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

[QueenMabby]

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

my two older DDs did both geography & history gcse and both say geog was ‘easier’ - despite this, DD2 got an exceptional grade in history & took it for A level as enjoyed it more. It’s always difficult to determine ‘easier’.

Dc is doing both history and geography.

He has spent far more time on history revision than geography. He’s planning on doing it for A level.

We were talking about it the other day and he was saying that he thinks if you’re not sure I’m geography (human) you can at least have a stab at it, and with common sense you’ll get some marks, if not full marks on a question, whereas with history if you don’t know what happened with Little Rock in 1957, then you just don’t know.

I do worry that he’s under revised for geography but I’ve kind of felt it’s a case of priorities. He’d rather have an 8 in history and a 6 in geography than 2 7s… and there’s not enough time or brain space to aim for two 8s. 🤷‍♀️

But personally I do really think there is too much content to cover for history.

The two topics on paper 2 (superpowers/ Cold War and kings Richard and John in our case) would have been better dropping down to one on that paper, so three rather than four overall.

He’s done:

1- crime and punishment from 1000 to present day
2- superpowers and Richard and john
3- USA 1954-75 (civil rights and Vietnam)

There’s an awful lot, and as someone said above, most of it won’t even come up in the exam.

Older dd did both history and geography at gcse (8s) and at A level (As)
She says history is harder and the content at gcse for history is huge (in fact her school started the gcse content in Y9)

DD relaxed till Thurs (when she had school revision), had Friday off and now has been ill yesterday and today. Oh dear!! To be fair, she slept nearly all day today and only got up at 6.30 to eat. She has bad cold and temp, lost voice, sinuses blocked. She won't be going into school tomorrow but it is school as 'normal' for mine. I'm just grateful she didn't get ill on Tuesday for Wednesday's Maths. Really, really hoping DS doesn't catch it as he's worked so hard, I would not want him to be struggling through a bad cold/ temp. I don't think this is a bad enough illness to be signed off an exam, but trying to sit an exam like this would be very difficult too.

I think I have just realised what lies ahead the next two weeks and have that tense feeling coming back. Agh. Good luck anyone with exams tomorrow. DS is staying home and will carrying on with history, sciences, Spanish, maths, PE, English language (sobbing on his behalf) - he's not actually touched Eng lang or PE 2, probably the right call....I hope the right call

oh gosh. Really hoping they both feed OK

@Sunnyafternooning
There’s an awful lot, and as someone said above, most of it won’t even come up in the exam.

I agree.

DD v similar
P1- Crime and punishment
P2 - Anglo Saxons and superpowers
P3. Weimar Germany and nazism

It's just so much and I do wonder why they have to do 2 topics just for P2. I also wonder why so many schools choose this board. I assume a board with only 2 papers would be much less content!

DD very ill this week and has finally been prescribed quite strong antibiotics. Very sorry for herself and sleeping a lot. But thankful it’s not during the exams itself and it’s life isn’t it?

Oh no, you've just put the fear into me. I hope my DD doesn't go this way. Arghhhhh. Glad your DD can get treatment in time. What was wrong with her? I'm going to keep DD off school till Wed Maths exam, I think. She's had a pretty relaxing half term but still managed to get ill and been so knocked out past 2 days.

“Whhhooooo-Hoooooooo” to @Whoooo!! 🤩🤩🤩!!!

Oh, Super jealous! Have you been before? Anywhere “beachy?!”… (I guess it all is, really😹)…. Oh, I hope you have an absolutely fabulous time 🌟

(This is when you realise Gen Z will never get how lucky they are to photo themselves as a norm ( irritating as it is with selfies at times!), as, do I have ANY photos of fun with friends on the beach at Tynemouth the day of my last law exam? Riding in the sea at Lindisfarne? Getting soaking wet in driving cold rain but we were all young and found it hilarious? The random everyday things we have to rely on our memory for- but can’t show our DC?! Nope! 😾🙄!).

How fab, also, to have something tangible to look forward to during this! 🤩

Oh, I’m so very sorry to hear this about your DD. That is truly upsetting. I will hope 🤞🙏🤞and all positive thoughts for her to get better speedily. Hopefully, maybe, the rest she had given her body today and yesterday, if she was able to eat a little food when she got up, and if she gets a sound sleep, tonight, hopefully she may “ turn a corner” overnight …🤞🙏🤞… ( I also hope DS remains ok).

🍀to them both.

