GCSE’s summer 2020 thread 5 - And then there were none..

[FoolsAssassin]

Once upon a time there was a group of year 11 students who had spent the last few years preparing to sit their GCSE exams in the summer of 2020. Then one day they woke up and found themselves as characters in a real life disaster movie and as if by magic the exams disappeared.

What lies next for the Corona Cohort?!

Thread 4
Thread 3
Thread 2
Thread 1 (Year 10)

Anyone lurking please feel free to jump on in .

Now that you mention it @Piggywaspushed that might be a solution...a bit of glue, some rope....

Terf thank you for what you do Horizontal about no exams means they aren’t stressed which right now is a positive.

This is really hard. Dd was under CAMHS and hasn’t had a good couple of years but was pulling out all the stops for the exams. Bright. Trying to predict which she’ll have to retake, prepare for them, keep up with future Alevel subjects and stay motivated under lockdown is impossible. Heard nothing from school re advice. Trying not to worry and stop her from worrying but under the given circumstances.😩

DS is also very into his sport. However rowing on an erg is mindnumingly boring as opposed to being on the water. Additionally, the entire season was cancelled and all of the big events, which he was really looking forward to as his boat was predicted to do well, so he has completed lost much motivation. DH is looking into seeing if he can get a single shell from his boat club so that DS is able to get out on the water. Saying that, single shell rowing is probably the most COVID friendly exercise as social distancing is not a problem at all.

Momin we walked along the Thames path for exercise yesterday and all the boat houses were firmly shut. 2 canoes out, though (2 m apart...)

DS has basically run out of books to read now and I have run out of inspiration...

@Mominatrix - were very happy to have be loaned an erg from DS2's school. He is devastated at the cancellation of the session but is very determined to work on his times and build muscle 😉

Terf💐We have several friends and relatives in front line nhs roles, stressful times and really does make you realise that exam results are not the be all and end all!

I feel massively for the super sporty dc who are used to doing reams of exercise and having the social boost from football, rugby, swim or rowing club etc. it must be so hugely frustrating. I’m kind of grateful mine aren’t sporty - apart from DS1 who was due to grade to karate black belt shortly and will definitely miss the discipline and camaraderie of training, but at least he can still practise many skills at home. Other dc are quite happy with the trampoline. We shelled out for a new one last year that is huge and suitable for both child and adult use: the cost was eye-watering but I am so grateful now that we did!

Ds is definitely in the lay in bed and text his mates until noon camp. In fairness he's been given work on 2 subjects, one of which he'll be doing as A level, but he hasn't done anything yet.

@Mominatrix that’s so hard the whole season cancelled. I fear DDs sport will be the same but at the moment they are hoping that some comps in July and August can go ahead. Guess it just depends on how lockdown goes. They’ve lost so much and now because I’m ill we are on 24 day lockdown which is even harder on DD.

Oops 14 day! Fingers on phone...

A-level bridging work thread here, for those that need inspiration. I’ve put some stuff for maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology.

Anyone with their own suggestions please add them!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/a3863982-Bridging-the-gap-to-A-level-work-for-current-Y11

Just checking in. Great title!

Hope your DC and families are all coping right now, and keeping well as you possibly can under the circumstances. I have huge admiration for DC and teachers alike for so many reasons not needing to be repeated.

We're officially on Easter break now after a week of online teaching. But none of it has been positioned as retrospective work towards grading, more this is school life delivered in a different format, and worthwhile engaging still, not only for those that may be a position to re-take, but prep for 6th form. Easier for DD as her school is to Y13.

Unsurprisingly, the abrupt finish created a real disparity (and animosity between different school sectors on some threads). Locally here, there are both indies and state that have cut loose, and indies and state that have been proactive in making the switch to online/developing lessons to meet the current situation.

The more support now given to adapting, as it's likely this will potentially not be the last time we have to be in lock down over the coming 12 months, the better, as it those DC how are less supported at home that will be at most risk.

Hope that whilst it's hard for all to wait for the detail behind the grading structure, the time taken to announce is due to thorough due diligence to result in a fair (as is possible) grading strategy for Y11/13s and not have dire implications on those years in-between.

Thank you Noble, that is very helpful

My year 11 twin's school has said they won't be using assessments done at home to inform the GSCE grades. School resources are available but DTs are in the lay in bed to midday, catch up on box sets and talk to mates camp!

