Starting Year 11-GCSE2021 (title edited by MNHQ)

[indy69]

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

Well done to your DD, Lowther.👍

Hi Toobuktim - you said “@portico having kids with mocks on both sides of Christmas”

It’s easy actually as DS1 keeps me at arms length, but he knows what he has to do. He is self driven, whereas DS2 (my main focus) needs that push.

Mocks were done before Xmas but we have not received any results yet. What are everyone's thoughts about schools returning now?

Mine are due to go back on the 4th. We are in London in tier 4. We really struggled with online learning last time. Dds mental health took a huge dip in lockdown

DD has been given a test kit to take on 2/1 and a letter saying she is due to return on 5/1 as normal along with Y13. The rest of the school will be remote until 11/1, we are also in London.

No mock results here but has been told she has to catch up on all class work due to isolation over Christmas so that will keep her busy, good in a way as she can't go anywhere now

I think they just need to make lateral flow tests available in all tier 4 towns and say children can come back with two negative tests 5 days apart near to the start date of term. Take the pressure off the teachers and put the onus onto the parents to keep the teachers safe.

I agree, they really need to do something to get them back in. DS hasn’t even done his mocks yet so is really worried that they now won’t get to do them and they won’t have any data to go on. He is literally spending every waking moment revising.

DD has given up, she says exams can't possibly go ahead. She has supposedly got a second lot of mocks in Feb, first lot of mocks was first time she did any revision, she is one of those who has traditionally found it all very easy except in a few subjects and revision has shown that she can boost the 7s to a 9 but now she doesn't see any point.

She was super motiviated by some sixth form entrance exams and got an offer from a very competitive public school that takes girls in the sixth form but no scholarship so we had to turn it down, she is quite relieved about it as she would have to have German rather than her beloved Classical Civilisation so it is the right decision on more than one count. She is also very happy at her current school and her sixth form needs four at Grade 6 or above and four at Grade 7 or above with the subjects being studied at 7 or 8, and her insurance sixth form option needs 6s in her studied subjects and the rest can be four or fives. I am trying to reason with her about university applications but I can also see her angle. I do not feel convinced the exams will go ahead but like everyone on this planet we don't know anything about the course of this virus for certain.

My ds has mocks after Christmas and is loosing motivation...started off well and now has decided he needs a break...I don't mind but he has a lot to cover in such a short amount of time!

I feel the poor boy needs a break but at the same time it is an impossible task to be ready for the mock exams on the 4th.

What a year it has been for our kids.

DD convinced me that it would be 'fun' and much 'safer' to go midnight shopping for our last essential food. Back home at 1:30 , she goes to bed and I'm left to put food away. I'm sure we only needed bread and eggs, not four bags of (chocolate biscuits) and a new duvet! She is due to write an exam first week back so has been revising and only seen one friend for SD walk so it was good for her to go out and see her laughing. Luckily the supermarket was quite empty so she was able to show off her trolley skills! She now thinks it would be great to do this on an annual basis .
Have a peaceful Christmas. We need it and all DC deserve it

Just reading the paper this morning and a decision is going to be made today about school reopening next week. We’re still tier 3, and am surprised by that (north-west) I fully expect our area to be tier 4 in the new year. I just hope schools don’t get closed down again, but I reckon they will for January.

What do we all think that the government will do about the kid's exams in April / June?

Given that the Government no longer seem to be committed to schools being open in January/February now what changes will happen?

I’m just back in from work @SoTiredNeedHoliday - what has changed since Gove said at midday that schools would be open from next week?
If we had a vote it would be for sitting the exams come what may in this house

I agree re exams. I think whether years 11 and 13 are in or not from jan will reveal the commitment to exams. A lot probably depends on data from this week though doesn’t it? It depends how bad the impact of Christmas mingling is etc surely? And re exams - given the commitment has been absolutely to do them I think they would need a really concrete reason to shelve them based on proportion of kids unable to access the curriculum Etc. I’m not saying what I think is fairest but I would definitely be voting for exams given I think that all alternatives are no fairer.

We want the exams for my Y13 and Y11 sons. I only wished they closed schools in Han so they could get more exam practice in

Jan not Han

I want schools to go back and for the exams to go ahead. I just think that at the moment with the debarcle of who will test the students, how long that will take etc might lead to yet more lost school days and also possibly some school students being off to isolate etc on and off over the term.
For my DS online or home schooling is just not working, he needs to be in the class with a teacher.

Its late January that they are going to accounce the exact 'exam changes' or 'provisions' that they will use is that right?

I hope the government are up front in that having given the exam years an extra 3 weeks before the start of exams (what a joke) these will be wiped out by the multiple isolations and delayed start to going back in January (currently rumoured). Of course they won't though will they.

My friend has shared on FB today that TES have asked for all Secondary School pupils to not start back until 11th Jan including Exam Years. DS’s school was just having y11 and y13 in for the first week as Y11 have their mocks the first week back. Honestly this entire thing is getting ridiculous now. They need to decide what they are doing rather than this constant messing about.

DD is due to write her music exam on the 7 Jan. There are quite a few exams for year 10 -13 writing external exams in the first couple of weeks back this term. What will happen to them? So hoping at least some can go in for revision and exams. Arrrgggghhhhh

So much change for all our DCs. I feel for the Headteachers too. DD’s grammar school have been exemplary at every opportunity but it is situations like this where there hands are tied.

I am increasingly wondering how the exams can go ahead. Does this latest change increase the chance they will not go ahead? At the very least if they do go ahead it can only widen the gap between those who had support and those who have not.

@PettsWoodParadise I agree! With all the U turns and changes, I will be very surprised if exams go ahead...since Wales and Scotland have already made that call and said no.

I really feel for schools ( staff) they don't seem to be getting any rest- having to deal with the new changes. My dc school have both been very good and kindly sent an email yesterday informing me they will email all parents today informing the plans for next week.

My ds has mocks as soon as he goes back, so not sure how they will deal with that .

I really feel for our kids as well as all the staff in schools having to deal with the latest news

When you look at the huge rise in cases, almost 56000 today and nearly 1000 deaths, plus a more infectious variant; I cannot understand how schools/colleges can safely return at this time. The government are messing with people’s lives, literally. If we don’t act now to minimise further damage, then the medics, scientists, educators all say that we risk catastrophic problems in terms of infections, collapsing NHS. Our children deserve better. We must follow Wales and Scotland in cancelling this year’s exams, there’s too much disruption and uncertainty for our kids. I don’t think for a second that Gavin Williamson will make this important decision as he seems incapable of organising anything other than more chaos but we can live in hope. I can’t bear to see my DC so anxious about this virus as they’re clinically vulnerable and to then have to cope with constant uncertainty of whether exams will go ahead in such a chaotic, farcical situation.

Dogatetheleftovers said “We must follow Wales and Scotland in cancelling this year’s exams, there’s too much disruption and uncertainty for our kids”

I hope not. After the CAGs fiasco for the 220 cohort, and iffy mock results, I’m banking on exams in 2021

We've had an email to say that the next set of mocks have been moved to the end of February.

finisterreforever Do you think that email means it’s more or less likely that exams will go ahead this year? I’m trying to get my head around it all before I decide the best way to support my DCs.