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.

Actually, I'd go to see that even if DS wasn't studying it - I love Mr Eccleston!

Exactly what I was thinking! I think a trip to Stratford is entirely warranted on this occasion...

Just wrote a longish post and lost it before posting, bugger!

Have a Y11 dd so will be following (and contributing to) this thread with interest

Btw, I have a Y11 DS and am checking in. Have an older DD (about to go into her second year at university) so I've been through this before.

It's not the easiest year...

Just taken a look at my local cinema listings for April next year and almost booked the ROH operatic version of Macbeth by mistake. Not sure is DD would get the full benefit of the experience!

Shall we do a GCSE Mum's trip to Stratford?

Would like people's thoughts on this. DS is doing history. Last year the school took deposits for the text books - given the discount schools get I think the deposit was equal to what the text book cost the school. The deal was that the deposit would be returned if the text book came back in reasonable condition.
I have a feeling that the teacher who organised this didn't think it through though because now she wants the text book they used in year 10 back for this year's year 10s. Also she won't let the year 11s take the year 11 text books home to revise with / do homework etc.
She has told them that if she can keep the deposit, then they can keep the year 10 book for revision but no way can they have the year 11 books at home under any circumstances.
What the school is offering for revision instead is a digital copy on the school intranet.
It's it better to just buy these books from Amazon - they come to about £45 in total - or is a digital copy good enough to revise from??

Both my two prefer paper copies so they can highlight stuff. I suppose you could print out the online one, but I bet the ink would come to an awful lot.

Any chance it's the same text book they used for last year's 11s? Do you have any way of contacting the current year 12s to see if anyone has one to sell?

Its the new GCSEs, so a new range of text books. I ordered them online a few minutes ago. I've heard about the school cuts but this is the first time i've seen the effects - not enough text books to go round for their GCSE students.

mmzz I have bought DD's text books and revision books for each subject from Amazon - no school text books are allowed to come home ever.

I did the same for DD1 2 years ago, unfortunately the changes in GCSEs have happened at just the wrong time so hand me downs were not an option.

I've bought many too - mainly English ones. I haven't seen any text books at home before either, until these ones. The school basically had us pay for these ones, promising a refund if they got them back in good condition after the GCSEs. now they've changed their mind and want them back now.

We've only been advised to get copies of the literature texts do they can write in them - and revision books. Otherwise the only textbook he brings home is the computer science one.
Filled in an application for sixth form college so that one's done. All the school sixth forms have open evenings this term and forms go in later.

Does anyone know how the sixth form applications work? Eg do you apply direct to the school or the lea? Can you apply to several at once?

In London you apply direct to the school and can apply to as many as you like. Not sure if all leas do this.

Mmzz - yes direct to the school and you can apply to several at once. They will require references from current school and maybe tailored applications, interviews etc so you can't go too wild though.

Joining a little bit late as i've had a hectic start to the new school year. DD got an A in Maths this summer (not sure which board that was) and will do Further Maths plus the rest of her GCSEs in 2018.

She has absolutely no idea what she wants to do in the future and is undecided between staying on at her school for sixth form, moving to a different school or going to at college elsewhere in our city.

For my part i've taken her to see Much Ado About Nothing at the theatre and we've watched the dvds of her other two set texts. No holidays booked after Christmas

Local 6th form recommends applications by Xmas... I think that's for their benefit. I can't find actual application deadline on any website... one says 24.8.18 as earliest application date for 2018 entry .

We have 2 more open evenings to go to before mid November. What are others looking for in 6th form open evenings?

Our opening evenings aren't until December, so haven't had to think about that yet.... the only problem I can see is that current school, where DS wants to stay only want pupils to do 3 A levels, but DS wants to do 4 and then drop one after AS. What are all your 6th form options saying on this, out of interest?

Some deadlines are December, our school goes for end January.
There seems to be a shift to 3 A levels and an EPQ but some appear to allow 4 based on a GCSE points system. Don't know if that will change as they seem to be working on new prospectuses at the moment!
Open evening - I look at what they offer, where people go after sixth form and realistic journey times. DS1 wants no uniform rules and A level computer science!

DS2's school (his first choice for sixth form) says they can do 4 subjects if the grades from their best 8 subjects add up to at least 60, e.g. 88887777

To do 3 subjects, the grades from their best 8 subjects must add up to at least 46, e.g. 66666655

They need at least 5 in Maths and English and individual subjects also have grade requirements.

I've looked at the websites of two other local sixth forms and they have similar requirements.

DS wants to do 4 and then drop one after AS.

I think most subjects will be linear by then, so schools might not enter students for AS levels. At the sixth forms I've looked at, it's either 4 subjects all the way through to the end of Y13 (if GCSE grades are high enough) or 3 subjects plus EPQ.

All the forms will be different - and the combinations on offer. We're not applying to very many: it would be too confusing and his current school is perfectly fine and should be a pretty guaranteed option.

Great thread thanks.

Ive read an English text for my Year 11 child - Hard Times over the summer and we've discussed it a bit. I am going to help with annotation of it. Plus ordered several science revision guides. Mocks aren't until Jan here.
Meaning to ask about Easter holiday - our school will not do revision lessons but is it advisable to stay at home and encourage full on revision? Or is a break a good idea with a week of morning exercise (skiing) followed by afternoon revision.......jet lag will be an issue though so perhaps Im being too ambitious.
Keen for opinions, thanks

The GCSEs start mid-May and go on until the end of the third week in June. I think working 24/7 from the beginning of April onwards will cause burn-out. Not to mention intense boredom since the schools will stop normal lessons around February, so after that it will be just going over and over (and over and over...) what they've hopefully already learned in the regular lessons.
I'm suggesting to DS that he starts now but only for an extra hour or so a week, and that he uses the time to make sure his notes are in good order and learn a few of the poems he has to memorise or some new French vocab etc.
I did well in exams, and worked diligently at school, but I know that I'd never have had the stamina to revise 24/7 from Easter until late June.
So, I think you could do the holiday - as long as you believe that your DC could concentrate for four hours a day (say) whilst everyone outside her room is on holiday?

about 6th form applications...

• do the DC get conditional offers, that are then confirmed when the GCSE results arrive?
• could they theoretically get 3 offers and keep all 3 open until late August?

• What happens if they accept an offer for a (selective) school, say, and then they don't get the requisite results? Does it mean they have to scrabble around to find somewhere that still has a space on the sixth form?

They can hold as many offers as they want to, and then confirm one on results day. So if their first choice is asking for high grades, it might be worth having a back-up.