GCSEs 2018 (5 & a puppy, but no kittens)

[Stickerrocks]

Here we go again.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3177476-GCSEs-2018-4-already

If your DS gets in to the selective then he is going to have pretty impresive results and so I would of thought his old school would still take him, especially as some will almost certainly drop out anyway or move to another school. Once results are in you could broach the subject with the old school.

Plus once your DS starts at the new school the lessons alone might be enough to sway him before he has the confidence to make new friends.

Doesn't the new school have any induction days after the exams?

I would definitely leave discussing the subject now till after the exams, he may feel differently once he has actually left and has put some distance between himself and his old school and "friends".

Anyway got to go to work now!!

mmzz - I know someone whose DD went to the school I would happily ask how her DD got on if that would help - I haven't spoken to the mum for a while but we are still Facebook friends.

These things are so hard DD isnt an exact fit into the school she attends (the "tribes" tend to form on wealth - 16th birthday parties in marquees etc) but she has a very good relationship with the teachers because she in many ways is understated. I know the 6th form teachers who will teach DD and I'm more than happy that they know her well...stepping up to A Level isn't going to be an easy ride for DD (culture shock I think although she states that she will be fine once doing subjects she enjoys). DDs experience os state system was incredibly poor - hence not in a rush to experience again.

French oral moved from 12.30 to 8.30am - I know it was at my request (with DD agreeing) but 8.30am on a Monday?

This link may be of use to some :

Bluebelle - the socks showing almost goes back to teddy boys...

I am imaging that everyone will be in the same boat (new, typically shy etc) and I hope DS will finally find amongst them a group of people who he feels like he belongs with. He's so nice, so kind-hearted, so funny and interesting to talk to (I am not just saying that because I'm his mum!) but all that is hidden from people who are barely aware that he's even there because of the shyness.

Teenmum that would be great.

There are induction days soon, and that's why we've discussing the social part recently. DS is scared of going, and I'm scared that he won't speak to anyone.

The friendship groups based around wealth - God! How intimidating is that?!

mmzz it's tough watching them struggle socially.

DS1 sounds a bit like yours - that was one of the reasons he's at a selective boys school. We thought he'd find boys like him - and he did.

One thing that reassures me is that DH and DMIL say how like DH at the same age DS1 is - if he turns into anything like my DH I will be very happy! Apparently DH was a bit of a loner until he got to Uni.

mmzz if it helps at all, a friend's ds moved from the comprehensive to a super selective sixth form. She said it probably made no difference to his grades ( comp sixth form gets very good results) but he was much happier because he made real friends there. He had never been bullied or made to feel bad for being bright so it wasn't that, but he was shy and tended to keep himself to himself. In sixth form he found people like him - that might have happened if he'd stayed, of course, but in any case the move was very positive for him in that respect.
We have accepted DS's first choice, second choice and third choice so keeping track of offer holder days is going to be interesting!

Unfortunately, DS1 is more like me than DH.
DH just seems so at ease and self-confident.
I so wish DS1 was like that. DS2 is like DH, and has lots of friends which just rubs it in.

LooseAtTheSeams and sandybayley thanks. It does help to know there are others out there for whom things improved. it gives me hope things will improve for DS1 too. I feel like he has missed out on so much already.

Finding like minds and feeling a sense of belonging is so important for teenagers whether they find it through really have 'friends' but still felt she belonged and was accepted. I hope he can take this chance it sounds like he would do really well. Having said that I think it becomes easier at sixth form to make those links with smaller classes of people wanting to do those subjects and a more engaged way of teaching so may improve wherever he is

not sure what happened there - seems to have missed out a sentence !! should say 'whether they find it through academics/sport/drama or just chilling with friends. Eldest DD didn't really do 'friends' but still felt she belonged somehow

Just thought that I would advise everyone to have a look at the examining board websites and look at the specifications for the upcoming examinations
I have looked at the specifications for the AQA new English Language and literature exams. My dd found it really useful and feels more confident.

mmzz, my DS1 moved from his comprehensive to a super selective school's sixth form that took 100 'externals' on top of the 100+ 'internals.' He's also fairly introverted and not at all sporty which excluded him from the 'beautiful people' groups in his school. I was very worried that he'd struggle socially because he had at school, but his new sixth form was full of eccentrics with whom he fitted in very well. He made some great friends, but it took a few weeks for him to settle. He found that most of his friends were other 'externals' plus a few 'internals' that had themselves struggled socially.

The only downside has been that the school takes from a very wide catchment, up to 30/40 miles and many of his friends live far away. This has meant socialising outside school took rather more organisation than some of them were capable of, and now he's at university, meeting up in the holidays is still a bit hit and miss.

Moving at 16 and making new friends stood him in good stead for the rather greater move to university, though.

The move was something that DS1 himself wanted, though. It was me that took some persuading.

That’s a huge catchment area Ellen - how long a journey is that for those who live furthest away?

My DS is currently at a very small independent (having started out and only managing a term in a large MS comp) - there are only 30 in Y11 and about 150 in the school - it’s Y7 to Y13. He feels an outsider at his school because he is academic and his interests sound similar to mmzz’s DS - current affairs, politics, satirical comedy.

