GCSEs 2018 (18) Well that's all over, let's get the party started

[Stickerrocks]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3341060-GCSEs-2018-17-What-will-be-in-your-coffee-cup-on-Thursday

Wonderwine at the socks

I thought the no-FM for a maths-y degree course isn't detrimental if it is not available at the sixth form? Which sort of implies that it does count against you if it would be useful, you could have taken it and chose not to?

Thanks and yes at the moment probably not uni and definitely not Oxbridge - good to know though as school not necessarily geared up to those courses (one to Oxbridge every couple of years). And it is a bit tricky because he has come so far in the last few months I have to consider that might change. He has a spikey profile and up to now although Ed phsyc report said he was bright he hadn’t been able to translate that in to results. But gcse was so much better than predicted I don’t know whether he s sort of unblocked the damn and will go further or whether he ll continue to find things hard. Hopefully first year of a levels willl confirm things. I recognise how lucky we are with this conundrum though

Before everyone deletes everything they know about getting a child through GCSEs, please could I ask all your top tips for a DC about to start their GCSEs?

I've already got:-

1. Start revising in year 11, not year 10.
2. The sooner you get the revision guides, the better as they'll help with year 10 exams and end of topic tests.
3. Mr Salles & Mr Bruff for English
4. Tassomai and freesciencelessons for sciences
5. Don''t assume that the teachers will finish teaching the course in good time.
6. Get the DofE over early enough to not use up precious down time from revising.

any others?

Get a good solid support network from a broad range of schools taking a wide range 9f subjects to boost your morale. Stick with us lot & we'll help with as many DC as you would care to discuss! Lots of the regulars have more than one DC either ahead of behind the one featuring here and I know posters like mmzz and alex have been storing up hints for a couple of years time. There aren't that many of us with one & done.

1. Practise practise practise. DS dyslexic with working memory issues and only really learnt by doing papers - I guess ‘learning by doing’ and then getting one on one help in the areas he was struggling with. You can get cgp guides with questions and answers on and books of questions as well as practise papers - all on amazon.

1. Start a list of key words in each subject.

1. Sleep ! DS gets very tired and il easily and started going to bed at 9 30 from Easter onwards - not sure he would have lasted the course otherwise

What I’ve learned:
Definitely should have got Tassomai because I think the science subjects need a lot of regular revision from early on. Will be doing that with DS2.
Do a revision timetable in good time for the mocks - be flexible but try to stick to it.
Find as many past papers and sample papers as you can and do them, revising again based on mistakes. (Where DS did lots he got good results.
Collins revision guides for English literature are great - especially the one on Macbeth!
Do not assume because the exam board has used a question before that it won’t come up again, All exam boards do this and always have - I made this mistake in my O level biology and DH in a history of maths exam!

and yes agree tasomai probably would have helped

Massive well do e to little wonderwine!

I have thought of a useful tip for university admissions. I did not know this in time for DS1, but will be doing it with DS2.

At the end of Y12, your child may already have an idea of which course they want to do and which universities are on their shortlist. If so, check the clearing lists on A-level results day to see what actual grades each university accepts, as it's sometimes lower than the offer. Obviously it can vary slightly from year to year, but still useful to know.

That is a very handy tip thirdofhername and thank you.

TheThird that's a really good idea. If you miss the results day live page, I wonder if you can get the historical offers on waybackmachine (or whatever the new name is)?

What we learned about GCSE and revision.
DVD started in year 9 revising and studying 2 hours a night and homework on top. She never missed. Although she didn't get 9s across the board nothing was below a 7 apart from art a 5 and she did capture 2 9 s. She has to work really hard, she is bright, but far from the brightest but managed to keep up and surpass many who had much advantage over her. So I say dogged determination and a really good work ethos works the best.

Reading that sost reminds me that another tip is find the route that suits your dc. We had a sort of toungue in cheek chat with ds along the lines of imagine what you could have done if you’d worked like that from year 10 (not just from dec of year 11) but he says it wouldn’t have worked for him. Your dgd did amazingly and her attitude and determination and work ethic will really take her far.

They also have to want to do it for themselves to a certain extent. We can Helen and facilitate and advise but I don’t think it can be forced

Help not Helen - who s she

I argued so much with DS about the need to revise from mid-January to the end of february (when he finally started), that I genuinely got sick of the sound of my voice.

IME, they can want the results and intend to do enough work to get them, but they will look at the DC around them at school and if they lie say that they aren't revising in evenings and at weekends, then your DC will be liable to think you are being OTT about it.

At least this time, I'll have DS1 to back me up and tell DS2 that some people say they aren't working and then it turns out that they have been since October.

Thank you oratory same to your DC!
She worked so hard and glad she got her rewards. That's what worried us so much I think, that if she didn't get the reward how she would take it. The only reward she wanted was tickets to bts which we tried so hard to get but couldn't. So yesterday we gave her £100 which she went and bought a jacket for 6th form and the ' infinite monkey cage' book she wanted, also album from iTunes of bts.. She put the rest in her new bank account we opened for her a few weeks ago.
She spent the summer studying Chinese ( what is it everyone wants to study Chinese?) And now not only do I have to listen to south Korean singers but receive lessons in Chinese! ' no nan, its all about the tone you use......fgs!

Fair point whistl. It was no coincidence that the four boys in his house who he became friends with during gcses all did better than expected - DS saw they were working in enrichment time and frees and thought may be he should too. And quite often it was -'I can't play (game on line) with x he's working'. They spurred each other on and the teachers saw them working together and encouraged and helped them. It is useful for some DC to find a group that encourages them but doesn't faze them (ie make them think they're not good enough). Whilst other DC are fine on their own and don't need that.

Sostenueto I really admire your dgd’s work ethic. I’m sure you’ll be very good at Chinese soon with her teaching you! I won’t be able to make DS2 work that hard in Y9 but I could establish the principle that he has to do something!
Whistl you are definitely right about enlisting elder sibling as backup. DS1 has actually given DS2 some really good advice! Or the benefit of hindsight!

I think it also helps to support the organisational stuff, organising a workspace and places for books and files, lists of topics and which need more work, planning a good timetable .

Sost when will DGD be 17? There is a new B5S album out on 7 September, but It's a box set, so more expensive than the usual price.

Ds's approach was print off all the specs, loved the CGP guides and made thousands of flash cards question on one side answer on the other, which covered everything. By doing this he plugged all gaps in teaching, obviously make sure you understand everything before moving on.

Most importantly have down time, sport, music, drama, gaming whatever your DC enjoys.