GCSEs 2018 (11) Big week coming up

[mmzz]

old thread

Thanks cblue yes an all rounder except for English, the phobia she has for that! I wish your DC the best too!

mmzz good thinking.

Stickerrocks I am really sorry about your DM. I can see why you have decided not to tell your DD, but I imagine it wasn't a no-brainer either.
I hope everything works out. tests are only tests. There is still space to be optimistic.

The doctor told me and my brother that it would take a miracle to save our Dad's life (back in the early 90s). I remember closing the door behind him and saying to my brother, "Right, we need a miracle then" like it was just something to arrange. Right up until they take that last breath, you find yourself just hoping for a recovery from whatever it is that is killing them.

Agree oratory

It's swings and roundabouts re exam scheduling I think Oratory. As Reservoir says, there's an advantage in having subjects after half term if they're A Level choices and the DC are motivated to keep revising for them. So DS kept up with the maths papers throughout and I'm certain that helped. His second History paper, however, was sandwiched in the Week From Hell which wasn't ideal as that's another subject he wants to do at A Level. It probably all evens itself out in the end...

Definitely not personal Reservoir. I tend to look at whatever is on the current page, especially as we'll get a huge number of updates in about 45 minutes on Eng Lang when I'll be at work. Then if there is something everyone else is chatting about, I may look back through to find it, but if it's something like the music, French or computer science options, I dip out again.

DD1 and DD4 are the only ones of my DC to have taken their GCSEs in Y11. The other six took all of their at the end of Y10 (this was the case for all pupils at the school, so nothing special). The last one to do that was a late summer born DS who had dysgraphia and processing issues which weren't picked up by teachers until Y11 (I hadn't got a clue about these things - just thought he was a messy writer and a bit airy fairy) so that wasn't ideal for him. Done now though - no use crying etc. It worked for the earlier DC but as the GCSEs were toughened up it became increasingly hard, so I'm very glad DD4 is doing hers in Y11.

And I agree on the maths Oratory

Well here's an example of missing posts so to mmzz: yes absolutely. I was not in any way realistic about my mother when she was in the hospice, talking about getting her home. Perhaps other people clinging onto hope or the idea of a miracle is wrong for the patient, but we react as we do. It's simply an indication of love, so I guess nothing really very wrong with that.

Yep 3 subjects next week will be A level choices but motivation is waring away and bribes , cajoling and secret worry in the process.

@Teenmum60 that sounds like a very difficult situation with your mum.

ReservoirDogs
Please do not take it personally, no-one commented on my post either not even my pigeon couple on the district line - the thread moves at pace.
Report back from DD reference AQA Eng Lang was the paper was fine though Q2 was a bit weird ( no idea in what way.....). Very doable apparently - only 7 left.

What did they do in year 11 goodbye?

DS seems to have done things a bit backwards. he spent loads of time revising history and quite a bit on RS, Comp Sci, Eng lit and Bio none of which is is doing for A level! I just hope he manages to focus on Eng Lang this morning and isn't still thinking about history!

In other news after all the mad searching/ buying of protractors everyone was doing yesterday, he said they weren't needed for the exam (edexcel GCSE)

Sostenueto
Is your DGD wanting to do Biology, Chemisty and Geography?

There us plenty to keep talented mathematicians busy rather than early GCSE such as UKMT and Universities don't like early entries ad a few have said. D's took an AS in Y10 to keep him interested but because of syllabus changes and the range if modules available he will take A level at the normal time. I think it's easier in Maths and Science to find extension activities than perhaps Humanaties subjects.

what time is English due to finish this morning?

Not at all personal, ReservoirDogs. There are just so many posts. If I read everything before i posted, I just wouldn't have time to post.
I usually catch up on the reading late at night or early in the morning when everyone else is watching TV or still in bed.

Some of us have been around since September, with only 3 user name changes that i can think of. I think i speak for everyone when i say that we all want others to join in a feel welcome. We are in no way a clique. Its just that if someone who has been posting through the long days of February and March posts something that's a but more chat, its more likely to resonate immediately because I already have a mental picture of that poster. Even then, i still miss that I am ashamed to have not noticed, stuff like Stickerrock's news about her DM (and HMC's from a couple of weeks back).

If you keep posting, and I really hope you do, then I'll make an effort to look out for your posts and respond.

But right now i really need to do some work!

When is the eng lang exam over?

Reservoir why do you say - its ok I can join the 8/9 s this year - we are in no way all parents of 8/9 DCs. If so I'm on the wrong thread !!

10.15 - see my post above -

DS and I agreed on the way to school this morning that it makes much more sense for the last quarter of the maths exams to be really hard (as igcse was) to separate the real mathematicians not just those who have made a few silly errors Totally agree Oratory.

What may be interesting and I hope it doesnt happen is if the GCSE paper 3 (Edexcel) exam doesnt really test the students and separate out the exceptional students with perceptive inferences ...you could have 7% plus of the students sitting the same exams all with around the same marks and it will be the silly mistakes that make a difference.

Feedback on AQA English language paper 2 was ' a lot better than paper 1. Two extracts were on surfboarding. Last section was ' should sport be accessible to all? or words to that effect. Verdict by dgd was ' i think i managed to pull it off and salvage bad effort of paper 1. She thinks she may scrape a 5/6 overall. Really pleased and relieved for her. Hope everyone else get on fine too.

thanks Juggling - I did look though - but didn't see that.

English here was 9am - 11am.

JugglingMummy well I liked hearing about the District line pigeons - I think it's obvious why they might be hitching a ride to St James's! Very smart to travel for free and really saves those wings :)

Devilish in theory (big caveat) the original idea was to spend three years on the then newly reformed A levels in a bid to get as many of the new A* as possible. To go into more depth etc. A parallel purpose was to allow more time to do extra curricular things. That's it in a nutshell. However, in reality, quite a number of students themselves often kicked against the idea of not doing things on the spec and - especially as time wore on - many students in effect took the year off, or certainly went light on work and heavy on play - aged 16, hard not to take advantage! (I would!).

Sostenueto pleased for your DGD ...its so much easier to write about things they can relate too - so sometimes potluck on what comes up!