GCSE Summer 2020 Thread 10: Carry on Corona Cohort ‘The Next Step''

[OrangeCinnamon1]

Welcome all to the 10th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort - the Corona Cohort!

This is a thread for supporting all young people ( and their parents) who were examined for GCSEs 2020 regardless of the institute they attended or the grades they needed. 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 needed/deserved/wanted 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 grin ) 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 it us 'results day ' most have GCSE results and some awaiting BTEC results .

We are all ALWAYS 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 popping this here.

previous thread

Actually I think I know exactly where you mean. 2 that joined? One very well known for excellent arts facilities and performance arts.

@itsgettingweird

Actually I think I know exactly where you mean. 2 that joined? One very well known for excellent arts facilities and performance arts.

Ahh yes I think I remember you saying before @EasilyDelighted. Sorry about the BTEC results STILL such a scandal !

@itsgettingweird I didn't know that about performance arts but yes DD doing music on the S Downs site. Although they could decide to go classroom based this year.

Bit blowy down by the sea today !

@Northumberlandlass

at *@Janie74*

Everyone is welcome! Thanks to @OrangeCinnamon1 for making this a lovely inclusive place.

I’m slightly aghast at DS science choices as I’m far more arty!

As my ‘name’ suggests I am quite far North!

I always think of Hogwarts/Alnwick when I see your name

"RS and sociology are a good mix, I think?"

These are the two subjects I teach. And yes, they can be particularly if the Sociology does beliefs.

The essays can be very different in style, if the RS is not OCR you separate out the Ao1 (knowledge) from Ao2 (evaluation) in their essays. But once their past this, it's good.

Depending on specs, the info on feminist perspectives and secularisation and post modernism can also be useful.

Aside from content, they both look at concepts and ideas for explaining the world which I think often means if students like one, they often like the other!

So I mentioned yesterday that DD not only got her GCSE results but due to leaving her boarding school she actually started at her new day school in Scotland yesterday too. What a stressful day!

She was absolutely knackered last night with the level of anxiety she had felt all day. However, she liked her 1st day and made some initial friendships. She had picked her A levels for her old school but has now switched to the Scottish Highers which need to be sat over 1 year not 2 like A Levels and she gets to take 5 subjects. She is very happy with this as she doesn’t really know what direction she wants to go in so it gives her a bit more flexibility.

I had lurked on the threads and found them great. I’m sorry I won’t be around in 2 years for the A level threads as I’ll most likely be over in the Scotsnet section but wish all your kids well in whatever path they pursue.

@motherstongue it does seem a much better system up there. I admit to watching a few episodes of Logan High! Great that your DD has made friendships already - best of luck 🍀

Yes just a bit blowy.

But great for where I am as we go and watch the kite surfers

Yes SD was always known for excellent performance arts when I went to college. Nearly chose it but went to nearer college as offered same courses and easier to get to my dance school from.

I did join drama group and did the shows etc!

That's what I feel for our kids this year. All the clubs and extra curricular we did and the general social side of college.

Although ds is introverted and autistic and so I don't think he's that bothered as isn't really his thing anyway.

Thanks OrangeCinnamon1. I think she has been lucky doing the breadth of GCSE and then to follow with a bit more breadth for Highers. Her brother did GCSEs followed by A levels 6 years ago but he knew from about age 12 exactly what he wanted to do so choosing his A levels was easy. She, however, has struggled. I don’t think narrowing down to 3 subjects suits lots of kids.

@Sarahbeans

"RS and sociology are a good mix, I think?"

These are the two subjects I teach. And yes, they can be particularly if the Sociology does beliefs.

The essays can be very different in style, if the RS is not OCR you separate out the Ao1 (knowledge) from Ao2 (evaluation) in their essays. But once their past this, it's good.

Depending on specs, the info on feminist perspectives and secularisation and post modernism can also be useful.

Aside from content, they both look at concepts and ideas for explaining the world which I think often means if students like one, they often like the other!

Thanks @sarahbeans ! Ill try and get her to look at syllabus RS was her fave for a while too.

DS1 has decided to do Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science A’levels. Hoping that it isn’t going to be too much for him but school have said they can drop one if they need to. We never stop worrying do we. Just dreading the thought of 2 years time when DS1 does A’levels and DS2 has his GCSE’s. At least I didn’t have to contend with that this year.

@Nard75

DS1 has decided to do Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science A’levels. Hoping that it isn’t going to be too much for him but school have said they can drop one if they need to. We never stop worrying do we. Just dreading the thought of 2 years time when DS1 does A’levels and DS2 has his GCSE’s. At least I didn’t have to contend with that this year.

Time to start prepping - with gin

@Alsoplayspiccolo @Oblomov20
My DS is going to the college that you are speaking about
He’s going from a small school so bit concerned it may be too “big“ for him.
He originally wanted to stay at his school 6th form but decided the college had better suited subjects on offer.
Journey will be ok as only 5 miles away really but much longer than getting to school!

Oh gosh I can't keep up with this thread. Well done to all DC who have decided on and confirmed final course choices! We are still nowhere near that...

