GCSEs 2018 (12) Are we nearly there yet?!

[mmzz]

Pup almost back to normal ( apart from eating) and a first today for me having finally sussed out how to use one of those stick things to chuck ball with. She got fed up with the ball landing 2 yards away but today it soared and half a dozen throws she was exhausted! So I'm giving myself a

Thanks Sostenueto - he's evading the geography teacher in case he tries to squeeze in revision between biology and geography today! DS very keen to do well in biology so fingers crossed!
That was lovely of dgd's teacher.

DD reckons she wants to do Biology at A level which considering she is sitting Foundation Science she won’t reach the entry requirements of a Grade 6. She won’t be told, according to her, marks slipped over the years due to friendship issues at school and therefore teacher put her in for Foundation. She wants to ask school if she can sit a higher paper to prove herself and therefore do at A level. She has been a lot happier during exam period as doesn’t have to see the girls causing her grief.

noblegiraffe what are your thoughts on Further Maths. DDs school having been giving mixed messages. DD is talking about doing FM if she can’t do Biology. She is predicted an 8 in GCSE. She has been saying she wants to do Maths at Uni, school say not necessary to have FM to do this and reading entry requirements on UCAS, some Unis require FM and some not. would DD would have a better chance of getting into Uni to do Maths with FM even though some Unis don’t require it IYSWIM. Would DD be at a disadvantage at start of Uni degree if she doesn’t have FM due to assumption that DD would have knowledge? Does that make sense? I’m seriously concerned that Maths, FM and Geography at A level would be too limited, however facilitating subjects.

One very tired not so little pup!

oddsocks with all what your dd has been through with the bitches crew she has done extremely well and I wish her the best of luck in the future

Dgd is not allowed to stay on premises between exams. They get escorted off! So she has to wonder around city with mates until afternoon exam. The situation is ridiculous! Apparently there has been a lot of complaints from parents as 75% of DC don't live anywhere near the city as DC come from across 2 counties via 5 feeder primaries. ( only high school in diocese with cohort of 240 per year so a big school!)

I thought the school had a duty of care for pupils but their official leaving date was 25th may so no longer members if school but they still have to wear school uniform for exams! Daft!

That does sound crazy! Ds1 also officially left school (but needs full uniform or will be kicked out of exams), but they’re allowed to stay in school to revise between exams! Have to leave when finished but it’s not very supportive to kick them out when they could be doing extra revision!

@Oddsocks15 - DS1 was thinking about FM but has decided against it. I think it is helpful if you're going for a top maths course (think Cambridge or Imperial) as other candidates will have it. DS1 is thinking about doing Chemistry or Chem Engineering and schools advice was to not do it as it would be more beneficial to have a better grade in another subject. So he'll do Chemistry, Physics, Maths and History. I like the fact that's he's keeping history going instead as he lives the subject and writing skills will be helpful.

DS1 school want a 9 to do FM but only 8 for Maths.

Best of luck for biology today. Glanced as DS1 notes and he consistently misspells protein as 'protien'. But can spell the complicated stuff 😬

Sorry - I realise 'only 8 for Maths' sounds awful. DS1 school is very selective and generally gets very high proportion of A or A star.

Oddsocks echoing what Sostenueto says - maybe she could do a higher paper as a sort of try-out for biology before the summer holidays? On the other hand if she loves maths, do more maths!
Oh my goodness Pup looks very sweet - love the pink collar!
I am a bit surprised by dgd's school. DS is allowed home between exams but equally allowed to stay on school premises and revise. I think the maths teacher is available for some extra practice before tomorrow's exam but it's optional.

Oratory surely the grade boundaries are raised (rather than lowered) for a bright cohort?

Agree that they adjust the % getting the higher grades for a more able year, but by how much? Eg suppose on average you need to be top 2% to get a 9, but you are in a relatively bright year. Then what does it switch to? Top 2.1%??

What's the evidence that the current year 11s are any brighter than any other year's year 11s? Were the 2013 SATS results particularly strong, or something?

