Are we ready for a GCSE’s 2019 thread?

[KittyMcKitty]

If so I’m in.

DS (my pfb) will be going into year 11. Mocks after half term. Crossing my fingers for him - needs average point score of 6.5 (across all 10 subjects) to stay for 6th Form.

Anyone else?

Hello, I've just joined the site. My DS (15) will be sitting GCSEs next summer and utimately, wants to study VetMed; with BioVet/BioSciences or possibly Veterinary Nursing as his fallback options.

It's good that he knows which general direction he's going but first, he needs to get the grades!

He'll (hopefully) be moving on to take A-levels next but as his school has no 6th form, we're in the process of looking around at the various 6th form colleges locally (needs at least 556677 for his preferred provider and is on-target to achieve this). Open Evenings begin later this week. The main headache at the moment is trying to motivate him into completing his UCAS Progress profile, so that he can begin sending off a few applications!

Hi Soursprout, sorry the last 6th form wasn't all that. In what way was it disappointing, and what does your DD hope to study after GCSEs?

I think all applications have to be made through UCAS Progress here now. It's meant to make searching and applying for courses much easier, and a personal statement for each child is sent to the colleges along with their application. But the swing side to it is that it's another thing on their To Do list, at a time when many are feeling under pressure already. I'm fighting the urge to 'lend a hand' but he needs to tackle it himself, really.

I'm working my way through all of the posts on this thread, there is so much good information! I didn't know, for example, there was a Contingency Day on 26th June - our school hasn't said a word about this!

Our mock timetable has come through - starts on 5th December and finishes on 21st December (well actually that last day is a contingency day for snow or other delays). Last subject is the Art exam on Thursday 20th.
Other than Art, which is last, but will be first for the real GCSE it seems reasonably close to the timetabling of the real thing (French over in the first week or so, only days with two or more exams are at the beginning). DS only has one day off though, unlike the real thing, (where there is half term in the middle, and various days with nothing) and there are days with three exams on each day (the real thing has no more than two, morning and afternoon, unless you count the two parts of French on the same day).

Oh, and we sat the exam for the dreaded Sixth Form (the one he really wants, but which wants minimum 6 A*) last week. He came out of it quite chipper, but then thought afterwards that he had messed up a six mark question on the biology paper, and he knew he didn't finish a couple of questions in maths.
They will let us know this week whether he goes through to interview. He had to write a personal statement for that application, and another one for what is probably the second choice sixth form (exams for that are next week).

Yes, good luck to everyone who has mocks looming and flatmouse, DS usually won't let me do anything to help with revision either, so I'm glad you got the chance to help plan you DD's revision timetable! Our school doesn't have an after-school revision timetable like you've mentioned, but all Yr11 does stay behind for one hour once each week for intervention. Until Christmas, they each focus on strengthening one of their weaker subjects (Business, for DS) then they switch to the core subjects in the New Year.

But DS and a group of his classmates took it upon themselves to start meeting up online at 7pm each weekday to do 1 to 2 hours of group revision. The use something called Discord to set up the meetings, they cover a different subject each session and they've been doing this since they started back in September. This seems to be working really well for them at the moment, alongside the independent revision they're putting in. Plus they can work through tasks on SAM Learning, mathswatch, and I think mymaths and methodsmaths as well. I suppose we'll find out how successful it's been when the first lot of mocks results are back!

Soursprout oh crumbs, I see what you mean. It sounds as though this 6th form was just going through the motions really, and how rude of them to say anything negative about the other 6th forms. Keeping fingers crossed that the next one you'll be visiting is much better.

Your DD is in a lovely position isn't she, having the choice of many subjects she enjoys doing. I've noticed too that Maths and Music often go hand in hand, people who enjoy/are good at one often are good at both.

Good luck to all doing mocks over the next few weeks. Not heard of UCAS progress - what's that about.
Fortunately DD won't have exams for 6th form - nor high entry requirements. She will have interviews for her different options at one college, and an interview plus riding assessment at her preferred choice.

The group revision sounds fantastic. I do think group/pair as well as individual good, so long as all benefit. DD was told today that 5 hrs revision per week is expected. I'm wondering if she has misunderstood as I don't see how she can cover all topics thoroughly in that time! She's doing 3hrs per day during week except Thursday (other activity), and 5 hrs on Saturday (Sunday devoted to other activity). Although that time needs to include any non revision homework too.

Your DD is doing much more work than my idle DS, flatmouse. He does virtually nothing at the weekend. Maybe it's a girl/boy thing? All of my friends with sons are feeling the same way as me at the moment, we'd like to put a rocket under them to get them moving. Or just to wake them up. Whereas the girls I've heard about do seem, on the whole, to take their responsibilities more seriously and have a sensible approach to revising/exams. Hard to generalise, though.

I'm trying to remember what we were told at our Year 11 meeting - something like 1 hour's revision each day during Year 11 = 1 grade higher in the GCSE result - I'm happy to be corrected, though. Going by this for now, it does sound like your DD might be doing about the right amount of revision at the moment, adding on her weekend work too. There are so many conflicting opinions online, though! It's a minefield.

UCAS Progress. The best way I can describe it is that it's a website designed especially for students (FE/HE/Post Grad), where they can go to find information about careers and courses etc, search for providers offering the courses which interest them, create their own profile including a personal statement, and then use this to apply - via the website - for any courses they've found (so long as the providers themselves are registered with UCAS Progress). They do need their own account first though.

I think it's meant to take some of the leg work out of the application process; and be a central source of information for anyone who isn't quite sure what they want to do next, or who knows, but isn't sure how to get there. DS sort of knows the direction he wants to take already so he hasn't used it to search for careers, but it's been useful in helping him to find 6th form colleges within a certain distance from home that offer the A-levels he's after. He's saved his preferred colleges to his Favourites so that once he's finished his profile and personal statement, he can just go to Applications and start sending them off with all his details included. I don't know if the system in use everywhere at the moment, we're in Kent and a lot of places appear to be using it already here.

