Year 10 GCSE Support Thread

[OrangeCinnamon]

Hi all,
Can we have a thread for Year 10 support please? Even though Dd started in Y9 I have already noticed a massive ramping up in pressure and her anxiety I imagine it is a fine balance of being supportive but not a helicopter parent. How do you motivate but not nag? How do you encourage good study/revision skills without being overbearing? How can I help my Dd to be resilient....so many questions hoping for some hints, tips and support along the way.

Dd is Summer born so struggles sometimes. Her main loves are Music and the Humanities subjects. She bobs along with Maths and Science and despises French. Wants to be an international popstar, historian, writer, journo or judge! She sufffers terribly with low self esteem but hopefully this term will be able to get her on a course of cbt.

@whistl

Will you be expecting your DS2 to follow the same routine your older DS did in year 11, or do you think it has to be different depending on the DC?

YellowFish123 I think each child should do what's right for them.

However, DS2 is very similar academically to DS1 (strong at the same things, weak at the same things - their January Year 10 monitoring reports with targets and current grades are so similar as to be nearly identical).
DS1 wanted to do well because he wanted to prove that he is highly able. DS2 is motivated to optimise his chances of doing well out of sheer competitiveness with DS1 which started when he was just months old!
So, I think Ds2 will end up doing something similar, but I hope he'll take my advice and start earlier.

If Ds1 had been ill, for example, in the weeks before the GCSEs, then he wouldn't have been able to do the hours he did and he might not have got the results he did.

On the GCSE threads last year, there were all sorts of stories of things happening that ruined some well laid plans (the girl who overslept and then came late rushing into the exam hall with her mobile phone still on her and got disqualified comes to mind!).

Yes - that makes sense Whistl - building in some time and stretching it out a bit , I hope I remember this this time next year ! Back in 1996 my stepfather was actually dying of cancer whilst I was taking my GCSEs - things progressed really quickly there were some exams towards the end that I did not do so well in - I still managed to get above C in everything except Physics which haunts me to this day. I had hoped to become a Vet ! But I couldn't go onto science a levels ( no support/ special circumstances in those days!)

just realised Yr10 PPE is 1-5 April for Dd - i'm going to sit her down and help plan tonight fingers crossed she will be amenable to it .

Also wanted to highlight for those who are not doing triple science Tassomai is a little bit cheaper around £25 if I recall

I just checked and Tassomai still charge £20 each or £45 for 3 for Combined science;
app.tassomai.com/courses/nav/GCSE%20Science/Edexcel/_default/2020/_default/Combined

They charge the same for triple/Separate as Combined which is strange because there is more content on the triple.

Its expensive, and its a shame there is no cheaper but nearly as good alternative, but there just isn't. Unless maybe making your own flashcards?

I haven't posted on this thread before (I don't think I remember lurking a few months ago). My DS has got his year 10 exams coming up in late March and starting to feel a bit nervous - he is doing a mixture of BTECs and GCSEs and has been really concentrating on coursework but we really need to start revising for the GCSE subject exams. He has SENs (and access arrangements TBC), a long school day and a lot of extra-curricular activities so its quite a juggle. We are aiming for 45 mins a day on top of homework/coursework, split between two subjects, plus a bit more at weekends, using flashcards, bitesize, CQG books, I feel quite anxious about it all and he is starting to too. Not looking for any particular advice, just a bit of companionship really, hoping that if I can talk here I might stay more chilled with DS.

A general question for those whose DCs do a lot of extra-curricular stuff - have they ended up cutting it right back in years 10/11? DS gets a lot out of his (DofE bronze, Scouts, various sports) but I think something will have to give at some point, at the moment he cannot attend homework club or extra classes much due to out of school commitments (his standard arrival home is 4.45, if staying for homework club it is 6).

Tbh that sounds too much.
DD is working hard and does approx an hour a night currently-more at weekends. Does an hour music practice a day too.
Currently doing year 10 mocks so has upped the revision but it’s important to get a work/life balance to prevent burnout and promote good mental health.

