:48

Sympathies to all of you whose DC are going through mocks/getting results. I think it is better if they mark hard in the mocks - then hopefully no nasty surprises when they do the actual GCSE's like DD got in Chemistry taken last year.
I am not looking forward to the run-up to DD's mocks after Christmas - she is already on her knees and out of her mind with CA's and ISA's.

Homework, that is what DD's school doConfused

Sparklingbrook · 10/12/2014 08:12

DS1 has been doing mocks since Monday. Came home Monday, and yesterday saying all was ok. then he got up this morning saying he's worried he's done terribly in all the mocks so far. Confused

HSMMaCM · 10/12/2014 08:16

DD had maths and 2x English yesterday. She said she didn't have enough time Grin for the English and had finished all the maths she knew in the first half hour Shock. Problem for the day was that they were locked out of the exam hall when they arrived in the afternoon, so the exam started late and they all missed their buses! How to add extra pressure Angry.

Anyway, biology French and it today. She has always struggled with french, hates it (conpulsory subject) and wants to take biology a level, so let's see how it goes.

No more until next week after today.

Sparklingbrook · 10/12/2014 09:54

DS1 has a Maths paper today all done by 11am. I can't understand what happened overnight for him to suddenly think it's all gone wrong. Confused

Original poster
Littleham · 10/12/2014 10:20

homework - I think they do all these extra mocks to make sure the students do some revision. It is hard going though isn't it?

Sugarplum - they will get lower marks now than in the real exams because they have not covered the whole syllabus. Sometimes a shock result makes them revise, but it could also be demotivating.

OP posts:
OneMoreMum · 10/12/2014 12:20

Sugarplum like Littleham has said I think the issue is that they may be being examined on subjects they might still not have covered, the maths teachers said to us they would expect a rise of around 1 grade from what they are achieving now. A thought about the maths grade, did she take the foundation paper? If so you have to get a pretty high % to get a C, some kids find it easier to get a C on the higher paper, more difficult material but you don't have to get as much right.... seems crazy they don't all do the same paper!

TranquilityofSolitude · 10/12/2014 12:43

My DD finished her mocks last week and is starting to get results back. She was disappointed to get a B in Maths and was 10 marks off an A. However, they have been through the paper in class looking for what the new maths teacher calls "muppet marks" and she has seen an extra 23 marks she could have got with little additional effort. I guess this is partly the point of mocks - not only have they not covered the whole syllabus but they also need to learn exam technique and all the little tricks which maximise their chances of success.