GCSEs 2018 (2)

[Stickerrocks]

Pre-empting our 1000th post.

mmzz good luck to your DS for his exam.

That sounds like a high flying 6th form if you have to sit an exam to get in, as presumably you also have to get certain grades at GCSE as well.

Yes, there's a lot of competition for places. Next stage is an interview (if DS got through today's round). I'm going to try to put it out of my mind until the new year but its not easy!

What I'd really like to do / be able to do is phone them up and ask if they'd just have a look at DS's paper while I'm on the phone and let me know if he has a chance of getting in! It could be life-changing, if he gets it.

Getting into a top 6th form does not guarantee top results. You can go to a mediocre 6 the form, put in a huge amount of individual research and study and get all a* s . my dgd got offered a 6 the firm place locally AND a £500 bursary as a gift if she took the place because her predicted grades are high and they want their figures to rise. She only applied because her school said that all if year 11 should apply to different places just in case they don't make the grades for their 6 the form especially as they don't take resits either.

A levels not like GCSEs, a lit depends on individual study and research in order to get ready for university. Its up to the pupil more than the teachers.

I think the school are looking for genuine talent. I hope they see it in DS. If not, he'll do it at his current school, and he'll have a good chance of good grades, but although he'll be well-prepared to take A levels, he won't be as well-taught as he would be at the college he sat a test for this morning. They just don't have the staff to teach students for whom the A level is expected to be easy.

Good luck to him mmzz! Hope it goes well.
DS1 didn't make it into school today - sickness bug his brother had has caught up with him. He's feeling better now - wants lucozade!

My ds is poorly at the moment - sore throat and cold; he is in bed and very lack lustre with no appetite. He took Monday off, thought he was well enough to go in on Tuesday, came home feeling worse and feeling very under the weather today. Not sure if he will miss any work set over the holidays (will have to find out) and hasn't finished his 6th form application yet, it is frustrating, but I have phoned them and it is OK up until their closing date in February.

DS has made it to the end of term but he's ill , hopefully he will be 100% by Xmas, don't know about the rest of us!

His lovely English teacher has given them plenty to do over the holidays, she was the only teacher to give work so he has no excuses not to do it. It's his weakest subject and one he's very reluctant to revise, so hope it will help.

Merry Xmas to you all and let's hope 2018 is going to be a good year!

Same to you bluebell and to all

Everyone, sending wishes of recovery and health. Shocking how many ill DC.
Revision in full here. Putting in a few good hours everyday plus lots of music practice. Must keep up the fun, or I fear burn out. Movie night a must.

Bizarrely, huge, rugby-playing DS is very keen to see Paddington 2!

But he must earn it with Physics and Biology revision..,

I love star wars but none of my family want to see it so I can't go on my own

Do the DC who are revising over this holiday all have mocks in January? DS's mocks are behind him now and I'm looking to give him a complete break so that he starts next term well-rested

Dgd had sleepover at her friends and Xmas party. All her friends live 30 plus miles away. On the way back I hit a 12 mile tailback and spent 3 hours in the queue due to 3 car pile up.it meant I missed my pups Xmas party at her puppy club. I think she was secretly pleased she didn't have to wear her outfit!

Sostenueto You can definitely go on your own. We saw it last night and it was worth it. I go to a nice cinema with coffee and cakes by myself as often as I can.

Think I might look like a saddo at my age stickerocks!

Just been to see Star Wars with DS2 and see no reason why you shouldn't treat yourself Sostenueto! I may have to do this with Paddington 2!

Find your nearest Picture House cinema - there are loads of us there.

Well folks I may just 'take the bull by the horns and go' to see it! Merry Xmas and new year to you all and your kin. May you all have a great holiday.

My son is insisting I help him with his French oral questions. As my French is so rusty, it consists of me mangling one of the questions and then patiently listening to him say random things in what could be Swaheli and make encouraging noises (bored out of my skull). And presumably it will be German and Latin next. At least with history and English I can understand sufficient to make it almost interesting.

justicewomen I think you're off the hook with the Latin; as far as I know, none of the exam boards include an oral exam.

TheSecondOfHerName

Shows up how much (or rather little) I know. Every often I have one of those bad dreams that consist of people insisting I sit my O and A levels again based on what fragments I remember now! Bizarrely I still remember quotes from set texts but whole subjects like trigonometry have just gone

My dd is doing her mocks on 8 January. I am a firm believer that you cant concentrate solidly for more than half an hour at a time so dd is revising in half hour chunks - 4 or 5 sessions per day....only 2 to 2.5 hours per day but fully focussed quality revision and more than enough I think

Its interesting to see everyone's views and also school advice too. We had day off today - welcome break for DD. If your children are doing 30/45 mins - assume they are not doing any past papers because they take 1 to 2 hours. DD trying to mix and match revision with writing notes, practising oral but allot of teachers recommended that she complete past papers too and then review the marking. Maybe this is because timing and judgement of how long to spend on questions is more of an issue with my DD.

Teenmum DS isn’t doing entire papers at the moment, as his timing isn’t too much of a problem. He is doing 30 mins revision of a topic, followed by 20 mins past paper questions on that topic, then another 20 mins marking with the answer paper + re-writing as necessary.
He is keeping one English and one History paper to do under exam conditions on the last 2 days of the holiday.
Huge envy of all those DCs who did mocks at end of Autumn term - much more civilised...