GCSE Support - nervously waiting

[Hellocatshome]

Hopefully everyone from GCSE Support The Final Frontier can find this new thread!

We have the day off and drop DD off at school and wait.

No idea about dinner, it may be something last minute. I will get some cake and flowers for her though. Regardless of the results, she had a nightmare time mental health wise and battled through. We focus on that.

DS1 says Nandos is offering free food to kids showing their results slips so I'm expecting him to want to go their with his friends rather than us. DP gets paid on Friday and then gets a small pension from a former employer on the Wednesday, so we'll have to take him out to celebrate some time from Friday on.

Ouch at "go their" not "go there" - getting very anxious now. And we are due to have a new oven delivered installed any time from 7 am tomorrow and so dp is making me anxious re that too.

Sorry to hear about the other anxious kids. For some, including mine, just sitting the exam at all was an achievement, regardless of results. I am focussing on that.
Aroundc50hrs now....

My older son's GCSE results from four years ago came up in my Timehop app today and I had forgotten how well he did - much better than predicted by his teachers. So there's hope! And I completely stuffed up my A levels but still managed to get into university and get a degree in the end. Whatever happens with results tomorrow, the important thing is to make the best of it and keep moving forwards.

Absolutely, it feels huge now but in the grand scheme of things, it will be fine either way. I left school with 2 GCSE passes, I still don't have any A levels and I'm now a tenured academic about to embark on a PhD. I keep telling ds that some people just take the long way round.

Wow that's impressive @HippyChickMama! I got an E in A level maths but now I have a degree in maths and statistics. That E, devastating though it was at the time, spurred me on to prove myself.

I'm also new to thread. Getting more nervous by the minute. We had a family bereavement at application time and have only one application in. It's at a great college and he's been accepted, but DS is unsure he wants to do A levels at all. He would have needed to up his efforts to get the grades he needs too, which I'm not 100% sure he really did!
No plan B other than last minute applications to the technical colleges in the area if there's nothing he can or wants to do at the 6th form. Am crapping it tbh!!

@Hellocatshome @StuntNun both are very inspiring!

I think you meant @HippyChickMama is inspiring although I am happy to be labelled as such I am not sure its warranted 🤣

I finally found something I wanted to do in my 20s, went to evening college to get a couple more GCSEs and applied for a foundation degree course. Have since done a top up to BSc, a postgraduate diploma, a post graduate certificate in education and a masters, all while working. I work on a healthcare degree programme and lots of our students follow a similar path because they don't have the entry requirements for a degree. It's so satisfying to see students through a foundation degree, often with built in English and Maths functional skills courses, and then a top up to BSc. Many of them achieve firsts and 2:1s too and nearly all of them say that they didn't think they'd amount to anything. Don't get me wrong, I hope that ds will follow a more traditional path to where he wants to be, but there is always hope

@HippyChickMama that's really encouraging to read!

Can I please ask (sorry if covered upthread, its very long!) what happens if kids do not get any offers? I know they have to stay in education or training, but what is the actual process? What happens if an applicant doesn't get the required grades and doesn't get/want anything else?

Someone more knowledgeable will hopefully be along soon but as far as I can tell nothing bad happens, you aren't fined or anything.

Surely there is something they want to do? College courses are many and varied and there are apprenticeships, traineeships etc.

A friend was saying yesterday that her daughter wanted to do an apprenticeship post GCSEs and she was constantly contacted to check what she was doing and that she was signing up for something. She was going to lots of interviews but was picky about what she wanted, and they weren't happy that she wasn't accepting anything. She eventually found something and it all worked out but they do follow up on what they are doing.

I assume there must be something out there for everyone and you're expected to ring round and sort something out. I have no idea and I'm hoping we're not in that situation on thursday!!

Who are "they" in your scenario? No one has ever asked DS what his plans are post GCSE.

Adding my name to the list of those with nervous teens counting the hours to Thursday. Trying to keep her calm and reminding her that she is not defined by some numbers of a piece of paper, whatever they are. Just hoping she's not disappointed. She worked so hard all year but you just never know with exams do you? Anything can happen to anyone.

Yes (thanks for replies!) I was wondering that - who does the chasing?

We've made a (no doubt stupid) assumption that she'll get in to sixth form. Christ only knows what happens if she doesn't. I assume we would need to go to one of the local colleges that are offering A-levels that she fancies and apply.

Kicking myself now for having no Plan B.

Join the club @AnxiousElephant77!

I'm sure it must be pretty common. Hoping the college will help. In my day education was more focussed on supporting kids to find the right choices for them - today it seems all about bums on seats. Would love to think there was some independent support if the worst happens.

A postcard arrived here yesterday reminding DS of support he can access (drop in advice hubs, phone support) if he doesn't get the grades he needs to stay on. I don't know what happens if you don't sign up to anything. An EWO comes round?

Was that from his school @Clymene ? Or the council?

No one has ever asked DS what his plans are post GCSE.

DS had to show his plans ie conditional acceptance for school to be allowed to go to the prom and in Wales they can still leave school at 16 and start full time work (most don't) - I think England they supposed to do something till 18 but I don't think parents are penalised if they don't.

If Ds doesn't get the grades - we'd be talking to the college about what other options they can offer DS - they offer well into September and October or have previous years. DN in England has two ways forward with her local college - one she can do along side re-takes one she wants more but if there are problems she'll be getting in touch and talking options through with them.

Not entirely sure, I didn't ask that but I assume whoever would normally check kids are in education until 18.

The thing is not to panic if they do not get the grades. There are options such as btec etc. if the school is good they should have support for those kids and they will know before hand which students have not got what they need. The local college for us will be at ds school on thursday to discuss options Which i think is positive.