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.

doglover - it may be that the B/C grade boundaries would be lower for this paper if it was relatively harder questions - so don't despair.

simbo - maths isn't such a 'revisy' subject as some. As your DD's assessment of the paper seems in line with other people's it sounds like she wasn't just sitting there in a funk.

DD has just come in to say that EdExcel is issuing warnings about not discussing details of the questions online until at least a day after - it's not just igcses which are done in different timezones!!!

EdExcel saying not to discuss the questions online for at least a day seems a bit ... erm, hopelessly naive?

I was surprised to hear how low the grade boundary for a C on the Edexcel higher paper is - something like 28% ? This was from one of the tutors DD had.

Somewhere I might have seen that an A is 60%? So if those are right on an average year (and that is a big if as might be total rubbish), then a fair amount of leeway to drop marks.

One of DD'S friend's said this morning that they are getting 3 marks for the fire alarm on Thursday. No idea if true.

My ds has just text me saying-
"It was alright (maths calc).Not as easy as the non calc xxxxxx"

My ds has just text me saying-
"It was alright (maths calc).Not as easy as the non calc xxxxxx"

Fingers crossed :) Thanks for the reassuring words.

Simbo, Errol is right, with maths if she understood it earlier in the year it will have come back to her even if she didn't revise.

Judging by Twitter, I think the DCs sat through that exam trying to think of witty Tweets for later rather than doing the maths

DS now struggling to get back into the revision zone. I'm trying to keep him motivated saying this is the second last day he has to come home from an exam and start revision straight away but we are all thoroughly fed up now. I might just have to make some banana later

DD is saying that she still wants to get an A for maths. Hmm.

Linerunner - I agree! I bet there are discussions going on already. I'm amazed that they allow exams to be sat at different times

DD is having 3 hours off after morning exams, so is currently out for a walk with DH, before coming back to start on Chemistry later this afternoon.

sugar - yes, I think you're about right with the grade boundaries. A* is typically around 84% for maths. Pupils who are predicted C/B aren't expected to attempt all the questions.

DD just rang saying that the paper was hard but not quite as bad as last weeks - thank God it is over.
However, she and her mate have just left school without permission. Which is not good. They have not been given study leave, but she finds it much better revising at home

ono, I saw Twitter and my heart dropped. But I have to say, the Tweets are really funny!

DD not in a good mood anymore. She found AQA Maths hard and weird, has no idea how she did. A level choice here too

Ds says maths was Ok ish. I asked if it was better than the last one. no. Oh bugger. he's tried to get out of staying for revision this afternoon but he doesn't revise at home so I said I can't pick him up until 3. It's his only full day in this week. can't wait until they're over.

DD thought it was easier than the last paper, she attempted all questions but "made up the method" for some. I'm hoping on results day it will be a good enough result that she still wants to do it for A'level - someone advised that A'level questions are more straight forward eg. don't try to catch you out, so maybe that will be good news.

So and that the Maths is so hard compared to all the past papers.

I agree, BTM. Why do the exam boards do this? Is it politically-motivated? I hate the fact that our children seem to be guinea pigs for the system :(

I think it is. They have obviously tried to make the questions more "real life" (who in RL thinks up quadratic equations to work out probability when eating sweets) and harder. Which is what the government is pushing with the new NC in primary, so it follows.

My poor DD is having a hard time. So far she has been ok, all exams seem to have gone well and she has always been a hard worker.

We have never put any pressure on her re grades, just encouraged her and praised for hard work. However, for some reason, she puts an enormous amount of pressure on herself, not necessarily grades wise, but she seems to feel like she should be working all the time.

At times we have had to make her take breaks. This weekend she had a complete wobbly. It started with history revision and I could see she just wasn't in the right frame of mind. She has been swinging between tears and sleeping all weekend and then last night sobbing because she hasn't done any revision. I think she's just had enough. She's got 5 exams this week so I am hoping being back at school and talking to some teachers will have helped calm her down.

I feel awful for her but don't want to make a huge fuss. I have just booked 2 days leave for the 2 days after prom so we can have some quality time together. I'll be glad for her when it's all done.

My DD is similar, MadAsgardian. She puts so much pressure on herself that all the pressure from us is to urge her to take a break sometimes. Whenever she's not working she's feeling anxious. DD has 8 exams to go, 5 of which are science, so there's still a lot of revision going on. It's grim for all of us and I can't wait for it to be over!

Mellifera I think that's what my DS meant when he said a couple of the questions were 'off spec'. It only takes a couple of 'weird' questions to throw a candidate.

We have a national shortage of adults who are competent in maths at a higher level, from teaching through to the armed forces. Alienating and freaking kids out about maths at 16, and deterring them from A Level, seems counter-productive to the national interest.

The trouble with 'real life' examples is that the places people really use some of this stuff is in science or engineering a lot more advanced than GCSE level. In the case of probabilities, there might be 'real life' scenarios to do with criminal cases or risk/benefit of medical treatments - but I'm not sure there's a real life scenario where you'd go from probabilities to a quadratic equation. (I'd like to know if there is!)

I agree that maths isn't so much a subject that you can revise, and I am really miffed at the school when dd says that they didn't teach her set any of the A grade questions because of lack of time (staffing issues), so even with revising she probably wouldn't have done better than a B even if potentially capable. I'm more worried for the other subjects that she didn't revise for without my realising it. I hope she has her nose in a chemistry revision guide up there.

DD said the maths paper was tough, because there are usually a mix of questions.

Nice easy starter ones. Ones that are hard, but you know the methodology so you can give it your best shot and a couple of 'out there' ones for the best students.

This paper didn't have any of the first category and more of the third than is usual.