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

I think this insisting on 4 is madness. They are likely to be out of school at some point over the winter. If they are sure of what they want to do they should be concentrating on doing as much as possible while they can. Those who are trying to decide which A level to drop should continue. It's the one size fits all approach that's making me crazy.

That’s ridiculous. At DD’s Grammar school only very high GCSE achievers could do 4 subjects. She was eligible but chose not to as she knows she tends to get overwhelmed easily. I think half term is the deadline for swapping/dropping subjects for everyone.

I’m finding mornings exhausting! Bring back lockdown! I’m out at 7.15 dropping ds to his bus stop 10 mins away, then out again at 7.55 to drop dd at the train station. I get back, have breakfast and start work at about 8.30. For the last six months I’ve been getting out of bed about 8.30! I haven’t even been into the office yet - that’s happening soon and I’m wondering if I’ll cope!

Sorry been awol all - Orange household not well body aches and pains , cold symptoms etc.

Happy birthday to little @KingscoteStaff and little @sandybayley. Still seems as if DD hasn't started properly - is attending this week but no work set for free periods. The alternate week attendance has been scrapped due to complaints - masks to be worn in classrooms . Such a large college with students attending by train.

All students back at my work now - thankfully am office based and spending a bit of time there not going anywhere near any lecture halls though.

Thanks, Paddington, it really is a relief.

Sorry to hear things aren't all good in your house, Orange. When you say free periods, do you mean periods set aside due to Covid, or do you mean standard gaps in the timetable? If the latter, DD doesn't have anything she HAS to do in free periods ( although I'd obviously want her to be working).

DD's school insist on 4 A levels of 3 plus EPQ. She's started with 4 because she couldn't choose ( psychology being an unknown), but can't drop one until Christmas. I'm hoping that we could put forward a case for her to drop sooner, citing SEN, if she starts to struggle, though.

4 A’s are strongly discouraged here unless it’s further maths. Not even pressured to do an EPQ. DD is doing an extended research project instead, which she knows doesn’t carry the same weight, but offset by doing an AS which doesn’t have the same pressure as only 2 hours per wk.

Mornings not too bad here - due to imposition of staggered starts DS does not now start until 9.30 (used to be 8.30) and school is 15 minutes walk away. However DS has three 8.30 starts a fortnight which he is not happy about. Thankfully he doesn't start until 11 on Fridays which sort of makes up for it (he has a study period first lesson on Fridays, not deliberate policy to let them go in later).

Ds is taking 3 A Levels plus an AS. The AS (Computer Science) is something he really wanted to do at A Level but it wasn't offered. So I'm worried about his workload, but equally he wouldn't want to drop the AS to bring it down! He is taking Maths and Physics, and I've heard varying things about how much overlap this gives him - from almost nothing to about 25%).

Happy birthday to the Sept birthday gang: sounds like some lovely lockdown celebrating! I can't get my head around the idea that ds will be 17 this academic year: agree with everyone that it feels MUCH older than 16 ... and much too close to 18!!

@Piggywaspushed: any news on the Spanish teacher - that sounds like a total pain, esp for a subject that is so important to him

@AnneOfCleavage: yup, I have to open windows and curtains too - esp for ds, who would happily live in a cave - in fact he often closes them when he comes back to minimise any glare on the screen ;-)

We're back to 6:45 wake up...it's been a shock!

DS is doing 3 a levels - the only people he knows doing 4 are people doing Further Maths.

He is doing OK with getting up and so far (touch wood) he hasn’t fallen asleep when he gets back from school, which used to happen a lot in year 10 and year 11

Ah yes @alsoplayspiccolo. Last week was just a tutor meeting/induction. This week starting on timetable but no homework as yet just intro lessons. They want them off site between lessons so today she wandered in at 1. I hope she is able to establish a routine soon.

I do think it is short sighted to make it hard to drop one with things as they are ta the moment. It’s inevitable that this term will be disrupted and sensible to get as much under their belt whilst they can.
DS will have to see how he gets on with his 4th as not done it before.

