Y 11 2023-2024 thread 3

[Techno56]

For when the other thread fills up tomorrow as we all discuss English lit 2 😁

The desert is a bloody weird one. Like the whole point of a desert is that there's nothing there!! Maybe focus on senses and the feeling of the heat, an interesting story about why they're in the desert and we're they're going??

I think the kids are all delirious as there's lots online amused by the fact they could get away with writing "Dick" in an exam.

The Student Room is so funny - these are kids who have just come out of a language exam and can't spell for toffee 😂

DD didn't finish today but started with the 40-marker, then the 4, then the 20, then the 8. One 8 marker only got a brief answer but she's happy enough. I wish they could just make the exam 10 minutes longer!

That’s unfair. Typing not always easy and kids often text in shorthand too.

Not looked at TSR today, but there's often someone who posts a brilliant answer plan and asks everyone to mark them expecting to be told it's a clear 9 and then someone else will reply saying it might get a 5 if the examiner is generous. It's their equivalent of 40 year old posters on mumsnet posting a photo and asking how old they look, expecting to be told they look about 27, and being told that their skin is damaged, they need botox because they are haggard and look about 72.

DS Aqa liked paper, and usually very good with English but he has taken a bit of a risk with the description which may backfire.

Nothing now until after half term.

Me too!
DD said she had 10 seconds to spare so God knows how get her handwriting was like by the end!

In fact...is handwriting/presentation marked?

God knows what her handwriting was like at the end!

Not really unless the layout is incorrect. With dd’s exam board (edexel igcse), they have to write a letter or a newspaper article etc, which will expected to be based on a reading comprehension in the first section. That would be marked down if presented incorrectly.

The exam papers are apparently uploaded these days as opposed to being read directly. The examiners don’t have time to try and decifer handwriting so the emphasis is on trying to keep it as neat as possible but there will also be a balance. The kids will have had this explained, I imagine and there is actually nothing we can do about it. They’re old enough to manage these things for themselves.

I looked at it and immediately though 'another planet' I was kicking myself that I didnt get DS to do an outline of a Sci fi story, as its usually right up his street. I hope he thought of that ( or anything really!)

It says on the paper to leave 45 minutes for Q5 so I suppose if you are not prone to getting carried away, you could do that first. My DS absolutely was at risk of writing and writing and waffling on and running out of time so I told him to do the other questions first but leave 45 minutes to do Q5. I haven't heard from him yet. I'm really nervous as this is his best subject even though its not his favourite subject.

Oh pants.

Dd decided to go to youth group after school, that is a sure sign she is fed up about the exam.
I asked her how it went and she finally replied and said she had to go for a McDonalds afterwards it was so bad.
No surprise it was bad, just wish she had done enough to get a 4. That will do. A 5 would be better, but bugger me I hope we aren't heading for a resit.

She is amazingly verbally articulate, has a bedroom full of books, gets 8/9 in maths and chemistry, but she cannot string together a sentence on paper to save her life.
Pretty sure she has a language processing issue connected to her autism, but she isn't 'bad enough' apparently.

Dd loved the paper but didn't finish q4 - estimates she got maybe 12/13 marks on it. Photo was a 'godsend'

We're in the same position re maths. Just hoping for a 4. There is a chance to do better in the second psoer and I don't think they have to resit if they pass Lit. It's horrible though, especially with those compulsory subjects that you have to resit. It's just a,waiting game.

Anyone else got an ancient history kid? Apparently the cleopatra paper was awful have you had the same feedback?

No it isn't but we prefer it if we can read it!

So far (via text) I've just had "Bad. Ran out of time".

I think 'ran out of time' is far better than 'finished 45mins early as had no idea what to write'

Definitely!

DS is worried about the last question becsuse he wrote about a disagreement, but it was set in the desert! I'm not sure what happens in that situation! He said he enjoyed writing it and used lots of description etc but said he'd have his marks capped for doing both parts of the question? I said surely his story was about a disagreement it just happened to be set in the desert?!

He doesn't need to worry

DS has said that Psychology was "amazing". He seems very relaxed and happy about both of the exams today. That's him done until after half term now. He can get some rest and relax; see his friends and concentrate on revising for the exams he has left.

@DramaLlamaBangBang - DS did the same. His disagreement was set in a desert.

DD pleased with both Eng Lang and AQA Psych today. Just French to finish off tomorrow and we can collapse into half term!

@MrsHamlet thanks. I'll tell him not to worry.
@Waspie lol DS's sounded like some kind of French foreign legion business with 2 lost soldiers. What was yours about?

DD said she liked the language paper today. She wrote about a disagreement and said there were dead bodies in it.....