Current Year 11 2021/2022 support thread pt III

[StColumbofNavron]

Thread for the parents of DC sitting their GCSEs in about 4 weeks time - eek.

Just picked up DS from school - he is happy how Geography went, I don’t want to ask for details (no point, really). Tomorrow double French, English Lit on Wednesday, RS on Thursday and Chemistry on Friday. He studied all weekend and also no break for him until Saturday now. 🙁

After DS had 6 exams last week this is definitely an easier week with 4. Geography paper 1 this morning done and ok and he said he only needed to use 2 case studies out of the 6 he revised.

@IThinkIMadeItWorse I hadn’t realised that English lit was 2 separate papers but that explains why it’s listed in the exam timetable twice. Animal Farm and Christmas Carol here.

When I was checking with my DD that she had everything this morning for Geography, I naively said "you don't need a calculator for Geography, do you?" only to get one of these teenage eye rolls and "of course I need a calculator, Georgraphy is a science". She then did say that it was only because sometimes they asked them to calculate percentages, and while they were generally pretty easy, easier with a calculator. So doesn't sound like it would be a catastrophe without a calculator, but clearly better with. Invigelators or somebody else in the school may well have if she realised before (which it sounds like she did).

@Rollergirl11 She has 2 on the Tuesday (french listening/reading then PE in the afternoon (the science paper) so she doesn’t have any time to be studying English Lit today. It will be after school on Tuesday.

My main concern is that week after half term when she has 7 in a row. Like I said, the timetable hasn’t been kind to her. I’m not sure why they didn’t put one or 2 of those into the last 2 weeks? So much for half term and a little break! It feels like an endurance test.

I hadn't realised until this week that they are doing Wednesday's lit paper as two separate papers (so 50 mins for each), they have a 15 min break in between (presumably to allow the people with extra time to finish).

I didn't realise that either, what board is that @IThinkIMadeItWorse ? Would be helpful for my DD who is often terrible at timing.

We have six this week (or seven if you count the French listening and the French reading as separate exams). We have two on Wednesday, morning and afternoon. But then Thursday off.

@Naem it's AQA

Yep DD’s English lit is AQA 2 x 50 min papers. They don’t get a break in between. They literally stop the clock for the first paper, collect them up, hand out the second one and start the clock again once everyone is ready.

@Bellini12 i guess it’s all down to your revision style. DD tends to revise for the next couple of exams as well as the upcoming one. So yesterday she did Geography (today), English Lit (Wednesday) and Spanish (Thursday). Tomorrow she’ll do English Lit, Spanish, RE (Thursday) and then Wednesday she’ll do Spanish, RE and Chemistry (Friday). So she’s always a day ahead.

My DD is just focusing on what comes next. So next two evenings are English Lit (Christmas Carol, Journeys End and Macbeth) and Media. Then Wednesday/Thursday she'll focus on Chemistry. 10 day break then until next exam so she'll thoroughly go over everything as much as possible and then go back to prioritising what is coming next.

I imagine the crux is that timetabling is a mammoth task. I suppose, less charitably, these exams aren't a surprise so there has been a long time to revise. I'm playing devil's advocate here @Bellini12 and talking generally rather than specifically. Obviously people work differently and I think universally here and people I have spoken to DC are still revising and certainly it seems that my own DS1 seems to have really got going very recently so the timetable does impact. It is just one of those things that need to be managed though isn't it, just like having multiple deadlines for work etc. I know I felt at university (was a mature student juggling family/work etc) that lecturers did not talk to each other about deadlines (they didn't), the expectation was that we would just manage it.

Practically speaking though, I would organise revision along the lines of which I was weaker in and how much use I will have for it i.e. at A level etc. I think we are looking for equity rather than equality in revision and that will look different for different subjects.

Dd timetable is ok these last two weeks as she took two creatives and a btec so is having a lighter time Of it. I'm pleased for her. Her school
Dont force the ebacc so she is lucky
And she is very strong creatively so expect those to be her best grades.

The week after half term is the bad week for her. But at least she has half term to recharge.

Geography this morning seemed to go ok and reading comments on here seems others happy with it too.

Hardest so far been maths.

Yes my DD has (I think) has French tomorrow, the English 2 papers - I also think 1 after the other, no break - on Wed, media studies in the pm, then a break on Thursday and 1 on Friday.(can't think what it is - might be maths or chemistry) She's hoping to go into London on Thursday.

We definitely have a harder time of it after half term. By the end of this week we've still got more than half to go. Exams most days I think, and a couple of doubles. The 'big' learners like History are then too.

DD has basically been revising all year I think. Although has ramped up a bit now. Tbh she isn’t generally doing much for the one (s) the next but will have been doing a few days before.

She is planning to have some time off at half term thank goodness!

I think the spacing them out is more meaning where a subject has multiple papers they will be in different weeks where possible so if someone is off for one of them they should be able to sit the other one.

There are just so many of them…

I think the spacing is partly to do with the exam boards (for different subjects) that schools opt for too. The more of a mix schools use, the more likely there will be lots clustered close together.

DC1 (some years ago now) had ten exams in one week (and it was his last week of exams too). Really super full-on.

Contrasted with DD, for whom this week is her 'heaviest' of the five weeks of exams, and even then she has a day off.

It’s international GCSE, apparently the only difference is IGCSE is more exam based where GCSE has more course works, however I have noticed that in maths, IGCSE seems covered a bit more topics than my old GCSE maths.

I didn't think there was any maths coursework now?

There isn't coursework in (m)any of the GCSE exams now though, is there? DD has only done coursework for her two BTEC subjects (sports and drama)? I thought getting rid of coursework elements was a way to take away the potential cheating helicopter parental involvement element.

Yeah, the only work we've had is like you say, for BTEC or her Art GCSE, and a bit of planning for Food and Nutrition.

I remember having to do so much coursework for English and English Lit!

Hello all, I have been reading this thread the last week or so. I have two taking their GSCES. First week has been ok (but both mine thought the advance info on Biology was misleading). Just had Geography today and they both thought it was ok. Heavy week for one of mine - one down and 6 more to go. Mine are still in school after the exams up until half term.

@Womblesaremyfavouritefood Same here! Loads of exams after half term. History is so content heavy - she’s good at it but has decided against A level for this very reason!
Have another DC who has picked humanity subjects for gcse. I’m nervous already for exam time. But what can you do if they aren’t particularly creative?

AQA is what we are doing. I didn't know, and neither does DD, as i told her some boards are apparently doing this, and she hasn't been told. I will tell her that others doing AQA say this is how it is going to happen. I wonder if our lot are being given a break or like @Rollergirl11 . Probably the latter. She gets extra time in any case. Still will be good for her, I think. Timing is a bit issue, she really struggles with it.

AQA is not Macbeth (or whatever Shkaespeare they are doing) tomorrow is it?

We've got Inspector Calls and Jekyll and Hyde tomorrow. Macbeth is after half term.

We do an iGCSE for English so only one paper for us (Of Mice and Men and unseen poetry as our school dropped the poetry anthology). We've had coursework! DS is carrying a (surprising) 9 in his coursework which gives him a bit of breathing room for the exam.

Oops, I meant on Wednesday