There is no way dd would manage 4 A levels.

She is on day 3 of her first week which is all online. They have one week in, one week online. She is struggling already . I knew she would but they've set so much work for media which when you've not been to school for 6 months, never done it before, never met the teacher, have only 5 GCSE's, have dyslexia - it's getting to her already. And that's only one subject! The other two are just reading and notes. She understands concepts but really struggles to get her ideas down into paragraphs/essay form. Not doing GCSE's was a godsend for her, but she doesn't really know what hard work is because of it.

Plus the college haven't even let her know when she'll be doing her hour of maths gcse retake lesson.

I feel anxious already. I really hope she proves me wrong and the teachers are supportive but I do anticipate stressful times ahead. And guess who is her emotional punchbag.....

All your DC's seem so clever. It must be so much easier having a child who just gets academic stuff. And just gets on with it.

I’ve been where you are Pasanda 🌷DD wasn’t receptive to help from me and was at two different places and 3 different courses by the end of first month of sixth form.

Bloody hell fools. It's so hard isn't it. She won't accept help from me but as we speak is with her dad (exdh) sat at the patio table at our house going over her media 🤷‍♂️. She obviously thinks he's cleverer than me! 😃

I really don't know what she'll do if they ask her to leave. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed they'll support her.

Well at least she is listening to someone, galling though it is 😁
Yes it is really hard and can be quite isolating if everyone around you has DC who are loving 6th form.

Are school generally supportive? Are they supporting her with her dyslexia? DD has finally worked out she is an auditory learner and found various apps that have helped her organise things in a way she responds to well. Took her some time to realise that.

I've no idea about how supportive they are as it's a new 6th form / adult learning place she's starting at.
I'm not particularly impressed so far. Very badly organised and no acknowledgement of the dyslexia stuff I've sent over. I just hope the individual teachers are better.

@pasanda that’s hard. I’ve got a no 2 in year 10 who sounds a bit similar, so although I’m probably going to have an easy ride with dd, I definitely won’t with ds! We had a bit of a meltdown from him last night because he said he’s just too mentally exhausted when he gets home to do homework and in any case the Biology was too hard. My dh, who used to teach GCSE science, offered to sit with him and help but he wouldn’t have any of it! He does have ADHD and he really struggles to sit and study, plus he’s very prone to headaches. But he’s also really stubborn!

Dd has come home saying she should have taken Economics as a fourth subject because it sounds interesting! I’m half wondering if it’s more to do with the fact that the boy she goes on the train with does it and she seems to rather like him. And she doesn’t really like her RS class!

Crazy - I do wonder if dd has adhd traits. She does tick a lot of the boxes but won't even hear of being assessed.

Funny about the economics boy. Peers and teachers have such an important role in whether they enjoy a subject or not it seems! Is it too late for her to swop courses?

@pasanda sorry to hear that the dyslexia stuff isn't being acknowledged. It's so frustrating to have to fight to get our kids the recognition they deserve.

I’m not going to encourage an economics swap as I looked at some past papers and I really don’t think it’s for her! My ds on the otter hand would find it really interesting... If she’s really serious she can find out for herself if it’s possible!

It’s worth looking into ADHD - but only if she’s open to it. Ds has now accepted and even embraced it - but is still resistant to doing anything to help himself eg by taking his meds!

My DS has to do 4 as well and gets to drop it at Easter :-(. Wonder how that will go!!

Eventually spoke to DS's head/ Only because I sent snotty email.

All very amicable but not much resolved. He did accede parents should have been in the loop.

There is a teacher in the country. She is American but 'very experienced' (hmmm) and has been seen 'in the flesh' ! No work visa though. This will take months I reckon. In the meantime there is a trainee and a cover teacher who ahs a background of Spanish teaching. It's all a bit of a mish mash but at least they are trying.

I remain Not Happy and Unconvinced that the mystery American will be some amazing educator.

Pasanda, if it helps DS1 was (and still is) a fairly legendary presence on past parental support threads...

.. he has been in his new uni house since Saturday and has today figured out how to close the blinds...