Request for advice from parents whose children have done their GCSEs

[Michaelahpurple]

Can experienced (traumatised?) parents please advise on buying revision guides or text books?

My year 10 son needs to go over his whole year of physics as his file is pretty much empty, and I would like him to work through some maths topics. He has two old physics textbooks from school so I thought it would make sense to get him a book utterly aligned to the edexcel IGCSE 1-9 exam he will sit next summer - I think that he is the first or possibly second year to do so. Question - should I get a text book or a revision book? I find the CGP products rather thin and silly - are there other, better ones? Ideally I’d like something with questions and answers to work through which reflect the ones in the exam - are there such things?
Similarly for maths - is it important to get a book branded with the same board as he is doing (again edexcel igcse 1-9) or would any new style one be ok?
And finally, when we get to the point of practicing past papers, how have students managed with the reformed syllabuses - does one try to sweep up practice papers from lots of different reformed boards or is there still value in working through historical ones?
Sorry about the list, but I am sure that these are issues others must have tackled so hoping there may be Mumsnet words of wisdom available!

OP I've had eight DC complete GCSEs including one this year with all exams being reformed in her case. On the revision book front our school has always suggested (by ParentMail) appropriate revision books to buy at the appropriate time. I pay the school and the school produces them (I think at a discount). For this year's GCSEs the school handed copies of all the specimen papers to the students. I've only ever followed school advice and never been inclined to do anything extra, in case I got it wrong and messed things up, which I reckon it's quite easy to do. So far so good but don't know how it will go this year with so few papers around for everything other than English and Maths.

I understand the fear of messing things up, goodbyestranger but my experience is that sometimes the school gets it right and other times it doesn't. It depends on the department, or even the individual teacher.
For example, DS's school told us parents that only CGP guides were recommended for any and all subjects, but DS was struggling with English Lit and when he got hold of the Mr Bruff books, it began to make sense.
Also, DS's RE teacher sent out an excellent cheat sheet that would have helped enormously with revision (for an unsexy subject that has few text books or revision guides). The only problem was she sent it a couple of days before the exam when he was busy with other stuff, although he could have made great use of it if he'd had it about a month earlier.

Yes absolutely mmzz. We've been fortunate in having a school in which I had Yesconfidence. If I'd had doubts I genuinely don't know what I'd have done, given that I wouldn't have known where to start and really do think one can do more harm than good as an amateur, despite the best of intentions. On that basis only, I took the narrow approach.

Yesconfidence?! (no idea where the Yes came from!).

OP my strong instinct would be to steer clear of the old style papers.

OP, I realise you didn't ask about English Language, but in case any readers of this thread are looking for recommendations:

Someone on the Y11 support thread recommended the Mr Salles Guide for English Language. DS2 was very impressed with it and has advised me to keep hold of it for the younger two.

Can I just reinforce goodbyestranger's point about old papers! Stick to new style.
I can recommend Collins guides for English language and literature revision - their revision books on English lit are well worth getting.

I agree, past papers for the old-GCSEs are a no-no.

The GCSE courses are 3 fold: learn facts, learn skills and learn specific exam technique.

Most of what you get from past papers is learning how to deliver the highly prescriptive answers and doing the old-style GCSE papers would at best confuse and at worst give you the wrong info about how detailed the answers must be to get the marks.

Hmm. OK - I sniggered at the istope gag, but perhaps that was just the jet lag!
Amazing advice here chaps - so appreciated.
The old style paper thing is a pain. I am trying to work out how "reformed" the reformed papers are. I understand that GCSE maths has been transformed (having lurked on the GCSE pages this year) in both content and question style and had assumed that the same would apply to the iGCSE being tested for the first time next summer, but am wondering if that can be right given that DS's school is using the old Edexcel textbook.
And they are using 2009 Edexcel textbooks (well, DS claims the teachers never use them - clearly he hasn't realised that they are meant for his private study. sign) for all three sciences although he will be the first sitting of new 1-9s in those. Having no self respect I compared the old and new syllabuses (syllabi?) for physics and bio and apart from a subunit on each on stellar development and cosmology, the differences are trifling. So perhaps it is just the grading that is changing from A*-x to 9-1, rather than the syllabus or exam style.
So tedious - DH is at boarding school which makes access to school to ask these things very difficult.
I know one could just trust school, but I never do wholly - too much at stake - and in any case, DS needs a kick so I have to know what is going on.
Eheu

Duly bought!

