Year 11 - 2024/2025 - In the thick of it!

[QueenMabby]

New thread. Sorry. Forgot to start it - I hope everyone finds this!

Thank you, would be great to shed a bit more light, the exam board is EDEXCEL.

Morning all.
No sleep here as so worried about older dd but dd seems OK.
Maths today 😬

So mine left home 30 minutes early this morning to get into school for the pre-exam crammer session and to ensure she's on time even if trains are held at signals etc.

Returned 10 minutes later - missing the train - because she forgot her calculator... for the non-calculator paper...

Hello all, not much sleep for me either. Dd was doing OK until practice higher non calculator maths last night, then it all got a bit much. She's up and at it this morning but looks washed out.

Somehow I got an A in GCSE maths many years ago but the practice paper she was doing looked far harder than anything I ever did.

Just venting on here. Good luck to all for today!

DD did Edexcel paper B for Geog,

She's not at all happy. Said the 8 markers were awful and that there was one that she couldn't see a way to do.

Wanted hurricanes and got Japanese earthquake and wrote about tsunamis which was apparently wrong.

Then something on India or Mumbai to do with having to give pros and cons of over-population in developing countries but she couldn't see how there were any pros.

She's quite good at reporting back, so I can ask her this evening if there are specifics?

Just been round the house searching for maths equipment! Good luck to them all today.

@ChannelLightVessel to you and your DD, really puts things into perspective.

Looks as tho there is a choice of questions for one section - two from qu 2, 3 4, each worth 12 marks; so maybe he answered all three of those? It's not the end of the world if so, as others say, just means he will have had less time to finish the paper (and obvs the extra question will not be marked) but hopefully he did manage to finish. No big penalties for doing the extra question or anything.

When DS2 took his, he discovered the night before hat he didn't have a protractor. I went to about five shops trying to find one (obvs everyone else had also needed one!) and ended up buying a whole Helix boxed set in Home Bargains. AND he didn't use it anyway lol.

All the best to everyone today – this is a big one but hopefully they will show their best work.

I'm neither an examiner nor teacher.

Am I correct in understanding they will mark extra questions and then take the best scoring answers (as opposed to just take the first 2 and ignore the third even if it is the best)?

Really sorry to hear @ChannelLightVessel - as pp said puts it in perspective.

DS Maths today, history tomor. He has consistently improved in Maths this year, so hoping he can sustain that and get what he needs! He was tired this morning, despite lights out at 10. Hope he can switch it on for the 90 mins. Was at home yesterday but now thinking maybe school, the routine, pre-exam sessions are better for him, with a few hours at home after school. This week feels like a month!

Good luck all DC!!

Thank you all for your kind words, and best wishes to you and your DC. I don’t post very often, but I find this thread very helpful and supportive.
Fingers crossed DD will be on time for the bus this morning: my poor DM has done two mercy dashes already.

I am also not a marker but my understanding is that they will mark the first two (or however many should have been done) questions.

Meant to add my best wishes to your DD also @ChannelLightVessel

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - also iGCSE so both exams are calc. Dd slightly disappointed as she quite likes the non-calc papers. She appreciates that she’s in the minority though. 🤣 Fortunately they do AQA for further maths and that has a non-calc paper.
Our maths paper is 2 hours long. I’m going to put it out there that dd will have an hour’s checking time… 🤣

@ChannelLightVessel, best wishes to you and your dd.

Just maths for us today.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a full geometry kit from amazon, even though DC has had 3 over the past couple of years, "just in case" and thinking I could easily return it and get my money back if it was unneeded.

It was at 7:25 (when the bus leaves at 7:40) that DC said "oh I need to find a set square and protractor and compass"

Just seen DS off, he seemed okay in himself. Has been doing past papers and consistently getting a 6. So fingers firmly crossed that things go his way as he does not maths resits in 6th form.

Hope all goes well for your DC.

DC had planned to leave extra early to go to the pre maths session at school but they were far too tired so we decided it was best to have the extra sleep and get the school bus as usual. Going in early and staying behind after school is too much.

History tomorrow and then nothing until Tuesday and the break will be much needed I think.

DD was a bit stressed this morning as we couldn't find her clear water bottle. She has taken her old (not clear) one and will leave it in her locker, she says she doesn't usually drink during exams anyway and it is only an hour and a half. I know she cares about her result in Maths because she got a 9 in the mocks so would be disappointed not to get a 9 in the real things but I am sure she will do fine.

Hugs to those struggling with mental health, as others have said it puts things in perspective and there really are far more important things than these exams and the numbers they will be given. (Also joining in with the hate for the new number system!)

Anyone else in Tesco at 7am frantically buying a compass for the boy who said he def had one over the weekend…. He didn’t have it this morning and didn’t seem that bothered but I zoomed out and got one -he better bloody need it now…

Best wishes to your dd @ChannelLightVessel

I did make sure dd had compass etc
She was very relaxed about it all!

We aren’t putting any pressure on DC to get 9s and they aren’t putting it on themselves.

They got great mock results but we say all you can do is try your best. I’d much rather they were happy and relaxed than struggling with disappointment or mental health.

Solidarity with anyone going to have to face down Chem, PE1, Eng lit consecutively from Monday. Brutal! Then Physics, Eng lang Th/ Fri. Next week not for the faint hearted

@QueenMabby DD2 certainly won't have an hour of checking time - though could do with it! She had a disastrous mock where they didn't give them enough time and hadn't finished the syllabus. She has gone through it all now though so I am hopeful that won't throw her.

At least there are two papers so if this goes badly she has a week with her grandma at half term where maths will be a daily occurrence and I guess they'll have more of an idea of what will be in exam 2

I had to buy a geometry kit when down at DD's school two days ago. Not sure her old one had ever come out of its case and she certainly had no idea where it was! Thankfully the works did one for £2.

@ChannelLightVessel will be thinking of you.