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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Starting Year 11-GCSE2021 (title edited by MNHQ)

991 replies

indy69 · 01/08/2019 05:57

Good morning Mums,

My DD will start her GCSE journey this September. MN always has such good advice that I thought we could have a new thread to support each other. My DD has 4 options apart from English, Science AQA and Maths Edexcel. She has Art and History - Edexcel, and Psychology and Economics - AQA. It wpuld be lovely to know what your DC are doing and we could share resources here. I look forward to meeting you all on this thread. We have 4 weeks to go to start of term and a ton of homework to finish. My DD is feeling too lazy to do anything at the moment, but I guess they have earned the break. I will start reminding her next week about the work. Thanks

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NotDonnaOrBlitzen · 15/12/2020 23:57

Interesting @UncomfortableSilence 3-4 times out is a lot, depending on online support. Good to see the govt stepping up. And your school for making it available to their students. I’m just a tadge cynical that there’ll be a wait list or some other hurdles for your DD and others to jump. Hope I’m wrong and the intensive tutoring helps!

Titsywoo · 16/12/2020 11:11

DD got 2 mock results back today (the rest were only sat last week and early this week so will be marked over xmas and in Jan) - she did really well. History that we thought was a grade 8 was actually a 7 but still very happy with that, french was also a 7. I'm hopeful she can get 6's and 7's for everything but I think science is unlikey, RE more likely to be a 5 and maths who knows (she has a brilliant tutor but still struggles). Art exam still going on and portfolio been handed in to mark (please god let her get that back for xmas holidays!) - since the portfolio still isn't finished and needs lots of written work and mounting doing I hope it doesn't pull down her mock grade. Not sure why they need to mark that for the mock tbh.

Neversaygoodbye · 16/12/2020 13:30

@Titsywoo my daughter hand to give in her art portfolios for yr9,10 & 11. She's not in now for the rest of this week as it's "catch-up" week, so doubt she will get hers back - she's probably pleased about that.
Well done to your DD for her grades, sounds very positive.

Titsywoo · 16/12/2020 13:57

[quote Neversaygoodbye]@Titsywoo my daughter hand to give in her art portfolios for yr9,10 & 11. She's not in now for the rest of this week as it's "catch-up" week, so doubt she will get hers back - she's probably pleased about that.
Well done to your DD for her grades, sounds very positive. [/quote]
I think DD would have a breakdown if she didn't get hers back but it is nowhere near finished! Did your DD start her GCSE in year 9? That would have been amazing. Not even half of year 10 and one term of year 11 in school has not been anywhere near enough time for this work to get done.

I can totally understand her being pleased though - I can't wait to see the back of this sodding portfolio. When people say art GCSE is a big workload they aren't joking!

UncomfortableSilence · 16/12/2020 14:13

Notdonna- I'm not holding my breath but I hope for her sake, if not I will be getting her a maths tutor, she's had a tutor before and it makes a real difference with one on one breaking it all down. She's being held at a 5/6 really and they seem to only teach to their predicted level, she can always answer the first few pages of exams and then struggles as it gets harder, her teacher says this is because later in the papers are the 7/8/9 questions which are too much for her Confused

Titsy- great grades so far well done to your DD.

Neversaygoodbye · 16/12/2020 15:36

@Titsywoo yes DD's school starts GCSE's @ Yr9, it's obviously been a massive benefit in this situation however, DD had a very tough yr9 with MH issues (still ongoing but improved) and never finished her yr9 portfolio. Hopefully that won't affect her grading.

Titsywoo · 16/12/2020 17:18

Thanks @UncomfortableSilence :)

Hopefully not @Neversaygoodbye - I'm sure they will allow for it. If I remember correctly the art teachers themselves mark the portfolios and then are moderated?

So DD came home and said after their art exam ended the teacher and the head of art sat them down to say the GCSE art exam is cancelled and they have until March to finish their portfolios. I think they were expecting an ecstatic reaction but they have played this all completely wrong and they just got silence. All these kids have been led to believe for weeks that they would have to hand it in and so either rushed or got completely despondant and gave up as there was no way they could have got everything done with the time they had. Luckily i had said to DD all along don't rush they will not make you hand it in for December (I was 99.9% sure they were talking bollocks) so her work is pretty much on track and of very good quality. I'm just so cross at how they have handled this - so much stress and upset over nothing.

