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.

Well done your DD Stickerrocks , as you say it's still a long way to the exams, DS has been told on average people go up a grade from mocks.

I think I need to point out to him, that is on the basis they continue to work!!! He's definitely in full holiday mode, even though he doesn't break up till next week.

Are your DC getting much work set for over the Xmas, DS says so far nothing and that's with subjects that he's had the last lesson for this term in! I certainly can't complain that the school is heaping pressure on the kids

Stickerrocks those are great grades, especially as marking for mocks tends to be pretty strict!
Not aware of any work being set over Christmas.

Stickerrocks well done to her.
We have our work set for Christmas: mock revision!!! But he also has to fit in lots of music practice for competition, jd assessment, etc all happening straight after mocks...
sostenuto I would break into an Irish dance if DS said he wanted to be a neuroscientist

Stickerocks great results! You should be proud! My dgd won't get her results till January which is ridiculous!

Yes am proud drummersmum but goodness knows how she came to a decision. The brain fascinates her but she said she could not handle being a surgeon. So research is the way, though geography a great love of hers, hence she is doing geography a level instead if chemistry to go along with biology math and psychology. So I suppose all options left open to her. I'll have to pay a pound to speak to her if she succeeds! Though with inflation that might rise!

Research or psychology - both involve working on how people's brains work.

Thanks everyone. I missed out another 8 for physics, so it is definitely encouraging. She is SO cross about her grade 5s. It's obvious from the spread of marks which subjects she loves and which she tolerates.

She dislikes her RE teacher and got a 5, when she should actually be really good at the subject. She says they are still focusing on content rather than how to structure answers and they haven't been given their papers back or a marking scheme. Does anyone know of any good resources for RE besides the usual CGP revision guide? I want to get her to crack on with this one whilst she is still indignant.

Well done on your dd's results Sticker!

Sticker - well done to your DD - great mocks - Is she doing 9 GCSE's ?

Schools out today for us back on 9th Jan with first Mock...car filled with books brought back from school...dd at friends for end of term party !

Eng Lit & Lang, Maths, Further Maths, Triple Science, Geog, History, Spanish & RE. They didn't have mocks for Eng Lit or Further Maths.

Thanks everyone. She knows she worked for the ones she likes and didn't for the others, so she's kicking herself a bit. She does feel the pressure to perform though, as she's also HG and everyone assumes she will do well.

Sticker - That's interesting to know - no individual mock for English Lang and Lit (DD has both in Jan )

I will be pleased if DD turns in those sort of results ... although most of her IGCSE's are still A-C grades- really odd looking at end of term report with some numbers and some letters for the various subjects- confusing to parents never mind Uni's and future employers.

That's two more Gsces than my dd is doing sticker! And three more than ds2 is doing, so no excuse for them not to work hard on their existing ones.

We have just thrown down the gauntlet to dd. If she wants to go to the sixth form of her choice and move schools she has to read 10 books (not on curriculum, but reading for pleasure) before end of Feb. She came in with a new purchase from Top Shop (fluffy white hoody) bought online with a gift card from her birthday last year, and we just suddenly felt very irritated by this endless phone flicking, endlessly looking up clothes and facebook. If she has time for that, she has time to read. She knows it is good to read, but she always has something else urgent to do instead.

Ds2 spent the entire day playing sport, football in the morning and then tennis for two friends all afternoon. It makes me very pleased - he doesn't do any sport in school apart from PE lessons.

not facebook, it is snapchat or whatsapp sorry.

I'm winding her up about "only" taking 11 as I have 13 O' levels!

Did someone suggest reading the Guardian Long Reads for persuasive writing? I was sent a free copy of the Bedside Guardian 2017 earlier - lots of good articles all in one place.

DD has a second batch of mocks at the end of Feb and an Eng Lit mock on 5 January. I might try to persuade her to actually read the books over Christmas instead of dipping in and out of chapters in no particular order.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3113917-GCSEs-2018-2

my goodness sticker our school only let us take 8 or in special cases (ie Russian O level or Greek 9) (back in the 80's) For some reason they disapproved of humanities O'levels as too much rote learning, so we had lessons but never took exams in them. It felt good!

I dropped Latin, didn't fancy Russian and couldn't take an O level in Cornish!

I've set up the next thread ready to go (link above).

DD is allowed unlimited books from Waterstones, but all other purchases are limited to her allowance or wages.

Bedside Guardian inspired choice times a million! Thanks so much!

Today dd has been a bit more interested in doing English Lit for A level. She is realising that it might be easier than Geography! [for her] In her own words "at least I can remember Quotes". So we are now getting down to a choice of Textiles, Pyschology, Biology and English Lit, doing only three of those. If she just knew which A level she was aiming for, I think she would try harder to get a really good grade in that subject.

name change..used to be knittingwith..

dd has ordered some books to "read" at my suggestion: Agatha Christie,and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (to get her into the Trilogy)

Nettles, We've moved onto thread no. 2.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3113917-GCSEs-2018-2