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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Please, as we hit exam season in earnest – take a moment to check…

120 replies

clary · 16/04/2024 15:43

… that your DC are prepped as they should be. I am not talking here about revision but exam rubric and spec.

I conduct speaking assessments for MFL and while some candidates are excellent and well-prepared, I am always surprised by how many have not filled in the form correctly, or have not checked what kind of questions I will be asking, or have not realised that they need to ask me a question or questions. This is at both KS4 and KS5. None of this information is secret – it is all right there on the exam board websites. Candidates are losing marks because they have not checked this out.

Yes, teachers should be flagging this up – but sometimes students do not listen to teachers. And of course many students will be sitting exams via HE, so may not have an exam-expert teacher or tutor to consult.

We are well into the speaking assessment windows for A level, international A level, GCSE and IGCSE now, but it may be that your DC still has their MFL speaking assessment coming up. If it’s AQA GCSE, they do not need to develop answers in the role-play, but they do for the photocard. They do need to ask the examiner a question in the general speaking. If they are taking Edexcel IGCSE MFL, the detail of the kind of questions they will be asked on the photo is online, and worth a look. If they are sitting Edexcel A level MFL, they are supposed to ask the examiner multiple questions during both elements of the conversation. And so on.

The same goes for other papers and other subjects too. In MFL AQA GCSE, there is a choice of two questions on the written paper, so please only write one piece, not both. For the 20th century text in AQA Eng lit, they only need to write answers for one of two questions. For AQA Eng lang, only four short answers are needed for the first task. There are similar details to bear in mind for all subjects – and like I say, the info is on the exam board website, under spec, or under details for specific papers. Please take a look. Better to know twice and be sure than to walk into an exam unprepared.

OP posts:
Original poster
clary · 09/05/2024 12:40

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 09/05/2024 11:07

See I'm an invigilator and at our school we put a calculator on every desk. Actually our kids have a see through pencil case provided with one of everything they will need and we always have spares.

I get it's good to learn the hard way some times but an exam is not the time. So many genuine reasons why any stationery item could be forgotten. Granted our school is a city one with lots of r kids living in very difficult circumstances and households where no adult gives a shit to provide breakfast never mind calculators

Yes I agree. I taught in a school with a lot of students who did well to get to school in their uniform every day. Sadly in too many cases no one bothered to check they had eaten, never mind giving them somewhere to do homework (or buying them a calculator)

OP posts:
listsandbudgets · 09/05/2024 12:42

Thank you for the reminder about clear pencil cases. DD starts A Levels early next month. I've just ordered a couple because I don't want a last minute panic. She's very competent and will most likely remember by herself but I'd prefer to be ahead of the game. I do not want to discover on the night before her first exam that we don't have one.

Also need to make sure we've got spare batteries. The calculator they use for A Level looks horrific - I've not even tried to master using it - endless buttons and a huge screen for lines of calculations - it probably even has a fraction button!

JessyCarr · 09/05/2024 12:44

You can just use a clear food bag instead of a pencil case, if need be. Airport-style!

Abouttimeforanamechange · 09/05/2024 12:48

Thank you for the reminder about clear pencil cases.... I do not want to discover on the night before her first exam that we don't have one.

Small freezer bag or sandwich bag with ziplock? My school exams were a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure we all used clear plastic food bags for our pens and pencils (and Polo mints).

KnottyKnitting · 09/05/2024 13:10

Also check they have the times of the exams correct.

I remember one exam DD told me was in the afternoon. She charged into my room at 8.25am to tell me she was wrong and it was at 9 and her school was a 20 min drive away ( but traffic often meant it was way longer. )

We managed to get there with 1 min to spare but she had access arrangements with her own room so the person who was the invigilator managed to let her have 10 mins calm down time before she began!

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 09/05/2024 13:41

It's not so much a case of a school where we can necessarily afford it more we have lots of kids who getting them to even come into the exam hall is a huge, huge challenge. I wouldn't be surprised if some of their parents have forgot they even have exams this year.

I'm actually extremely proud to work for a school where staff will move heaven and earth to do everything possible we can to give them the best chance we can . Because many of them get bugger all support when they go home Sad

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 09/05/2024 13:42

JessyCarr · 09/05/2024 12:44

You can just use a clear food bag instead of a pencil case, if need be. Airport-style!

