Thread 3: Continuing to GCSEs Summer 2020 - Happy New Exam Year!

[OrangeCinnamon]

Continuation of previous thread
Thread 2

Thread 1 Year 10

At the end of last thread there was a bit of talk on prom dresses ( recommend Fonthill Rd in London if you can get there) by @proggymat and @crazycrofter

@TigerMum had a query regarding moving to foundation level at this stage.

Sorry peeps thread progressed without me noticing so none can reply to your queries!

Orange Thank you for the new thread !
London is a bit of a trek for us, unfortunately.
Tiger Sorry can't help but I'm sure someone will be able.

DS gone back today to 2 weeks of mocks. Not much revision over holiday as we visited relatives. Now got a cold so not going to be his best effort by some way but still good practice.

Opposite issue to TigerMum. DS should comfortably get 5 in foundation papers, but there is reluctance to move him up to higher. TBH, in DS's specific case, this might well be a good plan (for other reasons I won't bore everyone with at this point), but his subject teachers are only viewing this from subject specific eyes. It does feel that every school has its own policy!

@EwwSprouts my heart sank a little when I was putting the exam dates in my calendar, prime hayfever time! If he suffers from hayfever this will be great practice!

Hello, can I join you? My DS has just started his mocks with French oral this morning which apparently didn't go well. He has reading and writing this afternoon but is now in a funk because of this morning.
I have been trying to tell him to forget about this morning and have a positive attitude for this afternoon or it will go the same way but he is currently upstairs having a pity party.

He is also voicing a wish to take a foundation Chemistry paper rather than the higher paper he is supposed to be doing. This is all down to negative thoughts when something doesn't go his way. Arrgh!!

Hayfever def a nightmare. We have antihistamines, noise sprays and eye drops...but still.

DD's schedule is pretty good, although school website still says 'draft'.

Art at the beginning of May, then starts in earnest w/c May 11th.

Week 1 4
Week 2 5
Half term
Week 3 5
Week 4 3

Art Mock this Thursday/Friday then next week is absolutely crammed with exams, carry onto the beginning of the following week.

OrangeC like your positive spin but your poor DC. Luckily DS is only ever mildly affected by hayfever.

Mocks started yesterday here. DD happy with yesterday's geography paper, so that's a positive start.
I'm not sure what to expect, in all honesty; she's worked throughout the holidays but a lot of what she's done seems to have been getting to grips with understanding, rather than applying knowledge she already has to question papers. She's also tended to want to make herself feel better by focusing on the subjects she enjoys/ is ok at, and she hasn't followed a revision plan - just started each day with whatever she fancies.

It's been an eye opener for what needs to be done (better late than never) before revision for the real thing starts in earnest, ie ordering her revision notes, making any notes she's missing, creating some kind of topic bank of those she needs to nail first etc.

AlsoPlaysP Misery loves company. DS exactly the same. No structure to the bit of revision done. Only happy to do online revising so not made any written notes or cards.

I've kept calm as early days but have bought some revision guides for English anthology section to address 'how do you revise for English?' !

Dd wrote down all the individual units in each subject and ticked them off when she’d revised them. She didn’t get through them all as she didn’t actually allocate them to particular days. I guess that’s the only way to make sure you cover anything - but it’s very hard to keep to a rigid plan!

I mean cover everything!

Is this year 11 chat? I joined in briefly on a previous thread but then it vanished off my watch list!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn
DD always has a wobbly start to exams.
I’d tell your DS he was lucky as DD’s 1st exam was English language
@namechangenumber2
It is indeed!

@Tigerswife and @OrangeCinnamon

Suggest you agree which of the two threads you want to keep going with!

This one or www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3789506-Starting-Yr11-Gcses-2020-Support-Thread-contd

Sorry my fault entirely as tagged @tigerswife incorrectly. Can we continue with this one please as it was requested that the threads were numbered?

I don’t think I ever posted on the old thread but I have a year 11 DS.

He had first mocks in November/December and then has second mocks after February half term. Has been getting some results back; doing revision seemed to help him - the first time he’s properly seemed bothered tbh. Most subjects have been 7 or above except Spanish which has been a 4. Wish he didn’t have to do a language (so does he!)
Think they nearly all did foundation and higher papers in Spanish - I think he could be better doing foundation as I can’t see him getting higher than a 5 but had better see what his teacher says.

He had to submit a level choices today - can’t quite imagine him in the 6th form.

No idea when prom is - might email school to see when it might be

@ProggyMat see DS would have been happy with Eng Lang as that's one of his favourite subjects, French on the other hand.... . Today he has Eng Lit and Maths non calc and seemed very relaxed going in, I'm hoping today is better.

I was looking at the real GCSE timetables some of your DCs have and can't decide if spreading them over 6 weeks is better or worse than doing them over 4 weeks (two weeks either side of half term) that DS has. Part of me thinks it's better to gethm over and done with but the other part thinks it's better to space them for revision purposes.

Thanks for starting new thread Orange.

DD was on a tube home super quick today after this morning's first mock. Hates all the post exam analysis by question, especially when what's done is by then, done.

No prom dilemma here thankfully, due to most staying on at same school, so Y13 becomes prom year.

T'other way around for DD Just .
On the subject of French, has anyone got any tips on listening?
DD is strong on reading . writing and speaking but much weaker on listening.
ealing DD is the same which is why she opted for study leave during mocks. Unfortunately, yesterday and today she has 3 exams so no escape!
I've suggested she nips into town over lunch before final exam, just to get away from it-should be enough time.
I've got my fingers crossed she's back in time. That said, it will be good practice for the real thing!

French listening we have the CGP book which comes with a CD and listening exercises on which has proved useful for mocks @ProggyMat

So much revision and homework this week. It seems unrelenting at the moment

Thanks esther
I will tell DD.
She has lots of CGP books for other subjects but haven't noticed a French one when I've managed to battle my way into her study room!

@ProggyMat Exam board will have a bank of Listening Papers. DD downloads MP3 and practises them. French TV and Films on Netflix are also good and the News In Slow French podcast is also good. However I really think the practise papers are what help the most and DD agrees!

@ProggyMat ah, I meant to clarify Exam Board website will have the MP3 file and the paper - use the examiners report too- very helpful !

aibu Thank you.

It's the speed she struggles with.
Apparently, at A level you get a headset and can control the speed?

The TES has the links to all the boards' final timetables for GCSE here:
www.tes.com/news/exam-timetables-dates-2020-gcses

(Sorry, just realised may have to register to read all of it, but I'm only a parent and I don't remember telling any porkies when I registered).