GCSEs 2018 (3)

[mmzz]

Following on from:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3113917-GCSEs-2018-2

Birthday bash over for dgd but must get round to prom dress. We have all decided that friends will go together so looking at hiring vehicle in city and all meeting at one of friends in city so limo won't cost as much for us all.

Good luck Sostenueto! will email...

DD isn't going to prom. In her words "Mum I've been bullied by these kids since year 7, why would I want to go to a prom with them?"

Good point. I've said she can have dress/limo/makeup/ticket money towards a MacBook for (much better) Sixth Form school.

Thanks loose at the seams well appreciated!

Jufusmum don't blame her bless

Sorry to hear about your DD's bullying JufusMum. I know my DD has been bullied several times during her education - In many respects it has made her much stronger and she feels quite comfortable now speaking out about it. I'm quite proud of the fact that she is so inclusive because of her own experiences ...

DD helping to organise her school Prom so she's quite enjoying it ...although I dont think its ideal having the girls so actively involved in the organisation at such a crucial time of their education but c'est la vie!

I dont think they will be having a Limo but I think the friendship group are keen to have a mini photo shoot of them all... not sure whether DD will have the courage to invite a +1, she is friends with a boy from the Co-Ed school but I cant see DD asking him !

Jufus It could be an expensive promise. One girl in DD's year has allegedly spent £650 on a frock before adding on anything else!

My current bunch of students have their exams in March, so I feel I'm chanting "Answer the question asked, not the one you want to answer" or "What we cannot read, we cannot mark" or "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right" non stop. I usually find when I mark scripts that a couple of words underlined as a sub-heading in longer questions helps translate poor handwriting, as at least you know what they're about to witter on about before their writing descends into an illegible scrawl.

My dgd had lovely cursive writing but then it went minute! And now its half print half cursive and a mess. Plus she writes almost upside down being a leftie ( sigh) and although I do nag her a bit I'm beginning to feel like someone that's always getting on to her for something or other...revision. Handwriting, organisation etc etc.

I can't believe you've got to 13 pages before I'm free to dip back in. Life has just got in the way recently.

DD's mock results were a bit mixed. She was 2 grades under in one of her planned A level subjects but did better than expected in Spanish & English Lit. Plus she has finally made a decision on Sixth Form so we have accepted a place at the furthest school we visited.

Now i'm trying to keep her in a routine of revising every day. Easier said than done with my DD!

So DD is 2nd set Maths, entered for the Higher Paper. Today the (new) teacher says to the class "well you won't be able to answer half of the paper so we'll just concentrate on the stuff you will be able to answer". They haven't finished the syllabus and they are now just going back over old stuff.
Is this normal? I have read that a large proportion of the Maths paper is inaccessible to many..but this seems odd. DD is aiming for a 6. Got a 4 in November mock. Teachers tells me she will easily achieve a 6...without being able to answer half the paper??!!

@JufusMum I'm sorry to read that you DD has been bullied. Is she going to a new school for sixth form? I hope so because bullying is awful at any time but especially bad in these formative years.

It sounds as though the maths teacher has given up trying tbh. I can see that you don't need to be able to do everything in order to get a good grade and its better that the class learns some skills well than all skills badly, but I don't think its ok to be taking this approach without consulting with parents.

Does your DD struggle with maths?

Mr Hegarty Maths (youtube videos) are supposed to be quite good at explaining stuff. TBH though, maths is just a series of skills that can be honed through practice, so once your DD has learned the theory its just about doing lots and lots of examples.

I hesitate to suggest it, but maybe a tutor would help if there is a self-confidence issue?

JufusMum is your DD moving for sixth form because of the bullying? Are the pupils doing it likely to stay at her current school or move on?

We had a meeting with DD's head and he said that a lot of the troublemakers don't stay for Y12/13 as they go on to colleges instead. I think he was trying to convince her to stay.

I'm not sure about only being able to manage half the maths questions. I know some of the borderline students at DD's school were put in for the lower paper (actual GCSE) last month with a view to some of them taking the higher in May/June.

No she won't be staying on, bullying aside the school is well under performing and on its knees. She doesn't really struggle with maths. Nobody in her year got above a 4 in the mock :(

Jufus- I assume the teachers know what they are doing although its so difficult with all the changes last year ....The grade boundary for a 6 on the higher AQA paper was 40% last June and 52% for a 7. To get a 5 on the lower paper was 65%. So I guess the school have taken the decision that they want to ensure that the children sitting the higher paper will at least get a 5/6 by ensuring that they go over the earlier work in detail.
This is only my assumption.

Teachers tells me she will easily achieve a 6...without being able to answer half the paper??!!

The grade boundary for a 6 on Edexcel maths last summer was 40%. Just over half marks would get you a 7.

It is completely normal not to teach maths classes the full syllabus. Usually only the top groups for each paper would cover absolutely everything on the paper. There really isn't any point trying to get target grade 6 pupils to work on grade 9 topics (the really hard stuff) when their knowledge of the easier stuff is shaky and needs work.

Thanks noble. That's put my mind at rest. I'm more than happy with a 6. She's doing Edexcel but I assume grade boundaries are similar.

Sorry noble just saw you mentioned Edexcel.

DD is aiming for 8+. Her teacher has told her to absolutely hammer the easier stuff, don't worry about the odd mistake on harder stuff and accept that she will be able to have a bash on the hardest questions, but won't have a hope of being able to do everything. It must be so demoralizing for anyone who is hoping to get a 5 in the higher paper.

Stickerocks sounds about the same sort of advice dgd who's aiming for the 9 was given. She makes stupid mistakes on the easier stuff but cracks the real hard stuff

My DD seems to have a real block when it comes to the last few Maths questions - I think she's got into the habit of thinking she cant do them even though she has the skills to do them- its a confidence thing ! She's doing Maths after school every week so I'm hoping it will change (Its really odd because she began to do the same with the Computer Science NEA - was told that last additional programming could only be completed by DC who would get a grade 8/9's so she was going to leave it because in her mind she wasnt a grade 8/9 even though she's a very good coder).

On a positive note the teacher had not counted a high marked question on her Eng Lang paper so she's very much a secure A in her mocks (Lit and Lang) - I would dearly love her to consider Eng Lit for A level because she has been a book worm for most of her life and still goes to book club at school.

Meeting with HT went well although she did state that DD would not be able to take Physics further than A level unless she took A Level Maths.

Parents evening tonight !

mmzz - any news about DS college ?

If dgd gets 8 in math will be pleased but she is definitely aiming for 9. Meeting with HOE and teacher today after school, it will be interesting I'm sure.

No news. I check my email every 20 mins or so 9-5pm. Its like groundhog day but on a small scale:
Open email.... hope it has it arrived... I can visualise it... nope, not there... close email.... wonder how it will feel if he doesn't get a place...think about how much good it will do him on every level if he gets a place..... have a stiff word with myself about just being patient..... promise myself that I won't check again.... get on with my work..... 19 mins later begin to wonder if has arrived yet.... decide to "just check".... and repeat.

3x per hour, 8 hours per day, 3 days so far - I have done this 72 times so far: hopeful - disappointed - anxious - give myself a shake and back round again.

I am sure it will be good news mmzz - hold in there !

Dd was in school for 8am this morning to go to Chemistry clinic - there should be a parents evening every week

mmzz just see it as practice for results

BlueBelle123 - Dont use that scary word yet .....

I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking its DD's results again........or could it just be my age