Gcse 2018 (10) The one with half term

[Stickerrocks]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3256691-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

Oops. Can't remember how to link nicely, so this will have to do.

TeenTimesTwo just argue her corner - if it's a decent school it should see your point.

I don’t know why dc aren’t allowed to drop subjects. Surely that would be the ideal situation - those that can cope with the workload and want to be examined in wider range take 10 (or 11) but those who need more time to cover the content just do 8

The school I used to work at did Level 2 BTEC science for the lower sets. A course that was relevant and achievable. But it doesn't count in the EBACC basket for attainment/progress 8 so the head dropped it. Those DC will be getting 1 or 2 in the new GCSEs. No, the less able are not well catered for.

The problem with DC dropping subjects is what do they do in the time timetabled got them? They will have to be supervised, who will do that? What work will they be doing? Who will set it?

Dd is doing 9.

*for them, not got them

DD1 was allowed to drop a subject after mocks, but there was a clearer argument to make at that time.
I will see with DD2 how she progresses in y9, and what the option blocks look like before seeing if I need to push things.
School no longer offers BTEC science, nor Health&Social Care BTEC (teacher retired), the latter of which I think would have suited DD2.

Do you guys realise you have almost filled a whole thread just over half term?!

goodbyestranger I'm only quoting from the report, not making claims!
However, DS is doing 10 and for the last 4/5 months haven't had much of a work-life balance.

I think most colleges/schools look at the performance of the best 8...if DC;s want to do 12/13 or more because they feel they are limited by choice then I think they should be allowed to do this ...but for DC's who just want to concentrate on subjects that they feel passionate about at an early stage - that should be allowed to do this too. I think my daughter is reasonably able but she has struggled with 10 - she cannot see the point of studying a subject she has no interest in or taking further (perhaps this doesn't show resilience or perhaps it shows maturity of a student who can make critical decisions earlier than others) she would have benefited from extending her knowledge in subjects she has more interest in to a further level which I believe is what UNI's look for ? I'm hopeful that the T levels will extend this specialism in education further to cater for all. She is also calm...its not a competition as far as she is concerned to regurgitate facts in an era where a search will give you more information than a brain could handle.

mmzz sure - but my point is merely that actually plenty of schools took GCSEs as linear, not that you'd know that from the spin about modules and retakes etc. So for many schools the difference is about content only, nothing else.

It's not about numbers of GCSEs in absolute terms though is it - it's about the approach, and clearly your approach as a parent is light years away from mine, very possibly in response to our different DC although equally possibly it may affect how much time our DC put into work and revision. DD has always enjoyed sport, which is a fab antidote to work, so that helps enormously too.

Our approachs may well be significantly different, goodbyestranger but I'm at a disadvantage with that one as I have no idea what your approach is, but you appear to know enough of mine to make that statement.

Fascinating to hear from someone who has been through this process 7 times previously though. I have both to compare it to, DS1 being my eldest, so the changes feel slightly theoretical, iyswim.

stickerocks

Dgd doing 10 GCSEs. She is a high achiever ( even though she thinks she's not) and she struggles with workload of 10 inasmuchas she won't be satisfied with 7/As . oh no she wants 8/9s! If she didn't want such high grades then she wouldn't have to do half as much work. But there are DC who struggle to get 4/5 and in my opinion doing 10/12 GCSEs is really too much. Also what is the point in studying something you have no interest in? Best to study what interests you and obviously core subjects and if that means doing 8 or 7 or btecs then so be it.
As for work/play balance yes you need to get it right but each child's work/play balance different. But I'm afraid if you have a determined DC that wants to do really well, doesn't have advantages of grammar school/ professional parents/ private tutors and has to work really hard that balance can go out the window very quickly as is in dgds case.
Each poster here on our lovely thread have different approaches as to how their DC cope with the new GCSEs. I never profess to know what others approaches are completely but understand if they are different to mine. All we can do is to support each other through exam season with the new exams able and not so able DC, special needs etc all are the same in my eyes, all facing their first big challenge in their young lives, all coping in vastly different ways and all s in my eyes! One last add on I do disagree that there isn't much difference in these new exams. I understand if you have always done linear than you may think new exams are no big deal, but IMO as these exams continue you will begin to see over the years their true political use of dividing our DC further and further. And I'm a great believer in never being too complacent about difficulty of any exam. Enough of my opinions!
Good luck historians and all others sitting exams today!

Good luck to everyone back up and at it this morning!
Not long now...

Thanks, Sost.
these threads have been good, and worth staying with because they have been mutually supportive. When I've had a dilemma or a concern, I feel like everyone else understands and gives good advice because you can see the wood for the trees, whereas sometimes, I'm just too emotionally involved. I hope sometimes I've managed to reciprocate.

I will try to find the article in my browsing history later, but, as I remember, the reason 8 max were proposed at the time of the reforms (if they were reformed, of course) was to allow time for hobbies and volunteering.

Off to wake DS1 up now to send him in for a History pre-exam revision session. The teacher emailed yesterday afternoon to tell the class about it. I think English has the same tomorrow. DS is fine with these because they are helpful.

Good luck to everyone who has an exam today.

Off to wake DS1 up now to send him in for a History pre-exam revision session. The teacher emailed yesterday afternoon to tell the class about it. I think English has the same tomorrow. DS is fine with these because they are helpful.

Good luck to everyone who has an exam today.

Sorry the iPad plays up when posting on MN!

Good luck to little mmzz!

Ten really isn't a lot and has the advantage of not being too narrow too early.

Even with taking 10 subjects, many kids will have dropped important subjects like History, Geography or languages. So I wonder whether you can get a rounded education with less than 10?

History here as well......Good luck fellow historians and anyone else taking an exam today!

I think we really need for this new system to bed in for a few years and then everyone will have a better idea how workable it is for everyone......personally I think it would be a shame if the number of GCSE's are reduced for everyone as it narrows down options at such a young age and doesn't take account of people changing their minds......which we can all do especially teenagers ..........not that any of us will actually get a say in it anyway!!!

May be the way to go would be to strengthen art/music/sport etc outside of gcse s (formal exams). And just be examined in the core at 16

If you want to peruse a career I music/drama/art/sport a GCSE probably doesn't count for much, ability, real dedication and interest does and higher level entry is by audition rather than gcse results etc

But how do you get schools to give priority to that when they are measured so crudely on exam results. And if schools can't offer it then how do you make that available to all. I don't know what the answer is just the questions !

History this morning - good luck to all - I will be so glad when the next two days are out of the way. Really nervous for DS - he is also looking very tired which doesn't help his dyslexic brain.

Here we go again! Good luck today to Historians, fellow Psychologists, and any others with exams 🍀🍀🍀

Yes mmzz the threads have been very mutually supportive, largely because there has been very little judging of how other posters approach things. There are too many factors that affect how involved parents need/choose to be for there to be a 'right' way of doing things and that's been almost universally reflected in the threads.

Good luck to all those with exams today. The end is in sight!