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Secondary education

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Original poster

Average (or lower) acheivers exam thread time?

299 replies

yolofish · 27/04/2015 00:57

Is it time for this? I mean those of us with kids who will not get 11 As in their GCSEs, or 4 As at A level.

I know most mumsnetters will not be in this particular boat Wink but quite frankly in this house we just have fingers crossed for a C at GCSE English language for DD2, so she can get into 6th form and dance to her heart's content, and for DD1 good enough results to get into Y14 to finish off her media studies A level (started too late in Y11 to finish this time round).

They are not knuckle draggers, or indeed thick as pig shit (both comments I have read on here). They work hard, are good kids - but a row of A*s will not be on the agenda.

Join me please if you feel the same!

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thunderbird69 · 08/05/2015 11:14

Horsemad - same exams for my ds. I think it is the toughest day he has, would have been nice to start gently!

TeenAndTween · 08/05/2015 16:03

Can't say this on the other thread.
DD had her last ICT test today worth 25%. It was going to be before Easter (she wanted in then, but others moaned so they didn't do it), then last week, then today. She only managed to click on the wrong link so did the wrong test! It's fine, she can do it another time, maybe Monday.
But why do these things happen to her? How could she not have realised she was doing another version of a test she's already done???
I am outwardly calm for her, but inwardly exasperated.

KittiesInsane · 08/05/2015 16:28

Oh Yolo, that sounds so familiar. DS has just done (yet more) mock/test papers. For the same subject, he had A* on one test and D on the other, and he has no idea what he did differently (possibly means he needs to READ THE BLOODY QUESTION).

Original poster
yolofish · 08/05/2015 16:45

teen at least she can do it again, and maybe it will have helped - extra practice and all that?

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thunderbird69 · 08/05/2015 17:08

teenandtween - yes, thank goodness she can do it another day. sounds a bit poor of the school to me (no experience of IT so don't know how it works) for an error to even be possible

My ds has come home and looked at me in disbelief when I suggested he get on with revision. I did remind him that if he'd started weeks ago when suggested he may have been in a position to have a day off...

TeenAndTween · 08/05/2015 17:21

yolo I'm not sure it will have helped as it was the wrong topic.

I have no idea how it happened (to just her). She says there were 2 links saying 'Productivity' but one of them linked to Word Processing. But if there were 2 links, why didn't she check which she needed??
I suspect she just clicked on the wrong link, she is prone to stuff like that. I do not blame the school, I think it was a dopey DD.

I have said to DD at least it's not like doing the wrong paper - eg not noticing you've got the wrong one out of Foundation and Higher.

It's just a pain as we wanted it out the way to focus on revision and exams.

Four125 · 08/05/2015 20:51

Can I join?
Frankly, it's anyone's guess as to DD's results.
She might ace some As, she's capable, but as she's done no revising whatsoever it seems unlikely. She's always loved school for the socialising, she is bright but you'd have to go a long way to meet anyone less fussed.
She will probably get C+s in everything but it really is all down to the exam on the day.
Since September I've tried nagging, cajoling, begging, threatening, bribing, still nothing.
Repeats mantra.

Leeds2 · 08/05/2015 22:32

What does she want to do next year, Four?

Original poster
yolofish · 08/05/2015 22:37

well maybe teen if wrong topic she could revise the other stuff??! (clutching at straws here but straws can be vv useful sometimes...)
DD2 got tearful in car re sodding photography portfolio work; so made her a 'special' bacon sandwich and lay on sofa to watch Gogglebox. Tomorrow is another day, as I think Scarlett O'Hara may have once said?

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Four125 · 08/05/2015 23:07

She's signed up for A levels, again, she's capable but she hasn't made the link between effort now and results. She says if it doesn't go well then she'll do something at College, I honestly don't mind what she does but she doesn't have any passion for any of it.

SugarPlumTree · 09/05/2015 07:24

Huge sympathy T&T, that would happen to my DD too. She did the wrong paper in Philosophy and Ethics mock.

Yolo that sounds stressful Wine Sympathies to all those juggling DC's with two sets of exams. A friend is being driven to distraction by her DD and art.

Four I guess it is a case of holding your nerve. Think it is harder to motivate yourself if you don't know what you want to do.

None of this is easy is it ?!

Minifingers · 10/05/2015 17:29

New development, dd has decided she will only take maths and English (which are the only two she can pass without doing any work) and not sit any of the others (core science, geography, RE, sociology) because we've said 'no' to her going abroad with her friend for the summer holidays. To Lebanon. Confused horrible scenario going through my head involving dd marrying ISIS fighter and slipping over the border to Syria

FFS.

