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Original poster

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

999 replies

OrangeCinnamon · 07/01/2020 09:54

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!

OP posts:
swlondontutor · 05/02/2020 19:42

@AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore With regards English essays, has DS tried using a voice recognition app to record his ideas on the question? He can then plan essays by reading the transcript, highlighting his strongest points, helping him prioritise. Obviously, this isn't possible in exams but there's plenty of time for him to develop the habit and it has proved helpful for some of my dyslexic students.

PostNotInHaste · 05/02/2020 19:59

Edexcel for Maths here too.

Can I share some good news please? I finally know where one of my DC will be next year. DD’s class have been allocated their Universities for year out abroad. She went for a pretty high ranking one as first choice as a bit of a punt and is one of the two who have been allocated it. Given she has 4 GCSES and dropped out of sixth form think she has done incredibly well and she really is a good example of where there’s a will there’s a way.

At this point when she was doing GCSE things were looking quite bleak. What a difference 5 years makes and I hope this might encourage anyone struggling with the whole GCSE thing, some need longer to get into their stride and find their place.

AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore · 05/02/2020 20:15

@PostNotInHaste - that's a lovely story and good to keep grounding yourself I think! DH got relatively poor GCSEs (scraped into his A levels) and when ds is having a wobble it's a very useful reminder for him...!

@lilgreen - yes he gets extra time and use of a word processor (no spellcheck) which helps with getting stuff down but not the planning - we have tried voice apps before, @swlondontutor - but I'll admit it's not something we've got back to for a while so maybe we should give it a go as a training technique - although as you say, won't work for the exam! Thanks.

This evenings maths and English revision session was a bit overwhelming - the English teacher rattled through everything and I came out exhausted ... and I'm not even doing any revision ;-)

DS is looking to do EPQ ... but we're not really engaging with that yet tbh - deciding which A levels to do has more urgency (keeps bloomin changing his mind on his third, although within quite a tight bunch of science options)

AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore · 05/02/2020 20:18

@Dabrini - they CAN (not necessarily do!!) go up 1, maybe 2 grades if they revise well between mocks and real exams was what DS's English teacher told us too (he's SLT so usually quite reliable)

Alsoplayspiccolo · 05/02/2020 20:25

Post, congratulations to your DD! That is a wonderful story of triumph after adversity. I hope she has an amazing year abroad.
Thank you so much for sharing.

Shimy · 05/02/2020 20:56

given your DS is undecided between Biology and Chemistry it would make sense to start with 4 as he could easily make his mind up within a few weeks which one he prefers. I honestly can’t comprehend why a parent wouldn’t ‘bite any schools hand off’ to accept the opportunity to do so.

@ProggyMat
It was sort of decided for him at the parents meeting yesterday, that the amount of effort he will need to put into Chemistry considering he doesn't even need it, would not make it worthwhile.

School is pushing for students to do 4 A'levels for the whole of lower sixth and then decide in the final yr of A'levels wether they want to continue to exam. This doesn't seem to be what other schools are doing and seems excessive. Its an indy and i think they feel it makes them look like 'high attainers', to universities, but I just think its a waste of time and detrimental to their overall results. I had thought that the point of the 4th A'level was to do it for the first half term and then drop one so they can concentrate on 3.

crazycrofter · 05/02/2020 21:02

Congratulations to your dd @postnotinhaste, what an achievement? Wha country will she be living in, if you’re able to say?

Dd had her interview for the comp today and it went well but she’s now feeling quite torn. Outstanding comp 3 miles away, all girls school but boys in sixth form (about 2/3 girls, 1/3 boys) or outstanding grammar a long way away but direct train, all boys school with girls in sixth form (about 1/3 girls but total number in year 12 nearly double the other school).

She likes that all the girls will be new at the grammar (although the comp did have about 20 new girls last year) and it’s got a nice little town centre nearby! The comp doesn’t really have anywhere to go in lunch hours. But she’ll have to leave at 7.20 every morning compared to around 8. Difficult! Either way though it’s nice to have this as a back up in case she doesn’t meet the grammar requirements.

ProggyMat · 05/02/2020 22:12

@Shimy If your Ds’s Indie is pushing for all Yr12 students to start with 4 A level subjects which must then be continued until the end of the academic year, I would seek clarification if the school is offering AS in the subjects that are to be dropped.
Most Indies in my neck of the woods are not offering AS levels but the local comp is.
Perhaps the notion of how many A levels to start with is more convoluted than we thought in the sense it’s now not only sectors but also regions?

ealingwestmum · 05/02/2020 22:24

Lovely news Post!

