GCSE Summer 2020 - Thread 11 Carry on Corona Cohort - Starting New Terms and Settings

[OrangeCinnamon1]

Welcome all to the 11th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort - The Corona Cohort!

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs regardless of the institute they attend 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 don't within this thread.

Similarly it should be recognised that the grades our children need/deserve/want will vary across the board. One same grade outcome can simultaneously cause Joy and Despair for different posters. Please be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

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 any new threads should have 'GCSE Summer 2020 Thread # : Carry on Corona Cohort' in title just to make it easier to find. Not fussy about who starts those !

From now on our DS/DD may go down various paths such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed, so we decided not to be exclusionary and stay right here in Secondary - at least until Mumsnet HQ chuck us out .

At this precise moment in time we have had GCSE results . It has been decided that the higher of Centre Assesd Grades and Calculated Grades will be awarded - the algorithim seems to have been applied a schol level to the detriment of some students. Lots of our young people have already started on the next stage of their journey with some still to start.

We are all STILL trying to protect our young people's mental health, which the government claimed was their priority...when they talk about wanting students back in schools/college in September...now we have their physical health to consider too as the mingling at various settings starts up again. Hopefully a positive experience this term!

First Thread

previous thread

So after all the drama of results day and not being allowed to do the subjects at A-Level and making peace with doing BTEC. DD seems to think that she’s been put into A-Level business. No idea what is going on there.

Thanks for the new thread! DS had a subject wobble on his first day, but went to see the head of sixth form and all settled back to where he was. He had his first day of teaching on Friday, but has also come home with a 'community' form: something that I don't think has been mentioned by his school until now! He has to do 2 lessons worth of community work, fill out his goals for this, get it signed off etc. To be fair, I think the can accommodate a lot of them working in the school, but I do work for a local homelessness charity so he's hoping to come in with me for an afternoon. I'm slightly un-impressed that these forms all need to be signed off and completed by next Friday - it's fine for us as we can pull strings but I would have thought most community placements will take longer to arrange at the mo. Usually quite a few of them work in the old people's homes, but I'm not expecting them to be taking people on this year! I imagine ds was told more than he remembers, but it all seems pretty vague and unclear!

How are other schools managing community engagement this year?

DS goes back to the same school this week. Long letter received about one-way halls and mask wearing. Can go out at lunchtime & sports practices are on. No idea about forms and no timetable online yet.

DD has had 2 full days in her new school and all seems to be going really well so far. 🙏
She’s been adopted by a big friendship group, one of whom goes to the same youth theatre group with DD. I get the feeling that the whole year group is friendly with each other, actually, and the tutor groups are a mixture of year 12 and 13, so it’s a tight 6th form.
She’s had lessons in every subject but not met all her subject teachers yet, as most have 2 teachers.

DS's timetable is very interesting. He has at least 2 teachers for every subject (4 for geography!!) and the subjects are quite mixed up during the day (he's taking 3 A Levels and an AS). He has subject study sessions and also general study sessions. Not sure if the subject study lessons are supervised - if not, I can't see why the timetable would specify that the lesson had to be "Physics study" as opposed to the student just studying what they wanted.

Annoyingly (for DS), despite the sixth form students being moved to start an hour later than lower years (staggered starts due to Covid) he has 3 lessons a fortnight that are in the earlier lesson slot. DS (who takes pleasure in picking holes in things) is already asking how he is meant to be in a lesson from 8.30-9.30 if he's not allowed in school until 8.50. Not helped that his tutor couldn't explain this either as he wasn't even aware that some students were getting "odd" timetabled lessons!

He only had 1 lesson - maths on his induction day. The class were told in no uncertain terms that they only had so many lessons to cover each subject and then they would move on, so they couldn't afford to coast (I've been telling DS this all summer). They then had a lesson that was supposedly GCSE revision, but DS couldn't remember any of it (not desperately surprisingly, but not sure he's worked out yet, how much independent study he'll have to do to keep up).

Current school sixth form (separate building). Everyone starts off with 4 A Levels for the first year. 13/14 hrs per week of subject lessons. 1 afternoon of sport and 1 afternoon of extra curricular/more sports. 20 hrs per week of private study per week expected on top - study space provided. So, school day structure maintained which is probably a good thing in a pandemic - if it doesn’t all go online in the coming weeks. In contrast, our local sixth form college don’t want kids to hang around between lessons but haven’t provided study spaces, let alone direction on where they can eat their packed lunch. They have a large catchment area and the majority can’t just pop home inbetween timetabled lessons so chaotic all round.

Piccolo That sounds like a very promising start. We all want them to do well in their studies but friendships are so important at this age.

DD still in an utter mood..all because I reminded her she still has a netflix doc to watch for sociology. The real reason of course is because she is nervous .

Andwhenyougetthere not sure what community work school are doing this year - they also usually do some primary school helping as well as old people's homes, but they also do work for an ecology centre and for the local wildlife trust clearing undergrowth, trimming bushes/trees etc so maybe that would be possible?

