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

AnneofCleavage I'm sure you're right about the low predictions being a 'safety feature' (and probably a motivational tool too)

Dc school were open about doing this for GCSE when we queried at parents' evening - 'we know she'll get at least a 5'

She got 8s

Dd1 has gone into school despite only having the hated CEIL ('General Studies' type thing) lesson all day! First time she has achieved this, for her when she gets home

@ealingwestmum - hope your DD gets that negative test soon and starts to feel better.

Thank you Esther

Best wishes to your DD @EalingwestMum Flu is pretty horrid too. Had my jab on Friday through work - so scared of getting it !

Supposed to be off to New Forest on Friday for a cottage break ( using up a voucher from the cancelled break at Easter). I'm a little bit worried ...no further restrictions in my county as yet though.

Only two weeks until half term at least the kids can have a rest from school work and us from worry if they have to go in etc.

@AnneOfCleavage The whole thing with 6th form targets is a mystery to me. I think schools use some sort of software to generate these but clearly many are not checked to ensure they are sensible. S2 has just had his targets - one of which is a C in a subject which he achieved an 8 at GCSE.

I know he will work hard & do better than that. But some kids surely underachieve if their targets are too low.

Hello all :-) Can't believe we're already last week before the first half term: it's gone so fast! Ds pointed out that means he's 1/12 of the way through A levels which is doing my head in! Glad your dd has had a bit of a breakthrough too @TheySeeHerRowling, and good luck @ealingwestmum for your dd's results. I have various friends and colleagues in travel and airline related roles and I am feeling for them at the mo: just so tough :-(

We agree on lots of the TV shows recommended up thread: Ghosts, Friday Night Dinner and Bake off/extra slice are esp favourites, but we're also watching and giggling along to lots of reruns of old shows: X files; Buffy... What We do in the shadows was a bit hit too (not quite as dated!)

DS has had his ALIs predictions back, and his entire form had incredibly high predictions (nearly all As/A*s) so we're a little bemused by that - I don't actually know how seriously school take them - they ignored the MIDYAS and just made up their own, so I assume they'll do the same. Ds first test have all gone really well, although he said they all still seemed pretty easy and basic (eg the psych ones were no more than 4 point questions) so I can only assume our school is breaking them in gently for some reason unlike others on here. Bit odd tbh...!

Still no predictions but they have been having tests. The psychology assessment was a 16 mark question. They are not expected to get high marks at this stage.

I don’t know much about the methods of predicting a-levels but from what friends with older children at DD’s school have told me, they get predictions around 2 grades lower than their GCSE grades.

That is very interesting re the two grade lower than GCSE BlueMarigold and seems in line with what our school have done so we will see. The school are super happy with DD and her work ethic and ability so far so I feel content to not question it at present and see how things go.
Sounds similar to TheySeeHer and Decorhate schools too although great news on DS's high predictions Andwhenyougetthere

Fingers crossed you get your New Forest break Orange - it's so beautiful round there and a favourite place for us to go for a day trip every summer.

Hope you get the test result soon for your DD ealing then you can know for sure.

It's a weird one about the tiers isn't it icanbe as I assumed medium was fairly risky but it seems it's the lowest tier from what I saw on the beeb last night. We are in the lowest tier (is that 1?) so medium and no changes to rules so far. London are also medium but likely to move up a tier so if that happens no trip as can't meet inside and late Oct the weather is bound to be inclement plus relatives are mostly in the older category (daren't call them elderly as 75 is practically middle aged now dontcha know - their words not mine).

DD has told me she thinks they will get two predictions. One calculated one from a model and one the teachers do. But we won’t get anything until end of November.

I am sad as I found out that only 10 children in the whole year group are allowed to do an EPQ. She really wants to do one. She’s going to try to get selected but then there’s a lot of competition.

I think "low risk" is to do with the R number rather than number of cases? Vague idea it has to be below 1?

DS has had no tests. His response to every question he's asked is "fine". I was hoping for a bit more guidance on how he was doing. Unfortunately past history tells me that DS won't tell me until the situation is dire, and I'd rather avoid that if at all possible.

First case in the school I teach in. One year 11 = 60 kids sent home.

These kids have a lot of social contacts...

Not sure if our big secondary school is average or not: 3 teachers have it, some off probably awaiting tests. Half of Yr13 and 11 off with Year 9 and 7 affected too.

I feel for the Year 11s and 13s especially.

We have Y11 off, DS's old school have Y9 and Y12 off.

Re medium tier - Evan Davies from PM described it as being like coffee shops, there is no small/low, the 3 tiers are medium, high and very high!

Our numbers have been low, but racing up now that the university students are back!

Is anybody making the new thread? We only have 11 posts left after this one so I will do it soon if nobody else wants to. I am afraid I have brain fail on witty titles, so hope one of you can do better.

This is our first student case (allegedly!). Huge school with year groups of 400.

Prior to this we had one teacher who was completely asymptomatic. She took her baby for a test and they did her too as babies throw up lots of false results. Probably literally!

Thread

I’ve jumped onboard for the next voyage !
Thanks for setting up the new thread, @FoolsAssassin

Ooops thanks @foolsassassin...just getting my life jacket and I'll be there

Thanks for old thread Orange.
I've marked place on Fools new thread.