GCSE 2019 support thread 6

[DeRigueurMortis]

Hello All,

Welcome to thread 6 - results...

Last thread here:

Gcses 2019 support thread 5 http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3610608-gcses-2019-support-thread-5

It's been a fantastically supportive set of threads to date with a diverse set of expectations and challenges (for both parents and children).

I expect this thread may be the most emotive for us all (crikey how did the time fly!!)

Good luck everyone

What is an essay subject? (Sorry, didn't go to school in UK)

Hi
It’s been great to read this thread
Well done to all your dcs

Hello, new to this thread, just having a really of others DC's A level choices which is very interesting and quite reassuring.

Ds1 wants to do Maths, Further Maths and Physics and is thinking about engineering of some sort at University. I hope he isn't limiting himself too much. Bottom line is, I have no influence over him so just have to let him make his own decisions anyway🤣

He did exceptionally well at his GCSE's (he got an 8 and 9 x 9's) and he has very high aspirations at present.

He's been a bit odd since he got his results, almost embarrassed and uncomfortable with the praise he has received but he is a quirky boy anyway so I'm hoping once he gets settled in to 6th form, he will be happier.

Gym history, sociology, politics, English etc. Anything which doesn't require numerical answers.

Haven’t read the full thread.
My grandson got excellent results all A stars and As
He wants to do engineering
I think he’s taking maths, computer science and chemistry at A Level

I want to help him get an see apprenticeship to put him through a levels and or uni

Is there such a beast and if do how do we go about it

Thank you
I’m forgetting my manners

Have a look at this site:

www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk

I use it all the time with my students.

I was asked about FM by @SolitudeAtAltitude several pages back this is what happens when I paint outdoor furniture instead of MNetting

Ds LOVES maths and got a very secure 9. He also did statistics for GCSE and got an 8. As part of statistics they did FM but not enough children had grasped the statistics course meaning the teacher had to drop the FM bit and concentrate on the statistics.

For A level, they do maths for the first year and then FM in the second year and take both A levels at the end of year 13. He won't be doing a EPQ because of the 4 A levels.

As I am usually about 1-2 years ahead in planning stuff for Ds (he directs me, I am an English Lit degree person, he loves maths/physics/computer science) so if I remember correctly if he wants to take physics for degree they spend the first year covering FM stuff. Lots of colleges don't offer it so it is not down as a requirement but is seen as beneficial.

But Ds is very motivated eg he completed his sixth form "homework" that they set just after they got it, he is teaching himself guitar and he loves learning new stuff. He took German for GCSE and got an 8, Ds2 is doing French so Ds1 is learning that "for fun" he is also learning a bit of Spanish hence why we think he can handle the 4 A levels.

We looked around his sixth form in both year 10 and 11 and enquired about FM at the time.

Hello very new to this thread and the system. My dad school has allowed her to take GCSEs before year 11, so she took 2 las year ( Spanish and Latin) and 3 this year (History, English Language and Art). Her worst one was Art although she did spend all the time on it ( and I feel the outcome was great work that I will treasure forever...)
Somebody told me that Universities and Sixth Forms do not like the fact that GCSE are not taken all at once: anyone knows why?

Sorry, DD school....

@Possiblynotever it’s because Universities like to see you are capable of handling the workload, time management, pressure, self- motivation etc

Really??? Haven't they thought that this could trigger mental illness problems at such a young age? We are talking about more than 10 subjects!
Especially for boys who tend to be a bit more relaxed....

@Possiblynotever - hey I’m not an admissions officer! This was the info we were given at DCs school.

It's more actually that they don't accept or like resits. I don't know of unis or sixth forms having any issues with early entry.

Ofsted take a dim view of it, though, as it can be a way of gaming results, and also , they say they don't like the extra pressure it brings to students in year 10.

Early entry GCSE is certainly becoming rarer as there are league table implications re resits.