DD is exhausted after 3 early starts and walking miles around a new building and meeting 200 new people. She has still been set several lots of homework this weekend which didn't go down well 😁

Thanks Orange

Both of mine are absolutely knackered.
Ds2 started Year 7, and had his 'goodbye to year 6 outside disco' last night.
Both boys are cream crackered. I guess I underestimated what the build up to joining, and only 2 days of school, would do to them both.

@OrangeCinnamon1 I sympathise with the moodiness! Dd was the same before Friday. Hope she gets on ok!

[quote crazycrofter]@OrangeCinnamon1 I sympathise with the moodiness! Dd was the same before Friday. Hope she gets on ok![/quote]
Thanks @crazycrofter. I should be more sympathetic but i'm worried about months ahead are endless bouts of anxiety , uncertainty and misery. We've had many months without that due to lockdown and avoidance of school.

Let's not forget the toll and toil this has taken on us as well.
I'm realising how much this has all taken out of me. I'm just glad that the first week (2 days) are over, and both mine seem happy.

So it seems my DD is a 6th former that I can relate to - they went to the pub yesterday afternoon!

Feel I need to explain a little. She didn't have school so meet some of her friends including 2 that have left to go to a different 6th form - at Weatherspoon (Spoons) for a burger and coke at 4.00pm so didn't bunk off lessons to go the the pubs like some 6th formers I knew back in the day... and didn't drink either... Which is why she will do so much better than I did :-)

She has just played her 1st club hockey match since Feb - and I loved watching it. I know we have all missed our favourite sport - it was such a big part of my life for so long (only stopped playing myself in 2018). Was just so nice to say hi to people I knew in person.

She is allowed to leave school anytime he hasn't got a lesson (which is a lot), but is expected to do a lot of work in her own time.

Her timetable is pretty good, a couple of double lessons but not too many, 5 out of the 10 days (2 weeks timetable) she has last lesson off so means she can go home just before lunch (4 lessons in the AM and 1 in PM). 1 day only has 1 lesson in just before lunch the rest at least 3 or 4 and none with all 5 lessons.

She has been VERY lucky and has been put in a form with 7 of her friends (all her friendship group) and has at least 1 of her friends in every class so seems to have enjoyed her first day back with next day off..

Good luck to any starting next week - and for those who have started a new school and found it hard work - keep chatting to people and keep smiling :-)

Sounds fun @heifer!

@Oblomov20 completely agree, I think it’s only now they are actually going back that we’ll start realising how draining it will be for them and how much strain it’s all been on us as parents too over the past few months. DS is going to be knackered by next weekend if not before!

We have had a cathartic but also quite emotional (for me, I don’t think he could care less!) afternoon doing a mass clearout of his bedroom before college on Monday. Organising books and files that correlate to A level subjects, getting rid of paperwork he no longer needs (all Spanish work was hurled into the recycling bin with particular pleasure ) and putting a selection of ks3 and 4 work into archive boxes for the loft (for now - we have chucked loads but I can’t quite bring myself to throw absolutely everything away).

It does still hit me from time to time what an absolute rollercoaster this has all been but such an anticlimax in many ways. Still feels a bit unreal that they never actually got to sit any of those exams.

On the plus side, I also got an entire hoover full of dust out of his room and it looks lovely and tidy...for now...

With regards to workload, do your DC have part time jobs or intend to work during college?

DD works at our local stables - one day at the weekend and one day after school.

@NotAKaren mine was meant to have a job at the local plant nursery over the summer. But due to covid they didn't take him on. He'd worked there 2 or 3 mornings a week during half terms previously. He'd like to work there again if he can, the pay is pretty crap though.

Ds is thrilled that all the footballing lads at school have left and gone to college or other places. He's very small for his age and was only ever a reserve (played only a handful of games years 7-11) There were a lot of lads that were in the academy in our nearest city. So were very good at football. Now they've moved on he's hoping to make the 6th form team. That's the only sport they will do though.

@NotAKaren. Tbh I've told DD she didn't have to get a job. She is doing 3 A levels plus 1 AS level, EPQ, DoE, plays hockey Saturday, helps juniors Sunday, plays county hockey as well as having a pretty active social life which seems to keep growing and growing (will have to watch it).

I thought she will be too busy too work as well but have said that during school holidays she needs to be doing stuff that will help her get to uni and/or help her with her A levels, and also to get a job once A levels finish.. (thinking of life guarding/hockey coaching qualification).

However, this was before I realised just how many free periods she has at school.. She has 19 over 2 weeks, so guessing she won't be quite as busy in the evenings as I thought.

I'm hoping the babysitting starts to pick up again as that paid well and she could study once the children were in bed.

Dd is desperate for a job! McDonalds turned her down, she’s going to apply to Costa and Starbucks but not sure what chance she has.

Thanks for the new thread! Will catch up later!

Well I made the mistake of reading the pages DS waved at me , having finally dug out my glasses. It’s for a project him and a few others are doing which I think is a cross between maths and computer science, set by a university lecturer.

I have not a bloody clue what it is going on about and hope DH can make sense of it to make the right encouraging noises DS didn’t seem phased so I guess that’s a good sign!

I feel worn out and he hasn’t even gone back yet! Am slightly wondering whether having my mum and dad visiting us next weekend will be entirely a good idea, but we haven’t seen them since Christmas and my mum basically invited them here