GCSE Supporting - first week nearly over

[overthehillswegoo]

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@BackT yep. Mine has prose. drama, unseen poetry tomorrow - Jekyll and Hyde, history boys.

DS has his longest day today. French then RE (his least favourite subjects) plus booster sessions. He doesn't revise at home but he is in school over half term for extra revision.

DS said chemistry was hard but is his weakest subject. He amusingly also said that afterwards 2 groups of his friends were discussing if the 6 pointer answer was either 160 or 240 (made up numbers as can't remember) apparently it was quite heated. He was the only one who though it was 6 😁.

DS said AQA Geography had some ‘“lovely” six markers. Not what I’d expect him to say.
It is his nemesis French today, so fingers very much crossed this morning!

DD was unimpressed that AQA chem was mostly maths based.

Although the rumor mill is off- according to one pupil, they may all have to resit physics cos one school got the wrong test.

In 1998 when I did mine, it was English!

DD said the chemistry six markers (edexcel) were 'weird' and she thinks she's dropped quite a few marks on them. Quite happy with the rest of it. Disappointing lack of something called bioleaching apparently.

Today is just a 35 minute exam on Christianity. She's been going to church since she was two days old so I'm hoping she might be alright on this one - though when I was testing her I asked her for a bit of the Bible that meant Christians believed in the afterlife and she failed to mention the Resurrection.

That made me laugh @minisnowballs My DC actually all love RS - one doing it for A-level and has various theology degrees as options for next year, and one considering it for A-level because she’s loving GCSE so much. Youngest loves it too, but when revising for summer exams this year I was quizzing them on books of the Bible and the Patriarchs and some of the gaps in knowledge were a little embarrassing for someone who’s been around church since birth!

Mine has gone in absolutley terrified this morning for maths. He's feeling really rough today (has had gastric problems since February, waiting for an endoscopy) and we had police helicopters overhead until the early hours because of a major incident a couple of miles away, so he is not at his best. He hates maths but has to pass it to get onto his college course. I wish he were doing the Intermediate paper but he insisted on sticking with Higher. Please please please let it be a nice paper.

Maths today?

Only in wales

I’ve let DS stay home to get ready for English Lit tomorrow. I read IC yesterday evening and can’t believe how brilliant that book is. I should have read it when DS talked about it last year.

Phew 😰 I was worried I’ve woken up and missed something 🤦🏻‍♀️

Good luck @spiderlight hope he keeps his focus and it’s a good paper.

I hear you 😀

ReformedWaywardTeen
I too will have 4 years of exam stress due to DS2 and DD being in consecutive school years. Maybe I will go and get that HRT......

One good thing seems to be that DD has upped her game after seeing DS2 revising at home. Always somewhat in his shadow academically, she just got an 8 in her English Language mock. She’s completely chuffed.

Yes @BackT that sounds like yr DD is doing AQA - Shakespeare and 19C paper 1, 20c and poetry paper 2; but others boards (edexcel for example, also popular) do similar texts but in a different order.

Hope the French is OK for everyone today (MFL hat on there). Wrt the maths panic today - when DD took GCSEs her school did a different science spec that had the exams on different days - I recall ringing her school in a panic bc all the kids where I worked had biology and she didn't! all was well. They calmed me down

In my wisdom I decided to have 3 kids with 2 years apart each time. So its gcses for ds1 this year, AS next year and A-levels the year after when DD will be taking gcses. And the cycle continues with DS2 taking his gcses in the same year DD does A-levels.

This is the first of 7 years of exams!

Oh my lord. 7 years! I would need valium.

I have anxiety anyway but have been waking up having panic attacks over DDs exams. I don't recall being this nervous about my own but then, those were entirely down to me.

I think I will join you in that HRT @BaconAndAvocado
DS is good, he has fake mocks soon for year 10 and is already staying up late to study. DD is the pest who hates revision, studying, teachers, you name it.

@BobBobBobbing we did the same and everyone said oh GCSE and A-levels at same time twice are you mad - and then we moved to Wales and if DD2 does A-levels it will be 7 years of exams.

I actually think AS-level were a real benefit - DD1 didn't do as well as predicted it was a bit of a shock TBH We're hoping it has been kick up the arse for her but also made us look again at where to apply for university and what she wanted to do and how to get there - she stands a good chance of getting the needed grades now but without the upset last year I think she'd have been on the wrong track.

9 years in a row of exams here [weeps quietly into cup of tea]

We’re in NI so AS levels here too - I’m not sure if I like them or not - takes some of the pressure off final year exams with 40% already banked (60% for English Lit because of coursework component too) but it’s 3 years of constant pressure. In my day L6th was a lovely year - a chance to work hard but really enjoy yourself, choose some extra curriculars, find out who you were, make new friendships etc - now it’s just go, go, go from day 1.

Our DC are 3 years apart so we’re now into the 3rd year of 9. (Although DC2 is doing some GCSE modules this year in 4th year too) 6 years to go - roll on 2030!

@AfingeroffudgeisNOTenough you win! You'll be an absolute guru of exams by the end or a gibbering wreck

@ReformedWaywardTeen I've been having so many anxiety dreams around exams. I wasn't this bad with mine and I'd missed most of my last year due to ill health. I think it's mainly the worry of getting a 4 in English so he doesn't have to resit. <chews fingernails some more>

My son had chemistry yesterday, he said it was ok apart from the last 5 questions. French today which he couldn't care less about. English lit tomorrow and physics on Thursday. Thank god for half term!!

We’re in NI so AS levels here too - I’m not sure if I like them or not - takes some of the pressure off final year exams with 40% already banked (60% for English Lit because of coursework component too) but it’s 3 years of constant pressure. In my day L6th was a lovely year - a chance to work hard but really enjoy yourself, choose some extra curriculars, find out who you were, make new friendships etc - now it’s just go, go, go from day 1.

I have to admit I'm torn of the early sitting of GCSE exams in Wales - DS did this twice and also some GCSE being sat end of Y10. Felt awful at the time very early for them and meant Y10 was full on at times but now for DS has meant a more manageable exam timetable at least in early weeks and less pressure at end of Y11.

AS-level has meant DD1 started out with 4 subjects - and dropped maths she was at a disadvantage not having done additional maths at GCSE - and re-take the chemistry AS -level this year along side the A-levels.

So it's worked for her though at time workload been a lot as they also have to do The Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate as well plus the Geography A-level had large coursework/field work component which these days you have to have an adult tag along with so I got dragged in.

Also in wales and ds said maths was good this morning. He sat some in year 10 and also we have AS in year 12. I also seem to have years of exams!!

Maths was apparently 'not as bad as Chemistry', which is as good as we could have hoped for given how poorly he was this morning. He's got the calculator paper in his last week so he's going to go all out for that to boost his marks. Physics next, then leavers' day on Friday and a week 'off' to get ready for the second half.