Year 11 GCSE Exam Support Thread 2

[HSMMaCM]

New thread ..... (DD not sure about the prom dress she has bought!!!!)

I used BBC bite size on my phone when I did my science GCSE last year. It was a good way of looking at different questions and testing myself. I think different methods work for different people and technology seems to work for many people.

You don't have to write down the answers to past papers when you do them IYSWIM - testing each other probably is just as effective.

Littleham, a break from doing no revision? She really thinks she can cram everything in the day before each exam. Oh well.

Testing each other via text messages is probably a very good thing! Good to fill all those gaps the other revision methods have not revealed yet. If she doesn't get too panicky. Could send you some of DD's chilled vibes, we've got too many.

I'd be delighted if DD was texting GCSE related stuff, she still isn't revising. whatever she does next year has to be continuous assessment.

Sorry to hear about the work stuff AP but glad to hear about drama. BTM A&E and heart palpitations sounds immensely stressful.

I'm tryng to chill out today before everything properly starts tomorrow. Been sorting DS with bits he needs next week as he has SATS in the morning then activities in the afternoon and is away with school the week after so lots of shopping for various bits.

Personally I was very pleased to wake up and find Gove is off to Justice and not back to Education.

Yes, let Gove cock up Justice now he's buggered up Education!!

dd is feeling nervous today before her exams start tomorrow - though we thankfully have art out of the way now apart from a portfolio of work to hand in hopefully tomorrow

Tomorrow she has RS and I'm hoping now that she will mostly focus on the (mostly) one subject she has the next day. However she also wants to finish some biology notes today and revise some French vocab for other exams next week.

Hopefully that sounds a manageable plan for today, but I do hope she will get to bed at a sensible time tonight too - and just be able to get done what she plans for today without too much worry

Good luck to all for the week ahead x

Road closure. Well the people in charge of highways are still going to close the road between my house and the school for an entire week. However they have now agreed to let the school bus and residents gain access, so whilst I have to allow for up to half an hour delay (!!!) I will still be allowed through the block. Apparently I have to ask the permission of the workmen.

I can see this going horribly wrong.

Does anyone know the position if the worst comes to the worst and we are late for the exam. Will dd still be allowed in?

(Will also post this on YR13 thread.)

Not sure about entering exam room if late, but they'd possibly let latecomers sit in another room to do the exam?

Little ham. Presumably the school know about this closure? Ask them what happens if the worst comes to the worst.

DD is showing no pretence at revision today and I'm forcing myself not to say anything.

Do not risk being late. Far better to get her to the school early and with a magazine or something not work related to sit with quietly for a while.
I have invigilated --too- many local schools for GCSE. AS, A level. The rules say that latecomers should not be admitted. If the school is audited by the exam board - and they do turn up unannounced - they can lose their exam centre status for any breach of the very strict rules.
Before the exam starts, all the regulations are read out. If a person was admitted late, they would not hear these and could make a mistake that will invalidate their paper, or claim that they were disadvantaged. Also, it would disruptive for others with people shuffling in etc.
You cannot set a sided a separate room and invigilator for every child - what would be the limit?
Not only that, but a latecomer could have got the questions from someone who left an exam early elsewhere. ( This is also not permitted, for that reason, but if schools were prepared to 'bend the rules' for latecomers they could as easily 'bend the rules' for people leaving early.)
DC and parents really do need to take the rules seriously, and understand why they are necessary. At least with the roadworks. there is known delay that DC can takes steps to avoid.

Well done to your ds AuntP, he sounds talented

Juggling ds has to hand his art coursework in tomorrow too. He says it's the deadline. His is all done but I need to buy some ink so he can print out his evaluations. He's happy to print it at school tomorrow but I think that's cutting it a bit fine and would rather have it all sorted today.

At least that will be Art done and dusted. RE tomorrow too. Is it a two hour paper?

Bit worried about Gove re-writing the Human Rights Act tbh

My relief at him not being back in Education when I woke up and saw news didn't let me connect the dots re Justice and the Human Rights Act. DD has been been down very concerned about that (anything is a good distraction currently as feel we could be on the edge of a meltdown).