DD is also sitting Edexcel IGCSEs next year, DS sat them 3 years ago. She was told to get new revision books because the answers are a bit different and you don't want to give away marks. Also, apparently there is a whole new topic for Biology on protein synthesis or something that sounds like that. Unfortunately a lot of the stuff you learn at GCSE level is simplified to the point of being wrong, e.g. conventional current, so if the syllabus is toughened up later pupils can end up learning the complete opposite.
Lack of past papers for practice is a problem. I have no confidence in sample papers as the actual new A level papers this year were apparently nothing like the sample papers supplied for DS's subjects. IGCSE changes running behind the GCSE changes has just postponed the same problems 2 years down the line.

cakeisalwaystheanswer is describing what i saw on DS's Physics Edexcel. He was expected to get a 9.
The night before the 2nd paper, he attempted one of the few past papers. He had paid attention in class, has no problem at all with any of the calculations (this is a problem for many, I understand), he knew the syllabus well and really he should have just got every answer correct.

However, he didn't give the answer they wanted on the first question, and only got half marks on the second. We gave up a few questions later because it was just freaking him and me out and there wasn't time to do anything about it.

I looked at the answers he gave the next day whilst he was out at the exam. What he was consistently doing was understanding the question, and giving an answer that implied the correct answer without explicitly using the words required eg he might take his answer to the next level.

He needs a 7+ in Physics for the sixth form that he holds a conditional offer on, so despite everything we're spending an anxious summer wondering whether he'll get a 9 or an 8 or a 7 or even just a 4? It really depends on how tightly defined the mark scheme is.

That's a long way of saying, the Physics GCSE is all about exam technique.

This is what I find very painful in science GCSEs (and common entrance, for that matter). It seems crucial to hit exactly the right key words to get the points, even if a full understanding, in proper appropriate language is given, and how to do that without lots of past paper practice is not clear to me.
At 13+ level I used to have rows with DS on the lines of "but that is so obvious".. "fine, yes, it is obvious, but you won't get the mark unless you say so so just bloody well write it" and other such edifying exchanges, and I can see the same issue arising this time.
I do hope all went well for mmzz jnr.

is a solution to new style/old style papers eg in maths to do ones from different boards and gcse rather than igcse, rather than old style ones from the board taken?

It seems crucial to hit exactly the right key words to get the points, even if a full understanding, in proper appropriate language is given

Biology and Geography are particularly notorious for this.

I think / hope that it will get better in A levels. It is just that the GCSE sciences are really basic.

Michaelah - use the same boards GCSE papers is the advice given to DD. So at least there will be a couple of years available for the first sit IGCSEs. Other boards can cover slightly different stuff.

cakeisalways - I suspected that might be the answer. Sadly, in his sciences he is first year of the new ones. Maths at least there will be bit more about.

The exam board do a specimen paper.
2018 was the first year for most GCSEs and somehow the school managed to cobble together a couple of past papers per subject.

We discussed this problem a lot on the GCSE threads from January -May, and the conclusion was that its not great but everyone is the same situation so since GCSEs are useful only for applying for sixth form places and not so much thereafter, it would be comparing like with like, and the fact that subsequent years will have the advantage of past papers will make little difference to our DC.
I suspect the same arguments will apply to the iGCSE 2019 cohort.

My advice would be:

1. Start a GCSE 2019 thread soon & build up a big supportive network like we had
2. Get 6th form & college applications in as soon as possible. Then your DS will have something concrete to focus on in the run up to his mocks.
3. His school will have some subjects which are weaker than others. Intervene at an early stage if you think these could be an issue.
4. Be prepared to spend a lot of time explaining that there is no longer any course work and he will typically have around 25 - 28 exam papers to do. Anyone pre-2017/18 simply doesn't understand.

5. Check the English Literature specification (on exam board website) to make sure the school has taught the correct texts.

(Not any of my DC but I've heard of three schools whose pupils were expecting to answer questions on An Inspector Calls in the CIE paper this summer)

But Stickerrocks the current DC don't have experience of the old style GCSEs so coursework/ modules are irrelevant. They don't need an explanation. It's the new normal.

I read Stickerrocks point 4 as explaining to grandparents and other relatives...

Oh ok. Except surely grandparents and other relatives get into that level of detail - or do they?

I got sick of explaining to family, friends, colleagues and the world at large why my DD wasn't predicted 11 A*s this year, unlike their children, and why her results could actually be anything from a grade 5 upwards. "What do you mean, no coursework?" Seemed to be the most common response.