GCSE supporting - to half term, and beyond!

[SheilaFentiman]

Making a new thread to support half term revision and the set of GCSEs afterwards!

Aargh, the grumps today!

Same here! Dd said it was awful. The only consolation is that everyone said the same. She and her teacher have filed a complaint with OCR. It’s an a level choice here so she’s rather worried.

I've been helping DS revise History today and there is just so much content. I did A level History and do not remember having to slog through so much information. I wonder why there are 3 papers when the sciences only have 2 for each? I understand the medicine in history paper was dropped last year as part of the Covid adjustments and actually feel that would be a more reasonable amount anyway.

How do you do that? With flash cards? Talking? I’m curious and would love tips on the history. I feel like I’ve had to learn almost as much about the Cold War as DS just to keep up with conversations and exam question practise.

I had to have a burger this is so depressing there’s only two days left before English language exam. At least next exam DS has after that is Wednesday.

I don't know if this timeline is of any use to those studying Cold War history. Annoyingly it's spread across the double spread and goes left to right and up and down.

It was in a bunch of history magazines that the hall my knitting group were putting out for recycling.

The second photo is the left hand page and the first photo is the right hand page 🤦🏻‍♀️

What DS2 has done for History is make flowcharts from his own notes and then I’ve tested him.
No idea yet if it’s effective 🤣

I have the revision guide and ask DS questions from it. Mostly he just blurts out as much information as he can remember and I prompt him to remember dates and keywords. I ask him exam questions and he tells me all the aspects he'd try to include in his answer. I have the mark scheme and we discuss how he would shape his answers to accumulate the marks. No idea if it is actually helping.

DD is another who is finding it difficult to get her focus back to pre half term levels. SHe spent monday on PE, the last 3 days on biology and today was Geography but certainly not at the same intensity. Am hoping she at least has a look at English over the weekend.

Did manage some RS - turns out the issue is he lost the summary revision book and his notes are a complete mess - so BBC bitesize to the rescue but still not found these quotes he thinks he needs to know. He didn't choose this subject and he's fed up with it.

Got fair bit of Geography done - so now on to History and Welsh.

He's so fed up with it all now though.

Can he get any of his friends to take photos of the revision booklet he can't find? We did that for DD's friends who'd lost hers

DS has done loads of English, not enough maths, a tiny bit of geography and digital tech, and absolutely no Welsh. There's no way he's passing Welsh, realistically. He's always hated it, he was horribly unwell doing the oral and the first paper was his very first exam when he'd just started the beta blockers and hasn't set foot in school for ten weeks so he was a mess. I've written it off now. It's not one he'll need going forward, anyway.

Ds has actually done a maths paper this evening.

He did it in competition with his older sister who's just finished a maths degree and they're going to go through the papers together. She had a bit of problems remembering some of the formulae, and a couple of questions she reckons she's done by a method not used for GCSE, but ds did a paper! Wow!

Dd has been making posters for Cold War and we started watching the recommended documentary last night- she knows more than she thinks she does and it was excellent so confidence boosted!

but I took on my specialism with her yesterday (latin literature) and her knowledge of the Aeneid is scarily poor…she says it’s the weakest of her poems. Let’s hope that is the case!

My dd is trying to prepare for her Spanish next week...nothing like revising vocab st the last minute.

I really hope she focuses on English today . Her planning is all over the place!

2 more weeks and then is it all over!

DS also has a classical language exam on Monday, but it's all Greek to me.

A good suggestion and though I dislike booklets this one subject does indicate why they are useful - it's all loose paper and odd notes he made - so no booklets even for revision.

What he's lost is a revision guide we've bought - which does at least clearly layout information. However I think there are other on-line resources we can use - though the questions in book would have been helpful.

I'm going to try and set him off with something and go though random notes and sheets to try and find these quotes he thinks he needs - so he can just learn a few.

Finally a proper day of revision. Maths and Cold War. Tomorrow the plan is English Language ALL DAY, and only English Language.

DS who really struggles with Eng Lang (which I've moaned about extensively on these boards) now has a stinking cold. And is so thick-headed he can't concentrate. Aarrrrgggghhhhh. This is such crap timing. Fingers crossed the worst will pass by Monday morning.

I have given up on English now. Ds had to get a B but I can do no more. Totally unsure how any revision has gone, he has hated half term as he feels he has lost his way with it all. Roll on Monday so we can begin to see the end!!

We've given up with English Lang as well.

He's done Welsh and a lot of History today and a little RS - and found quotes for him to learn. Maths numeracy he says is fine and Geography we focused on last few days.

DH thinks it's not such much the context or exams that's the issue but number school has them sitting - DS will end up with 13 GCSEs- admittedly two are already done and one is 100% course work and they are spread out in Y10 as well but it's a lot. Especially when it was huge news when before this head they finally got 80% of pupils getting 5 GCSE above a C grade - didn't say it included English and maths as those 5 and I don't think they been any where close to that since.

I agree with the number.
Dd1 got 16 GCSEs done over 3 years, which was ridiculous number. Another local school does 8-9 of course they're going to do better with half the number of exams.

Ds is "only" doing 12 over 3 years though.

DS also has a classical language exam on Monday, but it's all Greek to me.

Glad there’s another “Greek parent” joining in!

Good luck with the revision tomorrow everyone. Let’s hope it’s a productive day.