Starting Yr11 Gcses 2020 Support Thread [Edited at OP's request]

[OrangeCinnamon]

A continuation of a Year 10 support thread
previous thread

Last thread was great and supportive as some of us tried to navigate year 10 and some very helpful peeps steered us through.

@notoldenoughforthis Yes we are in Wales so haven't changed to the number system.
Glad to hear your DD is feeling better, she has done so well and I'm sure this will help her with the rest. She will be stronger for it and her year 11 grades will be even higher. Sometimes their own expectations can turn a triumph into a disaster. (Was very aware of that with DS, he has that over inflated but fragile confidence of a lot of teenage boys but we have got away with it this year.)

We're in Wales too, singingstones ( I thought you might be, from your username - reminds me of the writing on the WMC). Both DCs are at undies, where they follow the English pathway, so all results next year will be 1-9; this year's GCSE was a random WJEC, hence the letter grade.

Undies?!!
Indies! 😂

@Alsoplayspiccolo Undies! 🤣🤣Good point about the name, i hadn't made that connection consciously but you may be right. Everything DS has done so far has been WJEC but I think there will be one AQA next year (economics) so not sure what happens then, I guess it will be a number. (A fairly low one judging by the groans whenever it's mentioned.)

Oblomov well done! Any chance you could have not seen the homework being done ?! It’s good that in his head he’s going to turn the Xbox off, obviously the reality may be different but it does show signs of good intentions . Personally i’d leave that TK sit fir a bit then follow up and get him to say something , anything really, about how you can support him.

Then as long as it’s realistic do what agreed and have regular reviews. At the moment next summer is still all to play for. Some of the DCs here will rise to the challenge, others are going to be the challenge (remembering DD at this point). The beauty of the current 6th form funding is that it does essentially give 3 years for 6th form if things go a bit pear shaped. Unfortunately we get what we get but sometimes those things about them that are difficult to cope with as a parent can be their saving grace ie. being stubborn.

Alsoplayspiccolo that is excellent news, a big well done to her !

OrangeCinnamon how good is that to see a change and term not started yet.

notoldenoughforthis, so sorry to hear she’s upset. It is a good Mark, especially for a year early but not much consolation to her at this point. Hopefully though the experience will prepare her for next summer and she can do things a bit differently. Good she’s getting over it fast and reading the results thread it looks as if there were a few surprises in English this year,

Singinstones those are a great set of results. Lots of them, I can see why you feel the worse for wear. Really good for him to start next year with all those out of the way.

Hi Skyejuly, is it worth contacting school as soon as they are back and talk things over with them?

I’ve been relieved to see a pretty decent set of GCSES from DS’s school, they are usually pretty ok and it’s A levels that are dodgy. DS one of oldest in year so most of his toddler group have had results today which feels strange.

Checking in, feeling overwhelmed that this time next year our children will be getting their results

@Skyejuly depending on the child of course, it is definitely possible to go up one or two or even three grades between mocks and the real thing. But as post says it would be worth talking to the school and finding out why he isn't doing better (if you don't already know) and how he can fix it.

So pleased to have found this thread. Here we go with the GCSE year ! gulps and grabs yoga mat and gin bottle*

The school has one of the best ratings in the county....its just as he is SEN and really struggles. Literally in one ear out other! His class work was graded 4s but he really struggled in mocks. He got granted 25% extra time but he didnt really make use of it.

He is lucky that his required college course will allow him to retake maths and he can get onto the course with 2s and 3s I believe but it's for his own confidence that I hope he can get 3s and 4s because he tries SO hard and has a wonderful work ethic. Bless him.

It's just so worrying. School has been a part of our lives for so long. So many battles! Now it's the final stage before next step.

Eeek!

Skyejuly it’s so hard when they work hard and things don’t go to plan. I think the fact the school is good does help a bit but it depends on how good they are at supporting SEN.

Can you get him to focus more in exam technique - Lots of practice of working through to learn how to pace himself, making sure he has read the question to understand exactly what he is answering, looking at the marks given to get how much required for each question etc.

Shame he isn’t using the extra time if it’s available. Is he maybe so keyed up he just wants to get it all out and over and done with therefore not doing himself justice ? .It is hard enough anyway but SEN adds another layer of complication to navigate through.

Have said on other threads but not in this one, I have an older child who struggled all through GCSE’s which were pretty rough at the time. DS is pretty academic and in theory I’m in for an easier ride (though you never know) but I know what it’s like to have to fight each step of the way to get them through, it is exhausting.

