Parents of Year 11DC support thread. The final term.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Eep.

I'm not surprised Exit - I think it is a normal reaction to stress/grief.

So far dd is managing ok. A little over focused on perfecting her Systems project at the moment which is a little frustrating as her teacher thinks she is on target for full marks. Need to encourage her on to other stuff a bit but she doesn't get home from revision classes (or systems) til close on 6pm after leaving the house at 7:30.

She came home fuming about NCS - they came into school a couple of days ago to do an assembly and give out awards to those who have already signed up. lots of emotional blackmail going on which annoyed the hell out of her. I'm pretty proud of her for having insight into strong arm tactics.

Omg they can FAIL the practice expedition for DoE?!? Dd1 gets back today, I'm dreading the return to grim endless revision and stress. Wish they were going back to school but not till Monday. Dd2 has really come out of her shell/room with dd1 gone, she should have been an only child-lol!

I though NCS sounded great but zero interest so far from dd1- just don't want her sitting around and getting bored, drunk or worse in with her peers in the park all summer after GCSEs end and I still have to work, dd2 still in school- argh.

I'm purposefully trying to arrange holiday away and volunteering so that dd has a month clear in the middle just to be and to perhaps learn some domestic skills. I remember having that luxury as a teen. Life is always so busy for her and I'd like to give her a chance to learn more about what she really enjoys. I suspect it may be endless gaming......

Next summer will be working I think, so this is a rare opportunity

Well DSD has headed off on her first day back looking an absolute fright - the cut on her nose has caused bruising all around one eye so she has a black eye, or rather a yellow/green eye. She's quite image conscious at the best of times, and doesn't really enjoy being the centre of attention so wasn't on great form this morning. Also mentioned she had tests this week on stuff they were supposed to have learned over Easter, which she said she wasn't really prepared for because of the cut nose (which she did on the final weekend of the Easter holidays )

DS is still getting on well with Tasoumai, and DH is trying to get him to show DSD how it works so he can sign her up too. I had already offered to get her an account too, but she claimed she didn't need it as there was plenty stuff on the school website and I didn't see any point paying for something she said she didn't want. Maybe DS will enthuse her, who knows?

Neither of them seem to get stressed like your DD dream - do you think maybe she's getting these GCSEs worked up in her head to be something bigger than they are? I mean next year they'll have AS exams, then A levels, then University exams, etc, etc - every year will have exams and she will just need to learn to cope somehow. I think at selective schools they can get a bit of a sense of A*s being some kind of fixed requirement for the rest of their lives to happen - DSD (who scraped into her very selective school) came with me to a further education evening at DS's comprehensive a few months back where they were covering the full range of post-16 options available locally, and DSD said it really boosted her confidence to realise that she was already at a level well above what some kids would be at by GCSE time. I think it helped broaden her view of options in life and realise that she is actually doing fine, even if her results are likely to be lower than most of her classmates, but that that's OK.

I agree they need to keep things in perspective. DD went out riding with a friend from a different school over the holidays. Said friend failed all her mocks, was doing no revision and intends to sign up at the local riding school for some sort of BTEC in pony patting. Made DD feel a whole lot better about her own situation. And also made her rethink my advice about doing some sort of equestrian degree at Agricultural College. Do something you enjoy is my mantra these days.

Nothing worse than being surrounded by other stressed people if you're feeling stressed. I think they make each other worse sometimes. Maybe good to do like exit's DD has done and spend some time with friends from outside school to get a bit of a break from it? I remember doing that with university finals and loving the complete break I got from my stressy friends when I saw my non-uni friends though a hobby we shared. Hard at a boarding school I guess, though your DD is back at weekends isn't she dream?

AS exams are mainly for non-reformd alevels but they'll all have internal school exams that determine predicted grades, which are also pretty important next year.

I'm so impressed with Ds. He has really worked hard over these holidays to catch up. He got a dire report, and his HMM was pretty down on him with regards to how much he is contributing to school life ( not much!), He's quite a quiet boy outside of our immediate family, and I'm not sure how much anyone else 'gets' him.

I can see him disappearing off to Costa Rica for a gap year, and not coming back.

As long as he keeps up the hard work over the next 2 months, he'll have done his best.

Urg. Girls feed off the stress of exams, they can whip each other up into a complete frenzy if you're not careful. Luckily for most its just an act, not so lucky for the odd one who really suffers. Ds has rescue remedy for particularly stress times (like German orals!)

OMG, have just discovered this continuation thread. Hope everyone is doing OK. Will read the thread properly later and catch up.

I think perhaps that's why DD values her time at dancing so much - a huge group of friends - all ages from lots of different schools - some at college, who have been through and out the other side, some younger - it must be a relief to talk and think about something different for a few hours a week.
DD seems fairly calm overall, she's very focused and knows exactly what she needs to do, so as long as there's not too much disruption over the next month I am hopeful she will stay in control.
Does your DD have friends outside of school Dream?

Well done to your DS Derek for getting back on track, that is good news.

Did got sent home from school on Tuesday with a d&v bug. She was very poorly, with a headache and body pains and unable to keep anything down. Today she's brighter but not really keeping much down. She gets these bugs too often and her stomach just rejects food for days until she's better. I can see her having the whole week off which is a disaster. She has to work to get grades because school work is a struggle for her.

Her maths teacher emailed to say that she didn't hand in a practice paper before Easter and she was supposed to hand in another on Tuesday. She said she had them in her bag on Tuesday but was sent home in the middle of class. We do get a few emails from subject teachers about not submitting work.

Aww, poor thing! how horrible.

I do like the idea of a BTEC in pony patting. I think one of dds friends is doing that!

dd came back very dazed from her DoE practice expedition everything is soaked and covered in blisters scratches and mud, and she fell off her chair while I was making her some dinner. the zip froze shut on their tent and her friend who is 16 cried. A great time was clearly had by all!

My dd didn't do d of e but said those that did have had a massive falling out about a leaking tent and aren't speaking to each other. She was trying to be peace maker.

Ah Au I feel the pain of DoE, I really do.

How's your DD dog?

Anyone can come and pat our pony for free if you like!

Well done to your DS derek for working so hard.

All quiet here, DS is combining studying and gaming with aplomb

Dd's ok. She went in because she's just refluxing. I think she may have an underlying stomach problem because she refluxes a lot but is doctor and needle phobic so that isn't going to get investigated any time soon. She was glad to see her friends but less glad to get an on the spot chemistry exam with only 45 mins to complete an hour paper for which she would get extra time, so missed lots out. Apparently everyone who does badly will get an email sent to their parents. So that's another email...

My DD used to do that a lot dog Whenever she had a cold or anything she would be sick. But she wasn't really sick sick, nothing anyone could catch. Used to have trouble persuading school she was OK to be in. Thankfully she seems to have outgrown it. Hard for your DD if she's getting it a lot.

DS1 went back to school with a positive attitude on Monday, but the stress has built up since then. He says he cannot fit in school, homework, revision and sleep, so one of them will have to go.

He does have a revision timetable, but he is not getting as much done as he hoped to and is feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Can homework be seen as revision maybe? Ds has a revision timetable which includes when he is back at school. But realistically, he won't be able to keep to it. He'll have homework which he'll do instead of the revision.

Exit hope you and your DD are doing OK.

The big news here is that DD handed in her Photography coursework. The end is finally in sight, Exam next week and that's it.

She has been working on other subjects, but this has been her main focus. Next will be her dram to learn though!