GCSEs 2018 (9) Will we get to half term, for never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and who is Banquo

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Thread 8

At ds’s school last year 1 student got 3 Grade 9’s. The maths teacher reckons it was achieved more through focused hard work than genius. The cohort was around 25-30 students.

Quick lunchbreak.
Slightly worried that DS2 will forget to go to his afternoon Physics exam (he can become absorbed in something and forget the time). Sent him a reminder text. Hopefully he has left by now and is on his way. Not much I can do about it if he isn't.

I think the amount of work the DC have had to do they all deserve 9s! They are just guinea pigs this year which makes me really mad and angry! Dgd has 240 in each year group Alexander. So 8 pupils to get a 9? My math is rubbish.

Sure he will remember second but as you say not a lot you can do!

Secondofhername

Hopefully he won't forget an entire exam TheSecond? Now I'm worried!

AlexanderHamilton that's really impressive as i think i read that only 2000 got 3 9s last year across the whole country (i.e. out of approx 550,000).
So, for your school to bag 3 of those spots is really good going (and that's before you add in the fact that it represented 1 in 10 at your school, whereas countrywide it was 1 in 275!)

sost I think they peg it to the numbers of DC getting each grade last year, not to the %required in the exam to get those grades. If you see what I mean...So given that this year's exams are harder, they will very probably need fewer marks to achieve the same grade.

I wish my worry was that my DS would get a 6/7/8 or 9 in anything. I'm the opposite in that I worry that DS will get above 4 in his subjects especially Maths & English. Bless him, he has been revising since Christmas and I honestly couldn't ask him to do anymore especially at the moment as he's basically revising until 11pm each night. He is dyslexic and has memory problems. He has a maths tutor every week for 2hrs and I'm hoping that will help but honestly I pray every single night that he gets his Maths & English as I know he is going to be extremely sad if he doesn't, I keep being upbeat but it's so stressful.

Mmzz - I guess add into that it’s a vocational school with performing arts integrated into the school day & she did very well.

I just looked up the newspaper article. The student was a drama student (they do less after hours classes than the dancers leaving at 4-5pm most days instead of 6pm) & she got 3 x 9, 4 x A* & 1 x A. Impressive achievement.

callitwhatyouwill yes I know - but I'd call that a modest sized cohort. My DCs' school has an average cohort of 120 and it's regarded as a small school as schools go.

AlexanderHamilton is that school a state school? 30 is a tiny cohort so I'm guessing it may be an indie in which case is it selective?

Sostenueto I quite like DD4 being a guinea pig. I'd far rather she was a guinea pig than a student in the last year of old style GCSEs. Why are you angry? DS4 was a guinea pig last year with the new A levels and the students didn't really bat an eyelid since that style of exam was all they knew. Perhaps I'm biased because we are a guinea pig loving family :) (none left now but eleven are buried in the vegetable patch - they were such peaceful little creatures munching the grass).

TheSecondOfHerName I had exactly the same worry about DS and texted him about Physics too! He gets extra time so starts 15 mins earlier than others, so I imagined him hanging around with his friends and them all saying 'it starts at 1.30'
Anyway, he replied, and was on his way...

Goodbyestranger - it is academically none selective. It’s a vocational performing arts school where approximately half the students are on government funded places with many of the rest in receipt of a school bursary.

You get the advantage of small class sizes but when Dd started in Year 7 she was in a year group of 18 with a very wide range of academic ability. She was subject to some poor science teaching (little differentiation) & we almost withdrew her. They were not set until year 9 (2 sets). By year 10 her year group had grown to around 35 & there are now 3 sets for core subjects. They also had some new excellent teachers join.

Thanks Alexander - we crossed posts so I hadn't seen it was a performing arts school.

Agree teaching quality is the absolute key to students' success. Very bad luck indeed to be landed with a poor teacher. Even small group sizes can't make up for poor teaching, nor can much actually.

Agree about luck generally playing a part. It does require luck for all circumstances to be ok at the time of exams and in the run up, whether that's a relatively quiet house, lack of domestic issues/ arguments, no illness including no hayfever/ period pains etc. A lot depends on luck.

Loving the AIBU thread about a precious snowflake & her phone. At least none of ours have faced that yet.

BLIMEY new thread - great title - and two pages already?
hmc and cherry sorry a bit late for reply and whoever else did the Larkin, it's quality not quantity. In fact I think an overloaded examiner will appreciate a few things well said, right? she hopes

Good luck for Physics everyone.

Ha ha - yes hopefully they will brainmelt

lightattheendofthetunnel I feel for you and your ds - he certainly deserves to pass having consistently worked hard for a long period. I really hope he surprises himself and you

Do we know how the business gcse went today?

Wow sticker - not got time to read the whole thread and as the parent of 2 SEN children I have sympathy. (dd was in trouble last week becasue her phone went off but she had at least handed it in before entering the exam room, I've been paranoid about it and her smartwatch) but WTF!

Whats he doing allowing his dd to do all nighters anyway. And they refused access arrangments. (Again I have sympathy for this as ds is refusing some stuff at the moment and I understand how stress can affect a child with SEN but really!

DD had someone who had to be talked into the exam room last week & that was stressful enough, as everyone else's start was delayed. Once you're in the room, you just want to focus.

I've told DS to leave his phone at home. It's just not worth the risk of accidentally leaving it a blazer pocket.

Remember how we used to be allowed packets of sweets, lucky mascots etc?

Dd uses hers for Tassomai study during revision sessions. She has no study leave so is in school 8.30am - 6pm every day.

Lucky gonks!

Parents were sent an e-mail warning about phones yesterday by the school as two phones went off in the English Lit exam - the one in the main hall went off about 45 mins in, so was really quite distracting. The other one went off in the room for those needing extra time etc, at the start of the exam. I've just been saying to DD to skip taking her phone altogether, which she has been doing I think, mostly.