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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Gcse 2018 (10) The one with half term

982 replies

Stickerrocks · 26/05/2018 22:34

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.

OP posts:
brainmelt · 04/06/2018 11:00

Some interesting comments re 11+. For what's worth, DS has been saying that those among his mates who didn't have to go through the 11+ were finding all this more stressful because it was a first for them. Him on the other hand keeps saying how much he learnt from the 11+ in terms of effort input=results, keeping up the preparation over a long time, keeping calm, sitting in a room wit other 300 kids under huge pressure, etc. Could just be anecdotal of course.

mmzz · 04/06/2018 11:00

EllenJanethickerknickers I'm not sure whether to tell you this now, but there were text books for that, or at least the USA one. DS has the USA one, which I bought from Hodder Education for £14.
ISBN: 9781471862946

Teenmum60 · 04/06/2018 11:02

DD pleased about History...she said the questions were on the topics she knew most about ...said it was the best History exam she has done so far ...so all smiles.

mmzz · 04/06/2018 11:15

I'm pleased for her, Teenmum. Your post makes me nervous though because everytime everyone finds an exam for, DS seems to find it difficult. He should be our now but has to go to a couple of revision sessions (useful ones) b efore he can come home.

Teenmum60 · 04/06/2018 11:21

mmzz - I am sure your DS has done well...DD hasn't passed a History exam yet (D in mocks) so I'm just glad she thinks it went well and she finished the exam...she said one of her friends found it tough - but it is all about perspective because DD's friend wants to take A level History so there is added pressure.

RosieLig · 04/06/2018 11:23

DS not happy with Edexcel history -crime and punishment.Bit gutted for him as it’s his best subject. Will be hard to pick himself up from that as this week is hellish anyway. Feel a bit like crying myself. He wanted so badly to do well in it. Sad

Original poster
Stickerrocks · 04/06/2018 11:28

There is a ban on discussing anything exam related in the car to or from school as we lift share with a chum who wants a detailed analysis of the answer to each Q and would probably take great delight in deliberately giving you the wrong answer if you engaged to wind you up!

OP posts:
mmzz · 04/06/2018 11:32

Oh, RosieLig maybe he is just being hard on himself because he wants it so much?

mmzz · 04/06/2018 11:35

Its nice of you to say, Teenmum, but he's no genius. Despite all his hard work, some of the results will be disappointing, at best. English Lit, especially, so not as if it doesn't really matter.

Teenmum60 · 04/06/2018 11:36

Totally agree with mmzz - dd's friend said the same and its because she wants to do History at A level ...if you have high expectations I think its easy to think the exam has not gone well...if you have low expectations its easier to think it has gone well. RosieLig

Original poster
Stickerrocks · 04/06/2018 11:37

Time to start thinking of thread title suggestions please for no. 11, as I have a feeling mmzz or I will need them in the next 24 hours.

OP posts:
EllenJanethickerknickers · 04/06/2018 11:39

Don't tell me that now, mmzz! Oh, well. Not his strongest subject by any means and not an A level choice. I'm sure the exam will have gone 'quite well' as per usual. Wink

RosieLig · 04/06/2018 11:39

Thanks @mmzz -I’m really hoping so. It’s so hard seeing them working and struggling. I really hope your DS does well too. 😘 ps are you a fellow Scot?!

RosieLig · 04/06/2018 11:41

Thanks too Teenmum. I hope it’s gone well for your daughter. My son has low expectations of his other exams but he really wanted a 7/8 in History so maybe you’re right , it’s that his expectations are higher. It was always his weaker topic so hopefully he’ll do better in the other papers. 🤞

mmzz · 04/06/2018 11:52

RosieLig yes! How long have you been in england? I arrived just over 20 years ago. The plan was to stay a year or two, maybe as long as 5.

Original poster
Stickerrocks · 04/06/2018 11:55

The history verdict was "Yeh, questions were good". Another one down, 14 left to go.

OP posts:
RosieLig · 04/06/2018 11:58

@mmzz -will pm you, don’t want to blow my cover 😆

stringmealong · 04/06/2018 12:00

Igcse Edxl History this morning - comments were "lots of questions in the Germany bit were questions I didn't really want because there isn't that much to talk about" & "America bit was easy". Finished with 3 minutes left on the clock. So do I take it a paper which will be harder to get the very top grades for? She seemed generally happy & is another that wants top grades to do A level.

Teenmum60 · 04/06/2018 12:03

Thankfully just 7 exams to go now...English, Maths and History will be all over this week...leaving all the sciences and DT...

Nettleskeins · 04/06/2018 12:08

ds2 very happy with history paper on Cold War and Russia (AQA 8145). Told dh at length every answer he gave. I asked him if he had remembered the names Stolypin, Dubchek, Menshaviks (sp?), Bolsheviks, oh he said airily none of that was relevant "but I did forget Checkpoint Charlie, that annoys me!". He said he was now exhausted and needed a sleep, I think for him it is a bit like giving a theatrical performance (he is scribed so dictates everything), he is high afterwards but drained too. Oven chips for lunch as a reward.

hmcAsWas · 04/06/2018 12:16

RosieLig - yes all about his expectations in your ds' case. He probably has done better than he thinks - and remind him he has two more papers for history to improve his mark (if he needs to) doesn't he? (I could be wrong as dd did CIE History, but don't you have 3 papers?)

Glad others found the History paper okay.

Dd doesn't have an exam until Thursday but has gone in to school this morning for periods 5 & 6 for maths, and to have lunch with her mates. Feels weird when other dc on here have hectic weeks (although am not complaining)

SunburstsOrMarbleHalls · 04/06/2018 12:17

DS has just arrived home from his history exam and said it was not that challenging.

He was a little put out as he said the paper was quite didn't cover huge chunks of the course. He was hoping for some tricky questions and now thinks that the grade boundaries will be higher.

mmzz · 04/06/2018 12:21

Sunbursts which exam board and topic was that? DS (AQA, History and the Cold war) has texted to say it was ok, which translates as it wasn't good but he managed to find things to write about.

hmcAsWas · 04/06/2018 12:29

Sunbursts - it is funny isn't it? - they are never happy! Dd said the same about paper 2 of CIE History (which was the sources paper), she was miffed that it was too easy and that you could have done fairly well on the paper without having done much revision (she'd done a considerable amount and now felt it was wasted effort). I reminded her that she may have found it easy precisely because she had done a lot of revision, whilst some her peers may not have experienced the exam in quite the same way

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