About 9s and the whole why does it matter thing... in DS's case the answer is self-confidence and proving himself.

DS is probably going to be studying maths and further maths in September with extremely high maths- ability students. There's always a voice in anyone's head that maybe they were a big fish in a small pond at secondary, but are you good enough to keep up in a highly selective environment? If he gets a 9, then he has something to reassure himself with for those first couple of months whilst he finds his feet.

That's why it's important to get a 9 in DS's case.
A 9 in physics would help a lot too, for the same reason, but that looks a lot less certain.

Sost exactly how big is pup because pup looks absolutely enormous. As in the size of your sofa.

What madness that the DC are booted out between exams. And what a horrible vibe that must give between the school and the DC.

Our Y11 cohort is supposed to be a pretty bright one but I don't know if that's reflected across the country. Generally I think it has been with bright v less bright cohorts in the past but I've no idea what the general KS2 indicators were for that year group. And yes, surely boundaries go up?

Oddsocks it is likely to depend on where she wants to study Maths. Oxbridge/Warwick require FM plus STEP 2 and 3/MAT although do give advice about what to do if a school does not offer FM.

A nephew of mine studied Natural Sciences at Durham. His 6th from did not offer FM and he and all others who did not take it were asked to attend booster maths classes at the beginning of term

Dgds school told us at a special parent meeting in year 9 how nationwide this cohort brighter. They churned out loads of stats from Fischer family group, top 20% of high schools across UK and other official bodies. All impressive so I'm only going g on what I was told and shown. I do know there was an awful lot if DC attaining 6 in both maths and English in their SATs in dgds year group. Also lots on gifted list and 3 real geniuses. So a real lot of brainy dcs.

goodbye pup weighs 18 kilos having lost a bit of weight this month and yes she is tall for a staffie. What they call long legged staffie. They come in all sorts of size and shape! Yes settee is big to accommodate the pup! As you can see my share of settee minuscule!

Whether 9s matter or not is very much dependent on the individual DC and in those niche FM cases where a 9 is required. They may matter at the margins for Oxbridge but probably less so in the first full year of 1-9s. I don't think DD is bothered about 9s but she'd like decent marks (7s and 8s) if only to make life a bit more relaxed in the sixth form (as in less to prove for uni entry). But very high predictions are very double edged and irritating for that reason. I'd rather there was simply a 8/9 prediction as in the old A*. Even that carries the same double edge, it's just not quite as sharp. Very hot where we are today - brilliant sun, no breeze. Predictions of a three month heatwave though so some sun should be there when the week is over :)

Sost you need to establish sofa boundaries!

Your right mmzz I was just replying to a previous poster who was questioning them going down - they would go uobuf anything. And yes I get the confidence thing.

This thread is so fast paced! All the best to all biologists and geographers. I'm just hoping DD explains herself using the correct terms...she knows her stuff really well, but may not express it exactly right for the marks...

Good luck to all your DC this week.

Only chemistry left here which is on Wednesday and then finished. Week from hell for DD was before HT (hence the meltdowns occurring slightly earlier)

....really feel for all the DC who are now going through the 5-8 exams in a week trauma.

DD confessed the other day that she has had some exams where she was so stressed that her brain went completely blank despite knowing it all.
So that should lower the grade boundaries a bit
What’s done is done.

Agree goodbye about 9s.

There is a world of difference though between GCSE and A levels. A total different format, way of studying and what is expected of you as individual research and study. I'm not so sure having a 9 in GCSE aids study of A levels more or not considering their different formats.

It was me about the questions about grade boundaries/bright cohort. I was just trying to work out how it would be mathematically if a higher percentage of DC getting higher grades - how is that adjusted - the only way to do that is to lower grade boundaries which doesn't seem right either. I don't understand generally this adjusting to fit in with the cohort - how can you do that in a logical way that is fair to everybody. And this really hasn't been publicised much. I clearly have too much time on my hand as exams approach an end. Sorry I am a bit tired so may not be getting the obvious.

Wondering what AQA going to throw at the dc