GCSE Summer 2020 Thread 9 : Carry on Corona Cohort ‘Let’s Ofqual the whole thing off'

[OrangeCinnamon1]

Welcome all to the 9th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort - the Corona Cohort!

This is a thread for supporting all young people ( and their parents) taking GCSEs regardless of the institute they attend or the grades they need. It is respectfully requested that we are all supportive and helpful to each other.

If you want to start a debate e.g state vs private - please do not within this thread.

Similarly it should be recognised that the grades our children need/deserve/want will vary across the board- we wish to celebrate and comiserate with all. One same grade outcome can simultaneously cause joy and despair for different posters and their families. Please be sensitive when responding to threads about grade outcomes.

Some of us have been here since I started first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. It is hoped this will continue. Going forward we intend to stay on the Secondary Education Board (at least until Mumsnet HQ chuck us out ) as from now on our DS/DD may go down various paths such employment, apprenticeships, higher ed etc so we decided not to be exclusionary.

Any new threads should have 'GCSE Summer 2020 Thread # : Carry on Corona Cohort' in title just to make it easier to find. There is no preciousness about who starts new threads!

At this precise moment in time we are still awaiting GCSE results . At first these were to be that seem to have been produced by an algorithm that also takes very little account of Teacher Centre Assessed Grades. There is an appeal process but it was changed to include mock results and coursework, then taken down again for review. Now it has been decided that the higher of Centre Assessed Grades and Calculated Grades will be awarded in two parts??!?!

We are all STILL trying to protect our young people's mental health, which the government claims is their priority...when they talk about wanting students back in schools/college in September...

First Thread

Previous thread

Off to make some coffee. Not sure why but I have an impending feeling of doom - hopefully just nerves!

Good luck getting back to sleep.

Pointlessly fretting so I’ll try read or watch something.

If you need something to do whilst you can't sleep - watch this

twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1296288887011246080

it's amazing!

It's making me think about when I got my own results back in '89! I remember not being bothered at all - it's only now all these years later, I understand what my parents went through! Coffee sounds like a good idea confused. 5am is respectably early morning isn't it!?

@Heifer your daughter sounds like mine! For those whose dc say it’s not on merit because of there being no exam, it’s the opposite (well apart from this idea that the school had to try to rank them and reflect previous years). It is based on what they’ve done and where they were heading- rather than whether they’re any good at exams. I was and did no gcse work til 6 weeks before- I’d have been so screwed! My dd missed most of Y8 and Y10 so had just started really knuckling down (she has been quite troubled). So I genuinely feel she worked hard to get these grades and to overcome a fair bit.

Thanks @heifer I’ll look that up

Just reading Telegraph articles saying weaker students will be weeded from sixth forms and they’re likely to do aptitude tests - another article saying teachers expect backlash for harsh results they thought wouldn’t be seen by students or be their final result.

Not very comforting but good to be prepared!

Also a head of Grammar school quoted saying each school will have done their best but the problem is they almost certainly have done it very differently from each other so there’ll be huge variations between schools.

I know DD’s school was harsh, hence why I can’t sleep.

I doubt very much the GAVS will give much hope? Seems a very small possibility.

Bloody fighting seagulls woke me ! ..was doing so well!

Up and anxious this morning

I wish I'd found this thread before. Just what I need!

I’m awake but I’m always awake at this time sadly. Anyone got any good cures for getting a good nights sleep til at least 6am??

DS said last night he won’t be waking up early to read his email 🤔 they’re his results he says so he’ll open them when he’s ready. Is there any legal defence on gcse provocation for throttling your child? 😄

Morning .... I actually slept quite well !
I’m now sitting in front bbc news with a cuppa to up the anxiety.

The BTEC issue is appalling.

Up, caffeinated and glued to Beeb
Good luck everyone!

DH woke up a bit ago to have a wee. Then the cat decided to come up and see us. Have now let her out.

Trying to decide whether to try and sleep a bit more, or go for a walk. Meant to be better weather than yesterday when it mostly rained.

Good luck everyone !

I am awake and in a strop because my dream that my laptop got its internet back did not come true and all my school stuff is on there. Am currently trying to persuade DS's laptop to get on various secure sites.

It also has a terrible keyboard, so expect more typos than usual -if that is even possible!

Morning everyone! @FoolsAssassin I fell back to sleep around 4ish.

Awake. Good Luck Everyone.

My predictions still stand. We get playground results at 10. Email in the afternoon. So, what use is that? Jealous of all those with emails at 8am.

I'll be at work. Ds1 said he wanted to go to school on his own and didn't need a lift there!

I'm up! Slept quite well considering! I'm usually up this time anyway.

Although my dreams were odd. Was originally flying to Majorca this evening as a celebratory end to GCSE (company cancelled in July).

But my dreams were all mixtures I'd rubbish grades getting in planes, flight numbers reflected of rubbish grades etc

I’m also jealous if the early emailed results- it’s 10.15 slot at school for DD.

Oh @Oblomov20 ! What a a wait for you.
DS will get an email at 0915, but he said he won’t open it & will wait until his appt at 1140 at school.

I’m hoping he’ll change his mind!

The day has arrived!!

Good luck everyone 🤞🏼

Ds gets his from 8.40 at school. School a 15 minute drive so hopefully get to see some of your DCs before we leave.

He has set his alarm for 7.30 so he can have breakfast and his medication before we leave. Then we wants to go into town and pay his birthday money into the bank.

Good morning!

A terrible night’s sleep here too, thanks to the wind lashing the house and various anxiety dreams. I’m also stressing in case the school have marked harshly, but grateful not to be receiving exclusively GAVs. I don’t think that would have gone well.

Good luck everyone! See you on the other side...

I've found my people-barely slept last night! Dd wants to open the email with me and her dad at 8ish (alleged time she will get them).

She said she's not worried but all the tossing and turning coming from her room, above us says otherwise.

Hopefully staying on to do 3 A levels-RE, History & Politics.

Fingers crossed for all of you all.

9 o clock for us from his actual school. There is a magic forcefield in my county beyond which corona shall not pass! 🤷‍♀️He has about 3 meetings, too. At which point he plans to be assertive and ask if he is getting an actual Spanish teacher or someone the head found while on holiday (pre quarantine obvs) in Benidorm.