GCSEs 2018 (2)

[Stickerrocks]

Pre-empting our 1000th post.

Interesting I think I worked out that DD will probably get in around 60 hours revision ...between now and the start of the Mocks 9th Jan. Then probably a further 14/20 hours during the Mocks ...we just got end of term report and it helps where the teachers have clearly said where DD's weaknesses are and the area's she needs to give attention too.

I did meet up with her dad last week because 6th form options were becoming an issue - he was adamant that she will stay on into the sixth form (all shorts of threats to DD like she would not have the new car he has promised her etc if she did not stay on!)... So difficult because he is so controlling but I have left it that he will have to pay the fees if that is what he wants BUT also applied to the two 6th forms DD liked in the background to cut out the stress DD is under from him...I have sole parent responsibility so we can deal with this later on if DD decides she does not want to stay on at Indie.

Feeling a bit sorry for DD because she was praised for the work she had put into her controlled assessment - Computer Science with top mark ....poor kids if non of it counts ...

63 hours is a lot, albeit he did over 6 weeks (including in the evenings of the week of the mocks. I was surprised when I counted it up on his timetable.

DS has been diligent in writing down how long he spent on each section, so its a good guide for the parts that aren't in the mocks. I wrote the last post as I thought others might be interested in an estimate of how much work there is.

On a personal note about DS, he was really struggling with getting going a few weeks ago. Then when I helped him list out everything he needed to learn, and it got put into a timetable, he started to get on with it. He's quite mature for his age, which helps, but I sensed relief on his part that he didn't have to work out for himself when and what he had to study.

He'll find out the results after christmas. I really hope he does well, but its not helped that the teachers are making wild guesses about the grade boundaries - the geography teacher told the students that the exam board had said 97% was the boundary for a grade 9. (I suspect the geography teacher is getting himself confused with statistics)

DS doesn't break up til Fri, back 8th Jan and mocks the following week.

MMzz I hope your DS gets rewarded for his hard work....

Oddly enough this is one of the reasons I took time to visit DD's dad - to say look she will need help 1) to timetable revision 2) to keep focused 3) to test her revision....its really hard when she effectively has two homes - she spends two nights a week with dad and five with me and we need to have a consistent approach. I'm hoping that her term end report was so detailed in directing her to topics/ reading a specific section of a broadsheet newspaper etc that her dad will also zone in to these area's when she is with him ... DD has only just started to share some of her work with us so it can only be good if we can be positive/constructive and if she listens to our thoughts.

Sticker thanks, I'll tell him the interview won't be too daunting. At the moment he has got as far as opening the web site and was about to register after reading through his career's advice papers etc. Now he has gone down with the lurgy and is in bed nursing a very sore throat...

He is thinking of going for Politics, Sociology and Media Studies for his A Levels. Do you know if they can change their mind after the GCSE results? His best subjects are English Language and Geography.

I hope there is time for relaxing over the Christmas hols!

Dgd does 2 and a half hours study every day. She goes to school 30 miles away, is on train for 40 mins each way where she revises as well each day. She doesn't get home till nearly 5 pm each day, has tea and head down till 7.45 pm shower, half hour on I pod then chat and bed at 9 15 pm. She has to be up 6 am every day and mornings not her good time.

Don't DD was asked for 4 subjects to try on the taster days, but told that she only has to decide at the end of August and should try the ones she isn't sure about or hasn't studied before. I bet your DS wants to do the trip to New York with politics!

My DD had her mocks in November and received her results last Friday. She was devastated and didnt get anywhere near what all her previous grades had been, she had been really poorly during her mocks, to the point where they put her in a smaller room with other poorly teens as she was feeling so awful. For example, she got a level 1 in her english, which her target and previous grades have been 6+, she did get some 4's and 5's and a 7 (photography so she doesnt care about this one!) and trying to get her motivated to start again is awful. Shes at rock bottom because of this and her non existent relationship with her dad (whole other thread, but resulted in him tellin her to P off last night and to never contact him again) How can I help her?
Sorry, didnt meant to go on, just read all your posts and thought i would add.........

Blimey Sticker...trip to New York? Didnt know about that! I've just finished paying for Geography trip to Iceland! What is your dd going for?

Sticker I would like to do the course too! Trips to Houses of Parliament, the Supreme Court and New York...

Sticker my daughter has also been offered the sciences/humanities trip to NY in Oct half term next year...I suggested it might be a reason to stay in her current (all girls) school. She was put off the Iceland trip last year by having to write reasons why she had always wanted to go to Iceland (her reasons were...mostly social) We didn't put down the deposit for the NY trip, I think she really cannot make a decision at this point in the year, it is quite tiresome that school suddenly suggest it out of the blue. Although of course a fabulous opportunity.

