Year 11 GCSE support thread 5 - finishing off the exams

[HSMMaCM]

Only another week to go for DD, but I know some of you have two weeks.

My impression is that while its ok for parents to attend open days, they should definitely suppress any tendencies to helicopter. Transport, look and listen but stay in the background. But those of you with older kids will know!

simbo DS started on 11th May I think, and finishes with Further Maths on 19th June.

dd seems to have gone into a real 'dip' now.

Doesn't have any exams tomorrow, but has ducked out of her favourite activity of all (that she normally does on a Tuesday and is a real break from exams and school etc and gets her doing some physical exercise) ad has said she might have a shower and go to bed.....it's not even 7.30 yet!

My word what a lot has been happening - I am so sorry for you and your DS, Mrs Bennett, and Littleham - gah!

My DS is still reasonably relaxed in general, though not this morning as he was heading off for Greek, when he'd initialled his urgently-needed passport application rather than signed it, and refused to extend his signature, in a flouncy sort of way.

Like everyone else we are feeling the strain and boredom of this extended period. Why do they have so many one hour exams? If they were 1 1/2 or 2, they could be over so much more quickly.

Hello everyone, I haven't been on for a while but glad we are all on the home straight.

On uni open days, I went to them with my older dd. Most dc had parents with them, I would say, and some entire families were having picnics and a nice day out . They are long days in unfamiliar places, and it is nice to have the company/bag carrier/lunch buyer. My dd and all her friends initially said they'd go with each other and then realised that the subject talks are all at different times, sometimes on different campuses - it just wasn't practical. The unis often put on talks for parents about eg finance, and you get to see the accommodation, have a nice lunch, embarrass your child by asking questions of strangers on trains.....So if you would like to go, I'd go.

SugarPlum/Horse, I have high BP - think it started due to the stress of DD's woes from the end of Y9 onwards. I am on tablets and can't see that I will feel less stressed in the foreseeable future in terms of exams!

Poor DS is feeling the strain - he and DD have had a couple of spats over the TV. All I want to do is avoid any big meltdowns...

Sending soothing thoughts to you BTM, I'm currently eating celery and dust 'cause everything else has salt in it and is BAD for high BP!

DS and I are going to 3 university open days this summer. I know it seems ridiculously early, but it seemed like a good use of the very long summer break this year. (I suppose next summer they will be back to the normal 6 weeks.) Also DS isn't sure what subject he'd like to study so we are going to various different talks at the different establishments in the hope that this will focus the mind.

Is it embarrassing to say I'm quite looking forward to it?

Feedback from the Edexcel Chemistry was that it was "ok". Another detailed analysis from DS!

MrsBennet. How awful for you and your family.

You must be so, so proud if your DS!

And no way will we be lolling at unis this summer...far to early for us. DS says he's not going to uni, apparently he's going to work his way round the world for several years, but I've told him he had to apply incase he changes his mind.

I'm on blood pressure tablets BTM and Horsemad. The nurse from my Mother's surgery came to help me persuade her to have her meds locked away and it was a bit stressful. She took her BP then looked at me and asked hen I'd last had mine done, duly took it and dispatched me straight off to GP. Suspect I'm on them for a long time too.

DD has been studying very hard tonight. I predict an A* in ukulele studies.

Did anyone watch 'Escape to the Wild' on TV last night? I am severely tempted to do just that.....

Was that the Japan prog Littleham? Want to watch on catch up.

SPT, there are a lot of people with it Plus many who don't even know they have it

We never went with our older 3 children on a single university trip. They either went alone or didn't go.

No it was the Kevin McCloud program - family with three young boys escaped rat race to self subsist on an island in the Tonga archipelago. They built a magical house on stilts overlooking the sea on an island with lagoons and caves. It all looked marvellous until they started talking about tsunamis and using bat poo as fertilizer.

Still wanting to run away to a magical island - one without tsunamis.

Sounds lovely, will look for that.

Hi everyone. Glad to hear everyone is hanging on in there despite floods etc and inspirational to hear of MrsBs son.

Chemistry Ocr was not good according to DD. Nothing she revised was in the paper.
She's revising Hitler tonight then just physics and we will be celebrating on Friday.
Wow it's been tough. DD looks like a wreck bless her.

Littleham, I watched that. At the end I was left wondering how they would be able to afford to send 3 boys to boarding school in New Zealand with no real income if all 3 boys decide to eventually go off. The programme didn't examine how they were able to afford to live their idyllic life off the grid. Was very very beautiful though, I was a teeny bit envious of the view.

DD is dipping in and out of Philosophy for Thursday. She has announced that she is getting up early tomorrow - not to revise - she wants to come to DS' sports day

I think she may want to go on the open days with her big sister rather than me or DH. I'll go with them, anyway, just to check out the city/town and perhaps speak to the uni welfare, but I'll leave them to the rest of it.

Hope everyone gets a good night's sleep.

Definitely on the home straight now for DD, she only has subjects she likes left (the physics and the FM). We had 3 episodes of Enterprise tonight as she doesn't have an early start till monday - I think this regular dose of nice escapist sci-fi is keeping our household sane.

I've been awake since 3.45am. I tried to have a really early night last night but my neighbour decided to ring the doorbell at 10pm about something that could have waited till this morning ffs, just as I was dropping off.

No idea if DS did as much History revision as he'd hoped to, but there is a breakfast thingy this morning he can go to.

Wide awake club member here also, since 5:15am thanks to milk man dropping a bottle outside. But now I'm wishing the exams where over. DS isn't having melt downs or being particularly grumpy but he's complaining about this hand and he's very very tired all the time. Thankfully he's got no exam today there is a revision session 2 till 4 for rs philosophy which he doesn't want to go to but I've told him he should, weather looks set to be gorgeous so I hope he gets out of his room and gets some sunshine.
Good luck everyone today still 7 to go here, for those of you that are finished or nearly finished. Enjoy

I'm propping my eyelids up with matchsticks here as I have to take DD in at 7.15 after a late night out with friends.

History and Eng Lang here today.

7 to go here as well, but none today. Still no study leave but I am going to call in sick for DD as she gets much more done at home and is stressed by people messing about or going over exams she's already done. If there was a revision session she'd want to go, but they just have to go to their normal lessons and revise in the classroom.

Good luck to your DD BigTillyMint and to everyone else with exams today.