Good luck to those with mocks... ours are not until January so a little time yet. There seems to be a big push on 6th form at the school at moment - DD has had to indicate her preferred options (partly so they can design the 6th form taster day) and interviews are being set up with pupils to discuss further. Am actually looking forward to getting GCSEs out the way now so DD can focus on the subjects she really enjoys!

DD has had the advantage of seeing her brother go through both GCSEs and A levels, so has an idea of what is involved. He did work but had to be micromanaged all the way particularly at GCSE level. We had to move him downstairs to study, whereas I can trust DD to study in her bedroom.
I also think they have art more to cover in more detail now, than my DS did.

Interesting re UCAS progress. Not used to my knowledge round here (midlands), they apply direct to 6th forms/colleges. Think the idea of them starting a personal statement now is good. Still trying to get DD to start her CV. The idea being its much easier to amend/add to than start from nothing.

We use UCAS Progress, different part of the Midlands perhaps! It's good in theory, although the teachers have been making the kids work endlessly on their personal statements when they haven't even had the open day visits, and also it seems you have to rank places and some sixth form say they will only take those students who rank them first, so that might be a downside if you have more than one place you'd be happy with.

Has anyone else's DCs been taking the PIXL mock exams? I can't work out whether they are a good thing either! They're spread over quite a long time period.

DD’s mocks are after Christmas break, unfortunately. DH and I are worried at how unconcerned she seems.

dd's start in two weeks. She did quite a lot of revision over half term. She doesn't have much idea of what she'd like to study at A level - she's dyslexic which doesn't help as she particularly loves English Literature but her spelling is not great. She's pretty sure she wants to do RE at A level and Drama, but is worried neither are facilitating so will need History or Eng Lit at least. I guess we'll know a bit more after her mocks. I wish she'd do sciences or maths as she's really good at them but she is determined not to.

DD finishes her mocks tomorrow.

I would say that a half term full of an intense dance competition, in which she had multiple new dances, was perhaps not the best possible preparation. Luckily she's being totally pragmatic about it, saying that these will 'give her a benchmark of her performance without really heavy-duty revision'.

Mostly OK except for languages, if her informal feedback after each paper has been accurate.

6th form open days inJanuary.

On DS's term 1 progress update report, it said at the top that National Attainment estimates had changed recently, so Year 11 targets were being reviewed at the moment and would be adjusted accordingly in time for the next assessment point. All of his Y11 target grades had been set at the same figure throughout, whether this was higher or lower than the grades he was currently working at.

Meanwhile, I looked at his flight paths on his Science workbook and noticed he'd made a big jump of several sub-levels last term, nearly meeting the aspirational target line. He said he'd been pushing himself harder in this subject.

Not so good in Art, though - he's dropped from 4 to 3- and now to 2... So, I think I won't set too much store on the revised Y11 target grades in future, because it does seem that he can make a big difference to them either way, depending on how hard he's prepared to work over the coming 6 months.

We attended our first 6th form open evening tonight, at my old secondary school as it happens. They are offering a variety of level 3 courses, not just A-levels, which was nice to see. DS came home feeling very positive about this place. We have another 2 open evenings lined up this month; hope everybody else's visits/entrance exams/interviews are going well. Just think, another couple of months and the open evenings/applications/maybe interviews too should be over with, anyway!

Soursprout thank you for the information. I think our next assessment point will be just before the Christmas holidays, so we'll see what's changed then I suppose!

Just think, another couple of months and the open evenings/applications/maybe interviews too should be over with, anyway!

Yes I'm finding this all much more emotionally demanding than I would have predicted!

Mrsr8 I'm learning a lot more from reading the posts on here, than from information our school is giving out (which has been surprisingly little this year)... And Everard yes, ditto! I'm feeling more irritable as time goes on, though - it can't be good for the blood pressure!

Just a general question - if your DC has already started applying for post-GCSE courses, or is about to do this, what information are they using as their predicted GCSE grades? I'm finding this bit confusing. Should they take their Year 11 target grades (which indicate where they are likely to be AFTER sitting their GCSE exam, not what they are predicted to achieve at GCSE, if I've understood this properly); or are they using whatever results they had in their mock exams (most kids seem not to have taken these yet); or something else? DS needs to start sending off applications because a couple of the deadlines fall before the Christmas break, but all we have to work with at the moment are the grades he's working at currently in each subject. Grateful for any advice, thank you.

Well we are through to interview at the dreaded Sixth Form, which DS will be over the moon about, when he finds out. Of course, he still needs to get through the interview, and then even if offered a place, he still needs to get the 6A* (or 8s in new money) at his actual GCSEs to be accepted (well five, because he got one last year, so it is one down, five to go). Plus I think a minimum of a 7 in English.
So it is a long haul (and of course, the dreaded sixth form is private, if that wasn't obvious already, which means we will have fees to pay - which is a bit daunting, but DS, really, really wants it, and I am proud of him for being ambitious, and it is only two years of fees, so we reckon we can find that somewhere)

Bimkom congratulations! I know there is still a way to go yet, but getting through the door is a big first step psychologically; and even more because you said previously DS thought he might have messed up a couple of the questions in his exam. Hopefully this will give him a boost now. So, how will you be celebrating this weekend?

It's great that you're giving your DS so much support to reach for his goals, and I hope your school is encouraging him too. I'm doing similarly here and I don't know if DS will be hungry enough to achieve his particular targets, but I won't let anybody discourage him from trying! They only really get this one chance to go for it don't they?