My ds took 4 GCSE’s Sciences and English Lit last summer in Y10 he got C in them all, his teachers wanted him to resit them this summer, he refused. Got his results yesterday and he did really well in chemistry the 2nd paper he got an an A but his overall grade with last year’s C becomes a B, hopefully he can still take A level. Did great again in Biology but was 2 raw marks/4UMS from an A which would bring his overall grade to a B it currently sits at a C so he can’t take it at A level. He is desperate to do this at A level and deeply regrets not resitting the Y10 exams, I want to get his paper for this year remarked but he thinks there’s no point. Should I do it anyway? Part of me thinks it’s your own fault for not really bothering in Y10 but the other part of me feels I need to try and see if he gets a re-grade.

@Possiblynotever the other aspect to consider is if taken early a student may not fulfil his true potential, maybe requiring a resit and Uni’s do not like re- sits. At DCs school only native speakers could take languages 1 year early in order to potentialise maximin scores.

Dd's school told me she can't resit any exam she has taken except the core subjects (English, maths and science) so I don't thi k her school is doing it in order for the kids to be able to resit...

No, they won't be because only the first exam taken counts in the league tables. That's why early entry has gone from most state schools : because they do tend to perform better when they are actually the age they are meant to be.

I had a friend on Facebook celebrating her daughter's Year 10 English GCSE. She got a 6, one mark off a 7. I managed not to comment on the fact that, given another year, she would almost certainly have scored a 7!

Lots of amazing results here, in tough exams.

My wee brother got a 5 in eng lit, the whole family was hoping for a 4 so pleasant surprise.

I have to say there’s a lot of people’s children doing a lot of GCSE’s. That must be really stressful.

I did the old ones 4 years ago and did 9. DB is doing English language, Maths, double science, geog then two BTECs. 8 including English lit.

Regardless there’s always options, my cousins GCSE history went up two grades last year.

Good luck to all future A Level students they are very very tough but worth it. BTECs are just as worthy and for many degrees (including nursing - I say with A*AB in academic a levels) more useful.

I randomly stumbled upon this thread but got engrossed! 😂

well done to all the families for surviving GCSE season x

My DS is about to start Y11 and has done some GCSE exams this summer. It has been really useful I think - he now knows how it all works, has experience of revising when it really matters, proper exam conditions etc and will have fewer papers to do in Y11. The whole year does this in quite a few schools in our area.

Having said that, these exams have all been on 1 year's worth of study IYSWIM, not a full course. Might not be the same for all exam boards or all subjects but WJEC sciences, history and RE are modular, so you can learn a part of the course, do the exam and then forget that bit and move on to studying the next bit. He has not done a whole 2 year GCSE in one year, which I'm sure would be very tough.

Is that Wales? No more modules in England (because Gove...)

Singing is that in Wales? Modular GCSEs have been scrapped in England now with everything based on final exams. My DD had to sit around 23 papers over 4 or 5 weeks.

@Arewedone - I’ve finally worked out how to tag on here. Your DD can sign up to civil service job alerts when the time is right, if she puts the criteria in it will email her when recruiting. Also the Home Office does a graduate scheme, DP isn’t around at moment to ask but pretty sure the Foreign office will too. Means you get fast tracked to higher grades. Interestingly DP applied for the Home office one (internally as he was already working there but lower grade) and was rejected. Quite funny as he got to the grade they promised in 5yrs much faster and has surpassed that now. He dreams of being an ambassador of an overseas embassy and is only one or two grades away now. I’m a civil servant too (Home Office), my eldest son (age 25) is too! At the moment none of my other 2 children plan on joining us but you never know. There’s certainly worse jobs. If you work hard good chances of promotion and working across different government departments including overseas (Home office has opportunities abroad too). For me it’s a great place to work as it’s family friendly, flexible, good for working mums (offers term time working, part time, flexi time, consolidated hours and home working). Plus a good pension

My Ds has passed 12 GCSE’s and failed one, don’t understand why they are made to sit so many exams, when only 5 are required to progress to Sixth form.

The post serms dominated by high achievers, well done! My son got 2x 4s only. All others were 3s. I assume a 3 is a fail but someone referred to their dc needing 3s for college so I am confused.