I thought Chief whip was quite a good place for him if he had to be around personally. I think with Education a lot of people who don't have school age children don't really know what has been happening. The Human Rights Act will hopefully draw a lot of attention and he will be very much in the spotlight with whatever he attempts to do with it. You can all laugh at how naive I am.

Think it is 2 x 1 hour papers tomorrow on DD's timetable.

Thanks MrsUltra - very clear & helpful about the rules. I managed to get through to the road works manager in charge last week and asked him what the worse case scenario would be for a time delay. He said half an hour, but hopefully less, so I have set the alarm clock for 45 minutes earlier. We will probably end up being the first ones at school!

I did try and contact the school on the telephone number (the Assistant Head sent out an e mail saying he would be happy to answer any questions). I left a message but got no reply. Busy with Ofsted I believe....

Really bad timing Littleham, one more thing to have to deal with. And I do feel for your school with Ofsted, so much to deal with at the start of exam time.

DS has now produced an exam timetable for next week with more exams on it than I realised there would be, he seems ok though. Hope he is the same in 5 years time when it is him doing GCSE's or whatever we have then!

Yes, RS tomorrow (Ethics) is 2 x 1 hr papers. dd doing OK today so far. Has been doing biology. Probably time to move on to RS soon I think

ds (Y8) says "I've got exams too Mum" Anyway he's just gone over to a friend's house - but perhaps I should check with him about homework/revision/exams too when he gets back!
He's a bit upset about something else just now - looks like he just missed out on buying a go-kart that was for sale up the road as he was busy organising going halves on it with a friend, and meanwhile it's gone from the wall.
Poor ds. We were both a bit sad about that
But I guess there could be other go-kart possibilities if he decides he really wants one

Oh goodness that road work thing sounds appalling littleham I'd be giving myself to ones of spare time, is the distance walkable would that work better than the car?

DS has point blank refused to revise for rs, "god mum it's only RS!" Hes apparently revising for some chemistry for Tuesday but that's "only core" so he's not too worried, I don't know where he gets this laid back attitude from, though with everything else that a going on with me I'm glad he's focused. Good luck to all DC for the coming week.

DD's RS tomorrow morning is 1hr 45 min on religion and life issues. Board is WJEC.

She asked if she could have a lift. We said get the bus and if the bus is late or breaks down, we can be backup. If she gets a lift and we break down, she's stuffed.

Depends what you mean by walkable auntp. About 3 miles, so I'll take the car (she can revise on the way) and we can abandon it if necessary!

DD has RS tomorrow as well (Edexel). Not her favourite subject.

Good luck to all of your dc's. I feel quite relieved the exams are happening and we can see the back of them soon.

RS for DD tomorrow.

But it's a compulsory half a GCSE. So DD has done very little revision.

I think both my two have ground to a halt with revision induced stupor today. It's been weeks of endless swotting and past papers.

They're currently laid together on the trampoline supposedly testing one another on Biology but I can hear more talk about football than anything else .

Coffee - your dd sounds like mine... not going to let the fact she's doing GCSE exams get in the way of the more important things in life. She's away camping this weekend

I agree with MrsU. Crap timing for you, but I remember girls being turned away because they were late.

Good Luck to everyone tomorrow! DD has Citizenship tomorrow - did RS last year, collapsed timetable in the morning before, apparently.

Glad to hear your DS is being laid back, Aunt P.

I agree, Littleham - 5 weeks 2 days to go here!

Nnnnooooooo! First full week of exams and ds has developed a lovely cold!
Whats the rule on a mountain of soggy tissues?!#

All the very best of luck to all the DC staring exams this week.
We have Spanish on Friday.

I hadn't even considered being late.....thank you for the heads up! DD gies by train and tube so it's going to need checking every exam day and building in contingency time and plan B if trains/ tubes buggered up- which they frequently are....

I'm also going to have a re read if the regs about what you can and can't take in to make sure there are no last minute panics about see through pencil cases etc.....

I'm freaking out (behind closed doors!) she's as cool as a cucumber.

The tissues may have to be see through bebumba.

Article here from the BBC, just in case things aren't yet quite tense enough in your houses...