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Secondary education

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

Original poster

Parents of GCSE 2025

166 replies

Mum2LazyBoy · 04/03/2025 15:35

Is anyone up for a thread to follow the highs and lows of supporting our dc through the coming gcse season.
As user name suggests I have a DS who really isn’t getting his head down enough. He does tend to spend a lot of time gaming and school don’t seem to be setting much work.
Interested to hear how others are getting on.

OP posts:
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Acropolis49 · 04/03/2025 16:55

Sounds the same as my son. I'm so torn between trying to force him to do revision at home, and just letting him get on with it because it is draining the life from me. It is so stressful and leads to arguments. He has ASD as well so I am trying to take that into consideration.

He has just finished final set of mocks so waiting for results and then will decide what to do.

Acropolis49 · 04/03/2025 16:56

As I understand it they are now mostly doing revision at school, so no new content.

CasparBloomberg · 04/03/2025 17:18

Im up for a thread!
DD, yr11, also ASD, taking GCSEs this summer. Has already sat 2 (maths and stats) as they do them early. Photography practical and French speaking are the next ones in May.
Most of her subjects will be finishing their content in the next few weeks. I think only English is at the just revising stage.

gatheryerosebuds · 04/03/2025 17:21

There is another thread, but everyone's child on there is predicted all 9s

Nice to have an alternative!

gatheryerosebuds · 04/03/2025 17:21

Our MFL speaking exams are in a week or so!!

Would love to have more time to practise

EarthlyNightshade · 04/03/2025 17:30

I'm in!
I tried to set up a thread before for parents with kids who might be struggling a bit but it didn't take off.
The other thread is very high achieving and a bit depressing (for me).
I have a capable child who is doing no work so a highs and lows thread sounds perfect.

MrPanks · 04/03/2025 17:31

I’m in. My DD isn’t predicted anything spectacular in the big scheme of things, decent mock results overall, just one that’s a bit of a worry if she will pass, but she’s working hard and trying her best. Stress levels are up and down already, so I’m prepared for a rollercoaster. I’m also having investigations for a potentially serious health problem, with lots of hospital visits and procedures, which isn’t great timing. So happy to support each other through this tricky time!

MissyB1 · 04/03/2025 17:37

Yes please! My ds is bright enough but underestimating how much work he needs to do. Also he has always suffered from exam panic - his brain freezes and he makes silly mistakes. Exams just aren’t the best way of measuring some kids!

Let’s support each other (I’m already exhausted by it), but also share tips on supporting them.

rhubarb12345 · 04/03/2025 17:51

Yes please another with a boy unlikely to "meet their potential ". School did mock mocks and he's failing English language. They put in interventions so I'm hoping he's passed the actual mocks. Dyslexic good at maths and physics terrible at English language. I just really want him to get the basic pass so he never has to bother with English again

CasparBloomberg · 04/03/2025 18:17

gatheryerosebuds · 04/03/2025 17:21

Our MFL speaking exams are in a week or so!!

Would love to have more time to practise

I had assumed they were all done around the same time.
DD just had speaking mocks last week, has received guidance/feedback but not marks yet.

gatheryerosebuds · 04/03/2025 18:25

rhubarb12345 · 04/03/2025 17:51

Yes please another with a boy unlikely to "meet their potential ". School did mock mocks and he's failing English language. They put in interventions so I'm hoping he's passed the actual mocks. Dyslexic good at maths and physics terrible at English language. I just really want him to get the basic pass so he never has to bother with English again

Hopefully he can jump up a grade of two between now and the real thing.
Would the school be amenable to marking set papers if he did them at home? A few papers a week could really improve his grade and after all it's in the schools interests to get 100% pass rate for English Language

rhubarb12345 · 04/03/2025 18:31

School seem really relaxed about it. I guess I'll wait for the outcome of latest mock and then decide how much to panic.He's doing triple science total 10 GCSEs every subject wants them doing past papers and he's not prepared to put the time in to subjects he likes not to mention the ones he hates

Original poster
Mum2LazyBoy · 04/03/2025 19:05

Yay, lots of lovely posters, I wondered if I would come back to tumble weed. Did a quick search and didn’t find a similar thread but maybe that one isn’t for me. I am hoping that once Ds moves onto A levels and can drop the most hated subjects his work ethic will kick in but time will tell. The only good thing is he doesn’t seem stressed at all. At least he is only doing 9 subjects, his exam timetable is packed enough as it is. They seem to do quite a lot in May before half term, I’m sure most of my exams were in June.

OP posts:
MissyB1 · 04/03/2025 19:25

Ds last exam is 16th June, loads in May though, basically every day. Nice early summer holidays though!

MrPanks · 04/03/2025 20:18

I feel your pain, my DD feels the same about maths!

MrPanks · 04/03/2025 20:19

rhubarb12345 · 04/03/2025 17:51

Yes please another with a boy unlikely to "meet their potential ". School did mock mocks and he's failing English language. They put in interventions so I'm hoping he's passed the actual mocks. Dyslexic good at maths and physics terrible at English language. I just really want him to get the basic pass so he never has to bother with English again

My previous post should read a a response to this post.

