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

Hi
My dd did well and we are very happy. She got 6 x 7s and 4 x 6s which we think is generally a fair reflection of how she was achieving in school. She was never going to be all 8s and 9s as she has a genetic physical condition which means she has missed lots of school over the years due to injuries, pain, fatigue and appointments. She also had extenuating circumstances which are on going but which we believe school took account of.
Anyway, she really wants to go to medical school. She has met the gcse baseline for most universities except for two or three, typically including the one that potentially would meet her needs best. Do you think that universities will put much emphasis on GCSEs when it comes to assessing places for 2022 given that different schools will have interpreted the ofqual guidance differently? She basically got sixes in two sciences and maths whereas two of those three needed to be sevens. She feels if she had sat the exams she could have got sevens in the two sciences. In at least one it’s likely that a poor mock result brought her down. She’s taking the two sciences for A level and so could potentially resit them in the autumn if there is a guarantee grades won’t go down but I’d rather she conserve her energy for A levels if possible. She also plays a wheelchair sport to national/international level and we know that others have managed to negotiate a grade reduction with this university but don’t know whether that would apply to medicine. Obviously she has all the other hurdles to cross to get a place but it would be nice to know that GCSEs wouldn’t be an actual hurdle although I appreciate those with higher grades might still stand more chance.

@Zebracat You must be so proud! Fantastic results and hope she continues to do well in 6th form.

Morning all.

Phew! Just ventured into that GCSE AIBU thread for a rant but now hurtled back here as soooo much nicer, kinder and less depressing! Blimey there are some miserable people in AIBU

@Comefromaway I’m so sad for your DS. That’s really mean and yes social media magnifies it all

Hope everyone has a good day and that all the DC are able to confirm their next steps ASAP. Really feel for those left hanging by schools/colleges; it’s the last thing anyone needs!

Interested to read all the comments about DC doing 3 As plus AS/EPQ etc. DS currently angling to swap one of his A levels for a BTEC but we’re hoping to persuade him to stick with the 3 As and perhaps do an EPQ as well. No idea how successful we’ll be though. Having to come to terms with the fact that it needs to be his choice not ours

@marine04 Your DD sounds amazing and a real high achiever. I do Tito know anything about universities view GCSEs when it comes to medicine, none of mine ever showed any interest (though we did try drop it into conversations earlier on) so I’m hoping someone in know will pop in soon. Just wanted to congratulate you and wish her all the best with her aspirations.

Typo ‘don’t know’.

They're not miserable flying : they are plain nasty.

Since we changed to numbers, no one says the ones with alphabetical letters are worth nothing , even though that was Gove's intention (to devalue the older GCSEs)

It's ridiculous.

I’m catching up on this thread fromfront to back so just reading about your poor DS @Comefromaway. People can be so mean . How is he?

comefromaway, that’s so upsetting!
I know teenagers can be self-absorbed, but even so, and especially after your DA was such a gracious host!
DD has had a similar issue recently. She suggested booking a glamping night to celebrate, but one of her friendship group is away so they decided against it. Then someone suggested standard camping next week. DD has only camped as part of DoE and so in her mind, camping involved a long hike to the campsite 😂 Her reaction was a bit, “ Hell, no!” and by the time she realised the misunderstanding, her friends had created a private chat group and booked without her. When she explained her mistake, they told her she couldn’t come.
I get that DD probably have the impression initially that she didn’t want to go, but I’m a bit surprised no-one tried to pursuant her, and no-one then tried to change arrangements to include her (not even her BFF).

@OrangeCinnamon1

All of us have a day off work including MIL so we are going to our local outlet on the harbour. Shopping and food! I've missed it so much and have not been since March. Shame the weather rubbish today as it can feel like a holiday if you are there with the sun shining.

I'm realising how much I've missed esting out only at this moment ! Please feel free to tell me your foodie post GCSE experiences.

How was the Ivy @ealingwestmum

I have an outlet on a harbour near me. Fab place and beautiful!

Wonders if thinking of same city 🤔 I don't live in city though!

Come so sorry that must have been hard for your boy

Marine shout out to your DD. Mh ds also has a genetic physical condition and those hours long exams (plus extra time) were so difficult for him sometimes due to posture etc.
The resilience they show just to sit in one place which their peers take for granted is something that's hard to understand unless you deal with it.

The planning involved in timing physio and baclofen and how much activity he could just to be in optimum for each exam was as comprehensive as his revision timetable

I've finally caught up as didn't want to post and not read from where I left off on Wednesday evening - not surprised there's a new thread - thanks Orange

Yesterday was a blur and I didn't have time to come on mumsnet and see how everybody's DC did. Huge congratulations to everyone who got what they deserved/ needed/ hoped for and huge commiserations to those who got what they didn't deserve/needed/ hoped for.

DD was so so nervous Wednesday evening with tummy aches and dread and was up first thing yesterday morning (first time since lockdown lol) and just about managed a glass of juice. We got to school for her time slot and DH and I waited in the car park chatting to shaking, tense and nail biting parents and finally DD came out and asked us to get in the car so she could quietly tell us.

