Anyone up for a GCSE handholding thread?

[BaconAndAvocado]

DS2 has his GCSEs in June. He had mocks in November and more (why??) next month.
He needs to get 5 6s to stay at his current school (IB, not overly keen) or to transfer to another local 6th form.
He said he’s going to start revising this week......
Think his school will be helping him devise a revision timetable this week. I’ve bought him flashcards, he just needs to knuckle down now.......

Can i join! Ds dod mocks in November, did ok but many in his year did not. Apparently they had a motivational assembly this morning where they were told they all need to get on the treadmill and not get off until after their exams!!!! Ds was not impressed.

Me please!

It's not my first time on a GCSE thread but it's nice to enjoy the company of likeminded people.

DS has already done one set of mocks last term with decent results but there is a second set before Easter.

Ds2 is year 10 and has his English Literature GCSE tomorrow.

His mock last term went well and i’m really impressed at how well he’s prepared but the nerves are kicking in tonight.

He doesn’t want to have a bath, a snack, hot chocolate or anything. Poor kid.

His actual GCSE? How does that work then? Do they have papers for now and different papers for May/June? I've never heard of anyone sitting a GCSE in January.

We’re in Wales, maybe that’s why it’s different.

DS1 didn’t do it as we were in lockdown so it’s a first for us too!

i could do with it.. DS has ASD/ADHD and attends a specialist setting, doing his mocks the next couple of weeks.

He might not be doing the same exams as mainstream, but is on the same timetable of mocks and then exams in may/june, and i'm still finding it stressful.

We are wales as well and ds did some GCSE's in year 10. It definitely lessens the pressure in year 11!

@mumonthehill he’s got some science practicals the week after next too. Anything that takes a bit of pressure off is fine by me!

Yes I've heard people doing GCSEs in year 10 its the January part I've never come across before. It must be a different paper to the one they set for May/June otherwise the system is open to abuse but I'm suprised they bother given the small numbers which must take them in January. Unless I've completely missed something.

Unless the Welsh GCSEs are completely different to the English ones I suppose.

I always just assumed they were the same thing.

My son is year 11, had mocks before Christmas. His parents evening is on Thursday. It is so difficult to get the balance right between letting them get on with it and supporting/ kicking them up the bum!

I also teach and tutor and the pressure is building. Poor kids, since the reforms and 100% exams in most subjects the pressure is so much more.

DS got mock results today. They were generally good and he was pleased.
Concerns were that he got a 3 in Eng lit. He got a 6 in Eng Lang which is quite a difference. Not sure what it means.

And a 4 in Spanish. Not sure how to help him there at all.

in wales our exam board is WJEC and they do run January and summer exams. Often in year 10 they take English lit in the January. It gives many an opportunity to resit! In year 10 ds took half of his history, rs, pe and some science. They also sit the oral parts of the english lang early and ds did his in September.

Ah that explains it, I always just assumed Welsh GCSEs were the same as English GCSEs. Every day is a school day.

My DD is also doing her GCSE's this year .she had mocks in June, mocks in November and has more mocks in Feb.

She has 6th period 2 days a week which she finds impacts revision time as she doesn't get home until 4.45.

Her school do morning maths every day - a set of questions they have to answer. They got fairly good maths results last year so seems to work I guess.

My problem will be stopping her over revising I think.

We’re still getting result grades in letters in Wales too!

Now I'm very jealous of that!

My DD has a high flying group of friends as well. The new grades don't help as she has said that a 7 feels like a bad score even though she knows it isn't just because there are another 2 above it.

Her school give mock English and maths grades with a +/- at the end - think it's meant to show which end of the grade they are sitting.

pinkflop DS2 doesn’t know what he wants to do either.
I don’t think many of his friends do. He thinks he wants to go to Uni but doesn’t know what course. DS1 knew what he wanted to do by Year 10... it was a lot more straightforward.
DS2 isn’t sure which 6th form to choose.
Lots to think about right now!
DD is in Year 10, enjoying the relative calm.

I’ll join you my DD Sat mocks just before Xmas with only a couple of stragglers last week. Early results - unofficially from her - are not as good as she’d hoped or thought. G4-5 for sciences when she needs min6 for A’Levels. The school are crap sadly, she’s very motivated but also has 15hrs of competitive sport commitments. The sport does focus her though she has a revision timetable I’m just the taxi driver/lift coordinator & haribo provider 😂but I’m nervous she has to pick up grades across the board as it’s not ability she’s very able but the school really dropped the ball in covid, and I think she though “I’m in top set I’ll be ok” but versus other schools she’s really not!

hello all - I hope I can join you?
DD1's school have three sets of mocks, which seems a bit excessive. Core subjects late Nov, optional subjects right now, and then core again in Feb. Feels like it's all revision and no learning, which is fine for some of her subjects and very much not fine for others, where according to DD1 there's still a good chunk of the curriculum to cover. She's revising for a hour nightly, a bit more nearer the exam.

The schools in our fully comprehensive borough are 11-16 only, and so we've the added pressure of college applications and interviews at the same time.

In the midst of mocks here too! DD coping well but unsure of how well she's doing but equally seems to be coming out having answered the questions and not had huge areas of uncertainty.
She's not as nervous as some of her friends which in turn is making her worry she should be more nervous!

Hello! Fellow parent of grumpy Year 11 student here ; ) First lot of mocks done end of last year. Next lot in Feb. No revision happening which slightly stresses me out. Get results for mocks next week I think so I'm holding back on suggestions of revising until we know DDs marks. She is academic and could do well but is also often v unmotivated. Will stay on for A-levels but that's proving stressful as she really doesn't know what she wants to do. I don't want to be one of those nagging parents but I find it very difficult to hold back! Got DD in year 10 too so it's all feeling a bit real just now (and for the next 4 years as we slog through A-level stress too)

I'm in - holding on for dear life. Also in Wales, so my DS has his english Lit, maths Numeracy and 40% of his three sciences out of the way already. He did mostly OK in his November mocks but doesn't know whether he has more coming up (school told us months ago that there would be, but various teachers have apparently told his friend that there aren't any). He's cruising, belligerent, barely revising at all, especially English lang, which he really needs to boost. I'm getting increasingly frustrated because he's very bright but so lazy, hates writing, and is just not working to his full potential at all, especially in subjects he doesn't enjoy. I know from last year that we'll have mad panics on the nights before and the mornings of all the exams but he can't translate that into the need for earlier preparation. It's such a shit age to expect them to go through all this, really.