Current Year 10 2020/2021 support thread

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I can’t see a thread for upcoming new year 10s, so I thought I’d start one, as the long-running GCSE one I’ve been part of for DD has been a life-saver.

DS has opted to take history, German, drama and music, plus double science, maths, English x2, and RE.
He’s pretty bright and does well without having to break a sweat (much to my frustration!), but doesn’t really know what he wants to do in the future. He’s a music scholar at his school, so does a lot of music (DH and I are both professional musicians...or were, before Covid hit...) but loves history and English.

His school provided excellent online schooling and he was lucky to be able to go in 2 days a week for the last 3 weeks of term.

His sister has just finished year 11, so we are biting our nails, waiting for results next week. She has quite a different academic profile, having ADHD and possibly dyspraxia, and has had to work hard throughout the last few years.

I hope us parents of DCs just starting the GCSE journey can help and support each other over the next couple of years. 🙂

I hadn't thought of a spreadsheet that's a great idea. I've seen some schools do topic checklists so that seems a good idea too. Thank you

English Language and Chemistry done, Biology and Product Design tomorrow. DD seems to be okay, she said one of the girls lost it in English and had to go out. She’s just come down to nag me about getting her ears pierced, so she’s obviously not too stressed.

Mine were back today and DD into exams, was a 3 hour one today which she said was fine then a my mobile phone needs replacing, look at my poor mobile phone. She did manage to catch the rabbit for his vets appointment for his vaccine. Think its pretty constant exams for 2 weeks.

Hope exams are going well. DD didn't go in today and said she's anxious. I also found out DH took her down to London a second time in half term so bet no revision went on. Got an open day booked for 6th form. Hope she can get back and start doing exams again as wouldn't be surprised if it goes to part teacher assessment. Though it is awful this year for them, she is certainly catching up on the social side at least.

Got an EHCP assessment meeting for DS on Friday, hope we can get some help from it.

Hey @Silkiecats.

DD had another two yesterday and one today. She’ll have done half of them by this afternoon. Next week she’ll only have two all week, plus her singing exam, so that will be lovely.

My DD has def been catching up on the socialising too. I know there were two days of no revision at all over half term. I took her to London on one day, and she saw her friends on another. I feel like if she’s not done enough, it might be a wake up call, and better now than in the mocks, when they only have a couple of months to put it right.

Good luck for EHCP. It will be good to have a plan.

Another day of school refusal here and saying she won't go back, argh. Can't say what is wrong. Asking us to sell our house and move back to London or buy her her own flat in London neither of which are viable options due to money and DH works here. Plus we moved here as she hated the schools in London. Refusing all counselling. DH got exasperated and shouted at her to go back to school but just refusing and on her phone. Appears to be talking to a male friend in London but no-one else. School aren't replying, expecting to be hit with fines if this carries on. Though she is bigger and stronger than me so how I am supposed to force her to school I don't know. Very sad to see her throwing everything away just to socialise now. Then Friday is an EHCP for DS.

Oh no @Silkiecats that all sounds very stressful, as you say it is very hard to force them to do anything they don't want to do. Really hope the EHCP meeting is helpful for you.

DS has detention on Friday after he got very angry in PE and started throwing things, the school are trying to be supportive of his SEN and put stuff into his support statement about needing a place to withdraw to if he is getting upset but it's very tricky. He has also decided he doesn't want to go on the drama trip in a couple of weeks as he doesn't want to see the play they are going to, drama teacher was quite good about it though and has said there will be other trips in the future and he can watch something else now to write about in class.

Thanks Its Great fun being a parent atm!

@Silkiecats hmmm, that all sounds a bit out of character for your DD doesn’t it? Could it be something to do with the boy she is talking to in London? Has she missed any of her exams?

@IThinkIMadeItWorse that sounds tough going too but at least the school are trying to be accommodating.

DD is still revising but she is struggling to concentrate quite a lot and is having lots of ED intrusive thoughts. She got herself in a bit of a state last night as she has her Spanish speaking assessment next week and she hasn’t managed to get even half of the revision done for it and she’s really anxious about actually doing it. I’ve spoken to her HOY who is going to speak to DD’s Spanish teacher and see if she can put her mind at rest a bit. We also have a treatment review with a psychiatrist on the first day of DD’s exams on the 21st June which means she will miss her exams that day. HOY has already assured me that she can do them another time but it’s just another thing for DD to beat herself up over.