Yes, we've been a few times.
We love it.
Dd hasn't had the best half term anxiety wise 😔
Hoping a structure of sorts from tomorrow may help 🙏

Thank you. I really appreciate it@Sisublondie

Ah, yes, we have identical exams……

The “ illegal study leave” still making me smile………..
now “ don’t darken our doorstep”..! …….😈😹… I do find it weird how all the schools seem to be taking a different view. I’m fully expecting DS to try to escape at lunch tom….. ( mornings appear compulsory and afternoons not?! I can see Yr 11s bumbling all round town tomorrow, and in coming days, prob confused as to whether they should be at school, or not!).. It’s good your DD has decided on a routine she thinks will help her and 🤞she will stick to it, if it suits her!

And, yup, I think I’d be finding my upcoming camping ⛺️🏕️trip more fun to plan right now…🙄😈😻. I hope your morning goes well!

@Hollyhedge Hopefully once they start again, the adrenaline will carry you through. The anticipation is worse than actually doing them I think!

A bit like the dentist

We are AQA. They have two papers but it is still content heavy with two huge topics per paper

Paper 1: Expansion of the Americas in c19 also, Conflict and Tension in the inter war years 1918-1939

Paper 2: Health and the People 1000 to present day as well as Norman England 1066-1100

It is a lot to revise so not easier at all unfortunately

I don’t think 2 papers gives less content, for AQA paper 1 was Germany 1890-1945, and Conflict and tension in Asia 1950-1975. Paper 2 is then Health and the people and Elizabethan England. He reckons paper 1 content was more interesting but also harder in terms of the kinds of questions that get asked on it

Sorry just posted then realised you had posted very similar! If nothing else I’m glad he has history finished this week and doesn’t still have another paper to do, but there is so much content for each paper! This week he has French writing the same day too which is bad timing

DC has done one history paper, working away at 2 topics for this week for paper 2 and hasn’t touched the topic for paper 3 coming next week amidst the other exams then 😬 It’s just too much to have to ‘know’ for the exams and let’s face it, names, dates, details will all be irrelevant and forgotten a week later!

I am glad the Gov is working on reforming GCSEs. It badly needs it to be more accessible & relevant. Unfortunately DC1 & 2 are stuck with Gove’s poetry & rote learning. Am hoping for DC3 assessments will become more skills based, to show how you would apply information or techniques usefully. Or at least have the exams broken up a bit, so year 10 could have the first history paper topics & then year 11 the second two topics. So you don’t have the enormous, overwhelming endload of exams!

They should definitely run the GCSE reforms by Mumsnet to usefully refine them 😆

Not a good start to busy week week - DD2 woken up with cold worse than ever - dosed her up with calpol as she can't swallow tablets and she worried about another coughing fit in exam room.

She got 9 am exam but hopefully will pick up by then - could be much worse I know but it's frustrating as it's a lingering cold that seems to be getting worse not better.

oh no! @CatHairEveryWhereNow - hopefully she picks up and gets through it... they often have surprising reserves of strength over these things.

DD2 is very grumpy and we had tears last night over 'I can't seem to motivate myself' which I think is code for 'I'm worried I've not done either enough revision or practice this holiday'. She's done quite a lot but really couldn't get in the mood for it yesterday and I think it panicked her. Sending her back on the train this morning. Hope she'll have cheered up by then.

Good luck to all with exams today.

Oh no. Can you get her antibiotics? It might be an infection by now and they will work very quickly. Also a cough sweet for the exam, wrapped in clingfilm or something. I'm sure allowances can be made for cough sweets!

Awful for poorly kids. Exams are bad enough at the best of times. Hope they manage ok and get better soon.

Illness is yet another reason their grades being based on a month long window isn’t particularly fair!

I can't tell if half term was any use or not!

@CatHairEveryWhereNow could it be hayfever? NoRevision recently had blood tests and is allergic to grass, he doesn't always get hayfever but because it has been dry and grass has gone to seed we have been dosing him up daily on an antihistamine during exams just in case. (Will stop on 17th June and see if he starts sneezing)

So back on it this morning, this is our "easy" week same as some others, Maths paper 2 Wednesday morning, Eng Lang & Geography Friday.

I am going to clear the downstairs decks and get some caffeine sorted out for all and get back to being firm TutorMum (it's exhausting).

But I think it's easier to get into the swing when Dad is out at work and brother is at school, it was hard making one work and one could swan about doing what they liked!

(No history for either child in this house, the youngster starts his GCSE timetable today - Year 9 but they are giving them a half term extra of GCSE timetable which I don't think is needed and it would have been nice to do an extra few weeks with Art, DT, Textiles, History and whatever else he has dropped but that is the way the school want it and he's made up because he gets extra Drama lessons which he has no intention of studying after GCSE but is currently his favourite subject BY FAR - so my thinking oh no more DT and Art is utterly irrelevant)

Good luck for all exams this week.
Hope it's a productive revision week (only two more full weeks to go so almost down to single figure days)