Page 5 | Year 11 GCSE support thread 4 - more exams

LynetteScavo · 22/05/2015 18:47

Well, English Lit (Wjec) was "OK" - said with a smile. That is as much as I will get out of DS1!

But at least it's done. I would love to know what he's written...he can be quite able when he puts his mind to it, but has never completed a full exam paper before, claiming he couldn't. But on the other hand, because I get so little information from him, I can't stress.

AutumnFades · 22/05/2015 18:55

Apparently 12 pages was written by my offspring, I couldn't write that much about blood brothers or Lord of the flies.

auntpetunia · 22/05/2015 19:16

Woolley this game is at Southport. So they get to miss the 3 Queens caos that I'm expecting here. I have no intention of going out in the car Sunday or monday or I might get blocked out of my drive .

bigTillyMint · 22/05/2015 19:54

I think I am the only person who doesn't give a stuff what the questions were or what they wrote for answers - I am just glad that they are done and one less thing to stress about

Haven't been to Southport in ages, AuntP

TeenAndTween · 22/05/2015 20:03

No tilly you're not.

I'm not asking anything apart from 'how was it?' and getting answers from terrible to OK.

If I know the questions, she might say what she put, and then I'd stress if it wasn't right.

LotusLight · 22/05/2015 20:07

I don't mind if they tell me about the questions but as they are twins it tends to be their asking each other after the seeing what one put, rather than telling me.That's fine.

homework · 22/05/2015 20:48

Sorry wondered if anyone else could help . Did anyone else's child do foundation paper today , what was the poem the character and voice theme on , and what was the unseen poem .
Thanks for any help on these .

TeenAndTween · 22/05/2015 20:52

homework Generally we're not meant to be too specific on questions in case a) anyone is in isolation and doing it tomorrow (though unlikely) and also b) the 2015 papers will be used as mocks for the current y10s so they don't want too much information findable.
Is there a reason why you can't ask your child?

bigTillyMint · 22/05/2015 21:01

Exactly T&T - I can't bear the stress of worrying about her answers!

LynetteScavo · 22/05/2015 21:29

Which exam board, homework ?

DS1 did the Wjec higher paper (after much deliberation with his teacher, and advice from MN).

Eng Lit was one of my strongest subjects and GCSE - Where as DS is much stronger in Maths & Science....I would have no interest what so ever in what his Maths questions were! because I simply wouldn't understand

mummytime · 22/05/2015 22:02

DD did AQA, My Last Duchess came up which she doesn't like ( but I and surprisingly DS like) came up, but she liked the other poem. The unseen was a love poem and okay.
We now have only 4 papers left, she finishes the same day one of her friends start A2s!
She's exhausted.

Original poster

HSMMaCM · 22/05/2015 22:12

I wouldn't get told the questions even if I asked . It was pure fluke I got told which books would be in today's exam.

OP posts:

LynetteScavo · 22/05/2015 22:13

Wow..DS has had it easy so far...after half term he has two solid weeks.

This afternoon he and his fellow prefects had nothing to do...no lessons on, and most people had gone home or not come in, but they had to wait for the school bus....so they practiced their "free running" in school, and took photos of each other doing it. These are supposed to be the bright, reliable kids in a nice suburban, high achieving comprehensive. The photos tell me otherwise.

Littleham · 22/05/2015 22:23

DD also exhausted. She has at least two solid weeks of exams after half term and is talking about not wanting to do any more revision.

She slept this afternoon. Maybe watch Eurovision tomorrow and hope she perks up a bit. She could walk into Music and Maths and be fine without doing anything else, but that isn't the case for subjects like History.

ErrolTheDragon · 22/05/2015 22:34

Mine seems to be at the other extreme, has apparently planned revision all through the 'holiday', which I'm not sure is entirely a good thing. Wish they could all hit a happy medium! She was doing some biology this afternoon (but I think got fed up somewhere in neurons) and after dinner while I was clearing up DH was testing her on German vocab (sounded a bit hit and miss). But then we had three episodes of Enterprise and she's away to bed. Hopefully we can all get some lie-ins now.

LynetteScavo · 22/05/2015 22:47

DS will be doing no revision...he doesn't revise or do homework. He does however retain everything which he has ever read/heard. So I figure if he's been taught properly, it will all have gone in...and he can just spew it out.