PostNotInHaste · 06/02/2020 07:03

Thank you all very much. Crazycrofter have sent you a PM as I think she’ll be cross if I post it !

Seeline · 06/02/2020 08:35

Just to say, the final EPQ piece doesn't have to be an essay - it could be a piece of art or a construction of some sort (DT, architect' s model etc).

JustHereWithMyPopcorn · 06/02/2020 09:15

We're doing AQA Maths, English, DT and French, everything else is edexcel.

JustHereWithMyPopcorn · 06/02/2020 09:21

@PostNotInHaste that is fantastic news, you must be very proud of your DD. Flowers

JustHereWithMyPopcorn · 06/02/2020 09:23

@Shimy Our school also makes them choose 4 with a view to dropping one. DS has now decided that he'd like to do Biology and History and has dropped a different one. I actually think he's made the right decision. I am not convinced by the teacher of the other subject and nor is he.

PatienceVirtue · 06/02/2020 11:32

Following on from @crazycrofter and her dd's school getting such a high percentage of 9s, I looked up St Paul's Girls GSCE results. 85% 9s! Can you imagine? If you got 9x9s and 2x8s, you'd be below average! In any normal school you'd be the poster child.

I remember a girl from City Girls telling me what a great school it was because if you got an A instead of A*, everyone would laugh at you. Yes I was horrified.

crazycrofter · 06/02/2020 12:04

@patiencevirtue I don’t think girls at DD’s school would laugh, but they certainly wouldn’t be impressed with a 7!

One of DD’s friends was relieved to get all 9s in her mocks as her parents would have got her a tutor for any subject where she got less than a 9!

KingscoteStaff · 06/02/2020 12:12

Patience, one boy at SPS got more 7s than the whole of SPGS put together! Or that was the line he was telling about himself...

PatienceVirtue · 06/02/2020 12:23

Whereas my ds who goes to a school that is in the top 30 in the country thinks I'm being annoying by wondering whether he should get a tutor for the subject he got a 5 in...

God it's ridiculous. I got Cs in some of my o levels and nobody even mentioned it, especially not the Oxford admissions people.

Shimy · 06/02/2020 12:48

I think at some point some selective schools start to lose a sense of perspective and nothing is good enough until every student gets straight 9s! However, they select the type of students who will thrive on this although, i'm sure there are some casualties on the way.

RedskyAtnight · 06/02/2020 12:51

My colleague's daughter is taking A Level maths and is looked down upon because she "only" got an 8 at GCSE (everyone else in the class got a 9). I really don't think that's a healthy environment.

RedskyAtnight · 06/02/2020 12:56

DS has had a letter for an "interview" about a sixth form place (it's not actually an interview, more of a chat about what he wants to study and whether there are other things he might want to consider). It's for the sixth form attached to his current school so they are guaranteed to take him, subject to him meeting entry criteria (which are the lowest in the area).

The letter says that "parents are not required to attend, but are welcome to accompany their child if they wish to". DS says he doesn't care either way if I come or not. Do parents normally attend these? (My gut feeling is to not go and let DS take more responsibility for his own future, but don't want to be the bad guy if it's normal for parents to go!)

dietcokeandwine · 06/02/2020 13:01

It isn’t a healthy environment at all @RedskyAtNight and I suspect there are more casualties along the way than many schools let on.

So many mental health issues amongst young people now and I can’t believe that these insane expectations (of the education system generally and some schools in particular) aren’t in some way responsible, of at least a contributory factor.

Lovely story about your DD, @PostNotInHaste. You must be so proud of her.

dietcokeandwine · 06/02/2020 13:04

Just seen your latest post @RedskyAtnight. I went with DS to his interview at a sixth form college (as did most other parents from what i could see) but not to the one at his own school sixth form, which was just held during the normal school day and I think kids went on their own.

He got offers from both so I doubt my presence made much difference Grin

Silverhill · 06/02/2020 14:42

Just popping in to say that I'm still here. Mostly lurking at the moment as I don't want to bring the thread down. DD's health is not improving. She is managing to attend school about 50% of the time. She took mocks in some subjects and got 6s and 7s, which is encouraging. We're taking one day at a time and focusing on her health. If she is able to take her GCSEs this summer then that would be great (although obviously she is unlikely to get the grades she would originally have hoped for) but it isn't the end of the world if she can't.

PostNotInHaste · 06/02/2020 15:27

Silverhill, so sorry to hear that. What a difficult time for you allFlowers

One day at a time is a sensible approach. Be lovely if she can sit some but as you you said not end of world if not.