However I am massively enjoying having the house to myself for the first time since lockdown (DH has taken younger two DC away for weekend, DS1 is out with friends) and I am deliberately not thinking about DS1's A levels for this evening only!

Traumatic discovery of the day in the Panda household (nothing to do with GCSEs or A levels): Nandos has stopped doing either mango & lime or passion fruit and mango for their chicken marinades . Apparently replacing with some kind of coconut monstrosity. Both DS1 and I are very much not happy and feel the joy has slightly gone out of life as a result

Will revisit the whole 'where you gonna go and what you gonna study' debate tomorrow.

@singingstones thanks for the BTEC update, i hadn’t seen that anywhere.

That sports course looks interesting @IHeartHarryStyles. Quite varied,

Best wishes to you and DD @motherstongue!

My DD1 has always loved MFL and seems to have a bit of a flair for them so is doing French and Spanish. She was umming and ahhing over her third one but plumped for History over Lit because she preferred the syllabus. She is weirdly fascinated by the Cold War and actively chooses to read long boring books about it for fun. Anyway, there is a whole topic on the Cold War in Asia so that was the major draw for her. She was also worried that doing Lit would spoil ‘reading for pleasure’ - it didn’t for me, but I do understand why she would feel that way.

@Sarahbeans it seems to cover a lot so hopefully plenty for her to get her teeth stuck into.

I heart really glad dd has found something she wants to do. That bit of extra resilience after the past few months must have used her final energy reserves.

Hope she chills a bit before she starts

@Alsoplayspiccolo @Oblomov20 @Fiddlersgreen: I know the college under discussion too! I know a few going there, and we were impressed when we looked round, but too big for ds!
@Nard75: our ds's sound similar: ds is Maths, Comp Sci and Psychology: physics was the more obvious choice rather than psychology, but I think he'll be the one kid doing that course that likes the maths bit best ...
Great news @IHeartHarryStyles: delighted your dd has found a good option

DS2 is another one for Maths, Further Maths, Physics, would have chosen Comp Sci but it clashes with Further Maths - so looking at PE, Product Design, Classical Civilisation and music although he hates analysis but practical skills and composition are strong.

In case it is interesting, here is the "top of the pops" for A levels from this years JCQ report which I downloaded before it was removed (had the GAVs!).

Wow, I can’t believe there is not even one foreign language in the top 20! I may be being thick here, and too tired to google tonight, but what does English language entail? I always assumed at A level it was just literature available. I will look it tomorrow, rhetorical question...

@ealingwestmum "Other Modern Languages", excluding Welsh and Irish, showed 4,921 entries. Grades were good though, 25.7% A, 66.2% A/A - these were the "GAV" grades.
English Language had the lowest rate of top grades (1.9% A, 11.4 A/A*), followed by Media/Film/TV, then Lang & Lit.

Going to catch up on th thread at the moment but am 😯 at how popular psychology is now. I need to work out what I am going to do with my life and am now seriously wondering if there might need be a need for Psychology tutors, I did some whilst at university for a little bit.

Agree that I have seen many DC of friends find it not what they think. Our lift share doing it but I am confuse I have gone enough that he knows what to expect and he think he will enjoy it.

For anyone who has a DC thinking of doing it but not sure, can I suggest you get them to do the research needed to answer this which have just taken from an A level paper:

A researcher investigated the working memory model using a laboratory experiment. Forty students from a local college volunteered to take part.
In Condition A, 20 students performed the following two tasks at the same time:
• mentally counting backwards from 100
• tracking coloured shapes on a computer screen.
In Condition B, 20 different students performed the following two tasks at the same
time:
• mentally counting backwards from 100
• reading a poem out loud.

The researcher predicted that the performance of students in Condition A would be
better than the performance of students in Condition B.
Name the two components of working memory that would be involved in the performance
of the tasks in Condition A.
Mentally counting backwards from 100:
Tracking coloured shapes on a computer screen:
[2 marks]

Briefly explain two ways in which the working memory experiment described above could
be improved

Here’s something to read to get the, started:
www.psychologywizard.net/working-memory-ao1-ao2-ao3.html

So glad course is sorted now Harrystyles
Nard DS is doing the same. Comp sci is new to him as school didn’t do it so College suggesting he has a go then drop if doesn’t get on with it.

Finally slept and feel human which is good as DD is reaching crunch time with year abroad situation l am very cross with university, they have been utterly rubbish, her loan now will be delayed whatever happens. Still don’t know if she can go or not and it’s getting rather stressful.

5 hours in the car yesterday with a big chunk of the way home crawling in traffic. DS is now enrolled, has his door key and his bed nearly made , just need a sheet as smaller bed than I thought. Have a list to get in readiness for next trip which is the day he starts. I think he is finding it quite daunting and said he hadn’t really thought about it until yesterday but I think seeing his room and unpacking helped a bit. Someone had dropped a box of cocoa pops in his kitchen and it did feel like a good taste of student life!

Not sure this will get anywhere but interesting for those whose schools were stingy with the CAGs

schoolsweek.co.uk/government-facing-exams-challenge-over-schools-advised-to-deflate-grades/amp/