Parents of Year 11's - in the midst of exams!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

roll up roll up, for our new support thread for all parents of year 11 kids. Whether your kids work hard or not, what ever their goals (or not!) this is our place to de-stress :)

Forgot to say - good luck to everyone with exams today!

DS thought biology was 'fine'. He did mention that lots of people were angry because it was not what they were expecting but he said he never knows what to expect so he 'just did the paper' because he thought the odd bits were 'common sense'. Hmmm. We shall see. It is possible that he has massively misjudged it but it's also possible that his quirks and his degree of dissociation from the whole thing have worked in his favour this time. If I was a betting person I'd bet on him having misjudged it but I'm very risk averse. I can see that he might have been alright. Partly because it's not going to have thrown him, it being odd. He actually commented that what some of his friends were apparently feeling is how he feels a lot of the time and the trick is to get on with it...I dunno. I'm going to pretend it didn't happen. I expect he will end up at the lower end of the middle when everything is done and dusted but that's fine for this subject. No exams today, Chemistry tomorrow where he needs to do alright.

Good luck to everyone with exams today.

Yes dd is stressing now about chemistry aqa!

Many moons ago, I did Latin O level, but not many schools offer this subject now. MN must be an exception.
RS paper 2 this afternoon, dd has already left to revise at school.
In past years often one paper causes complaints, hopefully that's it for this year now and other papers will be more normal.

but he said he never knows what to expect so he 'just did the paper' because he thought the odd bits were 'common sense'.

Uhtred that's exactly like dd!!

Good luck for exams today.

DS didn't seem at all phased either Uhtred, but then again, exams don't phase him particularly.

My DC think aubergines are the work of the devil, I keep trying, their opinion doesn't change

Good luck for those with exams today.

None for DD today but she's gone into school for an English revision session this morning and then coming home to revise for tomorrows Chemistry exam.

Next week is the tough week for her - 7 exams I think!

Good luck for everyone today. Exit, do you do food parcels?!

Normal school day for dd today.

Coffee for all the stressed parents, it's the last thing you need but you know it's what you want. It's ICT and RS here today. I have promised the ceremonial burning of the RS revision book tonight, the course changes next year so it will be no good to anyone else. By tonight DS will have completed 17% of his exams, it will be 50% by next Friday.

DS did the more predictable biology paper yesterday although he would have coped with the drunken rats, he's good at applying knowledge (or as he puts it "making stuff up"). He spent part of the revision session on Monday helping one of his friends reach perfection on the nitrogen cycle so that was something that benefited both of them yesterday. When I did my O levels it was me and the text books (text books - remember them?) but DS is part of a gang of six and they share flashcards and mnemonics. It's been good for him because two of them are hard working high achievers and I think in part that's what's been responsible for his change in attitude over the last few months.

DS has 5 next week, then 8!!!! The week after half term, then 5 the week after that. Then he's done. That week after half term will be tough I think - DD1 has an A2 that week and DD2 will be up to her eyes in show rehearsals. And I'll be in Oslo for most of it. Sigh.

Good morning all. First time for two exams in one day for DD today. RE and ICT.

I will be so glad when RE is over. I've helped her a LOT with revision (in the car this morning it was all "name three reasons a war can be seen as "just" and "what are the four categories of drugs?") and bloody hell it's been a yawn fest.

She doesn't seem worried about ICT but I think it's a course that's mostly coursework

Uhtred That sounds like a good week to be out of the country. Eight exams in a week sounds a killer, DS has been lucky (not that he sees it at all) in that his are very evenly spread, no more than five in a week and he gets the ones he finds easy in the first week.

I've just realised that DD's Chemistry exam tomorrow is the AQA one (luckily the biology one wasn't) - wonder if that will be equally as random

My DS had first exam yesterday, which was French Listening - he is doing CCEA exam board and said it was OK.
None until next week now, and then a full week of them (18 in total) finishing up on 24th June.

No exams today DD has chemistry tomorrow has texted to say she's using YouTube as a source as the only bit she doesn't get in chemistry is electrolysis.

Frighteningly the biology (edexcel igce) answers from yesterday are already online. DD does not want to look....

It's scary isn't it janin
DD I'm sure she will have done fine

Dd1s friends said the AQA biology diet question was on her catering paper

2 down, 20 to go
Today's wasn't too bad, it was the easy one apparently. Ds1 said the worst bit was sitting for 20mins having rechecked the paper.
Ds1 is not too concerned about this result, tomorrow's chem paper is a bit more important. Not AQA though.

DD is frantically revising chemistry cannot for the life of her remember electrolysis.. She's revised it all morning and knows the outline of it, for now it's just remembering it.

Fantasy mnemonics work well for remembering that type of info. Ideally she should write her own, but a quick google will find some for electrolysis.

Good luck to those with exams today. DS1 hasn't got another exam until Monday's AQA English Lit. Focus at the moment is on The Crucible and he's been using the examiners reports to help guide what they may be looking for.

She watched a YouTube video and found OIL RIG and Don't PANIC so works 💓 She seems happy enough

DS1 watched some of Hank Green's chemistry videos today and also went through the CIE iGCSE chemistry specimen paper 4 (extended theory) with the mark scheme open in front of him, in an attempt to get inside the heads of the examiners and work out how they think.