GCSE Supporting - first week nearly over

[overthehillswegoo]

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After yesterday's hysterics about the disaster that was English lit, dd came home and said the combined higher physics paper was easy. Thank god !

@Spring45Mermaid same here. Dodgy academy hovering on the " good". Everything threatens prom. Behaviour, attendance, revision. Wouldn't mind but it's 45 quid a ticket and out of town so they're not doing us any favours.

Teachers have told dd most kids will be ringing in sick tomorrow as no exams before half term. Dh will have his phone on him at work so I'm leaving that decision up to him. He's bearing in mind I've already paid for the ticket, dress, hair and nails.
There are revision sessions through half term break and back in straight after for exams,cramming and normal lessons.
It's rubbish.

My DS did Edexcel Computer Science.
Said it was terrible.

Things they hadn't been taught and stuff that had not been practiced on past papers.

Just overall a bit bizarre.

Physics was OK though.

Apparently physics was "OK" so that was a relief.

She had a great time at surf club - no waves just messing about on the boards and they go to the chip shop for curly fries and a battered mars bar on the way home.

Hopefully she can go back on after half term feeling a bit better about it all.

Really glad to hear that about your DD @kennythekangaroo

Hope your ds exams today went well. Since your DS is going for 9s and studying at 3 am (that is steel), I would consider him an elite athlete, going for every single point.

My 'soldier' came home today. He thought Physics (iGCSE Edexcel) and Computing (AQA) went well. But he has a tendency to overestimate how well things went. Glad he is back and able to have a breather before the second half/Paper 2s. I suspect the worst is over.

I am so late to the party!! Never knew about this thread but glad to find it. DD said aqa physics was good but he also said how horrible ocr computer science was. He wants to do both of these at a level so desperately hoping that if everything doing the comp sci found out awful, grade boundaries will be lowered. He was very confident going into the exam too.

@naughty40me same here with CS Edexcel.

@kennythekangaroo that’s good to hear, honest to God you are both stars to be showing up for the exams thing at all.

Dd reports easy aqa physics higher paper today, we will see. Nothing tomorrow, school had wanted them in but we have had an email saying they can go after 2 periods of English revison tomorrow. Think they may have got wind.of the fact the whole year was going to be unwell tomorrow 🤣

Dd is mightily fed up with the OCR comp science paper. She's worked really hard and says it was all for nothing

Now you’ve all got me worried - dd thought edexcel computing was really easy - and she’s only doing it under sufferance….so suspect she totally missed the point of the questions :-( she did say that they all gave the right output but I worry …

All of those with the OCR - remind your Dc that although the exams aren’t graded on a curve as such a very hard exam will hit everyone so the grade boundaries will be adjusted to match!

Good luck with the German today. So many mentions on this thread of everyone in a school being off today, just shows how niche German has become now, even at gcse.
Study leave starts after HT, with a recap session offered for an hour prior to each exam.

Latin for DD today!

DD was emailed by their art teacher yesterday with a provisional grade for their portfolio, a 4. This could go up or down once moderators look it over.
I'm hoping it goes up. They don't want to continue for A'Level but I don't think it shows how bloody hard they worked in difficult circumstances (one teacher who actually taught 4 lessons before disappearing, one who was a vile bully because DD asked to swap GCSE away from art, and one who was quite dismissive of her and sent appallingly pushy and rude emails to us parents making demands).
They're not bothered in the slightest.

We have a text last night reminding us of the critical revision sessions they should be in for today. DD school don't offer German so only economics exams there. Wondering if they will let them go lunchtime.

Have been told after half term they can go home after lunch but not whether they can stay off if no exams that day.

I'm thinking it will come last minute to stop people doing it today.

Erggh this whole elite athlete thing is so frustrating. Even when it goes well, (and it takes him all day to get round to saying how exactly it went) he upsets himself if he misses any questions or marks. He wants to do physics, maths and further maths for A levels, he could quite easily if he could just keep it together. His mocks have been consistently good but he said mocks were easier. Yesterday’s paper was so hard. He thinks he’s aced it but doesn’t want to say.

I have suggested to him that you only need a 6 or 7 To do Physics? To do Further Maths you need an 8. He’s putting this pressure on himself poor kid.

Ds happily going in today for last day. They have revision sessions next week but he is working. They have also said they will put some on in the final 2 weeks. Ds and his friends have booked a table in the pub for a meal tonight which is great. Good luck for those will exams today.

German writing here today - the weakest of the 4, but hopefully he's done well enough in the other 3 to get a good final grade.

Latin for my son this afternoon. It's felt a long week although he's pleased to have three completely done.

Very true @Kranken . True for languages in general unfortunately.
As a languages grad myself was depressed to hear only 1,000 people took German at A’ Level last year.

Managed to agree some unofficial study leave for my DD. The head said they were considering it as parents asked on a case by case basis! Anyway she gets to leave a couple of afternoons a week to come home and revise/rest
Apparently one of her friends got an unauthorised absence as her mum just collected her. Good luck with those having exams for today.
My DD will mostly be revising for her Spanish over half term as she's doing Spanish and French A Level.

DS off to his apprenticeship interview today he is obviously more worried about this than exams as was in a very bad mood this morning. I'm glad half term is here.

Dd having messaged round a lot of the yr 11s is definitely not going in today. She said she can count on two hands who will be in.
I await the your child is not in school text.

I did gcse German and then a level back in the late 80s. You were only allowed to take it if you had a good standard of French. I can still recite preposition tables more than 30 years later.

@kennythekangaroo so sorry for your loss. Glad DD had a positive end to the exams this week and I'm glad the school are supportive too.

DS2 started the week very wibbly but it was more the change to timetable, as he's developed huge anxiety around this. I got him in and managed to speak to the SENCO and attendance officer. They've agreed I can pick him up after exams or he can just stay in the library if I can't. He's visibly looking more relaxed but possibly me cancelling his counselling this week is the reason for that (it clashed).

He's got online English tuition tonight but he enjoys that. His tutor is so amazing I have to stop myself making grand gestures I can't afford, like buying him a car or house and settle with leaving a positive online review instead. His school has provided an online Geography tutor and DS2 has said that's covered things in the exam that hadn't been taught. He's always had a low predicted grade for Geography, pre his anxiety so no expectations of passing, but will be interested to see where he ends up on it.

German & Latin here! Then 2/3 will be done as “only” 9 papers after half term!