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 had an email from school to say Ofsted have called and they are coming in to inspect tomorrow and Wednesday. It's the last thing anyone needs the week before major exams start.

@MrsPnut that's unbelievably mean, isn't it? Hope the visit goes well.

One of DD's friends burned herself to a crisp sitting in the sun for too long yesterday. Not a good move.

DD had German oral last week. Said it went well and she found it easy.
Starting next week with RE on Monday.

She's been getting out for a run most evenings but apart from that she's stopped doing all her activities and is absolutely obsessed with revision. She's a high achiever and very confident but even so, she's a wreck!

@LouisCatorze DD would prefer to revise at home. She's sensible and very organised, and says that the other kids disturb her.

Sadly, the ability to attend prom depends upon attendance at school. She's on 97% due to Covid and 95% means they can't go to prom so she's sticking at it. Infuriating.

@MrsPnut what a bunch of grinches!! Absolutely the last thing anyone needs.

@daffodilandtulip that sounds a bit unnecessary too. I’m sure Covid has played havoc with attendance so seems a bit unfair to stop people going to prom.

Can you believe it. The school have decided, now(!) to send around the mark-sheet for the second set of mocks. The ones done three weeks before Easter. And DD has not done very well, worse than her first set of mocks in December. Now I know she knew at the time she did her second set of mocks that they wouldn't count for anything, but I think she was trying, so they are very worrying, and not sure they are exactly what we need right now. I presume she has found out in school, but part of me doesn't want to raise it with her - because what realistically can we do now more than she is doing. if they had got them back a week after they did them, that would have given them a month to do something, now we are a week before the exams actually start, and rocking her confidence might just be the worst thing to do, so maybe i won't even say that I know.
If she gets these kinds of results in the real thing, she won't be able to do the A levels she wants to do.

And so of course I am not panicking, if she isn't.
She is just shattered.

That's really Grinchy too, making prom attendance dependent on attendance. A lot of young people will have 'dipped' attendance through being ill with COVID once or more.

@Naem that's not helpful of school is it? Not at this stage. Mind you, DD did the reverse (significantly better in the recent ones than in the December ones). I think she's resting on her laurels rather, and may be in for a rude awakening come Results Day.

Fingers crossed for everyone.

I meant to say, of course I am now panicking, even if she isn't!

@Naem try not to worry, as you say there is nothing to be done now & she will have been learning & revising since then. I'm sure all the students already have exam fatigue from the multiple mocks.

@MrsPnut the Mrs Doyle comparison made me laugh

We got the news today that the Ukrainian refugee family we are sponsoring finally got their visas so will probably arrive later this week. It has taken a ridiculously long time (applied 20 March) & I hope it won't be too disruptive to DS given the timing.

What a kind thing to do @legosnowqueen and hope it's not too unsettling for your Ds at this particular point in time.

@Naem terrible timing from school re; mocks and not very useful for your dd getting the results a week before the real exams start.

Ds has a streaming cold - watery eyes and everything. It's not covid luckily but I wanted him to have his booster later this week as it needs to show up on his vaccine passport for going abroad in the early summer. Hopefully he'll feel a bit better in a day or two as his eyes keep closing whilst he's trying to revise. He's in bed now poor thing. I've been dosing him up on high strength Vit C and Vit D.

@Turmerictolly our guests will be a mum & her just turned 3 year old...if the visa approval system was fit for purpose they'd have been here for several weeks & have settled in by now, DS is on board but I hope it won't be too distracting...

DD’s first exam is a week today, and I’ve just realised I have to go away in a work trip overnight. When I get back she’ll have done three of them.

Shirt signing day today, official last day tomorrow and then that’s that. I’ve threatened a very un-fun summer if she joins the group that goes to the park for booze and boys tomorrow.

DS's last day tomorrow too. Weather not looking good for afternoon tea on the lawn! I hope they have shelter.