NotDonnaOrBlitzen · 16/12/2020 23:15

Crikey titsywoo that seems horrid. They’ve known for a good while.

eatthatfrog · 17/12/2020 13:41

hi Ds got moderated results back and as I expected managed 3x5s 5x6s as he left revision to the night before as he procrastinated so long about revising and wouldn't listen to advice also not helped by school saying this may be it. He's upset as he was couple of marks of the next grade in nearly all of them. Hopefully hell now use it to spur himself on. He's also in lunchtime clinics for physics and chemistry.
So hard to motivate him and get him focused his attention span for revision seems milliseconds but classwork Y10 shows him highly capable.

portico · 17/12/2020 21:32

DS2 got his mock results back. School does not give breakdown or papers to look at, so we can’t identify and work the weaknesses. Good results, just not very good as he wants to go into Dentistry. 2 9s, 7 7s and a 6. We should be happy but have told him he needs to step up a couple of gears and show some desire instead of my forcing him to study. It’s past exam questions here on in.

Also, DS1 to do A Level mocks in Han

portico · 17/12/2020 21:34

I just hope they use Nov 2020 papers for their next set of mocks should he do them. I also pray that exams happen, as sure will get fucked by CAG scores

NotDonnaOrBlitzen · 18/12/2020 13:45

@portico you’ll know from DS1 but DS2 is very very likely to go up a grade from mocks to the real thing. I’m guessing he needs a 7/8/9 profile for dentistry? So tough!!

portico · 18/12/2020 18:38

NotDonnaOrBlitzen
We will do our best. He has not practised as many past questions as he claimed. Making him todo so now over the next few months. We have cousins who are dentists, and one of them, a dental student, scored similar GCSEs’ scores in his mocks in autumn 2017. There is some hope of an uplift in scores - though Spanish is a big ask.

KittyMcKitty · 18/12/2020 19:15

@portico in my eldest son year many went up 2 grades between mocks and GCSEs - as I keep telling my youngest it’s a marathon not a sprint 😀

portico · 18/12/2020 19:55

KittyMcKitty

Point taken lol

ihearttc · 18/12/2020 20:20

I think in normal years the mocks wouldn’t matter so much but DS1 is putting so much pressure on himself for his after Christmas that I think it’s all going to go wrong. He is predicted an 8/9 for physics (easily his best subject along with maths) yet only got a 5 in the last test. He said they are cramming so much stuff in that he can’t remember anything. I’ve just paid £50 for some online science revision programme that he can work through to give him some focus as he doesn’t know where to start and is just randomly revising. He is definitely doing it but I’m not sure he is actually revising what he needs to revise.

It’s so tough on them-luckily he has a 6th form place pretty much regardless of grades and a college course as a back up if it all goes pear shaped but he so desperately wants to get the grades he feels he deserves.

NotDonnaOrBlitzen · 18/12/2020 20:20

Mmm and Spanish is so vital for dentistry 🙄

KittyMcKitty · 18/12/2020 20:41

@NotDonnaOrBlitzen

Mmm and Spanish is so vital for dentistry 🙄
If you’re in Spain 😀

I’m sure GCSEs will go ahead - certainly at work tge planning is all tgat they will. My children’s school keep reminding them that they are only mocks.

portico · 19/12/2020 02:19

I think for admissions all GCSEs need to be in the 8/9 levels with a couple of 7s. A six in any GCSE would result in rejection at the first preselectipn

AsPerMyLastEmail · 19/12/2020 07:03

@portico

I think for admissions all GCSEs need to be in the 8/9 levels with a couple of 7s. A six in any GCSE would result in rejection at the first preselectipn
Presumably you’re talking about degree level and dentistry in particular?

As stressful as it will be, I really hope GCSEs go ahead.

Toobuktim · 19/12/2020 17:42

I think my ds would be overjoyed with a 6 in his language, I really hope that one “low” gcse won’t scupper his chances of getting on the course he wants to do. He’s thinking physics currently and would really like to try for Oxford.

portico · 19/12/2020 18:28

Hi Toobuktim
I hope your son gets to do Physics at Oxford. He will need Physics, Maths and Further Maths at A Level. Go for it 🙏

Toobuktim · 19/12/2020 19:00

Thanks @portico, thankfully his favourite subjects. It’ll be an interesting process no matter the outcome!

Lowther · 19/12/2020 19:03

Results in and really pleased, 1x5, 7sand 8s. English lit was the 5. DD a bit disappointed but a good place to build on. Pp mentioned going up a couple of grades in the exams so holding on to that! We are all tierd and looking forward to the alarm not going off on Monday. DD went for a long walk with a friend from previous school and the catch up and fresh air has been good for her. Baking brownies now! Have not baked for ages as it's been books, books and more books! Hope you are all having a relaxing weekend - we need it!

Toobuktim · 19/12/2020 19:04

He’s only got 4 results back after his mocks, he’ll get the rest after the holidays. Strange that your school don’t go through the papers with them after, DS’s school do in the next lesson and give them a percentage too. I was quite surprised at the difference between the grading levels. He got 93% and 94% in maths and Physics, so good 9’s there - but also 82% in DT which was also a 9....bit bizarre that I thought. It must be hard for you @portico having kids with mocks on both sides of Christmas