Year 11 GCSE exam support thread 3 - the exam weeks

[HSMMaCM]

New thread for those of us starting the exams.

Keep calm everyone.

My DD was came home early from her activity this evening feeling ill - and has Physics tomorrow.

So now we have to wait and see... Fortunately after 1 hour of Physics she doesn't have anything until Friday (and I'm hoping she isn't physically sick).

for your DD woolly, I do hope they make appropriate adjustments to her grades. No idea about the physics I'm afraid, can the school advise if you phone in the morning?

DD seems to think the electronic products went ok though a bit more product rather than electronics for her taste. The geog was better than she expected- interested by lime fizzes comment, dd said the 2014 past paper was awful but today's was ok (AQA). Drama also ok, same thing someone mentioned up thread about needing more examples. This meant she had to cite a line by another character in addition to her main one - and therefore she had to write the word "fuck" on a GCSE paper, she announced with a big grin. Then a bit sheepishly admitted she'd actually written "fck" ....well, no "f**". Bless.

Her hand was aching after all that writing and she says she reckons the muscle in her right arm is bigger.

Woolly - I was just going to suggest you contact the school, they will give you the best advice.

Woolly, I agree with mummytime - ring the school and ask, saying she feels really rough...

Just woken DD to go in for pre-physics revision. Be glad when that one is over!

Geography - 3 hours - was very hard apparently, both boys said so and it's one of their A level subjects so quite important. Never mind.
I doubt physics is going to be better but they think it will be easier than chemistry (usually their worst subject).

Good luck to anyone doing physics this afternoon.

DS2 did AQA Geog and said it went well, but quite a few people went wrong on what questions to answer apparently, so they will have lost marks there.

Same happened to DS1 when he did Geog GCSE 2 years ago but he realised in time and managed to salvage it.

Poor you Woolly and dd. i am pleased school and health services are so good. You can both do without the anxiety though. Sending positive vibes.

Thank goodness you have half term next week Woolly. Wishing her good luck for Physics this afternoon if she takes it.

Good luck to everyone else. I need to remind dd to turn over the last page and check that there isn't a question lurking on the back. Scarily easy to miss one.

I have yet to establish if ds knows there were questions on the back of some papers.... Eek

I know what you mean Doobydoo I daren't ask DS if he answered questions on the back of the paper in case he didn't and is then upset for the exams still to come.

However I now say to him as I wave him off for each exam, "Read instructions carefully, answer the right questions, make sure you understand what the question says, keep an eye on the time, turn over every page to make sure there aren't more questions on the back, check your answers."

DS absolutely delighted with the Greek exam. Yeh!!!!! He said he knew the text they got off by heart so hoping for a very good mark now. Fingers crossed.

Only physics to get through this afternoon now. Good luck to all doing physics today and to Woolly's daughter especially for being such a trooper.

Aww, it's lovely when they know the stuff mothers

motherstongue how lovely! That must have given both of you a real confidence boost.

Best of luck to all those about to take Physics, including my own DS who is currently upstairs revising the formula that won't be on the sheet. Especial good luck and positive vibes to Woolly's DD. I hope she gets a chance to rest and recover over half term.

DD decided to have a bit of a lie-in rather than going for the school bus so I'm not long back from taking her- it's quite a long roundtrip but she should be getting the bus home at least. Hopefully she's found somewhere quiet to go over her notes without being hassled for enlightenment by classmates who didn't pay sufficient attention in lessons.

I really wish my DD was on study leave. When she comes out of a morning exam she's quite positive but by the time I pick her up in the afternoon she's completely disillusioned, having heard people talking about it all day. It really isn't helping!

funam I now have an image of you doing this extended 5 minute wave, listing all the instructions!

I had no money to give DS for his lunch today so we scrabbled together some coins, some banana cake and a titan bar. He didn't want me to make him a sandwich or take anything else. Now I am worried that his brain won't work this afternoon.

He has been granted study leave but isn't taking it. I think he likes the routine of the school day. Some days it's been great and he's had some really small classes (rest of kids taking study leave or larking about) where he's benefitted from some extra tuition, other days it's a bit hit and miss.

He's taking everything in his stride.

Dd refused breakfast and probably wouldn't have had any lunch, but her teacher this morning gave them all pizza

The daft thing is that DS knew to check the back of papers, after one of his friends had done the exact same thing on a paper last week! I think he was thrown by the wording of some of the questions, not what he was expecting. He has another 2 Geography papers I think to try and pull this back although I think it'll be an A or B rather than the predicted A*. Ho hum.
Onwards and upwards today. Physics which he should do well on if the questions aren't too hideous. Its one of his intended A level subjects so fingers, toes and everything wlse I can managed crossed today.
Good luck to everyones DCs

Just been in to DS's room to double check that he looks on the back page of every exam paper for ninja questions hiding there ...

He just gave me this weary look and said "Mum ... I just keep going until I see the words "End of Questions" ok? "

He then described me as an annoying puppy hugging his heels and getting in his way!

The nerve ... could have chosen a worse description - am relieved actually

else not wise. Where did wise come from?

When she got up this morning dd asked me to make her some pancakes. I told her I was busy. Just before noon, I came downstairs and she offered me some of the pancakes she had made. Sometimes I like the displacement activities [g
Now she is off to school for physics.

Good Luck to the Physics candidates!

Amazing, was that the AQA paper do you know? I mentioned it to DS2 (AQA) and he said there wasn't anything on the back page... Am hoping he was right

Good luck to all Physics takers.

Thunderstorms forecast here. Hopefully there won't be a fire alarm half way through like last week, where the whole hall had to stand in the rain for 20 minutes

OMG Coffee, that's awful. Poor kids

When fire alarms go off in official exams here they are told to carry on. Hopefully they would be evacuated if real flames started licking round the door.

Spiky teen has now gone off to the Physics exam.