She got 2 x9s, 2x8s, 2x7s, a 6 and 3x5s (in Foundation level subjects) so she was very happy. I think she was more delighted in her 5 for French (those who remember from previous threads how she was just hoping for a 4) than her 9 in dance which she was predicted but hoped she'd get.

A teensy bit gutted with her 6 for drama as was told she'd get top grade as her portfolio was raved about throughout year 11 and her actual performance outstanding but she's had no teacher for year 9 or 10 and only got one for year 11 who didn't know them but hey a 6 is phenomenal.

A real mixed bag of results throughout her school with one lad getting an 8 in foundation French 😂

Can I just clarify, are these the grades now and no change forthcoming? I can't quite believe how well she's done and don't want to breathe out yet in case next week we get the "real ones".

One of her teachers asked if she could take her picture as she was one of the schools top achievers. DD was amazed and delighted. Her best friend got all 9s but had to quarantine at home otherwise it would have been her I guess so DD finally got some limelight at last - her BFF gets all the awards, prizes, praise and mentions in school magazines.

Lots of celebrations were had and I now have a hangover and have to walk 2 miles to pick up my car later but it was worth it.

Hope you had a great birthday DadDadDad yesterday 🎂🥳

crazycrofter, honestly, the change in DD from year 10 has been quite miraculous!
She really is an example of DC not progressing in a linear fashion; she couldn’t write her name consistently at 8, her reading age was behind and she didn’t meet national standards in maths.
At the end of year 9, the head teacher told her she should drop at least one subject, if not 2, and she should definitely not do history (“We’re a SELECTIVE school, not a SPECIAL school!”)

I refused to listen - she took ICT a year early, and for an 8 in history yesterday.
She was pretty close to bottom in maths and the sciences in year 9, especially physics, and ended up getting 7 and 9/9.
I won’t lie - it was a slog, and I was very hands-on, sitting with her for almost every revision session, testing her, watching videos, helping her write notes, and in the case of science, learning it myself so I could be one step ahead of her to be able to help her ( I only took biology O level, and got an E!!)

Keep the faith. ADHD children are behind their peers by 1/3 of their chronological age, so come into their own a lot later, and things take longer to come together...but they will.

We have the middle school system here with high school starting in Year 9. Ds had been in a normal 11-18 high school but we moved him due to awful problems there related to his autism.

So the others had all been together since Middle school in Year 5 whereas he only joined in Year 9. He thought that one boy in particular was his very good friend, they will be going to the same college doing courses in the same department, the others are all staying on at the school 6th form.

Talking of this boy, his mum is under the impression that yesterday's grades were the GAV's and his music grade might go up when they release the CAG's. It appears they were disappointed as he got a 5. The boy is a very talented performer who got higher performance marks than ds, but ds says his listening skills were weaker (things like identifying cadences and stuff) and his composition work was basic due to only having a basic knowledge of music theory whereas ds had learnt music theory at his previous school and worked towards and passed his ABRSM theory plus handed in a fully scored overture back in Year 10. I've decided not to say anything in case they think ds's 8 is favouritism.

Hopefully they will both flourish at Btec as this boy is doing musical theatre rather than pure music.

Morning all. I am in need of some wise words please.
DD is holding two 6th form places, at school and 6th form college. She loves school but half the history syllabus is of no interest to her. The college offers her perfect syllabus.
So the dilemma is, does she change to college for the sake of 2 out of 4 topics in one subject? Basically one-sixth of her studies.
College is a big step, more difficult journey, and although she is friends with some to-be Y13s, she doesn’t know anyone in her year.
It’s really taking the shine off results day

@marine04

Hi My dd did well and we are very happy. She got 6 x 7s and 4 x 6s which we think is generally a fair reflection of how she was achieving in school. She was never going to be all 8s and 9s as she has a genetic physical condition which means she has missed lots of school over the years due to injuries, pain, fatigue and appointments. She also had extenuating circumstances which are on going but which we believe school took account of. Anyway, she really wants to go to medical school. She has met the gcse baseline for most universities except for two or three, typically including the one that potentially would meet her needs best. Do you think that universities will put much emphasis on GCSEs when it comes to assessing places for 2022 given that different schools will have interpreted the ofqual guidance differently? She basically got sixes in two sciences and maths whereas two of those three needed to be sevens. She feels if she had sat the exams she could have got sevens in the two sciences. In at least one it’s likely that a poor mock result brought her down. She’s taking the two sciences for A level and so could potentially resit them in the autumn if there is a guarantee grades won’t go down but I’d rather she conserve her energy for A levels if possible. She also plays a wheelchair sport to national/international level and we know that others have managed to negotiate a grade reduction with this university but don’t know whether that would apply to medicine. Obviously she has all the other hurdles to cross to get a place but it would be nice to know that GCSEs wouldn’t be an actual hurdle although I appreciate those with higher grades might still stand more chance.

Hi @marine04 I am pretty well informed on medical schools as DS1 is starting this year after not getting any offers last year.

First, congratulations on the grades. There are certainly several medical schools which do not score grades in their usual application process but some require a certain number of 7s, which she has. The big thing is that she has 6+ in Maths and English and that she is doing A level Biology and Chemistry.