A levels will be done at a different establishment for which they have guaranteed places and they haven't been asked to start A level work

After initial disappointment on losing out on the whole "rite of passage" aspect of taking the GSCEs and results day they are accepting of the situation.

It's going to be a struggle for all of us to get back to a routine come September!

@ealingwestmum that’s a good point about other years. In an odd way yr 11 and 13 are in a reasonable position as they have basically finished course work. Every other year is losing a term of learning rather than a term of revision and exams. Revision will bed in the knowledge and it will be interesting to get school advice on that over the Easter break. Going forward the other years will have a lot to catch up on or the curriculum will need to be adjusted. Not easy either way.

@Piggywaspushed I think it was you on the last thread that posted a reading list for A level English? I’ve just been through the last thread and can’t find it now, do you have it on easy access by any chance?? I’ll swap it for this

Here it is :
1984 – George Orwell : dystopia
Animal Farm – George Orwell : political allegory (good for GCSE history!)
*The War of The Worlds – HG Wells : early science fiction
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck : US Great Depression
Lord of the Flies – Wiilliam Golding : dystopia
To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee : US race relations bildungsroman
*Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte : love story (sort of)
*Tess of the d’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy : doomed love
The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini : bildungsroman set mainly in Afghanistan
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold : ghost story/ thriller
All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque : WWI from German perspective
I’m The King of The Castle – Susan Hill : Gothic tale of childhood bully
A Kestrel For A Knave – Barry Hines : disadvantaged boy adopts bird
The Woman In Black – Susan Hill ; ghost story
The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald : roaring 20s classic
*Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte : family saga, rather Gothic
*Frankenstein – Mary Shelley : classic monster story
*Dracula – Bram Stoker : classic vampire story
Anita and Me – Meera Syal : charming bildungsroman
*Great Expectations- Charles Dickens : classic bildungsroman
*Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens : ditto but also about crime and poverty
The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks : very dark and comic Gothic tale
*Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen : society novel
*Any Sherlock Holmes
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath : madness
The Go Between – LP Hartley : doomed love
Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier : gothic-style mystery
Kiss Kiss- Roald Dahl : short stories with twists
Saki short stories : dark and nasty!
Faceless Killers –Henning Mankel : crime / mystery
Any Agatha Christie
Things Fall Apart –Chinua Achebe : a tale of Nigerian political collapse
The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder – Sarah J Harris : a bit like Curious Incident
Circe –Madeline Miller : the Greek gods and goddesses, reimagined. Great for classicists
The Chrysalids – John Wyndham : futuristic dystopia
The Travelling Cat Chronicles –Hiro Arikawa : picaresque tale as man goes on journey with beloved cat. Tissues needed.
*Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift : famous tale of a traveller to strange lands
*Bleak House – Charles Dickens ( a proper long read for budding lawyers…)
The Mercies – Kiran Millwood Hargrave . Excellent witchcraft context.
The Gifted, The Talented And Me – William Sutcliffe : excellent engaging light read. Funny.
All Quiet On The Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque : WWI classic form a German perspective.
Invisible Women - Caroline Criado Perez . Good for people who like data, are interested in the gender data gap, or might pursue sociology. Will make girls, and boys, think!
Sapiens- Yuval Noah Harari – the anthropological history of Mankind .
The Body – Bill Bryson . Would be medics must read.

I'll now add:
Invisible Women - Caroline Criado Perez
and
The Five - Hallie Rubenhold

Thank you

Thanks, noble and piggy.

Anyone have any links for my dd to look at psychology A level. She is planning on taking this when she hopefully gets to 6th form in September.

Wondering if schools will tell us what they are sending in...

I hope they do beach, even if it's bad news.

If DD is going to want to take some exams in September, I'd like her to know which ones she should keep working on and which she can park.

@KingscoteStaff - I don't think schools will tell us anything. It will raise false hopes if they send marks in and they get downgraded. I can't imagine any school will send marks in and get them upgraded...

DS's school is not formally setting any work for Y11.

A couple of the teachers have started to share materials (on Google classroom) for those Y11s who would like to finish off the last bits of the GCSE courses, and DS has been using this along with a bit of Seneca learning and a maths textbook he can access online. I would estimate he is doing maybe an hour a day.