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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

GCSEs 2018

998 replies

DoNotBringLulu · 12/08/2017 16:19

Hi all, I am sure many of us with dc going into year 11 this year are trepidatious about teachers and pupils thrown in at the deep end due to the new GCSEs.

There is one thing I can do which I hope will help my ds (even though he thinks I'm mad!), which is to get hold of this year's GCSE English Language and English Literature papers, read the books and work through the paper myself - I studied English Lit at university over 20 years ago. I will know for myself after I've done this how difficult the exam papers are at least - I'm not sure who I can ask to mark it for me though!

Can anybody tell me how challenging the Maths and English papers were for their dc? I understand these were the two subjects introduced with the new format.

OP posts:
greedygreedyguzzler · 18/10/2017 15:56

Help!! My DS is 14 and in year 10. His handwriting has always been bad, but it is getting worse and worse and is now almost illegible. Has anyone got any tips or ideas on how I can help him improve it? I think a lot of it is to do with his he holds the pen still

greedygreedyguzzler · 18/10/2017 15:58

Sorry didn't mean to post on this thread!

Sadik · 18/10/2017 16:50

"I also think most people know if they're more interested in sciences or the arts. "
That is probably true for many - though I was an all rounder who could have very easily jumped either way and had to make a choice at 16 which massively narrowed down my later options.

But as mentioned above, even if you know you're a STEM person, for example - its very likely (as in my dd's example) that aged 15 you might be equally interested in life sciences and maths/physics.

I'm really grateful that dd will have the option to start 4 A levels, with the option either to drop one by 1/2 term of yr 12, continue with 4 to AS, and potentially if she/college feels its sensible (and probably only if no. 4 is FM) continue with it to A2.

drummersmum · 18/10/2017 18:59

DS is equally interested in the sciences and arts/humanities/languages, and according to all his teachers he's equally able at both. It does happen! It doesn't help, that's for sure.

noblegiraffe · 18/10/2017 19:03

Yes, saying people are either science or arts leads to the crap situation where the people who run the country know bog-all about science or can't do maths - same for journalists. It's a shame to have such a narrow curriculum choice at 16, other countries leave it broader for much longer.

mmzz · 18/10/2017 19:09

Scotland did (still does) offer up to 5 subjects for 5th year and maths and English have / had to be 2 of them. I think that's better, although DS, who is looking forward to dumping English would disagree!

BlueBelle123 · 18/10/2017 19:19

Sadik My DS has the same dilemma as your DD, in that he doesn't know whether he wants to go down the route requiring Chemistry/Biology or Maths/Physics, hence why he wants to start with 4 A levels.

It doesn't help that he hates making decisions and refuses to make an appointment with the school's careers person as its at lunchtime and he can't possibly spare 5 minutes at this crucial part of the dayHmm

mmzz · 18/10/2017 19:34

@Bluebelle123 I recognise that! Break and lunchtime are sacrosanct.

Fwiw DS doesn't know what he wants to do at A level either. He's good at the logical ones but enjoys history and geography.

Oddsocks15 · 18/10/2017 21:34

Noblegiraffe

DD says she wants to take A level Maths and Further Maths. I am confused over whether Maths and Further Maths counts as one or two subjects/choices? She has been told that she takes one of them in the first year then drops it... I am confused.

Also any advice on what goes well with Maths, she is talking about Geography as her next strongest subject but has taken a fancy to psychology (not sure why as they haven’t had any taster lessons).

LooseAtTheSeams · 18/10/2017 21:38

Glad noble mentioned journalists. I worked in real-time financial journalism for years and we needed to be very quick and accurate with numbers. Print journalists are crap in comparison and I got by on an O level and the fear of being wrong! Journalists, historians and social scientists use maths for statistical analysis and the level required at university is well served by A level maths. I’m an arts and humanities person through and through, but my advice to my children is to pursue maths until the point where it becomes too difficult. It is so useful and keeps open so many opportunities.

noblegiraffe · 18/10/2017 21:41

Schools differ in how they teach maths and further maths. Some do maths in one year, then further maths the next. Others teach both over two years. Either way they are two full A-levels and should have the full teaching time allocation (some schools don’t!).
Because students who take Further maths are very good at maths it’s assumed they won’t need to spend as much time studying for their maths A-level as other students which is why Further Maths is usually still allowed as a fourth subject. Taking maths and further and only one other subject would be quite restrictive for uni choice, and some courses won’t accept it.

noblegiraffe · 18/10/2017 21:44

I’m an arts and humanities person through and through, but my advice to my children is to pursue maths until the point where it becomes too difficult.

Yes! Grin For those doing sciences or social sciences who don’t want to or can’t take maths, investigate whether the college offers Core Maths which is brilliant - an AS equivalent spread over two years based on ‘real life’ maths rather than algebra to keep maths skills ticking over.