Glad you DD is making some progress Rollergirl

Mine has missed several exams now - she did 1 out of 4 maths exam and the computing exam but everything else she could miss if she refuses to go in. She was quite depressed in 3rd lockdown but so was most of the country and she said that was socialising and she certainly has no issue with that and has met up a lot since. Seemed to go back to school fine, grades were fine, a couple down in biology but rest perfect. She has been terrible at getting in late but said it was the tutor so I got her tutor changed, quite a battle, but got worse since then. But never school refused before. Really odd as she says doesn't know why.

I think what it maybe is she goes down to where we used to live and meet old friends then she remembers how much she enjoyed primary years and no stress of lockdown or exams. Also people she meets up with have very little parenting, don't spend any time studying and she is jealous of that. I don't think she realises that you need good gcse grades to get a good job.

Sounds like we've all had a week of it for Silkie, Rollergirl, IThink and anyone else who needs them.
DD was doing ok until yesterday when she had a complete meltdown - she's really stressed, has ploughed French and Biology (in her opinion) and is struggling with her dad as well. They were always so close but now he just seems to annoy her and upset her in equal measure. She's gone in today but very down and even the prospect of football tonight hasn't cheered her up (linked to her issues with her dad).
What I would give to live on a remote island about now

I have also been researching houses on remote islands.

DD not been in school all week and school finally answered an e-mail on Friday lunchtime and told me not to e-mail much. Very caring.

EHCP meeting went OK though they said its not guaranteed and we find out 15 July, he needs it so much, they said we should get it but not sure if they tell that to everyone.

Then a call about DD but no obvious solution and she wants to home ed or change schools so put in a change request as home ed looks in complete chaos re exams. Just worried will go to teacher assessment. School are saying can do phased return but don't appear to be offering any longer term solutions though DD meeting with them on Monday.

Oof Silkie you do sound line you’re going through the mill with it at the moment. 💐
My two dc have been pretty foul this week - mostly to each other to be fair but it’s still miserable when it happens. A long walk with a friend (and a g&t it two!) have acted like a therapy session so 🤞🏻 for the weekend!
DS is playing hockey both days which he loves and will hopefully cheer him up! DD (year 7) is taking her g5 music theory exam this morning online so I suspect she’ll be a bit happier when that’s done.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Hope this week is a better one all round.

DD has just come in from her physics exam. She said it was dreadful, but it is her least good subject, so I’m not surprised. One more on Weds and then she’s done, so am taking her for some lunch now to get over it.

DD went in Monday and Tuesday did 5 exams and all of both days and met staff to discuss things. Still adamant wants to change school and says can't do tomorrow but can do Thursday and Friday.

Not a great time to be moving school. Am looking at exam boards and how taught, she would go down from 11 to 9 which is fine though means giving up her stats and fsmq. Its just whether there is a place in the 9 subjects in top sets and how much catch up is needed, 5 are same exam board though don't know if same books/order - maybe similar on a quick look, 3 are different exam board but look very similar content and 1 is different exam board and looks different. The school does have a 6th form. Its quite a bit further away but she will need to do that journey a year later anyway.

Getting more 6th form open days through. Hope everyone is OK.

Hope everyone is surviving exam season, DS started on Monday but has only had Maths and Biology so far which both went well (I think!) He has English language tomorrow morning which i am much more concerned about (he got a 3 in the assessment they did during online schooling). I made him take his English revision book to his detention last Friday so as he had nothing else to do he did read some of it then. His generally laid back attitude means he is still reluctant to do revision though his dad has been working through science flashcards with him. Perhaps if he performs badly he will realise how much work he needs to put in for next year!

School have started giving him some one-to-one support (for English) with the TA who has been doing mentoring sessions with him for a while but she is away this week so he's only had one so far and the English exams will be done before his next one. We did get a lovely email from her saying she was impressed by his "positive attitude to learning" so that was nice.

Thinking of you @Silkiecats and @Rollergirl11 and others going through tough times, I'm appreciating this forum as a place to to vent and support each other.

Sorry to hear about some of the children's struggles. Ds starts his end of yr 10 exams next week and it has exposed gaps. He hasn't been as diligent as he should have been with revision cards so there are still a couple of topics for physics, for example, he needs to go through ditto Chemistry. To top it all a parent passed away 3 weeks ago and the funeral is this week 300 miles away. Stressful time for us all and it's affecting my health.

What are people finding are the best revision methods please? Flash cards/mind maps then test questions verbally? Past papers?