He’s got offers for 3 super selective grammar sixth forms - I’m hoping he’ll find more like minded peers there. His preference is for the grammar that was in the news last September for getting rid of students with low (by their standards) results at the end of Y12. We have history. Older DS2 (with ASD) was one of the students affected. But the head and policy have gone so hopefully it should be ok.

But I have got the fall back that if DS can’t manage bigger classes and more students in Y12 than the whole of his current school, he can go back. He can’t do it the other way round - the grammars will allocate all their places- so moving is the best option.

mmzz - I have pm'd mum on facebook - not sure whether she will pick up message (I will drop an email if not).

How is everyone's DC's Computer Science course going? I'm quite annoyed with the teacher although it is the first year the school has sat any type of ICT/CS exams.

I know I shouldn't be disappointed but DD has completed some complete topics as homework - I would have liked to have seen the CS teacher offering his services for just 1 day during the 3 week Easter holidays (Indie school so we are paying for education)...no past papers have been covered in lessons, no questions have been covered in lessons and the mock exam was lacking in content...plus no guidance was even given to the girls on revision guides (although I did purchase DD's at the end of last year).

Hi similar problems with CS although difficult as can't really blame current teacher (Three teachers left in year 10 so had 4 different teachers). Current teacher is now trying to take all GCSE and A level classes and catch up on all that was missed in year 10 - they have nowhere near finished the course. DS was relaxed as he finds it easy and is comparatively better than others in the class and mock was easy like yours - but we've now looked in revision guides and he's tried some papers (the lovely brown envelopes) and realises there are chunks of knowledge missing, I'm also worried the things he knows he doesn't know in enough detail or as well as he should. I know he'll get a pass but its a shame as he wants to do it for A level and beyond so could have done much better. He is going to see if he can get some lunch time or after school sessions in the first couple of weeks back but its also the first exam. And some other subjects he is in danger of not passing will need to take priority. I'm hoping a strong A level prediction will get by without stellar GCSE-s - and that the current teacher doesn't leave. Theres a real shortage of computing teachers - clearly anyone can earn far more doing it rather than teaching it !!

I'm glad I got dD the revision guide when I did and we sort of highlighted a problem about 3 months ago when she tried to complete one of the papers in the brown envelope and could not answer 70% of the paper - we have managed to get through most of it now...(but no thanks to the teacher) have a look at these YouTube video's - they are helpful..

Yes thank you - I think you posted one of these before. DS found them really dull to watch but did usefully skim through all the ones related to paper 1 to find out if he was missing any big areas (which he was !).

This probably relates to one of my very early comments that at times of change like this DC are far more affected by their teaching and how far individual schools/teachers have got to grips with the new exams. Its a mixed bag in DS school

We've been lucky with the computer science teachers. You're right - there is a real shortage. It was easier to find people who could teach ICT - this is a whole other field, though.
From what I can gather from DS one of the papers is quite easy if you're good at programming but the other one is demanding - he fell down a bit in the mocks on lack of enough detail so he knows he has to work on it. The teacher also isn't happy with his handwriting but that's a nothing to do with computers!
He's really not sure about the A level as he's not that interested in the theory side and I think he still plans to swap it for philosophy. On the other hand, if he gets a very good grade in the exams he may well stick with it.

DS3 is enjoying CS. They haven't quite finished the syllabus yet, he's on the 8th out of 8 topics, though. He hasn't got a revision guide but uses an online textbook, apparently. (Collins ebook if that's any help) He's one of the keenest in his class but I don't really know how he'll do. His predicted grade has increased from a 7 to an 8 recently but it's all finger in the air stuff.

Panettone, we're in a grammar school county surrounded by non grammar counties so some do send their children from miles away. There are coaches from some of the towns that take 45 mins or so and some get trains that take an hour, some share taxis that take an hour. We live in the town with this grammar school, 3 miles away from us. Luckily, the huge catchment means it hasn't turned the local comprehensives into secondary moderns. It's not a 'catchment' as such, it has no catchment, I'm just using the term to describe the pupils home locations wrt the school.

We only live about a mile from the sixth form grammar DS prefers- probably part of the attraction. For one of the grammars DS would have a journey of an hour door to door (walking and train) - it’s in the grammar county next to us. Our area just has 2 super selectives and comps.

DS is also doing CS but after reading all your comments you've got me really worried as according to DS there isn't a great deal to learn and they have finished the syllabus He does find it deathly boring so maybe he's only revising the interesting bits!!!!

I guess it depends what he's looking for - if you get the programming I think it would be easy to pick up a pass or a decent grade so we wouldn't be worried normally - its just that DS would like to do well in it (7 or 8 to go with hopefully a 7 or 8 in maths, and to offset best case 4 s in English and RS) because its want he wants to carry on with and he may be thwarted by not covering all the theory and not having time to cover it himself and also his dyslexia

Well he's been predicted an 8 but I think its because of his maths which he is good at, but the teacher isn't great so I don't take much notice of his predictions!

I think its one of those hard to gauge subjects ...DD's teacher said it could go two grades either way...its the first year he has taught a GCSE subject (it shows).