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

My dc exams are being postponed for one week.

DD’s stage two mocks are being put back a bit to reflect the ‘real’ exams (if they go ahead!) are being put back a bit. The stage two mocks are for FM, some exams that have three papers etc (their stage one mocks were mostly paper 1s).

DDs mocks were meant to start on 6th Jan and now moved to 11th. With lateral testing next week. School is behaving as if exams will still go ahead. Given that’s the current government directive that’s all English schools can do really.

I read on here that some schools are going to do their mocks online. This seems completely unfair if they are going to form part of a CAG. My DD had Mocks in December under proper exam conditions etc. The differences between schools is concerning and why I really hope they sit actual GCSES this year.

I agree, it is not fair if they use the mock results and some schools have completed this online.

These are not the same conditions as other schools.

Honestly, as much as I would like the exams to go ahead ( since my ds is not ready for his mocks) - I really think there will be yet another U turn....something they are very familiar with!

Whereas Scotland and Wales made that decision early on, England will make that decision last
minute!!

It’s so unfair on our youngsters to have all this uncertainty about their education. Our kids deserve better. Being a teenager is hard enough without a pandemic to worry about.

@Dogatetheleftovers

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.

I think it means that the school want to make sure they have the mocks when they are open/have been open for a while so they can assess progress since the late November/early December mocks which they can't now do in January since most pupils will be out for the first week of the month and I think probably the second too at this rate.

DC is in tears at the stress of everything. It’s so sad. They’re worrying about the virus as they have underlying health problems and also facing the uncertainty of GCSEs. 😭

It's a nightmare isn't it?
Mine is wishing they would cancel them one minute, wishing they would go ahead the next and is stressed about it. As if they are not stressed enough they have just told me that they want to aim for Oxbridge, that was not on my radar at all - they've got too much stress without adding that into the mix and it's really not something I think worth considering this year of all years.

It’s horrible. My dc is usually very ambitious and wants to achieve so much but has had terrible health problems over recent years. This whole situation is too much for them to take.

@indy69 I think we’re going to need a new thread for the New Year!

My DS has asked me to let him use the keyworker provision like his sister and go to school this week. My husband and I are both out all day and he just doesn’t want to be home alone all week. His sister goes as she really struggles with home learning and like her brother has been through two lots of quarantines and found them very hard.
I think they’re both just craving routine and having a bit of control over their school lives.

@toobutkim here is the new thread.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/4125610-Starting-Year-11-GCSE-2021-Thread-2

When anyone hears from their schools with what will happen with the assessment for the GCSE's now, let us know!

All private schools should make the effort to interview all students who applied this year ..

@blackheathdad

All private schools should make the effort to interview all students who applied this year ..

DD applied to one private public sixth form and they did a fabulous remote job of exams and interviews. She got offered a place but with all the uncertainty and inability to visit the school plus the superb job her stste grammar has done during lockdown she has undertandibly decided to stick with what she knows.

I think remote exams or alternative arrangements are easier for the 15/16 years olds, compared to the younger 10/11 year olds. DD was confident engaging with the technology and the fact she couldn’t move out of view, scanning up her own work etc but for I don’t think it would have been so easy aged 11.