Year 11 - 2024/2025: It’s all downhill from here!

[QueenMabby]

New thread to help us get through the next week or so!

Pre Stats party?? I’m not loving idea of trying to get mine up full stop! It doesn’t help that he is like you and me, absolute night owl, and regularly pops in for a very late night chat, assuming I’m reading in bed, or still up, which I usually am! So, try for pre midnight lights out..

🙄as to flopping on sofa ( but accurate imagery.., can’t beat the accuracy of “ FLOP!”!) .. mine is currently faffing with some freshly purchased raccoons on “ Grow a Garden”, or something similar … clearly on a Maths break…..🤷‍♀️..

Enjoy your run!

Happy 1st June! GCSEs finish THIS MONTH! We’re over the hump now and picking up speed towards that long awaited finish line.

dd has done some Latin and History this morning. We’re off to a concert this afternoon.

I’m currently dragging DS’s sorry arse through a French written paper. I have a French degree - his lack of interest is killing me. He’s actually not bad at it but is just very chatty and not very interested today 🙄 I think he has actually run out of steam. It feels like these exams have been going on forever - particularly given they have already three sets of mocks.

I’ve escaped to Bluewater. Meant to have a weekend away with DH and DDog. But he got shingles. Lucky DC have had chicken pox. Could have added some extra excitement into the next few weeks.

I found it very odd they were doing mocks just before the main exams started.

I think it may have been to decide for a few students which papers - though some were very late to do that with or maybe to give a kick up for a few students. They've done marked papers in class on top which DD2 found more useful.

By an odd quirk DS A-levels and DD2 GCSE exams finish on the same day - two and half weeks left and I think we are all ready to get to that point.

DC still in bed here. Still no urgency over revision & remarkably relaxed about it all. I am trying not to stress further.

This DC has been conscientious throughout school so surprised that they have decided to take their foot off the peddle. I am fully expecting this from DC2 & 3 but had hoped DC1 would put some effort in.

The amount they have to know in history is ridiculous. Especially when most won’t come up in the exams. DC usually gets 8s through the year but the wheels could totally come off given the short, specific exams.

Thanks @QueenMabby pinch, punch 1st of the month and the end is in sight!!

DS and his mates are framing the pre-exam crammers as if they are pre-going out gatherings (like the pre-drinks of uni going out days). I think they have breakfast things there and the subject teachers available.

We didn't have anything like that in my day and I they would probably have made me more worried. I mean, it's a bit late to realise you've missed out a whole chunk of revision!

Apparently some stats was done while I was running.

I have come to conclusion history is possibly the worst in terms of workload of all GCSEs. Absolutely brutal. Kind of gave up a little and just tested on one question per card (Pearson cards). DS got a 7 in his mock, a 5 on one paper (not revised) a 9 on the one he had revised and loved - medicine. So who knows what will happen. I don't like this mega content cram approach to GCSEs. Glad to see less the case for A levels, although sadly DS is put right off history

We’ve not been doing loads of revision here this week, more resting and recovering. Building up to AQA paper 2 history of medicine and Elizabethan’s. 8 questions total to answer. The medicine there is a span of 1000 years but more happens 500 years ago onwards. I’m hoping the two days study leave will be more productive.

@BellaIthat’s what DD is doing. But dance and maths first! I just know that windows show a lot of wealth in Hardwick hall or wherever!

@labradorservant we’ve been to Hardwick Hall in the Easter holiday! I now know they played badminton in the long hall! Lots of tapestries! We also have maths and English lang.

DD2 informs me there is 'only so much you can do' to revise for maths. But my response is .... 'Yes, more than you're doing'. She's back to school tomorrow am, and has only one exam this week.

I think she's finding it hard to motivate herself.

DC2 likes history and has selected it for GCSE but I think I may suggest they change it to another subject as I suspect trying to learn and retain all the info would just overwhelm them.

New thread. I can’t keep up! I will have a read to catch up. Ds is over half way through now. No exams Monday or Tuesday. They are meant to keep going in to school, but he says a lot aren’t bothering. He asked if he could stay home for those 2 days, I said he can, but now he’s decided to go in after all. The following week is busy.

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest. Ds has told me there’s no point in revising for maths at all. I know he has been doing the odd past paper though. He also went to help a friend on Saturday, the friend is taking lower tier maths, they went through a paper together, the friend said Ds explained things better than the maths teacher. That’s good if he did.

I agree - DS and I have spent today revising the Normans (a subject they only started in December) and he is currently wailing that there is 'only so much of Durham Cathedral I can take in or care about'

Even as a Northumbrian I can agree with him! 😂

Trying to keep him going until 4pm.

DD2 had a disastrous maths mock @icanbewhatiwant . It really shook her confidence in maths, which she used to be really good at. It emerged they hadn't finished the syllabus at all and gave them a full paper, only one and a half hours to do it (it's a two-hour paper) and then graded them as if it was a full GCSE.

Because of this I have literally no idea how she'll do in the real thing. She has now covered all of the concepts either in class or on her own and done most of them with her grandma, who says she generally gets them except perhaps the end stage of the very last two questions. Maths could be anything from a 6 to 9 and I wouldn't be surprised.

Lol we did 3 pages of A West Pearson book the other day - it took 45 minutes. That strategy was swiftly ditched! I don't think a question per card is enough, but hoping DS has retained more than that...

You mentioned your DS is put off History, I think mine is going that way too which is a real shame as he has a real passion for History.

He isn't doing A Levels though - is going to college to do Creative Media but it would be nice for him to continue his interest. He has however encouraged DS2 to go for it when he takes his GCSE options in a couple of years.

If it helps - this https://www.mathsdiy.com/gcse-numeracy-topic-booklets/

has topic booklets with worked answers in seperate booklets - it's based round wjec board but the topics should cross over.

It how mine all revised maths - just doing maths questions. It one where DD2 does need to get a certain grade and she was on border for - though it firmed up just before exam period so fingers crossed.

If I ever hear about Roanoke and Sir Walter Raleigh again then I might cry - I did not need to know that much about a failed colonisation that was on last years paper so probably won’t even come up… 😭

I might look up some predicted papers for history. He’s struggling with the content. Almost tempted to give up.

DS came out and said he is giving up. I don’t blame him to be honest. It’s a lot. He is back in school tomorrow and Tuesday which will help I think. Wishing you all patience.

Saw a guy at church this morning whose DS had done GCSEs last year and he commiserated and said “it’s a real team sport, isn’t it?”. Yes, yes it is.

We’ve just looked at predictions on mrclokehistory - he gives a good summary about what regularly comes up & what has never come up for different topics. Gave us a few things to think about & how to focus some of the information.

Thanks. It’s worth a look. I know you can’t rely
on these things but there is just so much to cover it may well be the way forward for history! I will check out tik
tok!