I think most people find it difficult to fit everything in once the revision classes etc get going. And then its harder again when the teacher start piling on the homework.

but that's not until well into year 11...

right now, DS1 does approx 2-3 hours of homework per night (the stamina he developed last year has served him well this year) and DS2 (year 10) averages about 3 hours per week.

i think its too early to start putting lots of energy into the 2020 GCSEs .... the risk of running out of steam is too high IMO

I think its going to be too much too, this was only the plan as of yesterday (first day back) as there was a big BTEC coursework deadline during half term and we were away some of it. DS is dyspraxic and his sports are really important to his mental and physical health as well as being the bulk of his social life so we want to keep them up as much as possible. I think maybe 15 minute chunks here and there depending on other commitments might be a better plan.

Is it too late to join you?
I have a DD in Y10. She is not super-academic but she works hard. She enjoys Art, Geography and Classical Civilisation. She is aiming for Grade 6 in most subjects, aspiring towards Grade 7 in a couple.

Welcome, Silverhill. It's definitely not too late -there's a long way to go yet!

Hi Silverhill ...still a long journey ahead!

Back to look at local college tomorrow eve as didn't get to speak to A level music tutor last time...hopefully will motivate her a bit with her music

Well, all my weekend Netball filming was unusable due to horizontal rain. My skiing footage from half term was, on the other hand, superb.

So useable then @kingscote?

Bit frustrating Kingscote but a win on the skiing.

When dd did her PE gcse I gave her all the raw footage that I had recorded and she used Adobe Photoshop & Premiere Elements 15, Photo and video editing software to produce a really good video submission

Hello to Silverhill

I feel my videoing will be particularly good when it comes to tennis and cricket.
Interestingly, DD is finding the Biology in PE more challenging than the Biology in Biology!

Just had parents evening (last night) but with only 5 minutes per teacher appointment it was hard to get any real insight however all DD's teachers without exception said what a lovely young lady she is, how helpful, good listener and doing well so we are very happy. One said she seemed shy at contributing which surprised us but that class is particularly rowdy with some big characters so that figures that out.

We also had a interim report given last week but it only said what grade she should be achieving in the first column then second column what progress she'd made by saying poor, good, some or exceptional so that wasn't that much help. She had a mix of good and some and one exceptional so her teachers said at parents evening she is on target and can aim even higher next year.

I find parents evening stressful as time slots never go to plan and the two subjects I really wanted to know about both teachers were either sick or away so no time slots given. The report was also blank for that subject as the teacher had not been in to evaluate/ assess. DD gets unqualified in the subject substitutes so they are left to their own devices so I assume no progress ☹️

I would request separate appointments with the two teachers who were sick / away Anne.

Sounds like your dd is doing well though

Thanks LimitIsUp 😀
Think I'll email as can't get appoints now as parents eve over. 'Sick for a while' teacher was back today - coincidence or what! DD said she had a great lesson with her.

I find parents evening stressful as time slots never go to plan
Me too, the appointment times often go awry and the whole thing can become stressful and exhausting.

Really pleased that ds' school recently arranged electronic booking of appointments for parents evening. You could book onto 5 minute slots online but the system automatically put a 'fire break' in before you could book your next appointment. So if you booked 6.25 to 6.30 then you were unable to book another slot until 6.35. It worked a lot better than previous uber stressful parents evenings

@limitisup we have a system unfortunately I manage to book appointments at opposite ends of school frequently

Dd is doing DoE. I wasn't sure she'd stick with it but it has been really good for her. Her voluntary section she has been helping run a Music Club with one of the teachers and there are now two self made bands in years 8/9 performing songs she has helped teach at school music evening this has done loads for her confidence. She seems brighter and less anxious at the moment so much so I'm wondering about getting her tested for Vitamin D deficiency next winter...we have been away half term and got some winter sun the change in her is quite substantial.

Pressed too soon How are this with mock exams etc coming up getting on with revision ? Little and often or last minute?

DD has exams early next term and is going to be away for most of the Easter holidays.

She has intentions of writing some revision notes, but by the time she has finished her art homework, her other homework and revising for regular tests, there's no time left. She is managing to keep her class notes well-organised and up-to-date, so that's something.

I'm another year10 mum

Dd had her mid term report 7a for English language 7b for English literature and 1 for maths u for science - looks like some hard work and a miracle may be needed here!

Exams w/c the 19th here. It's been little and often here, but with BTEC coursework, DofE, sport training and college open eves its proving tricky. School are emphasising that it's about getting used to exam conditions rather than marks which is reassuring.