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

@ealingwestmum have you ordered a licence? If so how long did it take please? Well...I don't think they take long using passport photo. It's adding a photo I'm thinking about.

Today, DS says he wants to drop Spanish. The lessons sound really piecemeal and a bit chaotic tbh.

Told him to wait til half term.

If he drops it, so be it. But he will need to rethink his life plans!

@ icanbewhatiwant we applied for licence at end of August online then we had to send a form off which we got in about 2 days. We had an email which had a link on so you could get an update on application. When I checked today it said they were awaiting form even though we sent back beginning of September. I phoned DVLA today she said not to worry and that they were taking a lot longer and they would only update online status once licence had been posted.

Thanks @Nard75 we applied online and got a letter in the post 2 days later for us to add photo. But not had an email. We posted beginning of Sept. ☹️

It was pre CV Icant, around last Oct when they were dispatching within 48 hours. You should get it before Nov hopefully even with their reduced hours/wfh, but it is needed for the first lesson. She also needed adding to the instructor’s insurance in advance of lessons, but this may have been because he’s 100% independent, not part of a franchise driving school.

I don’t remember sending a paper form though, and uploaded a photo myself that wasn’t passport due to its age. Maybe they’ve changed the system in a year...

That’s sad to hear Piggy but not surprising. He’s been messed about already so much when nearly half a term has already passed.

@icanbewhatiwant You should’ve got email after you applied online with your reference number on. I thought applying online would all you needed to do but we also had to fill the form in and send back with photograph.

Thanks @ealingwestmum No option to upload photo when I applied. It just asked if I wanted to use passport photo. I uploaded passport photos recently. That was easier.

@Nard75 no we weren't sent a link.

Checking in from ‘6 inside and hospitality but not outside’ land
No ‘seshes’ for the past few weeks - indoor or out - as some of us actually engaged with ‘local restrictions’ guidance which now, as of midnight, means DD can’t even meet for a coffee, in entertainment venues, with friends from her old or even new school.
In regard to her A levels, she’s loving Latin, Classical Greek and Ancient History and very much of a mind that she has made the right choice.

DS used the passport photo option (renewed 2 yrs ago) and it was accepted - he didn't need to fill in a paper form. He got his license within 2 wks - this was last month.

Maths - Good. DS did complete all his Pre A level Maths work so on top of it. A few of his friends are already struggling.
Physics - OK. Doing some Isaac Physics over the summer helped.
DT - Really enjoying.
CS - Hard. Starting from scratch.

Getting more detail than that is like getting blood from a stone. Apparently, signed up to do DoE Gold with no idea of what he wants to do for the various sections - I'm leaving him to it.

I've tried to track the licence. It says please provide the number in the email sent after application. We haven't had an email 🤷‍♀️ so not sure what to do next. I guess I'll have to try phoning.

@icanbewhatiwant love the 7 year old photo on licence!

@Monkey2001 yes, made me laugh.

I have found the original email we got when we applied. It does have a link. The link says waiting for documents. Almost a month since I posted them. I wonder how behind they are.

@Nard75 did they give you a time frame? The payment was taken 1st sept. So we must be similar to you.

@icanbewhatiwant She didn’t give a time frame just said they were doing them as quickly as possible. Our payment was taken 24 August. Let me know when you receive yours and I will do the same.

Ok thanks @Nard75 you are a week
ahead of us then.

Just coming in here to moan a bit as you all know the score.

DS (who was given a 6 in maths by his old school so couldnt do maths there) just has his first set of maths tests back after which the teacher showed them the scatter graph of GCSE results v test results and it all tracked nicely so 9s had all got 80% etc down to the 7s and one other 6.

Apart from DS of course whose test results were up with the 9s. 'Isnt that weird' he said. 'No, not really' I thought fuming.

I thought I was over it but actually, still annoyed

@ChristopherTracy that's infuriating! But on the positive side, the teacher's approach will have boosted his confidence. He might start to identify as one of the more able in the class. You never know, this could even encourage a better work ethic! Some students just seem to perform in line with their 'place' in the group, so for some students this is why highly selective schools don't work as they lose confidence.

Dd is feeling similar, despite still being at a highly selective grammar school - it just has a slightly wider range of abilities than her even more highly selective girls independent! She feels she might be near the top, which was never the case before.

Christopher: Completely agree with Crazy; your boy has shown both the ability and attitude in a short space of time and change of scene to absolutely hammer a potential top result in his A level maths. I too would continue to be annoyed, but it’s now about how they control their often shitty hand they’ve been dealt, and turn it around for themselves. I hope his confidence is now riding higher than in August...

Your daughter seems to also be enjoying the change of scene Crazy on a whole host of measures...fantastic.

Hi, everyone, just checking in quickly as I don't get the chance to post much

Dd1, who hated school with a passion and has ASD and various mental health issues, is really enjoying 6th form and A-level work - lovely to see after yeeeaaaars of struggle just to get her into the building of a morning

However, her school has 4 hours per week of a compulsory programme called CEIL (no idea what it stands for), which is a kind of 'work and life skills' type thing She utterly loathes it and it makes her anxious, so I'm going to see if she can give it up when we have our 'tutor phone call' in lieu of 'tutor evening' this week

Does anyone else's school do anything similar - I can see why the school are so keen for everyone to do it, but it really triggers her feelings of being a fish out of water in the neurotypical world, sadly

@TheySeeHerRowling dd has to do two hours of enrichment, which seems to be mainly skills/work related stuff like volunteering. However she’s allowed to do online courses instead - why not suggest you’ll look into something useful/practical online for your daughter to do?

Thanks, crazycrofter, I think she'd much prefer an online course - I'll ask

DD has those classes Theysee. Stuff like basic food hygiene/prep; handling finances, preparing for independent living etc. One of the teachers has admitted some of it is really tedious and tick box, but mandatory timetabled.