ICT theory exam this morning. We spent half an hour last night going through the first two weeks' exams (up to half term) to check his revision timetable to make sure he's hitting each subject enough beforehand. Just have to hope he actually does it now!

Oh @Naem that is so annoying. I honestly thought that the pre-Easter assessments or mocks were too close to the actual dates and did wonder how on earth they would turn it around.

Sympathies to the teachers in your school @MrsPnut I would imagine that Ofsted is the last thing they need this week. Hope your DD is feeling better now.

Sympathies also to @Naem terrible timing by the school. Nothing to do now other than keep going.

All the best to your DS for today @QueenMabby and for those going on study leave.

I think DS is a getting bit fed up now, he has started refusing to go to the extra revision sessions at school saying that they are not helpful. He seems a bit tired and irritable. Hopefully he will get some more momentum once the exams actually start. I think they have had so much pressure all through the year it's felt like a marathon. He surprised me yesterday by saying he does want to go to prom after all so I guess we will be hunting for a suit in half term!

I didn't know 16 year olds were getting the booster @Turmerictolly or is your child clinically vulnerable?

My DS had his second exam yesterday which went okay and he has English literature tomorrow and his first computer science exam on Friday. He seems to be working okay but obviously I don't know what he's up to when I'm at work.

Next week looks like a warm one unfortunately. That's never good when you have exams!

@zighead anybody 16+ is eligible for a booster, my DS had his in the Easter holidays. It has to be a certain amount of time after their 2nd jab (12 weeks I think). Glad your DS exams have started well.

DS is definitely tired and irritable, there was an incident at school this afternoon with another boy :( According to DS the other boy wasn't hurt and DS said sorry but I've had a voicemail and I'm waiting for a call back for more information, sigh. Not sure if DS will be in isolation tomorrow or not :(

Thanks @IThinkIMadeItWorse I’ll get my DS one after the exams have finished. I must admit I’ve not been paying attention to anything to do with Covid in the last few months.
Sorry to hear about the incident at school today. Bizarrely my DS who hadn’t had a detention since early year 7 has had two in the last six weeks for this sort of thing. They must all be a bit stressed with emotions running high.

OK, you have to laugh.
After everybody getting so irate about there not being study leave for the first time ever - guess what? DD was off today because there was a flood at school and they closed the school! Burst pipe in the early hours of the mornng apparently. And while they are reopening the school tomorrow, one corridor is off limits, and so Year 11 have been asked to study at home again tomorrow!

Really does feel like divine retribution for not having study leave!

But hopefully it doesnt' happen during the actual GCSEs, as who knows where they would put them if it did!
They have promised that they are checking all the pipe joints all over the school.

@IThinkIMadeItWorse all you need...they could cut them a bit of slack during this stressful period. DS had his first ever detention during the mocks in March, for being noisy in the corridors. He was part of a small group of boys outside a classroom but I'm sure that would usually be a negative comment offence 😂

These last days in school will be quite poignant, hope it goes well for everyone

@Naem how hideous (although sure none of the pupils will be complaining about study leave for a few days at least!).

DD now has study leave starting from Monday. The school has bowed to parental/pupil pressure by the look of things. Not complaining though. DD is delighted needless to say.

DD was given predicted grades yesterday. What on earth is the point so close to the real thing?! They seemed to err on the more cautious side (given her last set of mock results), we thought. Do some schools do that?

@IThinkIMadeItWorse oh dear. The stress affects DC in different ways. Hope he's not sanctioned unfairly.

Gosh some of the young people are well ahead with their COVID jabs. DD is still waiting to have her second one. She had COVID just as she was about to get her first one (before Christmas) so had to wait the recommended 90 days before then being vaccinated. And as she felt a bit off after having the first one, she's not getting the second until half-term (just to be on the safe side).

@Turmerictolly hope your DC feels better soon. Better to be poorly this week than next.

Panic here last night when DC actually realised the exams start on Monday. They thought it was a week later. Honestly, I despair! I was up till late going through Biology flashcards with them. Spent the night dreaming about Biuret tests ....