GCSE support - the final frontier!

[SheilaFentiman]

These are the voyages of the GCSE Enterprise. To support our DCs, bemoan exam boards and to boldly go through the last fortnight like no one has gone before!

Hhahaha I can relate to caffeine and rage!

My DD argued cars were good, everyone else she’s spoken to argued for public transport so hoping she did ok.
She does Geography so not sure why, she’d have had plenty to say on climate change etc…arghhh! Exam pressure coupled with not enough time to plan the response make things difficult.
I swear that paper should have more time allowed so they can do their best.

Best way to not be phased and just get on with it. I think it’s a superpower! I definitely would overthink every single thing, and so I try my best to not ask DS about all the details incase I bring him down with my overthinking it.

I think 'Dear him/her' under pressure is pretty genius actually 😂

Yes we’ve moved on now! Onto chemistry - not sure that’s better! But what is done is done! Just needed a big ARGHHH and no better place to shout it than here! This thread has been so helpful and thanks to who keep it going! We’ve got A levels here so eldest son is just going into 3 hours and 10 mins of Geog! It’s a slog for these kids - who on earth wants to write for that long if you’ve got SEN!

Chemistry revision started here too. I tried to keep up. I can’t. I’m outie 🧪🔬📚

My DD also answered the opposite to perhaps 'the obvious' too ... but I guess if they support their 'alternative' argument then that is ok... I hope....

Anyone doing business this afternoon?
This week is DS's heaviest exam week so far.

DD fair bounced through the door, she was very happy how the Eduqas paper went. Told me all about her article and letter - is about the most I've got out of her for any exam! So pleased for her, she is very able but seems to bump along with 5/6 for eng lang, partly because she panics and doesn't engage with the subject. She is really hoping this will have pulled her score up.

Happy for Chemistry tomorrow, which for unfathomable reasons she gets her best marks in (unfathomable because it really isn't her subject interest)

DD seems happy with it but wondered why it all had to be about trains (though we do talk about public transport a lot so hopefully she'll be OK- she does quite a lot of debate so the arguing doesn't seem to be a problem for her).

Just done two hours of Latin revision with her in a local caff before sending her on her way for Latin Lit. Felt a bit bad when two teachers came in for a meeting, heard us swearing about suetonius and felt they had to leave (it's not a big cafe and whatever they were discussing probably couldn't be done in front of a student and parent...

DS also does Geography so hoping that helped him argue his case. He seemed really pleased so fingers crossed. He has now taken himself off for some downtime before hopefully doing some chemistry revision tonight.

DD (edexcel I think) was okay about it - time pressure on the exam is intense, she missed a few things, but hoping overall it will be okay. She is moving on to do some practice papers for Chemistry a wanted A level choice ( she is still stewing over the last biology paper) - time for this week to be done and dusted.

I dont even want to think of spanish which is also tomorrow which she has pretty much given up on to focus on levels needed for Sciences and maths!

Yep. Which leaves very little breathing space before the last minute chemistry cram. Spanish is a lost cause

DD also happy with how English went. I'm probably more relieved that she feels all her English papers have gone as well as they could for her than I am about other papers she has probably done better on. At least she can feel she did the best she could. She was happy with a speech and we've never had a car so know lots about public transport!!

Ditto here. Spanish revision will take place after the chemistry exam - if at all.

Ds has 3 exams today, including English which is his worst subject, plus Business and Latin, so he hasn’t finished yet.

He also doesn’t finish exams until next Wednesday. So we need to make it through another weekend 😭 Can’t wait for this to be all over.

Not sure how Eng Lan went here. DD apparently had a nose bleed mid exam so had to go out and come back and have extra time. She'll be disappointed because it's her favourite subject. I texted to ask whether the exam board will be told and she said that the invigilator will have to report it to explain the smudges of blood all over the paper😱Good luck to some lucky examiner! Tomorrow I'll send her in with lots of tissues and frozen water bottle I think.

Oh no re nosebleed! What a shame....

Hope it didn't put her off her stride too much.

DD has come back happy from Latin literature. Thank GOD i made her look at the Aeneid. She has grudgingly admitted that Mum's classics degree finally came in useful.

History and Chemistry revision now, she says.

That's bad timing for a nosebleed! I hope it didn't put her off too much.

Hang on in there, it’s almost over. Good luck to your DS, I really feel for the kids with 2 exams on the same day let alone three! Sending good vibes

Yes in this heat, that’s tough! DS has really struggled with hayfever this weekend. Well done for them getting through today!

@canIdigitnoofcoursenot She carried on with a nosebleed? Wow what a trooper! So proud I would have freaked out. Good luck and hope she did okay in the end. Is it something that does happen?

DD was happy with her Eng Lang.

She had to write something about travelling on public transport compared to card and read about someone who was in a train accident and someone who enjoyed their train ride

Oh gosh it’s crap getting a nose bleed let alone in an exam, my youngest DD gets loads and often in stressful situations and hiccups, she was hiccupping all the way through a maths test the other day, I’m dreading what will happen when she gets to exams.

I thought it was going well today but DD1 come home -Geography A-level was good and Chemistry really wasn't.

So DS will be fairly easy to get revision done for additional maths GCSE- and she'll be grumpy all week as last one left is next chemistry.