Nobody knows how medical schools will assess GCSEs for 2022 entry, if they had not given the CAGs I think the universities may have been more careful, but with the CAGs they may just treat them the same as usual. If you have a particular medical school in mind you should contact their medical school admissions and ask whether her extenuating circumstances mean she is likely to get an interview. You have to be careful about being given the marketing talk - a lot of people were encouraged to apply for Cardiff which shortlists on GCSE results when actually even people with 9 8/9 scores were not shortlisted.

Unless her extenuating circumstances help, she should not be considering Bristol (need 7 for Maths) and the ones scoring GCSEs (Oxford, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham, Kings, Lincoln, can't remember others off top of my head), but loads will be fine with her GCSEs; Exeter (with very good A level predictions, Newcastle, Sheffield, St Andrews (with good UCAT) and most of the others.

Personally I think it would be a great idea to take the exams in the autumn if the grades already awarded can't go down. She would get some external exam experience and brushing up on GCSE knowledge is a great preparation for A level.

Comefromaway: There will always be ‘those’ parents that latch onto a target to peg against, and have their own bizarre ways of comparing, even if there are such variances between the two. It is very much her problem, not yours or your DS’s, and you remain gracious in knowing it’s not her son’s fault either. Im sure both boys will absolutely do well at next stage with routes that favour their strengths.

@ShaunaTheSheep

Morning all. I am in need of some wise words please. DD is holding two 6th form places, at school and 6th form college. She loves school but half the history syllabus is of no interest to her. The college offers her perfect syllabus. So the dilemma is, does she change to college for the sake of 2 out of 4 topics in one subject? Basically one-sixth of her studies. College is a big step, more difficult journey, and although she is friends with some to-be Y13s, she doesn’t know anyone in her year. It’s really taking the shine off results day

DS2 is moving to another place, but knows his school (which he is very happy with) would have him back if he changed his mind. Would be much harder to change the other way round.

@comefromaway I'm so sorry to hear about your ds' friendship disappointment yesterday. What a shame. I hope he can make a fresh start at college and make new friends.

@ShaunaTheSheep what are the less interesting modules? I did a history degree and unlike most other subjects, the composition of the course is very important. My husband also did a history degree at a different uni and didn't enjoy his anywhere near as much as the options weren't so interesting. But for A Level, it's just one subject of three... Is she keen on college for any other reasons? Lots of young people really appreciate the freedom/more grown up environment and chance for a fresh start. How difficult is the journey?

@Alsoplayspiccolo thanks for the inspiration! Somehow I don't think we'll see such a radical transformation with ds, as he's very reluctant to accept any help. But I'm hoping that dd's results might just give him the kick he needs to start trying a bit harder.

@itsgettingweird most probably - southern naval !?

Who are the English Literature teachers @proggymat or @Piggywaspushed? Sorry failing memory! DD having a wobble about English Lit. For months I have been saying to her she needs to want to / enjoy reading fiction and writing about it. Now today before her A level college interview on Tues she decides to listen to me.

She likes the look of her sociology A level and music which she is already down for. Im annoyed as with English lit it would make a solid set of subjects. Now she wants to replace it with Law. At moment she.is 90 % academic music course at Uni 10 % Sociology (having never done it before).

I'm trying to get her to make her own decision but quite frankly scared it may noy be the right one/right course!

Any advice ?

I'm having a nightmare. Been at the school this morning. Ds1's subject choices don't fit into the scheduling. This has only just come to light because it changes every year depending on the applications she says.

I also told her I'm not happy with his grades. The 6 and the 5, don't seem right. She brushed this off dismissively.

He also drank too much and lost his bike and smashed his phone, at the party last night.

Not a good day.

@Oblomov20 the GCSE related blind drunk thing is a bit of a rite of passage for a lot of boys, but sounds like consequences were particularly tough for your DS.

Lots of people end up changing 6th form venue fairly last minute if you are feeling disenchanted with school and subject choices don't work.

Comefromaway that has made me really sad and angry .

Oh @Oblomov20 that’s so not what you need! Poor you. Hope you get something sorted for DS soon and that the bike turns up (even if the phone is a write off). Bloody teens huh?

@ShaunaTheSheep that’s a tough one. I guess it comes down to how much she feels her enjoyment of that half of the history course will detract from her enjoyment of A levels. Personally I think 6th form colleges can be great as a halfway house between school and uni - I went to one myself BUT my school had no sixth form and literally everyone went off to the same sixth form college after y11. Tougher decision for DD if she won’t know anyone. What’s she like personality wise? Does she make friends easily? If so, college may actually be a benefit. If on the other hand she would struggle to adapt to college life - 16 is very young still - then maybe staying at school is better.

Gosh and we all thought the stress was over with results day out of the way didn’t we I’m feeling a bit out of sorts today too. We are being chased by DS’s school over whether he’s going to take up his place at their sixth form, he’s still dithering between that and a place at sixth form college AND his final choice of A levels AND saying it doesn’t matter what he does because he doesn’t want to go to uni anyway and blah blah blah. Why can’t life be simple? I was a bloody doddle for my DM in comparison

I might go back to bed for a nap.