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 04/03/2025 20:24

I can't wait until the end of June when this is all over. ASD/ADHD DD has done zero revision and no amount of begging, pleading, bribing or sweet talking is going to change that. I'm swinging between guilt for not sitting on her and helping her do it (when I have no clue) to 'it is what it is' and she has to do it herself. She scraped 4 passes at her mocks, and I just pray she'll pass those and a couple more but I'm not holding my breath.

Thank you for starting this thread. Other threads on here are full of high-flying kids with parents who have no idea what it's like to have a non-academic child. Sigh. I could sob!

Springup24 · 04/03/2025 20:32

I feel like I've found my home.

My son is completely unfussed, completely unstressed, completely unbothered.

Doing zero revision, not even completing all his basic homework.

Thinks it will all be fine. He'll pass everything fine. Despite evidence to the contrary in mocks.

I have tried everything - bribing, paying, encouraging, threatening, removing privileges and devices. Nothing works. My anxiety is through the roof.

Absolutely dreading results day. And the fall out afterwards. Although not sure how I'm going to even get through until June to be honest!

OhCrumbsWhereNow · 04/03/2025 23:17

Joining here too... cannot wait till end of June when it's all over.

Dyslexic ADHD DD who has never achieved in line with targets.

November mocks were dire, in middle of Feb/March mocks now and she's gone up 2 grades in Maths, so while I'm not feeling laid back and relaxed, it looks like we might be done and dusted with that this year. Not heard how any of the rest have gone yet.

She's on a reduced set of exams, but doesn't appear to get what actual revision really looks like. School do seem to be very on it and doing loads and loads of past papers so I'm trying to convince myself that it will all come out okay even if she doesn't do much effective revision at home.

sausageupanalley · 04/03/2025 23:28

Ah hello people, so glad it's not just me tearing my hair out with my lazy boy! He's done next to nothing outside of school so far and is so casual about everything he just doesn't seem to really care, except I know he does deep down but there is a disconnect between what he thinks deep down and what he says and does. It's so frustrating as if he worked I'm sure he'd do quite well but at the moment it's all quite a worry and I'm dreading results day already. I'm glad there's a few of us on here going through similar, I am worn out by it all!

TeenToTwenties · 05/03/2025 08:41

My DD is doing maths resit, so I may pop in from time to time.
(She's 20, at college, no GCSE passes to her name but does have functional skills English. Life goes on even without GCSEs.)

MissyB1 · 05/03/2025 08:46

It’s clear that for a lot of kids this is such unfair way of testing their knowledge, continuous assessment over the course of the two years would be far fairer and more useful in my opinion. I think that’s more like the American system? I also think there should be the choice of functional skills and more vocational options.

lifeturnsonadime · 05/03/2025 08:49

Yes I'm in, my daughter is home educated on an EOTAS arrangement due to complex needs, will get 75% extra time in her exams which she will take from home. The stress levels are rising although she only needs four 4's in her GCSEs for the college she wants to go to.

She's not suited to exams so these will likely be the only ones she'll ever has to take (if she passes) as the BTEC she wants to do is assessment based!

Solidarity to all of our young people!

My other child is a high achiever and is at a top university so one of the things I have to manage is to never let her feel compared!

Original poster
Mum2LazyBoy · 05/03/2025 11:35

@lifeturnsonadime it sounds like you’ve really done a good job getting her the adaptations she needs, fingers crossed she can get what she needs.
I guess when comparing to others we all have to remember what they actually need to go on to the next stage. That might be 4 4s, 6 6s or whatever. The fact some are aiming for straight 9s doesn’t take away from the achievement of another child getting what they need for their course.
At the end of the day no one cares what I got 30 years ago, what I have done since is what matters.

OP posts:
OhCrumbsWhereNow · 05/03/2025 11:45

Mum2LazyBoy · 05/03/2025 11:35

@lifeturnsonadime it sounds like you’ve really done a good job getting her the adaptations she needs, fingers crossed she can get what she needs.
I guess when comparing to others we all have to remember what they actually need to go on to the next stage. That might be 4 4s, 6 6s or whatever. The fact some are aiming for straight 9s doesn’t take away from the achievement of another child getting what they need for their course.
At the end of the day no one cares what I got 30 years ago, what I have done since is what matters.

Agree with that!

My cv has just had 'X GCSEs including English and Maths' since I was about 25. Nobody has ever asked what subjects I took or what grades I got.... or even cared.

The main thing is getting what they need to get onto the next stage. It's worth fighting to drop really weak subjects if that means they can then have more time to invest in bringing up ones they need a certain grade in, or to get the English and Maths over the line.

DD only needs 5 including English and Maths for her next stage, she'll end up with more, but because we ditched her weakest subjects she has a smaller exam load and isn't going to be having to revise two subjects the night before, and it should be easier to keep her focused.