End of Y9 exams after trip

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Jules7
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Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:55 pm

End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by Jules7 »

I have just discovered DD's end of Y9 exams are after the May half term, not before as held previously. Unfortunately we have paid a deposit on a fabulous week long tour abroad that DD's choir are going on in the half term (the choir is not connected with the school).

DH is adamant that DD cannot go on this trip and I agree that it is not a good idea to be going on a tiring trip abroad with no opportunity to revise the week before end of year exams which start on the Monday after they return on the Friday night!

We are thinking of cancelling her place on the trip and forgoing the deposit. What would you do?
scary mum
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Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by scary mum »

How long after half term? Do they count for anything (ie allowing them to do ceratin GCSE etc)? If not I would explain to DD that although it's a pain she will have to do some revision beforehand to make up for the time she is away - then she can "top up" before the exams. If she does the same amount of revision my DS did in year 9, she won't be missing anything by going away :D
scary mum
Peridot
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Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by Peridot »

Personally I'd let her go on the choir trip. She'll learn so much from going on it; sounds like an amazing experience. I still remember how mind-expanding and confidence-boosting choir/orchestra trips were when I was at school. If you are really concerned could you talk to her form tutor and see what they think? If she makes sure she is well prepared for her exams in advance instead of cramming at half term I think she'd be fine!
hermanmunster
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Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by hermanmunster »

I have no idea about when my kids took exams in year 9 - am sure they didn't do much revision beforehand, that all came later with GCSEs

the trip sounds fab - go for it - plenty of time for revising in later years when really needed.
ToadMum
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Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by ToadMum »

hermanmunster wrote:I have no idea about when my kids took exams in year 9 - am sure they didn't do much revision beforehand, that all came later with GCSEs

the trip sounds fab - go for it - plenty of time for revising in later years when really needed.
Absolutely. Anyway, working steadily through the year (which she will have been, won't she? :) ) is much more conducive to doing well in end of year school exams than last-minute cramming.
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Guest55
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Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by Guest55 »

Go on the trip - much more valuable!
mystery
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Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by mystery »

Why does your dh think the year 9 exams are important? What is their purpose? Unless they are truly important in some way ( cannot think what) I would stick with the trip. However, your daughter will need not to feel stressed about the exams during her trip abroad. So if your dh has already communicated his feeling that the exam results are important ( to him!) then he needs to be persuaded to tell her that the trip is more important than a set of internal exams, and that she can revise earlier if she is feeling unnecessarily perfectionist about the results.
JaneEyre
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Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by JaneEyre »

Maybe check with the school if the maths exams is used for putting the students into different sets for GCSEs :?: For sure, it is not one week of cramming which will help her to gain excellent mark in this subject but steady work... But like your husband, I wouldn't like my child to go touring just before exams. However I am a perfectionist... which is really a drawback at times :( . Maybe I should think like all the others on this thread but I can't :cry: I would like to though!
I do feel that it also depends at which school your child is. Would she be able to do her revision during term time before going in her trip n(in which case, she should really join this trip! :D )? In some top schools, there is so much HW that it is hard to squeeze in any revisions during term time and holidays are great for having at last some time to revise!
Jules7
Posts: 248
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:55 pm

Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by Jules7 »

Thanks for all your input.
Still not sure what to do but have asked the school for their advice. DD attends a high achieving GS and they have lots of HW (really ramp it up in Y9). Although I know a steady pace is better for exam prep, there is not a great deal of time to do much (she is busy out of school too).
I am concerned because they do set for maths GCSE (she is currently in a middle set) and there is also a hint of similar for all the science subjects in the future now they have moved to iGCSE.
Still ruminating...
Amber
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Re: End of Y9 exams after trip

Post by Amber »

What does your daughter think?
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