SugarPlumTree · 10/05/2015 17:44

Minifingers I really feel for you, your patience must be tested to its limit. Has school got anything to say on her latest plan? Have some wine Wine

Do you think she will go through with this or is she testing response from you ?

Minifingers · 10/05/2015 18:19

She'll go through with it.

She has two exams tomorrow - she has done NO work. She has been bunking off school for weeks, no revision at school or at home. She knows she will probably fail so in her head it's best not up even try. Best to not do it, and to find a way of laying it at our door, rather than manning up and accepting responsibility for the whole shitty mess.

I knew she was going to pull something like this.

She's also bugged off out and I've got a horrible feeling she's going to not come home tonight so we end up having to get the puce involved too. :-(

SugarPlumTree · 10/05/2015 18:28

I'm so sorry. I guess all you can do at this point is just repeat ad infinitum that it is her future and the consequences will be hers and hers alone to take.

if she does stay out tonight do you have an idea where she will go? Really hope your fears about that unfounded.

Horsemad · 10/05/2015 22:01

Sorry you're going through this Mini, not an awful lot you can do unfortunately but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that she's trying it on to test you.

It's a horrible time for the teens and parents. Just try and keep the communication going. X

SugarPlumTree · 10/05/2015 22:59

Is she home Mini?

Original poster
yolofish · 11/05/2015 09:29

oh mini that sounds like a complete nightmare. I guess all you can do is let her cock the exams up, try and protect her from her worst potential excesses (Lebanon ffs!) and just wait for her to come out of her awful teen-ness. Hope she is safe today.

DD2 has RE and citizenship today. RE is half a GCSE, she doesnt think it will go well. Citizenship should be ok, her coursework is up to scratch so she says she doesnt need to do well in the exam... I hope she's right.

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Minifingers · 11/05/2015 10:20

Well, she did come home, and then get up this morning and go in. I took her in.

I'm looking around for courses for her in September and it's very disheartening.

If she doesn't get her five passes, she'll end up on a level 2 BTEC, doing functional skills maths and English. She's extremely bright and I wonder how they'd keep her engaged if the pace of learning is very slow, and if the other learners are really low achievers.

I'd really love to find a college where she could do a full programme of GCSE retakes. The college she's got a provisional place at for September (to do a level 3 BTEC) does have a 'Key Stage 4 academy' where she could do 6 or 7 GCSE's, but it's only for children going into year 10 or year 11. She's 16 in August so if she repeated year 11 she'd still only be 16 when she finished.

I feel so sad. She should be doing three or four A levels - she's so smart. I keep revising my expectations downwards, but I'm not sure that this is a good thing....

Original poster
yolofish · 11/05/2015 11:28

thank god she's safe. that KS4 academy sounds like its worth investigating, she's terribly young for her year.

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thunderbird69 · 11/05/2015 11:49

Mini - glad she is safe

My DS is similar to your DD in that he isn't 16 for another 3 months and despite being very bright, just hasn't got on well at secondary school and his exam results won't reflect his ability. I think being so young (and he was very immature when he started) has been a big factor in this. I do wonder how different things could have been if he'd been at the top of the year below instead

SugarPlumTree · 11/05/2015 11:54

Really glad she came home and that is great that she has actually gone in.

Agree with Yolo, she is very young and the K S4 Academy sounds definitely worth looking at. I do think that College would give her the fresh start she sounds like she needs.

SugarPlumTree · 11/05/2015 17:58

How are you doing tonight Mini?

Madsometimes · 11/05/2015 19:31

Mini - parenting teenagers is so hard when they are sure they know it all, but we know they are still children.

My dd's bedroom is a total disgrace and we have always told her to not take food upstairs because she will get mice. Two days ago there was a wailing from her room, and instead of being banned from entering we were invited in to deal with mouse that was sitting by her desk/bed unit. The mouse scurried away and dd was too scared to sleep in there that night - so she slept with me and dh was relegated to the sofa - not wanting to break sleep in her loft bed. We have set baited traps in the belief that there is no such thing as one mouse, but haven't caught anything yet.

She had short course RE today, and doesn't know how it went. She managed to finish the paper, so fingers crossed for a C. She's now watching Game of Thrones because she needs a break.

Original poster
yolofish · 11/05/2015 20:21

DD2 had short course RE today "crap" apparently. Citizenship was "ok". 1st biology tomorrow - she got an E all round for science last time, so no hopeful. laughing at the mouse mad!! howis it going mini?

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