Y11 2023-24 thread 4

[Techno56]

New thread for GCSE survival 🙂

I kept asking mine about things that are in A level biology, not GCSE (by mistake not on purpose...I have a degree in it ..) he said I was confusing him and revised the rest using YouTube videos, oops 😬

DD pretty happy with both exams today which is a big relief as she was not hugely prepared for history in particular. OCR gateway higher combined chemistry and Edexel history. Just geography and physics left.

I'm almost beginning to think I'll look back fondly on the last few weeks. It's been intense and stressful but also quite a bonding experience in a way. Feeling oddly nostalgic already! Probably also because there are such big changes ahead with sixth form college etc, so feels like the end of an era

DD found AQA combined chemistry pretty good today (she does seem stronger in sciences).
2 left to go on Friday so she’s taking the rest of today off.

imedia yesterday wasn’t as good as she hoped (a new spec apparently - it gets changed every 5 years - so not much to practice from).

2nd time going through GCSE’s and it has felt absolutely relentless. Throw in the other going through A levels at the same time and I am spent!

DS has worked out why he and his classmates found one of the Further Maths questions impossible - they were all over-thinking it! They thought they had to 'rearrange trig identities' when in fact they just had to factorise/simplify.

Anyway, it's been a good learning point for paper 2; don't overlook the obvious!

Sorry to infiltrate your thread but my eldest will be going through this next year. Currently doing their year 10 mocks with no revision. Says she probably wont do well even with revision. She’s fairly bright but never going to get 9’s and at this rate I’m not sure she’ll get 4’s apart from her fav subject.

im encouraging the revision but its not really going anywhere. Is it best to leave her to see how well she does with her own (limited) revision and revisit in year 11. Or is it best to push so she sees she can get some passes and hope it motivates her? I’m at a loss.

It’s a tricky one, and will depend upon your daughter. Getting grades much lower than she is capable of may really de-motivate her. I think for a lot of 16year olds, they don’t really know how to revise properly (and different ways suit some, and other ways suit others, depending upon how they learn). In our house, we have tended to give lots of support and advice, to try and encourage them to work hard (and show them how to do it / help them to do it) and try for the best that they can do - it can be really encouraging when they get better grades than they were thinking. Also, it is so so helpful if they can be making notes / flash cards / mind maps for earlier tests (like mocks / end of year 10 exams / end of unit exams), as they can use these when revising for the actual GCSEs (which saves a bit of time).

AQA Chemistry higher all good. DD happy as it’s an A level choice. DS pretty pleased too though he’s glad he doesn’t have to do Chemistry anymore.
He also had History this afternoon and he was happy with it all (OCR) which is great as it’s one of his A levels subjects.
Nothing now until Friday Geography (DD) and Physics. Phew.

DS said AQA combined chemistry "not the best, but not the worst paper I've had".

I mean, what am I supposed to do with that information?

Hoping a couple of days rest and some targeted revision means he can go out with a bang on Friday with physics, which is one of his stronger subjects.

Deloused his room today - no idea why he's been collecting Tyrells crisp packets, but did find 2 TV remote controls that I had recently replaced!

I think I will cry with relief when it's all over.

Hi there!

It's a dilemna I have contended with as well. A school of thought says to let them fail and learn to find their own motivation/purpose and to only help if they ask, but I decided to actively support and try and teach my DS learning techniques, make him realise how much work is needed to do well, how he may regret it later if he underperforms etc. So I sort of project managed his revisions for GCSES and only in the last 2 weeks has he started doing his own flashcards etc without prompting...He mostly welcomes the help and guidance but also says sometimes that I've made him too dependent on help. He has naturally very low motivation (moderate ADD diagnosed in November) but is super bright and I decided it would be too much of a shame to just 'let him be' and see some doors closed when he finally steps up. I also don't think he easily bounces back on his own - he did really badly in an end of year 10 maths test, got moved to a lower ability group for year 11, excluded from further maths, separated from all his friends, and I saw no sign his pride was hurt or that work was going to be put in without a push.... Yet he is happy when he gets a good result so he does care...It's perplexing!

It may come down to what you can live with. I am prone to guilt and anxiety so decided to help him 'fit the system' as much as possible...Good luck!