Everyone is wilting here, except ds2 who has now been off school for almost five days, and not doing any work since his exams ended...grrrr. Today he has gone off on a expedition to shopping centre "so that I can learn to be independent". It isn't really him, he doesn't like shopping much, so I am rather amazed he wants to peer into shops full of trinkets and teenage finery, maybe a sign of adolescent brain developing in new directions social skills, fitting in etc.

DoNot DD skipped the Iceland trip as it was so expensive and I would love to go there myself with her.

Maths, politics, history & possibly economics. I honestly think I would do a politics and economics degree if I was going back to uni now, although I loved my management degree and the time (& wouldn't have met my DH or best friend without it).

Confused Please don't despair at this point. (As for her father...) The mocks are there to highlight the areas they need to work on and I'm convinced every school is interpreting the new grading systems differently. You both know how poorly she was during her mocks, so emphasise the positives:

1. She can't possibly feel that poorly a second time in the real exams 2)If she could get some 4s and 5s whilst feeling so grim, imagine how well she will do when things are going her way.
2. She's worked hard and had a tricky term, so everything will seem better in a few days when she has had time to breath.

I'm a strong believer in the phrase "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right. I quote it all the time to the students I teach when they are at a low point. Hopefully it inspires some of them!

Nettles How do your pair manage being on such different schedules? Do they aggravate each other? There are some advantages in just having one I suppose!

Confused your poor DD, how demoralising for her.

DS1 got terrible grades in his mocks and ended up doing reasonably well in his GCSEs, so all is not lost. In one subject he got a U in the mock and a high A in the real exam.

Sticker they get on much better than they did when they were at the same school, doing same timetable, that is for sure! I suppose it is quite good at defusing tension to see two happy healthy teens doing entirely different things.... A bit yin and yang. Anyway, there is ds1 too, yet another person on his own planetary orbit..

My dgd wanted to go to Iceland, the school wanted her to go as she is the best geography student they have had in years. Only problem was £1,400 without equipment. The school even sent a letter saying she must go. We sent a letter back saying it would be great if she went, but would they pay as my dd a single working mum on minimum wage and zero contract hours? The answer we got back was it wasn't classed as an educational trip lol! So she didn't go.

They would have paid apparently, if it was classed as an educational trip like a field study. They did tell us to apply to several charities but I'm afraid we may be poor, but we are proud. If we can't pay for it ourselves then its a no go. We did manage the Spanish trip however which helped her with her oral skills in Spanish. The school should have paid for her to go, its the diocese school with plenty of money.

Confused - I'm so sorry for your put DD.
You can make her feel less bad about the mocks by telling her that they are only a dress rehearsal. That she's had her bad luck with her health but luckily it only effected the mocks bit the real thing. You can tell her the teachers are just guessing re grades and they are probably marking harsh. You can tell her that must students improve a lot from mocks to GCSEs and given that the mock results do not reflect her ability, she has a really good chance of making that improvement.
You can point out to get that no-one remembers the mock results once they've done the real thing.
Then you can help her work out what to do in the next few months to improve her knowledge and exam technique.

Re her father, I think I'd just tell her that he's in the wrong and you are on her side. Then try to protect her from him if you can

Confused so sorry to hear about your DD.

I agree with what pp have said and I would just say that the fact she has previously been getting higher grades shows that she is capable of achieving more. I'm sure once she has had time to get over the shock of her mocks she will be in a better frame of mind to assess the situation and then the both of you can decide on a plan moving forward.

After all they are just mocks and count for nothing she still has everything to play for.

Thanks everyone, that’s really good advice and I’m really greatful. She seems to be looking forward to the break so is in good spirits this evening surprisingly. It’s so important to find a balance of support and encouragement without putting pressure on them - and bloody difficult on my own as I’m always questioning whether I’m doing the right thing!!

Confused, as long as you are there for her that us all that matters. My dgd does not see her dad (only when he walks past her in the street without acknowledgement) and has managed fine with the support of her mum and me all her life!

Absolutely agree she mustn't panic over her mock results - if you're ill you really can't function as normal. DS1 would sympathise - he wasn't at all well on the first day of mocks but it can't be helped. No idea when he gets any results. He finished one of his art pieces yesterday and came out with a headache although I was less sympathetic when he decided he was well enough to use the computer!

My dgd had sickness bug on day if biology, had to have the day off and the next, but had to sit the 2 Mocks she missed in between the rest if them! Loads of children off with bugs. Don't worry all will be well for all the children.

DS has an entrance exam this morning for a sixth form college. I'm so nervous - its worse than when I was doing exams myself!

This is the first time he's ever sat anything that actually will make a difference to his future. Starting with the KS2 SATS, nothing else has ever counted, even the mocks just indicate a direction, rather than determine a future path.