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Original poster

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

999 replies

OrangeCinnamon1 · 20/08/2020 13:52

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.

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8
Oblomov20 · 22/08/2020 07:06

Small world piccolo, fiddler, somemore. Grin

0DimSumMum0 · 22/08/2020 07:33

@singingstones

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/

Very interesting. I have just challenged one CAG with our school on this basis because I know they would have stuck very rigidly to what was being asked by Ofqual. I expect to get absolutely nowhere but nothing to loose.
ealingwestmum · 22/08/2020 08:24

Thank you Monkey; that’s really useful info to know.

Alsoplayspiccolo · 22/08/2020 08:35

Fiddlers, our family home was in Walton-on-Thames, so my brother used to get the train.
I remember one day, he came home with a box full of mice he’d “saved” from the biology department! 😂

Shark2020 · 22/08/2020 09:01

Has anyone bought a laptop for college work? Just looking for recommendations please.

Wheresthebeach · 22/08/2020 09:14

I'm assuming there is not point in complaining, and I suppose erring on the side of caution was a good decision by the school but my God I'm fed up with all the SM gaff about inflated grades. DD's school didn't inflate, quite the opposite. Lots got less than mocks, which were rigorous.

Monkey2001 · 22/08/2020 09:25

@Shark2020

Has anyone bought a laptop for college work? Just looking for recommendations please.
It depends on your budget, I have not got anything for DS2 who is starting 6th form, but I got a surface pro for DS1 who is going to university. It is expensive, but the ability to use it as a tablet to make notes or type mean it is great when they can download lecture slides or take a photo of the board and annotate. Lots of private schools issue iPads to students.
Monkey2001 · 22/08/2020 09:28

@Wheresthebeach

I'm assuming there is not point in complaining, and I suppose erring on the side of caution was a good decision by the school but my God I'm fed up with all the SM gaff about inflated grades. DD's school didn't inflate, quite the opposite. Lots got less than mocks, which were rigorous.
This is not going to go away for a while. It is so extraordinary that OFQUAL did not realise that the algorithm was not going to work and just take an overview or which centres had over-predicted and send those ones back to be revised so that they could get moderated CAGs.

Do you know whether your school had their A level results changed by the algorithm when they had put in reasonable GAGs?

Piggywaspushed · 22/08/2020 09:32

Mine did : we were all set to appeal them before CAGs were reinstated.

SultanasofPing · 22/08/2020 09:39

I guess the worry never ends Wink
My eldest did psychology - it was much more analytical and mathsy than expected but she did enjoy it (went down some Wikipedia rabbit holes on case studies)
Dd2 has been persuaded by school to do 4 A levels - geography and 3 sciences - they're convinced she can do it but now I'm worrying about the pressure on her - gah it never stops!
Going to spend a fortune now on 6th form clothes and equipment plus youngest starting at secondary school so whole new uniform there too (anyone want to buy a kidney?) Grin

Piggywaspushed · 22/08/2020 09:42

I say this as someone who has a DS doing 4 A Levels (but there are reasons ) - no on e need 4 A Levels. DS's school tries to say the brightest should do 4 (and an EPQ) but it's nonsense. I have never seen a uni ask for 4 A Levels, or offer based on 4.

Shark2020 · 22/08/2020 09:43

Thanks @monkey2001 it's for a college course, she's doing the advanced diploma in animal mgt, so looking like 3 days in college and 2 self study (when normal). I believe there's quite a bit of coursework. I've got a Lenovo laptop working from home, wondered about something like that.

0DimSumMum0 · 22/08/2020 09:45

Our school don't do A Levels they do IB and it was a total disaster! Most failed to get uni places having being a awarded grades far lower than predicted. The IGSCEs which were the same boards as GCSE were not changed at all by the algorithm for my son. We got both on results day, so it was quite obvious that the school had adhered to the moderating of the cags and had not inflated the grades.

FlyingPandas · 22/08/2020 09:52

MorningSmile

I’ve actually slept properly in the first time in what feels like days, feels like quite a revelation!Smile

Agree @Piggywaspushed about the 4 A levels thing. I’ve been quite surprised reading how many DC seem to be starting 4. I’m guessing that many schools suggest starting 4 to give you more choice and then dropping one, though, which does make some sense.

Interesting to read the thoughts on psychology, DS also taking this and looking forward to it but I do remember teachers stressing that it is very much a science and not a “soft” option so perhaps there are a few misconceptions around. DS is very strong at maths and science and enjoys analytical stuff so I’m hoping it’ll be one he sticks with!