That leads in well to the subject of self care. There is going to be a fair bit going on the next few years wothnthe DCs and it never does any harm to spend a bit of time thinking about things we want to do and actively book stuff in if possible otherwise it’s easy to kind of vanish in a whirlwind of school and college activity. Apologies if I sound a bit preachy, I don’t mean to.

Thank you so much for your advice. We have just moved him into the bigger bedroom with a proper desk separate from his games area and he has much more room. Hoping to speak with school again soon and come up with some plans. My husband is a maths tutor but sometimes having step dad tutor you can get annoying

I have a lovely son about to start year eleven! Have attached my post from another thread and would be grateful for any advice?

@goldface , do we have the same son?!!

@goldface , I can't see what's written under the bottom bit of your screen shot?

In answer to your question, I have no idea! My son totally has his head in the clouds. He got similar marks ( as well as a couple of 6's) for his mocks. I thought that sounded poor but a subsequent parents evening implied they were fine and he's still on track for his predicted 7s/8s. Frequent comments were that he speaks brilliantly in class, is very bright and knowledgeable, however that doesn't always follow suit into exams..

I've bought him an academic year calendar, highlighter pens and coloured dots and we're going to plan the year. He definitely benefits from having a written plan.

I think it's useful to explain very clearly the choices they can make and the consequences of those choices. Maybe not in terms of university or careers as that can feel a long way off. But wouldn't it be better to go into an exam knowing that you've worked hard to prepare for it? How do they want to feel when they come out of their exams? My DS agreed that he would be gutted if the results weren't good and he knew he could have worked harder. For him it was all about avoiding that feeling of disappointment in himself. I guess this only works if they are keen to do well and believe that there's a connection between revision and results.

Interesting request from DD that we disable Social Media from her phone and laptop from 5-8pm on weekday evenings. Off to see the nice chaps at PC World, then...

On the other hand, I do feel that she should be learning to use her own self discipline.

if you do want your DD to take more ownership of her usage Kingscote, there's a number of apps/software that can support this.

Apologies for just barging into this thread - I have a DD entering Y11 but not yet contributed!

Joining in.

DS, standard bright but lazy (love that description of teenage bluster but fragile underneath!, so true )

Needs to do v well in GCSEs to stay into sixth form with his mates, so that's his carrot

May scrape in if he pulls his finger out

Xbox now gone - we've agreed he has it Friday nights only now until GCSEs finished

Thank you ealing - those look really helpful.

@AlpenCrazy good work on the Xbox - ours is staying until Christmas and then going completely until after exams. It will be nice to see a bit more of him instead of just hearing his shouts of rage / delight through the ceiling. We usually police his time but have given up on that between results and beginning of term.

ealing, your list is very timely. I have attempted to limit Social Media use for DS using the Apple screen time system, but DS has managed to override the system to bypass parental controls and thus makes a complete mockery of the whole thing. My problem is not necessarily social media use, it is the use late at night (he has mates in the states, particularly a certain young female, who he talks to) and I don’t want him on the phone after 9pm. How easy is it to hack the systems of the apps you listed?

Ooh I don't know Mominatrix, I am not very tech savvy! DD had installed one of the apps on recommendation from a friend, as she had conceded that there was steady creep on her increased usage. Like Kingscote, I am trying to remain on the right side of her developing self discipline, but I do think if some DC are also sending subtle cues of 'help me do this'; it is a good thing.

At a few weeks off 16, I admit I am still able to get her to charge her phone outside of bedroom, mainly because she leaves mornings at 05.15 to train and she knows she needs all the sleep she can get. However since Y10 the physical social life has stepped up, resulting in more SM engagement later and later so we too may look to introduce a night time limit for usage. US time zone engagement is a greater challenge though, good luck with that one!

That’s very early Ealingwestmum, I guess she learned quickly about the needing the sleep. I’m leaving DS and his tech for now but WiFi switches off at about 9pm I think which at least separates him from his computer chair for a bit. I’d actually forgotten that and surprised he hasn’t asked us to change that actually, I’m not bringing it up.

Good news here. The two awful science teachers been replaced, DS came to tell me earlier. Was wondering how on Earth he knew that and only explanation I could think of for a fleeting moment was that he’d hacked the school computer. He hadn’t, just had thought to log onto the system and the new timetable is up. He’s now got a pretty decent set of teachers for year 11 so pleased about that.

Sorry, you had dropped off my TIO.

DS has done maybe 5-10% of the grand revision plans he had for this summer. Hopefully he will scale things up a bit once term starts.

checking in. I'll be back after term starts!