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Original poster

GCSEs 2019 Support thread 3

999 replies

myrtleWilson · 15/05/2019 21:19

Welcome all - just went to post on thread 2 and saw it was at 999 so quickly did this

OP posts:
Changemyname18 · 16/05/2019 17:55

lifeandbeans that is NOT my experience as a reader. It's one to one with the student and I have read every question, with strict rules regarding what can be read on science and maths papers, so that no inferred help of understanding the formulas etc is given. Students can then ask us to re read questions, and what they have written. If my DC needed a reader, I cannot see how the arrangement you describe helps. Kids can often read most of the paper, but may be self conscious and proud about asking for help. And as for the reader/invigilator being on her phone🤔😮. So in a room of 8 students, there would be 8 readers and at least 1 invigilator in my experience

MoobaaMoobaa · 16/05/2019 17:56

NoClueWithStyle oh poor girl.
DS said one of the invigilators phone went off loudly in chemistry Shock

just popped my head in to DS room he's fast asleep.

Zoflorabore · 16/05/2019 17:57

Well ds is back from revision and looked defeated as he got out of the car. He said it was tough but science is by far his weakest subject.

Drama tomorrow, only 2 exams next week and then half term starts on 24th with a very busy 2 weeks after that.

My hair has gone greyer since Tuesday Grin

Greeborising · 16/05/2019 18:09

I totally agree with the outrage regarding bereavement and upsetting home situations.

Some very close friends have gone/are going through some very distressing situations

Doesn’t seem to make much difference. These kids are still very young.
The exams are stressful enough

Luciaia · 16/05/2019 18:10

5% is terrible. Dd’s friend with tonsillitis has 4%, how could the death of a parent possibly only lead to 1% more than what is essentially a sore throat

daisypond · 16/05/2019 18:22

Yes, I’m quite shocked it’s so little.

steppemum · 16/05/2019 18:53

chatting with ds, cheating apparently gets you barred from not only that subject, but also every other paper from that exam board.
So the girl with the phone is (sadly in her case) is classed in the same boat, as there is a possibility of misuse.

The reason I know it isn't ds, is that he is appalled at the idea of buggering up all your GCSEs for the sake a piece of paper, which can hardly make that much difference surely?

as to where we are - I couldn't possibly comment Wink

death of a parent - they should take mock result and predictions into account and calculate a mark based on that and the exam.

Lifeandbeans · 16/05/2019 18:59

Shocked at the 5% for the death of a parent. I mean that's a pretty catastrophic event for anyone never mind a 15/16 year old during exams :(
You would think they would take mocks or something into consideration.

Steppemum
Yep DD was warned last year for tapping in her mocks (she has Sen) and was told if she did it in her proper exams they would ALL be voided. Even if it was just one exam she did it in.

Original poster
myrtleWilson · 16/05/2019 19:04

there was a poster on here a few years ago whose son had a phone on him in an exam and it rang towards the end of the exam. I think from memory that he didn't usually take his phone so it had slipped his mind. They weren't GCSEs but similar I think.

It was a genuine mistake rather than attempt to cheat and he was mortified. In the end he had 0 marks for that exam but luckily wasn't disqualified from all the other exams with that board. I'll see if I can find it...

OP posts:
Iambuffy · 16/05/2019 19:04

5%!?
Wow, I’m shocked it’s so low.

Lifeandbeans · 16/05/2019 19:04

Changemyname18 yes I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that.

I expected someone sat at the side of her as you described if I'm honest.
Some kids won't put their hands up and ask surely.

I asked DD if she had a reader. She said yes the invigilator. I asked if she was sat with her and she said no she can't do that, there's several Sen children in the room and she's covering them all and invigilating (and apparently on her phone which DD had mentioned another day )

Original poster
myrtleWilson · 16/05/2019 19:06

My apologies - it was GCSE biology
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/2395662-son-had-his-mobile-phone-in-GCSE-biology

OP posts:
pointythings · 16/05/2019 19:15

5% is low for the death of a parent. There needs to be more differentiation in what's awarded. But for my DDs it could mean crossing a grade boundary based on where they normally are.

MaddieElla · 16/05/2019 19:35

Lifeandbeans, my DD said there has been a girl next to her in every exam so far tapping her feet. One invigilator gave my DD a knowing glance, but didn't say anything and today the invigilator walked up to DD and said she couldn't ask the girl to stop but that my DD could move further back if she was distracted. She then had a word with the foot tapper on the way out so we'll see if she does it tomorrow.