Oddsocks15 · 18/10/2017 21:50

Thanks Noblegiraffe so DD should at look at doing 4 A levels? Gulp! I am just concerned about overload.

Sixth form open evening is after half-term so obviously have a clearer idea then.

noblegiraffe · 18/10/2017 22:07

Yes Odd, 4 if one is FM! My school will still be doing AS FM at the end of Y12 for those who find 4 too much so that’s worth asking about.

What is she predicted for maths? (Warning about psychology, it often turns out to be different to what the kids were expecting so get her to do her research!)

TheDonald · 18/10/2017 22:15

Oddsocks my dd is planning on maths and FM. She also wants to do geography Nd computer science.

She will probably only take FM to AS. She is good at maths and predicted an 8 (hoping for a 9) but she's never really had to break a sweat before and I'm worried that she won't be able to cope if it gets too hard.

Noble - do you think a year of FM will have a positive impact on her maths grade even if she doesn't get a great grade at FM?

The college she wants to go to gives 4.5 hrs in the timetable for FM whereas her school sixth form doesn't give any extra time to it.

noblegiraffe · 18/10/2017 22:43

Gut feeling would be that more time spent doing maths, so practising general maths skills would improve her maths grade, but I don’t know the new A-levels at all - time spent doing matrix multiplication probably wouldn’t help much with coordinate geometry so it depends on the topics covered in each.

If she’s doing it as a 4th, she could drop it when she likes. More girls need to take further maths so I’d tell her at least to give it a try.

Oddsocks15 · 19/10/2017 07:36

Noblegiraffe DD predicted 7 for GCSE, is that too low?! I mean I've read the 6th form prospectus but need to hear some reality. Difficult for me to ask teacher as DD is currently anti-me even breathing anywhere near teachers let alone me speaking! (Recent parents evening was painful, but that is another story)....

Thanks for the advice regarding psychology, certainly try and get DD to take that on board.

Oddsocks15 · 19/10/2017 08:16

Forgot to say thanks TheDonald maybe I’ll suggest IT as 4th A level to DD as she hasn’t done Computer Science as GCSE.

Noble also forgot to say DD has mocks second week in after half term so should give us a clearer picture for A levels as long as she revises and shares her results with us Hmm (having another separate issue with DD following behind/not doing her homework recently)

Sadik · 19/10/2017 08:41

They had an assembly on post 16 choices yesterday plus a good session on the computers afterwards thinking about what they might need going forwards.

DD's leaning now towards 3 sciences + maths, on the thought that she's pretty certain she doesn't want to study maths at uni, and it doesn't seem like FM is needed for physics courses.

Having said that I know from my own experience (admittedly obviously a long time ago - but I suspect maths A level content was higher if anything back then) that not having FM was a big disadvantage even studying economics (and that was much less maths-y in those days!). And I imagine physics will be the same but more so . . . I've suggested dd try talking to her physics and biology teachers (who conveniently happen to be married to one another Grin ) for any advice.

BlueBelle123 · 19/10/2017 08:53

Sadik that is my thinking, at the forthcoming 6th form evenings I want to find out if the new A level maths is more demanding and if so, would this mean that the need for FM is not so imperative. Trouble is if DS decides to go down the physics route will he be penalised as the school does offer FM if he doesn't take it!!

Life would be so much simpler if he knew what he wanted to do!!!

Sadik · 19/10/2017 08:57

I know - but so hard to know what they want to do so early! My suspicion is dd will love A level maths/physics. Her maths lessons in school have been un-sparkling to say the least - and it's a shame if she misses out because of that. But who can tell - she might start A levels and discover biology is her real love. (Or indeed develop a passion for chemistry!)

noblegiraffe · 19/10/2017 11:36

I’ll be honest, Odd, I’d be wary of FM without an 8. My school’s entry requirements are 6 and 7 for maths and FM but that was not the decision of the maths dept, iyswim.

The new A-level maths isn’t supposed to be harder than the old one, unlike the GCSE that wasn’t the reason for the reform. There is some new content but also some removed and the papers look different but it’s all brand new so very hard to tell as yet how it will pan out in terms of students struggling.

Oddsocks15 · 19/10/2017 13:09

Just checking in on my lunch break, will read fully later but thanks Noble, the outcome of the mocks should give DD and usmore of a clue

LooseAtTheSeams · 19/10/2017 16:55

Noble Core Maths sounds ideal for DS2 when the time comes!
Apparently all the art coursework is due in December and they will start preparing for the art exam in January!

Oddsocks15 · 19/10/2017 17:24

thanks for your honesty Noble, that is the reality that i wanted. Flowers