GCSEs 2018

[DoNotBringLulu]

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.

Just asked DS2 about Python. He's been doing some work experience in a shop helping them with their ordering systems and has used Python to convert files from one format to another, so it seems it is used outside a teaching environment.

I used Basic in my computer studies O level back in 1982, then Fortran at university a little, but my exH is a software developer and started off with C back in the late 1980s. I think expertise with a particular language at this stage isn't necessary, more getting practice at coding in general. DS3's computing teacher says that some of his pupils are better at coding than he is, but they need to concentrate on the theory, which he can teach them.

I have no idea about Law, except than none of the LLB students I went to uni with had done a Law A level. It didn't seem to be necessary back then.

I have no idea about Law, except than none of the LLB students I went to uni with had done a Law A level. It didn't seem to be necessary back then.

I doubt it is now, either. Have you looked up the recommended / preferred A levels for a selection of law faculties?

mmzz maths is a probable anyway.

I know law isn’t needed but she like it and will enjoy it so a safe bet!

Python is in the top 10 programming languages used in industry iirr and was one of the fastest growing languages. Not looked into the sixth form options yet as to what languages they use in CS. I can't really remember which I used other than BASIC at GCSE, can't remember for A level.

DD has finished her timed assessment in terms of the going side now though - says its all tested and working. Just sorting out the rest making sure her designs and write ups are in order fully.

Cambridge University teaches principles of coding rather than a specific language.....

Oh man, reading that makes me break out in a sweat. Friend got taught that way at Aberw. Uni in the 1990s.... he ended up with no practical job skills! Had to teach himself Linux to finally get a job, ~ 18m after got his BSc. Now a good SysAdmin, but not b/c he learnt to be one at Uni.

Oh that’s quite funny as DH did computing at Aber in the 1980s but definitely learned useful computer languages and got a software engineering job not long after graduating. Even then, he says one of the issues with working in software engineering is constantly updating skills to just keep up! Mind you, that sounds like a plus. He does various professional certificates every so often to try keep ahead of all these bright young kids!

Unless things have changed dramatically at Cambridge I don't think anyone need worry about their students ending up with no practical employment skills. Admittedly it's a long time ago, but I spent too much of my time hanging out with cambridge computery types in the 90s and they mostly earnt a lot of money without any apparant effort whilst doing a lot of partying and in some cases taking an awful lot of recreational drugs.

Just got back from a really useful college open evening, and DD is miraculously much, much more decided on what she wants to do (right now, anyway). After a lot of chat with particularly the physics and maths teachers, she thinks that her best bet will be to go for 3 sciences + maths at least up to AS (dropping one at 1/2 term if she's finding it hard going).

Anyone else who has dc (Bluebelle123 - I think your ds is in this position) struggling between the 3 sciences => life sciences degree route and the physics/maths/further maths => maths/physics degree route they had lots of useful suggestions.

First one was to start with the 3 sciences + maths, then if she decides maths/physics is the way to go, drop biology either at 1/2 term or after AS, and do FM AS in yr 13. (Then if she wants to apply to Camb/Warwick/Imperial etc, think about taking a year out to do FM A2 + they will offer support with STEP/MAT preparation.)
They also suggested actually going to some uni open days this summer to look at what biology / physics degrees would actually entail, and also researching the various natural sciences degrees out there - an initial poke around has got dd very excited (particularly the options offered at UCL, alarmingly for my bank balance ).

I thought science A levels were all linear now, no AS levels? I suppose they can still take an AS level separately but they don't offer that option at our local sixth forms. Maths is changing as well, I believe.

I was also under the impression that the science A-level courses are linear and that Maths will be going the same way. In some schools it might be possible to arrange to take an AS at the end of Y12, depending on which parts of the curriculum have been taught in Y12.

Yes, no A2s anymore. You can take an AS but it counts as less than half of an A level, may not necessarily be the Y12 syllabus and is decoupled from the A level.

DS2 has had a look online at some of the Natural Science courses. The combination of Maths, Physics and Chemistry seems to keep most doors open in terms of the different pathways.

Cross post, Thesecond!

Even the Biological Sciences pathways in most of the Natural Science degree courses he looked at don't require Biology A-level (although some require Maths & Chemistry)

Question: is there a significant gap between what the more oversubscribed courses say are their minimum criteria and what the lowest attaining student arrives with (apart from any exceptional cases- if unis have such a thing)? What I mean is if a couse says AAB do they have any students with a B? Similarly, are there really good Biochemistry courses that have students who didn't take Biology at A level?
I don't know and I don't know where to find the answer, but knowing whether you can rely on the admissions criteria is critical to the decision about what choices to make.

Sorry - confusion is that we are in Wales where AS / A2 is still very much a thing. (And where the big advantage to at least starting 4 ASs is that you don't have to take Welsh Bacc!)

TheSecondofHerName - it's true, but the main reason dd wants to do A level biology is that she really loves the subject. I think hand on heart she's more likely to go down a physics/maths/engineering type route long term, but she doesn't want to give it up this early.

Chemistry does seem to be very useful. DS has some difficult decisions to make!
Interesting conversations this week with DS include the news he doesn’t have to do a revision timetable or indeed much revision because of his amazing memory. O what could possibly go wrong?!

mmzz there are websites which show the average grade attainment of students starting each course. I think unistats is one.

DS2 has filled an A5 notebook with this sort of thing. Let's hope he'll be able to decipher it.

Second that is amazing!

It's possible that it's amazing; it's also possible that it's mostly bollocks. I can't decipher enough of it to be able to tell. Just looking at it makes my eyes feel tired.

Further Maths GCSE? It's all good :)

noble I'm very impressed that you can read that.

He has hypermobile joints in his wrists and hands, and has to grip the pen so hard that he often goes right through the paper.