I didn't realise they could be penalised. It is pretty annoying for my DD though but I suppose it's a nervous thing and can't be helped. Confused

readyforsunshine · 16/05/2019 19:37

Steppe dd is next door Wink

HardAsSnails · 16/05/2019 19:37

De-lurking.

Sorry for those of you and your children and families having to deal with tricky stuff Flowers

My ds is autistic and started secondary with pretty high support needs, primary had been a dreadful experience, so there was a reasonable chance of him not coping and us having to home educate. But, the SEN support has been incredible, he's thrived and we are here and he's happy doing his GCSEs and looking forward to the move to college and doing A Levels. I have to pinch myself sometimes!

He's got 8 exams this week (including the 2 in 1 French) and is mostly happy with it all. He totally lost interest in French so has done minimal revision, though promises me he will look at the revision guide in the morning just so I haven't wasted my money on it Hmm

We are in one of the really poorly funded counties which means his school is very poorly resourced. I've only just learned that they were unable to do many science practicals properly, if at all, because of lack of equipment, which means he's had to learn the practicals from revision guides etc. It's not ideal and a real shame as he always loved science and has been put off by poor teaching.

readyforsunshine · 16/05/2019 19:38

Hope it doesn’t impact him btw steppe, must be horrid to be part of

Lifeandbeans · 16/05/2019 19:44

MaddieElla they definitely can.
During mocks DD was warned and she is an Sen student who was in an Sen exam room who taps as part of her Sen.

AtiaoftheJulii · 16/05/2019 19:54

4% is for severe illness, seems unlikely tonsillitis counts as severe.

xyzandabc · 16/05/2019 20:15

Lifeandbeans. Sorry I don't know how to quote but....

Some kids won't put their hands up and ask surely.

Absolutely, that's why we're trying the reader software this year, kids are using it far more than putting their hand up. It's not embarrassing and they can get the same bit read 30 times if they want to.

The issue, certainly in a state school is space and resources. Our school (just a regular comprehensive) has almost 30 year 11s entitled to a reader this year plus a handful of 6th formers.

Even if we had 30 adults (at £11.50 an hour) that could be readers, which we definitely don't and could never afford, we wouldn't have anywhere to put them. We are using every single office and classroom in the school, there is just no capacity for any more.

On the other hand, you get students who have been assessed as needing readers, scribes, restbreaks, word processors etc etc who point blank refuse to use them.

pointythings · 16/05/2019 20:32

Atia with tonsillitis it really depends - it can be cripplingly painful and cause a very high temperature (speaking from experience, sadly) - it's not always 'just a sore throat'. You'd hope a GP's decision would be final in cases like that.

After this week DD2 will have done 7 exams - 8 if you count French speaking, but she did that before Easter.

Powergower · 16/05/2019 20:36

Hardasnails- poor teaching makes things even harder. Ds has had so many support staff in this year and the trading had been rubbish.

He is still gutted about Romeo and Juliet because the question was so wide it threw him. He was surprised to find chemistry aqa triple easy today and us now thinking he's fling to swap English lit a level to chemistry! Everything is so unpredictable and there's so much luck involved. Ds got lucky that everything he revised recently came up in the Chem paper. He types his answers and was unlucky that yesterday for English their equipment failed and they started the exam an hour late. He thinks that affected his performance in the exam.

Glad it's nearly the weekend.

Lifeandbeans · 16/05/2019 20:46

Thanks xyzandabc
That's interesting can the software be used in exams?
DDs is very small. Think primary school sized so I think we've been mostly lucky with support this last year till now.

I guess as per though even when you wrangle an horrendous system for support you still don't get what's assigned as there's no money. Rather frustrating.

xyzandabc · 16/05/2019 20:58

Yes, it can be used in exams. We are using it for GCSEs this year.

As well as not being embarrassed by having to put their hand up, a great advantage is in English GCSE.

For the section of the paper that tests reading, a human reader is not allowed to read that part for the student.

But computer software is permitted to read the section testing reading. Because the software can not interpret or decode the text by putting emotion or expression in to its reading like a human can.

Another thing we trialled was reader pens where you drag the pen over a word or sentence and it reads it for you but we didn't find these worked well enough to use in exams. Though

xyzandabc · 16/05/2019 21:01

Though I know other schools do use reading pens .