GCSEs 2019 support thread 4

[TacoLover]

The last one is almost full!

I've looked into NCS.
Looks great, but our nearest one is in a city quite a distance away.
One of the issues of living in the arse end of nowhere :)
Ds will be volunteering with me over the summer - well, from next week actually.

Rugbylife thats fantastic news!
Foslady how stressful for you both..cry and vent away on here

lambuffy NCS is great !
Ds1 did it last year . We went the little celebration party thing and that was it .
Fs said he was doing it this year .
1st week is residential a bit like PGL.
2nd week was residential in university accommodation (ds loved his en suite..!!)
3rd and 4th week (though i think 4th week is only 3 days )
is daily comute .
They worked on charity sponsorship sort of thing.
It was a wonderful experience!.
Thete are lots of dates .
Ds 1 did Sunday to Thursday sessions.
Just realizef i am saying weeks ..each bit works ad 5 days .
Ds2 is foing monday to friday.
If you are going to do it i have more advice on where you can ask to go

I'll mention it to DS:)

Yep - prom and NCS are the two things dd and her friends are holding onto to get them through! (Chemistry, physics and Herman I think this week?).
Oh - and at least one more message had been sent to me. Haven’t bothered opening them, don’t see much point, I can easily tell myself I’m the worst person in the world, I don’t need others to as well (I know that’s the gist of them by the first few words I can see). I think going NC for a while might just be the way forward.....

Oh for goodness sake - my fat thumbs - German!!!!!

Dd also wouldn’t consider NCS after hearing some (I’m sure very exaggerated for dramatic effect) ‘horror stories’
She has lost her drive completely, hopefully sitting an exam tomorrow will get her adrenaline up for some chemistry revision tomorrow

Herman is much more apt!

Dd looked into NCS but then did not want to do it. Shame as I thought it looked quite good!

She's got prom and the associated party to look forward to (hosted by her best friend's mum - who is my best friend -)
Then there is the taster day at sixth form college.
She's been given the ok from the doctor to carefully get back in the saddle. So she's planning some rides and competitions on both dpony and the horse she's been asked to compete.
I'm taking her to Amsterdam to spend a few days with my mum as soon as I break up from school at the end of July.
She's also going to a music festival in August with some friends.
We are not going away as a family (ds is having facial surgery in July and needs 6 weeks before he is recovered so that takes up the summer) but I think she has enough to look forward to

My DD's school did an assembly about NCS and quite a few of them signed up. It will take up four weeks in August (not weekends) and sounds interesting. Don't think DD would go without some friends.
She's having this evening off after several hours of revision today. Her alarm is set for 5 am for some last minute cramming...
Good luck for tomorrow everyone!

I laughed out loud at Herman🤣

Herman!! 🤣
fos sounds like it might be an idea. Look after you and dd.
Ds1 is revising history. I'm leaving him to it....he doesn't appreciate my input atm!

Re NCS...Igot ds dates wrong ..he went Wednesday to Sunday...so some weekends involved on his "wave" .
Dates arevariable

I studied Herman for 3 years ...then i was quietly told to forget it .🤣

Had a lazy weekend . Doing washing today .5 white shirts ready ..ahem..he only need s 3 !

When dd mentioned "all" her friends had their prom dress already in March, I thought it was a bit "over the top" early. However we have now less than 3 weeks to go and still dd hasn't got one. Obviously what I like is not what she likes....

I know what you mean Re the shirts - I’ve spent years cursing all the ironing and stupid me is going to miss it now!!!!!

Have had a lot of catching up to do, as not been able to log last few days.
DS has been a bit down/worried about the English as well. It transpired that he had also written an article and not a letter for the celebrity question - and also he said he didn't have time to read over it, and that is usually a bad sign, as he picks up a lot when he does. We are now quite worried that that piece will seriously bring his mark down - it is apparently 25% of English language. And of course he needs that 7 in it for the dreaded sixth form. He has been trying to put it behind him and focus on science, particularly physics, from what I can tell. He seems to think that the Geography Paper 3 (for OCR at least) is not possible to study for, as it is about logic and applying facts they give you. Maths of course remains a subject of great stress, even though that one is about doing exceptionally well versus well. These 9s are causing ridiculous pressure.

DS is at the moment very, very focussed on medicine. Of course, last year this time, he was very, very focussed on architecture. When DS gets a bee in his bonnet about something, he is passionate about it to the point of driving us all mad. He spent 45 minutes on a street corner yesterday talking to someone from his school who he has discovered is now also interested in medicine. And then he was reading out bits of Adam Kaye to us at the dinner table last night. I gave him "This is going to hurt" as a way of possibly putting him off, or at least getting him to see the tough side of it, but he has taken to it like a bible and has read it half a dozen times. He has also been reading a whole bunch of other medical books - Do No harm, the Emperor of Maladies, Gene, and I don't know what else. I keep trying to tell him that he doesn't need to do this all now, and he is not about to write his personal statement as soon as he finishes his GCSEs, but in typical DS fashion, he is behaving like he is two years ahead of where he is. I kind of wish he was a bit less focused (it makes me feel a bit guilty actually, because I worry that he does this because he is trying to make up for DS1, who if he did not have severe special needs, would be doing A levels now. DS(2) is very driven, and while maybe it is just a personality thing, the niggling thinking that it is because of his weird position in the family, no2 but really the oldest in terms of pretty much all normal experiences ).

Good luck everyone for today - both parents and exam sitters!

Good luck everyone for today!

binkom I don't think writing as an article rather than letter will lose many marks - the technical accuracy marks will be for application of language not for not starting with Dear Sir (newspaper editors are never female )
iambuffy how is DS throat today?

Dd normally up by 6:30 but it got to 7 this morning with no sound of movement. Her alarm hadn't gone off 😱 Fortunately we live opposite school so no travel stress!

Bimkom have you told him about his award yet ?
Oh and my ds wrote it as an artical as well .

Good luck everyone!
We are on the home straight now !!

Edexel higher this morning. This really must go well if DS is to continue at A level. Then Chemistry, Geog and Physics to finish on Friday. Mentally drained. Good luck to all our DC as we push them over the finish line.

Dd did not write the piece regarding celebrity culture as a letter either.... I'm not sure she even set it out as an article.
Damn, it was her best subject...

Maths today, and then dreaded history paper 3.

Good luck all!

Dd doesn't have an exam until tomorrow but is going in today for a revision class.

Dd1 has finished her A levels and had two days off before going straight into a job at a local cafe and antique shop, it's well paid and she's loving earning money!