That's an excellent idea!

Original poster
clary · 09/05/2024 13:49

Yeh I've gone and fetched a student out of bed to sit their German listening exam before now. They passed as well.

OP posts:
Leopardmatches · 09/05/2024 15:13

Are they allowed Polo mints these days?! They were a necessity in mine.

DD draws on her hands. I’ve told her that’s a no no.

Abouttimeforanamechange · 09/05/2024 15:40

Are they allowed Polo mints these days?!

I'd be cautious if they are. So many things of that kind are sugar free these days, and the side effects of some of the sugar substitutes are not what you need in the middle of an exam.

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 09/05/2024 15:54

Leopardmatches · 09/05/2024 15:13

Are they allowed Polo mints these days?! They were a necessity in mine.

DD draws on her hands. I’ve told her that’s a no no.

Oooh definitely DO NOT draw on hands.

And if anyone is thinking of defacing their tables please don't as we check tables at the end of every exam and with a seating plan it's pretty easy to identify the culprit Grin

Booksandflowers · 09/05/2024 16:55

How did your kids do in their RS exam today? How did they find it?

Gunnersforthecup · 09/05/2024 17:05

Ds has autism/ADHD. He did not do one of the questions. It required him to be a bit waffly and he cannot waffle [help]. He has also (very angrily) refused to let the school give him extra time, which was a bit irksome [for me] when he did not finish his paper today. Ah well.

Bankholidayboredom23 · 09/05/2024 17:35

Wow I thought it was overkill that DD's school insists on clear pencil cases from year 3 but reading all this I kind of see why now! Why not get them in the habit young. Even though my eldest is a little way off GCSE's I've appreciated reading the tips and a lot can be applied to other test/exam situations too.

MamOfTwo · 10/05/2024 15:04

Booksandflowers · 09/05/2024 16:55

How did your kids do in their RS exam today? How did they find it?

Search for the thread 'Year 11 2023-24 continued' in this topic as lots of chat on there about how specific exams have gone (sorry, not sure how to link)! @Booksandflowers

GlomOfNit · 13/05/2024 09:15

Leopardmatches · 09/05/2024 15:13

Are they allowed Polo mints these days?! They were a necessity in mine.

DD draws on her hands. I’ve told her that’s a no no.

They are threatened with all the dire warnings of what will happen if any of them are caught with a tiny scrap of paper on their person - so no, I would imagine that a roll of Polos are DEFINITELY not allowed!Grin I do remember Polos for exams though, back in the late 80's when we were allowed tissues and sweets and lids to our calculators and an actual wristwatch, which we all took off and religiously draped over the top of our desk to avoid losing crucial milliseconds turning our wrists and pushing up the cuff. Grin

DramaLlamaBangBang · 13/05/2024 12:47

GlomOfNit · 13/05/2024 09:15

They are threatened with all the dire warnings of what will happen if any of them are caught with a tiny scrap of paper on their person - so no, I would imagine that a roll of Polos are DEFINITELY not allowed!Grin I do remember Polos for exams though, back in the late 80's when we were allowed tissues and sweets and lids to our calculators and an actual wristwatch, which we all took off and religiously draped over the top of our desk to avoid losing crucial milliseconds turning our wrists and pushing up the cuff. Grin

Show quote history

You can have sweets in a transparent tub, so you have to decant the polo's into a tupperware

Leopardmatches · 13/05/2024 16:16

No tissues? But it’s hayfever season. Really, is this true.

MrsHamlet · 13/05/2024 16:20

Leopardmatches · 13/05/2024 16:16

No tissues? But it’s hayfever season. Really, is this true.

Nothing at all. If they need tissues, they need to ask.

Leopardmatches · 13/05/2024 19:45

Thanks so much MrsHamlet, DD is going through a box of tissues a day at the moment with hayfever. And that’s with taking hayfever medication. It’s useful to know that the school will provide tissues as I will contact the exams coordinator in the run up to the gcse to talk about tissue consumption and management. Slightly bonkers but it’s one of those things that if you don’t know, you don’t know and it could totally throw a child.

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