This of course doesn't work too well with subjects like English Lit and RE....the exams he's had so far.

Or maybe Biology, which had questions about things which they hadn't been taught...Which go me thinking. The average ability kids, who have worked really hard revising would do worse with an exam like this than a bright but lazy kid who could blag their way through the exam. I'm not sure if that's fair, or not. DS is definitely in the bright but lazy camp, but I'm not sure if he can think outside the box presented with something he hasn't been fed in class. How can an exam, such as Biology have questions on stuff which hasn't been taught? Should I be really cross with the school? Or the exam board?

spudmasher · 22/05/2015 22:48

Lynette I can relate to your post...DD sent me a video of her and her class in Hyde park this afternoon acting out a David Attenborough type scene where he discovers a herd of Year 11 students.... it was very funny, and although I wished they were revising (especially as she's only ever done three days a week...) it was very funny and they were making me erodes and marking their last proper day at school.

spudmasher · 22/05/2015 22:50

Making memories not marking erodes.....which sounds like geography, which would have been preferable.

LynetteScavo · 22/05/2015 22:53

spudmasher that sounds fantastic!

If your DD and her friends can be that funny in Hyde park, they will all go far...regardless of their GCSE results.

LynetteScavo · 22/05/2015 23:02

No, no, memories are much more important than geography!

I have old school friends I can still laugh with today about the antics we got up to, but knowing what a drumlin, or a glacial valley is has never done me any good.

I know this because I visited a friend in the Lake District once, and pointed out some drumlins behind her house, and the nearby U-shaped valley. The whole family looked at me like this ->

We still fondly remember the time her brother drank to much, threw up and her mum blamed it on me though....over 20 years later.

ErrolTheDragon · 22/05/2015 23:07

Lynette, ' How can an exam, such as Biology have questions on stuff which hasn't been taught? Should I be really cross with the school? Or the exam board?'

I doubt that the exam would have something that wasn't in the specification for that board. Unless it was actually an 'apply knowledge in an unfamiliar case' type question (as with the example of Chemistry igcse the other week , they weren't supposed to already know what Indium was).

It is possible for a school to miss something (or for a student to somehow miss a particular part). I think my DD has found one or two things when going through the revision guides which she didn't think had been covered in class (e.g. changes of teacher for a couple of subjects left a few gaps). TBH I think that pupils really are expected to use revision guides (and do their homework) not just rely on absolutely everything being fed to them in class - so the hardworking ones who've put in the graft are less likely to come unstuck than the wing-and-a-prayer ones.

LynetteScavo · 22/05/2015 23:20

I think I'm a bit concerned after the nearest high school to use failed their students miserably last year by not covering the syllabus in several subjects, resulting in poor exam results.

I trust DSs school, though....even though he's had changes of teachers, I trust that everything which should have been taught has. But hearing that potential A/A* students haven't been able to answer all questions is concerning.

I've often been told by DSs school not to rely on revision guides, as these will only help students achieve a C grade...those who want higher than that will have to think for themselves. I've bought all the guides, in my bid to be a "good parent" but DS reads them once, says, "I already knew that" and tosses them aside.

The boy is bloody bright, but whether he can put it down on paper and his hideous scrawl can be deciphered is another matter.

Sorry, I'm late night ranting now.

tbtc · 22/05/2015 23:21

So DS had read the unseen poem last week. Lucky.
Says Eng Lit went fine.

Came home with names on his shirt. Another Mum tells me that due to some kid setting off the fire alarm the prom has been cancelled. I very much doubt they'll do that!

Him and his Dad went to the cinema this evening and he brought me back 4 chocolate mice.

10 more exams to go!

ErrolTheDragon · 23/05/2015 00:14

Do you know what sort of question it was they all had difficulty with, lynnette? If it really was something that wasn't on the syllabus nor something they could be expected to deduce from what they should have known, then pretty much no one will have got it and it'll lower the grade boundary.

Horsemad · 23/05/2015 07:40

No revision this morning; we are off PROM SUIT shopping!!
Can't wait to see him all dressed up, he always looks good whatever he wears, so will be lovely to see him in a suit.