@Booksandflowers Can you do a deal with her and say revise properly for Physics and Geography and you won't nag on the others? Then if she hopefully does better in them you will have proved your point? A bit high risk maybe.

thank @DominoRules I have no idea what’s involved with it as I’ve never met anyone who does it, if GCSEs go OK and he gets on to his a level choices I wouldn’t mind picking your brain a little if that would be OK? 🙂

@WarningOfGails thats interesting to know, thank you, I may ask to pick your brain also! 😀

@omnishambles DS said he messed up the end of the six marker, something about a judgement?

@Tiredalwaystired glad your DD has cheered up a little.

History Edexcel was blessed apparently. 😄 no revision tonight, he’s been gaming but Physics revision starts first thing tomorrow.

@TrixieFatell when does HofD start again? I’m looking forward to it!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn starts next Sunday 16th. I'm very excited

Excellent! I may have to rewatch the last couple of episodes this week. 😄

The thing is, if she doesn't revise for her Y10 exams, or mocks, there will be so much to revise for the first time when it's the real thing it will be completely overwhelming.

My son is very bright but has no idea how to organise himself, estimate how long something might take, or accurately gauge what 'enough' revision is. So I have made it non negotiable, we did a revision timetable table together and I help him when needed, or insist he gets on with it when the task is independent.

He doesn't push back on this and we don't have arguments about it, so it works for us. What you decide to do very much depends on your daughter and her reactions..

There are also loads of ways to revise. Flash cards and past papers don't appeal to my son so we found other ways (Seneca interactive revision, very satisfying to tick off sections - YouTube videos and looking at past papers and the mark scheme rather than endlessly doing them himself). These methods worked for his Y10 exams and mocks, we shall see the real results in august. But doing it a bit at a time for each set of school assessments will definitely help in a years time, if you can make it happen without conflict.

Ds found chemistry and fm hard today. A question on fm he couldn’t answer. He’s fed up of it all now and can’t wait to be finished.

Yes! My ds gave me this one to solve, so I dug out the remnants of factorisation knowledge from my old brain and was really pleased with myself when I simplified it, but that was as far as I got 😅 Turns out the answer is 120

I would say first of all, don't worry about 9's. They are the equivalent of A**. A 7 is an old A. The purpose of GCSES is to get pupils to the next stage, so as long as she can get what she needs to get into her chosen course at her chosen college/6th form, that's all that matters.
Secondly with revision you can go up at least a couple of grades between mocks and the real thing, but makecsure she revises enough to avoid being put into a lower set for subject where the papers are streamed eg languages and maths, because the top mark there is a 5.
I did a revision timetable from Christmas of year 11 up to the exams. DS liked spaced repetition, so look up some videos on that and some other revision techniques quite early on. If she gets lower grades than expected that may motivate her to revise, especially if she has the aim of doing a particular course afterwards. She will have something to aim for.

Thanks all. I’m not worried about 9’s - they’ll never happen but she is capable of B’s and C’s if she puts the work in. (4’s, 5’s and 6’s?) However without work it will be more like 3’s and maybe a 4 in a couple of favourite subjects. She’ll really be on the cusp. I think I may get her to focus on maths and science as they are subjects that she could drop into a lower set for. Same for French but I don’t think she’ll be that bothered about French - if she gets a 4 I’ll be pleased!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn of course 👍 It was 25 years ago we did it and I’m quite removed from it now but DH is still very much in the chemical engineering field (in fact he’s a mentor and on the panel for interns and graduate training schemes so would be a better advisor probably!)

OCR combined chemistry was ok and history was good, according to ds.
He worked til very late last night, went out with friends straight after history, came home and went to bed.
Next and final exam is physics on Friday.

Oh dear, DD said AQA Chem Single Higher was the hardest of all the exams she has done. Apparently at one point she "prayed for death so I wouldn't have to carry on" - so, yeah, I don't think it went that well. 😬She is officially over exams now and seems to have developed an obsession with Bridgerton of all things! Luckily only physics left for us.

I think I've caught my daughter's lurgy. Feeling sorry for myself now

Further maths with 3 papers sounds tough. WJEC additional maths is just 1 paper but that’s not until next Wednesday either.

Thank you @DominoRules 🙏