Year 11 - 2024/2025 - Support Thread - the final stretch

[QueenMabby]

A new thread to take is to exams and beyond! All welcome.

To get a grade 7 in higher Maths Edexcel,I think you’d need to be nailing more than the first half of the paper. That is the approach my DD2 has been told to use for a grade 5/6. Also, a grade 7 was 57%, so I’d have thought you’d need to attempt 3/4s of it.

I think the idea is if you are rock solid first half you’ll be a long way towards your 57% and less pressure on latter questions, especially final ones geared to grade 9 pupils. Not to say you don’t need to be able to do any of second half, just that if your DC isn’t grade 9 or even grade 8 it’s to be expected they will struggle with questions at end.

I feel like a fool, I had no idea that ds2 wasn't being taught all of the syllabus. I mean now I think about it, of course it's obvious. Set 1 predicted mostly 9's will obviously focus on higher syllabus, better techniques, how to get a 9. But I hadn't quite grasped how much ds2 didn't know.
so what now?

@Oblomov25- they should have been taught the whole syllabus. Unless they are a set doing a foundation paper which may differ. Otherwise all the syllabus is the same regardless of set.

Maybe ds2 needs to consolidate his learning before he starts to revise? Has he done the red amber green on the syllabus to give an overview of what he needs to work on?

Ds has been in school Monday and Tuesday this week for revision sessions. He has the same next week, but isn't sure he'll go. He says he's not done any other revision yet. As for maths, he says there's no point in revising maths. I have always said I trust him and will leave him to it. But I will prompt him later, see if he's done any.

@Oblomov25 yes they should have covered all the syllabus.

Ds3 says in the sciences there will always be a question they've not covered to test their knowledge. But not sure if that's correct. I remember ds1 having a question about oestrogen that he hadn't covered, it was a question worth quite a few marks, he wasn't sure what to write and blamed that question on him getting A and not A* but ds3 says that's meant to happen.

My tip for History is Post It notes. Everywhere! I spent hours and hours sat with DC reciting fact after fact (Biology, History, Literature) and then stuck up notes everywhere. Formulae too. Fridge, door frame, bathroom. It’s old fashioned and not for everyone, but it did work for DC as there was basically no escape. Unfortunately without the facts there’s no essay to write, no matter how good your essay technique is.

If your DC can write well most likely a content issue? DS is good at writing but only just started learning content. Went from a 5 to a 7 last exam. I got him Pearson revision cards for each topic. 30 cards for each topic. Less overwhelming. He still has loads to do!

No, Icanbe I've just had an e-mail back from his maths teacher to say in his set, there are a few grade 8/9 topics that they don't cover!

We had this last year with DD1. She was in Set 2, and if you wanted more than a grade 7 you had to attend extra lunchtime booster classes with set 1! She got the grade 8, but I did find it a bit odd.

Thanks all. Edexcel IGCSE. She is busy drawing timelines has been to all the extra sessions at school and practising hard. I think it’s a mixture of knowledge and technique. Will look at the flash cards!

I think it’s fairly common for certain maths topics only to be taught to top sets. There are a few questions in each paper which are only intended to be accessible to grade 8/9 students.

Most schools feel it is better for most students to spend more time on the key topics rather than teaching content they are unlikely to be able to do.

Ime schools do offer lunchtime or self-study materials for those not in top sets who want to cover these topics. Again though, I suspect the vast majority of teachers would say this time would be better spent ensuring they’re secure with the rest of the paper.

Feel like tearing hair out. School finished a week ago. DH and I both had several patient, apparently reasonable, conversations about the importance of preparing for the exams, self-regulating, not wanting to prescribe a number of hours or method of revising or timetable of topics because they should know themselves, etc.

Thurs - DC needed to wind down, OK fine.
Fri - ditto, not quite so fine but I had a full day of work so couldn't do more than remind.
Sat/Sun - "It's the first weekend of our hols!"
Mon - my day for catching up on chores, did approx 30 minutes revision then "need a break" then apparently another 30 minutes etc, which I couldn't keep checking up on because of chores, I suspect barely anything got done.
Tues - had to go to town to get haircut, queue was "longer than expected" so came back later than intended.
Today - non-stop playing Pokemon on the Switch, I'm trying to WFH so can't do more than stick my head around the door periodically and remind them to revise, getting roundly ignored with considerable side-eye. I am this >< close to throwing the %£$# console out of the window

@Poisoningpigeons
There’s another thread which implies that GCSE success is down to parental example, but I’m of the view that you can’t change someone’s nature.

Your son is an optimist who feels that it’ll all be OK on the day.
Maybe he’s got the right attitude?! Maybe it’ll all be fine. But I feel your frustration!

Woke up to DD revising this morning and found out her German speaking test was today at least that’s all of the speaking done and dusted now. She said it was fine, but I think we have to have a(nother) conversation about revising properly

Any tips for improving English Language? DS is doing Cambridge International and is comfortably a 5 but would really like a 6. No one area that he seems to fall down on - gets middling marks across all questions.

It’s such a weird one. DS was revising it today but that involved reading his revision guide which I suspect is ineffective. His teacher said do practice questions….

DS is AQA, don’t know how similar they are

Is that the IGCSE @SameyMcNameChange ? DD2 is doing it if so. She says the directed writing is a new one and no-one is quite sure how it will go. She has notes from her teacher who is relatively close to the exam board, but said the ones from savemyexams were very similar. Not sure if you can get at them without paying - think you can get some stuff for free.

@minisnowballs
What board is your iGCSE in English language?

Ours is edexcel and I believe the transactional writing bit of the paper can take a number of forms ie newspaper article/leaflet etc

It's Cambridge @queenofthesuburbs (CIE)

@Oblomov25 It is perfectly standard to not teach all the maths syllabus to those not in top set. It is better to take the time to get more solid on the grade 7 stuff than rush through in order to attempt to cover all the grade 9 things.
In something like science they may well teach all the syllabus but really not focus on the most complex issues.

Yes Cambridge for my DS for iGCSE English too.

I'm so fed up with ds2. He's doing barely anything. My closest friend asked if he's overwhelmed, as her dd has anxiety. But he's not like that, no anxiety, never gets overwhelmed. He's too laid back. I actually think he's just quite lazy.

Down time here is watching DisneyPlus and Netflix in French and German. Good exam prep?!
To be fair to DC, they are putting in the hours, big time. Although some of it is hours and hours of conversations with friends from school testing each other on content heavy subjects like Biology and History. It sort of reminds me of what they did in Year 6 during Covid.