Any teachers or parents of Year 10 pupils? I have a longshot question!!

[StrawberriesAndCherries]

DD is in year 9, and i need to know if your children had any exams in October of their year 10. She thinks she may have a science one. I realise that all schools may have different timetables, any teachers out there who can help - are GCSE exams taken roughly at the same time in all schools?

Thanks for any help!

Not a teacher, but ds is in Yr 10. He's doing all three sciences as separate subjects. Currently revising for the first module exam which will take place in May. Is also doing coursework with deadline of late April. He certainly hasn't done any previous GCSE modules since Sept of last yr. All three sciences are done on the OCR board. Aqa/Edexl may be different.

Thanks for that Mumblechum, it's really helpful

Hope he does well

It will depend upon the exam board and the syllabus followed. In this area some kids have some exams in Year 10 and some have none.

I teach AQA science - we have modular exams in October, March and June of year 10, then the final exams at the end of year 11.

Thanks for the replies

Alwaysdancing - if someone misses it, is it a problem for them to sit it another time?

RubysReturn - do they pass the timetables onto the parents or do we have to ask for them?

Have a ds in year ten. Agree it depends on if or how many modular exams they are taking.. As the are dotted about all over the place.. Ask school if they have a list of what is on when.

It's a very busy year.

Thanks, that's all really helpful

DS1 is in Y10 and doing seperate sciences with AQA .He did ISAs and PSAs in October.PSAs are practical tests not sure what ISAs are though

It varies hugely with when they start teaching the course and which syllabus they choose. AQA which is what my dc do has two options one of which examines in Jan & Jun & the other does Dec, Mar, Jun (I think). I'd have thought it unlikely they'd be doing exams in October yr10 unless they started the syllabus in year 9, but definitely safest to check. Ds did his first exams in jun yr10 and that is a pattern followed by quite a few of our local schools.

DS's school has taken the decision that ALL Maths & Science modules will be taken in one go in the May of Yr11, with all the main GCSE papers.

Seems totally barmy to me, but they are always in the top few of the school league tables (for State schools) so must be method in this madness.

Oh, and they want him to choose his A level Options at the very start of Yr 11!

Curious milliways. I know some schools are moving to doing all AS and A2 modules at the end of year 13, but not heard of schools doing the same for GCSE before. It does mean they get a more solid bank of teaching without interuptions beforehand, but of course no possibility for retakes. Maybe that's what they're trying to encourage? A right first time mentality which would surely help later on.

Did they give a reason for the early A level choices?

Our Y10's have science exams in jan and june, as do Y11, 12 and 13, apart from the triple scientists who have exams in may Y10, but not jan - we do OCR - you really need to know what board adn core/additional or seperates.
My own Y10 had a biology exam in march, but not a chemistry one (he's doing seperate chem and biol) with AQA

Snorkie- they say the Boys should treat this Mays exams (Yr10) as their Mocks, and choosing early allows them timetable time etc I suppose. I am sure they will be flexible, as they really expect an A grade at GCSE in a subject to be taken at A level.

They have already told DS that Top Set Maths can take Maths + Further Maths as ONE option choice, whereas his set can only take Maths + AS Further Maths unless Further Maths is a second Option choice (They are only allowed 4 choices). They are already studying C1 & 2 A level modules for Maths in Yr10 though.

For GCSE I think they do want to concentrate on finishing the syllabus by the end of Yr10 and then revising etc for Yr11. (He IS doing Eng & Geography Couresework, and does have a Latin exam worth 25% this year though).

They sound amazingly advanced, especially in maths! I suppose if you are working at a level or two beyond then GCSEs will seem easy .

That is their theory

Only Maths though, other subjects are just GCSE syllabus, but hoping to finish early and then polish into A grades..... (No pressure DS, even those not in top sets)

The theory probably works best in maths which builds on previous knowledge while using it at the same time, rather than eg history where studying another era broadens rather than deepens your knowledge. I would have thought the approach could word well in languages too though (maybe it does happen by default in languages, as vocab is extended and grasp of grammar consolidated).

Anyway ds would be very at doing all that maths early, but I guess others would hate it, so it becomes a matter of choosing the right school for the child.

Strawberries,
When your DD selected her GCSE option, did the school give you any information about the courses she would be doing and their examination methods.

The awarding bodies have examinations in each term for taking modules, so your DD could well have an external exam in October. In addition, she will have several teacher marked assessments based on practicals that she has done. These are scheduled by the school. If she has an October module, she must have been doing the course for sometime already.

If she misses an externally marked module, she can be re-entered for it at another time, but it is not an ideal situation as the teacher won't be focussing on this material then. It is hugely inconvenient to miss the practical-based tests, and can lead to your child not getting her best mark.

Your child should be given a printout of the modules she is entered for a few weeks before the exams.

Many schools are now doing Controlled Assessment for GCSE English coursework - in our school starting in October of Y10, meaning that coursework has to be completed inside the classroom, within a time limit. If the pupil misses this (and they will need to attend the lessons leading up to it as they have to be well prepared because it works like an exam), they will miss the coursework percentage of marks associated with whichever piece they weren't there for. The school may be able to accommodate under extreme circumstances, but much better not to miss these, for the reasons Mme Blueberry gives in penultimate para.

Goodness me, I am in awe of how much you all know about your children's modules/assessments/exams, and feel quite rightly to not know. I will be contacting them asap next week for more info (I could look in the bottom of her school bag as the info could be there, but I value my life too much to delve in those recesses )
Thanks again for the helpful responses