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!

Has everybody finally finished? Results will be what they will be; no amount of fretting will change them (and far better to learn from a hiccup now than at A levels/Uni/professional exams).

With the weather being so warm I have hardly seen DD, but took her out for a meal to celebrate midweek. She and her mates have jumped on an early train to the beach for the day. Saturday she is out picnicking for her birthday and then it is the Prom on Sunday. I just hope they last the pace/don't get tummy bugs/sunstroke.

I think the very last exams seem to be tomorrow.
And yes, it is good practice in living with uncertainty when it doesn't matter as much as it might in the future.

For perspective, DS said that he thinks at his school there were a good quarter of students that in at least one exam didn't write anything at all. Some didn't even open the exam paper.

Just to add to the above, I think it's these kids who are not doing their exams at all – whether through panic or for whatever reason – are the ones we need to be really worried about, rather than about getting all 9s or not.

A bursary for all grade 9s? From where?

Mine seems to be spending most of his time in bed! He did go out to play basketball with his friends yesterday but we got a phone call to pick him up after about an hour and a half because he'd hurt his finger, so the rest of the day was spent on the phone to 111 and deploying ice packs. They don't think it's broken, but given that his friends are suddenly obsessed with basketball, it's put a bit of a dent in his week. He's made noises about getting a job in July when we come back from our holiday, but he's not been well for the past few months, so I'd rather he rested up and got his health back on track for the time being.

Yep, lots of bed rest here for DS2!
Although he went camping with some friends last night.....which of course will result in more bedrest at home 🤣
He’s had 1 week of doing bugger all. I’ve told him next week is job seeking time!

She said if you get 5 grade 9s you get £4000

My SIL paid her DD something like that for grade 9s - does she mean that?

If not, well, too late for my Y11, but I'll be getting my Y9 ready to grab that prize!

You're so right. A lot of them have really struggled. Just getting into the exam room was a battle for my DS and it's a triumph that he actually managed to do all the exams. I'm trying not to think about grades.

I'm also thinking of the poor lad not far from us who went to the beach to celebrate after his last exam on Monday and drowned. His poor, poor parents 😥

social butterfly dd is out again, though this time it is coffee and lunch with her eminently sensible youth leader - who is in her sixties - so I'm not worried that it will be yet another debauched party. But there's another one of those tonight. She is having fun, and I am glad.

She said bursary give you money. She does know what she’s talking about I feel, she works at college and is a maths teacher.

😥

Maybe it's just for her establishment? DD got 6 9s and never received anything.

That’s really really awful 😢 I feel so bad for his parents and friends. !! What must they be going through. That poor kid 💔

ps I don’t mean to be clogging up this thread with post-exam stress. I do apologise but I had nowhere else to find people who went through exams and might possibly understand.

Puts things into perspective. I am normally too chill for this but ds is stressing me out I wish he had arranged more stuff. Also he is going out but stressing me when he gets back in.

@spiderlight Can only echo your words. That is incredibly sad.

Is it something new? I found this “With the Merit Scholarship, the amount is awarded on the basis of academic merit and UCAS tariff points accumulated prior to entry”

@PicnicBunny I think that's what this thread is for. Plus we'll need a new one come results time anyway.

Certain establishments (universities) will give bursaries to certain students dependent on academic attainment and other factors. A quick search found this: https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/help/finance-scholarships/scholarships/gcse-grades-evidence/
It won't be a universal 'prize' or something that all unis do.

Quite possibly some private schools will do likewise for 6th form.

@Changes17 Thanks for the good wishes! We are on the last day of revision now! Nearly there.

I hope all the thread children can manage to enjoy their summers. I have one of those anxious perfectionist high achiever types and have been at pains to keep telling her that the actual numbers/grades don't matter very much as long as she does well enough in the things she wants to do at A Level. What really matters is that she's managed to work hard and keep going and not compromise her mental health. Reaching the finish line knowing you've given it a good shot and feeling on an even keel is the desired outcome not a string of 9s or whatever. Being able to manage stress and work hard without driving yourself into the ground are great skills to have for the entire rest of your life, not just these few short years of tests and exams.

So congratulations to every single child (and parent) who has made it through!

I'm so sorry to hear about the boy who drowned. That is horribly sad. Thinking of his poor family.

Our local college does a bursary if you get A* in maths and all sciences at GCSE and go to them for A Levels. You get £1000 and a further amount if you get A at AS level. So glad everyone is coming to the end!

And Add Maths is over and we are done! Hurray!!!

🥂 Yes, finally! 🤞for the results now.

🥳🎮🥳

@BonjourCrisette finally!! I think that must be everyone done now?! Hope everyone has a good summer. See you for the results...

Well done everyone for getting over the line! We're away for results day...

So are we.