FoolsAssassin · 22/08/2020 09:59

Agree about the 4 A levels. DS only looking at trying as one is FM and Head of College said have a go as boarding and will have more time. In the main talk she said these days they generally say 3.

Thinking about it all has just given me a bit of a boot up the backside to enquire about an MSc. Auto reply saying course leader back in Thursday but that gives me more thinking time.

Champagnecharleyismyname · 22/08/2020 10:04

My DD did very well in her GCSEs. She is off to 6th form college and at the moment is doing English, Politics, Biology and Chemistry. She had 9s in all these subjects.

I'm concerned about the mix and doing 4. Her college give 6 weeks for a final decision and then she has to commit to the 4. Issue is she has no clue about what to study next.

Any thoughts on the mix and next suggestions?

ealingwestmum · 22/08/2020 10:05

It’s brilliant Fools that the growth in a subject has presented an opportunity gap for you to pursue.

ealingwestmum · 22/08/2020 10:08

Uni courses look like they’re so much broader now *Champagne; has she had a chance to look up some political or social science courses yet? Her mix looks bang on for these?

ProggyMat · 22/08/2020 10:10

My DD is sticking with 3 and the enrichment courses as she ‘wants a life’. She’s got a job, waitressing, in a village pub to fund said ‘life’ Grin
Fools you do realise we won’t allow you to talk yourself out of it! Grin

Piggywaspushed · 22/08/2020 10:17

I think Liberal Arts is worth looking at for those genuine broad tastes lot.

Lots of unis offer it now . I think it may become the new PPE (especially if Oxbridge start offering it)

Sarahbeans · 22/08/2020 10:19

My school encourages the students to start 4. The expectation is that most students will drop one by Oct half term, and then they'll be left with 3 they really like.

I am also worried that some schools have over / under predicted. I put this on the other thread. In years to come, I don't people will remember that 2020 was the CAGs year. After all, who can remember when A* were introduced? However, what does worry me is that within this year's cohort there is no standard. Some students will have got much higher grades than others, that is not necessarily earnt. Like those students sitting foundation paper and getting a 6 in maths due to the algorithm whilst another student has had a very low predicted grade. I have seen this in work, and I know not all grades are comparable.

That said, I don't think universities will use them when it comes to UCAS applications as they're so unreliable and after that who really cares? They're just GCSEs. I never declare mine on my cv. I just write X GCSEs, all grades A-C including English and Maths.

The last thing is the algorithm. My marks were moderated by the school before being submitted. Other schools have not done that. Some of my teacher friends said they were told to be optimistic and let the moderation decide. My school didn't do that, and it's just not fair.

I'm also concerned about the algorithm. It's produced some really weird results. So in one subject they went up by the algorithm and in another they went down. This has meant that students got grades they would never have got in one subject, whilst being too low in another. Which is just crazy. But there's nothing we can do about it. I tell my daughter just to be thankful it was her GCSEs and not her A levels.

sandybayley · 22/08/2020 10:36

DS1 did 4 and did well at all 4 (Chemistry, Physics, Maths and History). His offers were based on 3 but having the 4th gave him a bit more flexibility. His Durham offer for Chemistry (insurance) was1 A star and 2 As - the A star could have been in history and that gave him a lot of wriggle room.

His school starts everyone off on 4 knowing some will drop the 4th. I think it's good for a scientist to keep a humanity going if they can. DS1 has always loved history and I was pleased he could carry on with it.

Oblomov20 · 22/08/2020 10:37

Ds has just been offered a job at Sainsbury's. Thursday 5-9, Saturday 12-8.

This is good. Apart from the fact he now doesn't have a bike 🚲 to get there. He'll have to walk.Sad

Oblomov20 · 22/08/2020 10:40

Liking the fact that we've stopped talking about Dc. And we're now talking about Nando's missing mango marinade. And Fools and her MSc. This is so cool! Grin

Northumberlandlass · 22/08/2020 10:57

@OrangeCinnamon1 I do love living here! Very lucky - not quite that far North, about 30 mins from Newcastle!

DS is doing EPQ, they have a few choices for their 4th - including FM AS, sport leader & a music option.

DS would love a job, he helps at a local farm at Christmas time with orders, but his rowing really stops him - training in the week & Sunday & comps on Saturdays. He’s going to start his rowing coaching training too, hopefully when he turns 18 (just over a year) he’ll be able to coach for his club & get paid!