@Lightsabre DD makes notes, then flashcards or mind maps. She will do past papers if they are set for homework, but doesn't do them otherwise. I think it's a case of finding what works for you. Do you have the revision guides for your exam board? DD has found the science ones particularly useful.

@IThinkIMadeItWorse Would you consider a tutor for English? I will definitely do that for my Year 7 DS. I cannot handle doing it myself, and he's going to need it sooner rather than later.

Last exam is this afternoon, the 2nd maths paper. Then auditions for the school play tomorrow and a singing exam on Friday. DD needs to be dairy free from tonight ahead of her exam, and we need to try and get her hayfever under control before then too. Eesh. Roll on Friday night.

@HelloDulling I did suggest this a few months ago but DS really wasn't keen. I'm hopeful that the one-to-one support from his TA (one 50 minute lesson each week) will really help. He found online school very tricky and struggled to focus alone in his room so since he's been back things have improved. Back in April we had an email from his new English teacher (he's had lots of different teachers this year for various reasons which hasn't helped) which was really positive (apart from they had spotted him playing a game on his chromebook instead of working!)

@Lightsabre so sorry about your bereavement DS has found flashcards really useful for revision (with his dad asking the questions), we've been watching some Mr Bruff videos for English and I have bought lots of revision guides. The school recommended some guides as I think it depends a bit which exam board you are doing which ones are good.

Thank you @IThinkIMadeItWorse.

Yes, we have some CGP revision guides which are really useful for science and age question

... posted too soon!

CGP good for science and geography. Stuck a bit for English as I think it will be analyse a passage and creative writing. Mr Bruff seems popular so will give that a go. German seems to be translation from German to English and speaking (for some reason I thought they were doing away with this part).

Hi @GhostTypeEevee some schools have knowledge organisers that will let you know what each subject is covering, if not the specifications are a great resource - but can be really time consuming to work through.

Sometimes a timetable can be restrictive, like @QueenMabby says. What we do is rather than map out a schedule and repeat it we make a new one each week. We have a whiteboard with a section to show the to do list and also what's been completed. So then rather than say "History" we're really specific about the topic that's going to be studied (it helps overcome procrastination and makes sure you get good coverage).

In planning the week ahead, we start by blocking out obligations (school, part time job, etc). Then we block out the social stuff (parties, playing games, lie-in!) and finally use some of the blank spaces for study. This really helps to underline the fact that it's not all about revision). Again like @queenmabby we review on a Sunday, highs and lows and mark off everything that's been done. I'm a bit of a nagger by nature (apparently!) and this definitely helped make DS feel more in control and stopped me always asking "shouldn't you be revising?" The really important bit was that DS felt like he was driving this. If it happens to them there's less buy-in and they'll never adopt the good habits for themselves!

I've got a spreadsheet format too if you'd like it. It helped to show the progress against the topics.

I hope this helps. And good luck!

Hi everyone. I hope all your DC’s are coping with their exams and get a chance to relax soon.

DD has her Spanish speaking assessment this afternoon which she is really really nervous about. Her Spanish teacher has said that she is happy to completely play it by ear given her circumstances. If come this afternoon DD is completely stressing she will let her postpone it until after the rest of the exams next week.

Because of DD’s ED she now qualifies for 25% extra time, rest breaks and to sit her exams in the learning centre. She has asked to see how it goes for her exams on Monday in the hall and then take it from there. But I get the impression that she feels that if she does them in the learning centre then it’s a cop out on her part. And if she does well in the exams and she’s sat them in the learning centre (which she’s not expecting to) then it will only because she had an easier time of it and not because she deserves the grade. Honestly this girl doesn’t give herself a break. Her Perfectionism rearing it’s ugly head!

I just want to get these exams over so DD gets a bit of respite. She literally has no time to relax as her breaks and lunch are taken up with having to eat with me watching her, no time to spend with her friends except in lessons.

Good to hear school are making adjustments for your DD Rollergirl but agree it is so stressful for them and these exams are the last thing needed.

DD has been in 4/5 days this week and done exams each day AFAIK and met with school staff. Think she has done about half the exams she was supposed to as she missed 5 days but school seem relaxed about that and said she can take them later. School are insisting she is in everyday though are talking at least and have marked last day's absence as unauthorised though made others authorised.

DD wants to change schools but worried she won't be any better there and they haven't got in touch either. 4.5 weeks to go.

Poor DS just checked the lunch cards and saw he hadn't eaten at school since 30 April and he hadn't told anyone. I paid for another card and asked school to give it him today but obviously haven't so will get a massive dinner.