GCSEs 2018 (11) Big week coming up

[mmzz]

old thread

Brainmelt......🍾🍾🍾

He’s got a week ahead of science and citizenship and tech and 3 German papers......😭

brainmelt we have exactly the same as you - with the addition of the THIRD geog paper. Roll on 11.15am next Friday, I say.

In other news, I have finished writing the Year Six production and am planning to use DS and some of his mates to come in and help my class build some big puppets. After all, they won’t have anything else to do...!

hmmwhat my DC are bright in life but not in exams. Well they can be but they can also be wildly off.

DC1 was reflecting on her gcse history taken some years ago. She's dyslexic and forgot you were meant to look at the questions/turn over the paper to find the options you had been taught. She just started at the beginning and wrote until time was up.

She made up stuff about Reagan's foreign policy but obviously not well enough. She got a D in that paper and an A* in the other so a B overall.

DC3 cannot start reading at the top of a page and make her way down. On no. She ignores the explanatory bit "Sandra and Jimmy heat copper carbonate ..", ignores the table of results and then has a go at a question half way down the page.

Poor child has dyslexia and ADHD. We are hoping she gets the grades to do a BTEC next year. Hopefully she will but it's a real roller coaster with her wild card style

DD just has History tomorrow afternoon so a little lie in...its a blessing that the exam is tomorrow afternoon and not morning...I think tomorrows exam is more writing than the first exam but its just 1:30 mins ..

Science P2's all next week then out to the theatre with friends on Friday ..although final exam not until 19th

Glad to hear that your DH's health is improving - Alexander - not sure I would have reacted so calmly.

Geography has also been scheduled after long English papers twice and there seems to be as much writing in Geography as History these days with mainly long answer questions. All three Geography papers are also in the afternoon...it would have been nice if they'd scheduled one of them in the morning.

Mocha70 geography edexcel or AQA? I thought the first edexcel was in the morning, but maybe my memory is playing tricks with me?
DS does both History and Geography. There is a lot of writing for Geography, but, History is still more.

DS has two tomorrow and five next week (maths3, geography 3 and 2nd papers for the sciences).
I predict that he'll feel at a bit of a loss within 48 hours!

I have a very intelligent hold who, due to illness, didn't have any education during year 8 and 9. Started online education year 10 and has been entered for Maths Foundation paper (this was a child who got level 6 SATS and was already gcse standsrdmin yesr 7) and English language - every child is different and they will get there in the end so for the mums worrying about levels and passing subjects it's okay if they don't - it will work out

hold???? Child

Hadenough was it the right choice to only do foundation today?

mmzz if I'm honest then probably not as she found both papers so far very easy but when we had a look at the mock papers for both levels she had a big wobble and there were large gaps in her knowledge. She felt more comfortable and less stressed doing the foundation level so I let her choose - she will get a 5 no doubt.

I am a self confessed thread lurker, but I have to leap out and thank you everyone for the level headed observations, feedback and advice. The past four weeks have been so stressful, my DD struggles with exams: a mix of confidence and sheer panic means she doesn't do as well as she could.

It has helped so much reading about how the various exams have been received; DD is an average student, but she has worked so hard and found all papers really challenging.

She has English Lang tomorrow and is feeling fairly upbeat but is dreading the second papers for Biology, Physics and Chemistry next week.

And I just wanted to send my very best wishes to AlexanderHamilton, I hope your DH is listening to your sound advice and feeling better x

AlexanderHamilton hope DH is ok

Goof luck to those with exams today! We have English Language and AQA History here, so very writing heavy.

DS is not looking forward to the writing!

Hello Edwina, what a lovely first post and so glad the threads have been useful for you -I'd have been lost without them these past weeks.
I have a niece who sounds very like your DD, a hard worker who couldn't cope with exams at all. 10 years on from her GCSEs she has a job she loves and which makes a difference to a lot of people (she works in the charity sector) and is one of the happiest people I know. When we're in the middle of them these exams feel like the most important things in the world but in the grand scheme of things they're really not. I must remind myself of that more often!

Good luck to your DD (and everyone else) for the exams today.

I'm back after spending two days laid up with a very nasty sickness bug, you know its bad when you can't even manage MN!!!! Now petrified that DS is going to come down with it..........

Off to catch up and by the looks of it its going to take a while......

DD has history Russia today.
Next week Biology, History USA and Physics on Friday. And breath.

We have had some glimpses of the future:

Yesterday morning she insisted on putting a cv together to apply for a summer job in a local cafe

Last night she decided to go to prom afterall. Her lovely HofY encouraged her to go when she was in school for a revision session. I'll email to say thank you as it will be nice to say something positive.

Cherry yes it will be so good to get out the other side

Blue too poorly to MN?

Fingers crossed for no bug spreading

mmzz - I was referring to AQA English and Geography.
22nd May English lit 1:45 followed by Geography 1:30
5th June English lang 1:45 followed by Geography 1:30
11th June Biology (AQA) 1:15 followed by Geography 1:15

Is it coincidence or has DS school picked all the boards with the least papers - 1 eng Lang, 1eng lit, 2 history, 1 rs, 2 maths. They’ve been long papers but makes for a more spaced out timetable which has helped

mocha I agree about the scheduling of the Geography exams. DS had English Lit (2 hours) followed by Geography (3 hours)
Both were wall-to-wall writing. His hand was agony by the end of the day!

Sorry Blue, glad you're feeling better. Get an industrial sized bottle of hand sanitizer in!

DD had last session with fantastic English tutor last night and had gone off for English breakfast revision this morning. I'm more nervous than her. She needs a 6 to study chosen a levels. I'm invigilating levels today. Got a small classroom of kids with clashes so stuck in a small room with them for six hours!!

cherryburn - what board was that with the 3 hour exams? Are they IGCSES?

My DH thought he had 3 hour O level exams in the early 80s. I thought he had remembered incorrectly but maybe he is right.

Alexander DH probably fired up the BBQ to reassure himself that he's not poorly. I'm glad you've gone over.

I had some concerning news about my mum yesterday, but we've decided to ""do a Sost" as these things should now be referred to as and keep quiet until after 19th. DH & I have put a contingency plan in place in case I need to suddenly travel.

I saw DD's history teacher yesterday who advised to answer the anticipated 20 mark Q on Hardwick Hall first if they are doing Elizabethans to get it out of the way within the time allowed.

DD's school would only predict a max 8+, whereas I think 7/8 would have been more sensible for the high flyers, as nobody knows how things will turn out. DD is unlikely to get anything below a 5, but a 5 in Spanish will probably give the same sense of achievement as an 8 in English!

Good luck all.

DD's geography teacher was grumpy about the scheduling of her papers too. I suppose that as it's no longer a core subject that they are happy to timetable it that way, but it does seem mean.

Blue - hope your feeling better...and hello to Edwina

Oratory DD's school seems to have done the same but in essence the exams are all Edexcel mainly IGCSE except for CS OCR.. The difference being that the school chose coursework for IGCSE Eng/Lit & Lang ...I think DD will sit 17 exams for 10 subjects all at higher level. DD's exam timetable could not have been any kinder...because she would not have coped with Eng Lang and History on the same day due to the amount of writing.

Seems like a tale of two Maths exams yesterday TSR seems really bullish about GCSE (Edexcel) predicting higher boundaries and exactly the opposite with the iGCSE for the same board. (not sure about AQA)