Y11 2023-24 continued

[Techno56]

New thread for when the other one fills up, I need somewhere to panic away from my son 😁

OCR Higher “weird” apparently!!! Read into that what you will!

My DD is still at school- they don’t do study leave. Were there lots of 6 markers?

dd did AQA so I am hoping it was fairly straightforward. Not that that means she did her best work. she went it to it being pesimistic, which doesn't help

Not sure. I just caught them at the end of the exam (I was working in their school today) so will get more info later.

My son just messaged saying the Edexcel higher was “quite easy”, which concerns me as he’s no maths genius and everyone else found it hard per Twitter / TSR. God this is stressful!

Thank you. My DD doesn’t finish until 6 tonight. I’d love to see the papers I wish they didn’t have the embargo on them.

I can’t see the grade boundaries coming down looking at the last few years??? :(

Grade boundaries go wherever they need them to be to get the more or less predetermined % getting 4s and 7s. If the paper turns out to be extra hard, boundaries go a bit lower, if it seems to be extra easy they go up.

My DD is autistic too and was doing so well until high school. We had to drop a subject as well but approach to revision sounds similar. She also did computer science and came back pretty flat after yesterdays one as I think she’s focussed the revision she has done on subjects she found harder and probably didn’t think enough about it ☹️
Sending you strength for the rest, it’s tricky with ND kids

Well Edexcel maths this morning was a disaster for DD. Cried during and after as it was so hard. She has been a grade 9 student for 2 years and is now devastated this will have pretty much ended her hopes of this now. I'm so sad because although it won't stop her doing anything in the future, maths was her 'thing' and her confidence has taken a knock.

So now to try and forget it and revise for chemistry tomorrow, another A level choice. It is so draining trying to keep spirits up on a daily basis!

Myotis thanks for that. It is really hard to support them isn't it?
Part of me wanted to just take her out of GCSEs altogether because it was causing so much distress, but you need some GCSEs to do anything, and no point in putting them off.
Added to which in 'her' subjects she is clever and could do well.
Really praying for Chemistry tomorrow, if that goes badly, she will give up on the rest of the exams.

She is numer 3 and GCSEs and A levels for the older 2 were so much easier!

See this just makes me think my son (who got 6s in mocks but said it was quite easy today) is either woefully deluded or, more likely, just telling me what he thinks I want to hear. 😥

Sorry - meant to quote @bluefineliner

Oh poor thing. I hope she manages to pick herself up for Chemistry. Hopefully the other two papers are better.

Maybe some of DCs deal with the pressure better than others. (Or they are deluded.)
DS said his maths paper was "hard but ok", adding "I am definitely not getting a 9 though."
(His favourite topics did not even come up in this paper, so it must have been hard for him.)
And with that he moved on to chemistry and geography.

A grade 9 predicted DC may expect to breeze through the paper until the last couple of questions. So view it as a disaster if they get stumped by 1 or 2 earlier ones.
Whereas a grade 6 predicted DC may expect to only get as far as the staples in the middle so view it as 'easy' if they can do any beyond that point.

My DD1 did GCSEs in 2015, the year of 'Hannah's sweets'. Lots of kids all upset about the question and it threw them for later in the paper. DD couldn't do it and just moved on, as she didn't expect to be able to do everything.

DD has just texted me on the way home and said Maths was "so hard"!

I think she took it so badly because every practice paper done in the past 6 months has been a 9. I am hoping the next 2 papers will be better but not holding out much hope tbh.

She has now moved on to watching chem revision videos and after a McDonalds seems calm now.

It is funny because she seems surprised I am even slightly affected by her moods/reactions to exams. If only they knew how it feels to be helpless bystander willing them on and consoling them if needed.

That's 3 very tough exams in one day it's sucks really doesn't it, when they come out with that feeling?

Hopefully the others were better

Oh, sorry. He is just revising for chemistry and geography. They are tomorrow.

I am convinced that he undersells himself, and he has done quite well. (I am the deluded one here.)

@StarShipControl Edexcel GCSE is three papers but Edexcel iGCSE is 2 papers, both calculator...there's a mix of both being talked about on here which is a bit confusing

'Hannah's Sweets' generated some of the best internet memes I have ever seen. Brought tears to my eyes

DS said maths higher was awful (edexcel) but from here and tik tok it seems that was the universal opinion.

How do schools choose the exam boards? DS said friends sitting the AQA exam found it was fine. I know the grade boundaries may be different but it does feel unfair somewhat.

@Paperclipp it isn't if the maths was all that hard. The difficulty was in them putting probability and algebra into the same question.

Ds was happy enough with how it went, did his best on the last ones and thinks he should have done enough for a 7. There was one question towards the end which was incredibly difficult - only one of his predicted 9 mates felt confident about it and it took him 15 mins…

DD, who was on course for an 8, found Edexcel Higher Maths really hard and is so upset now. Damnit.