GCSEs in your family this summer? Come and hide here!

[creggie]

Rob - spot on. I had a friend who left her very able son to his own devices last year and he ended up not getting back into his grammar school 6th form.

[Fran17]

Well said Rob! My eldest DS was revising for his GCSEs but I felt he could put in a bit more effort. I nagged, persuaded, cajoled, bribed and encouraged him to work a little bit harder. We remained on good terms throughout and like Amber said, provided lots of healthy food and beverages and also encouraged him to go out and have plenty of breaks. When his results came through he gave me a hug and thanked me for nagging him.

He is now doing his A levels and I think it is up to him to get on with things but I can't resist the odd "Do you think you are working hard enough?" I just can't help myself.

[Moonlight]

Hi Scary Mum,

Thank you for starting this thread. We too have the delight of GCSE exams this summer and it is really nice to know that I can 'log on' here and share the highs and lows with everyone.

I do worry that my DD is not as organised as she could be. Her revision technique is sometimes 'flawed' in my opinion but what makes a good revision technique? I am trying to get her to come up with a revision timetable so that she covers every exam adequately. This is still in the process of being done!

I sometimes think that these exams will come down to a bit of luck on the day. Will exam nerves get the better of her, will she forget everything she has revised, who knows? I think I worry about this too much and need to 'step back' and have complete faith that my daughter has this all under control.

Any advice and tips for us both will be most welcome!

[Fran17]

My middle DS who is doing his GCSEs leaves his laptop and phone downstairs in the kitchen when he is revising. He said if his phone goes off, he can't resist checking it and before he knows it half an hour has passed by. One of his teachers suggested listening to classical music and after going through my CDs, he has been listening to Swan Lake. I can assure you this is not his usual and preferred genre of music but he said it has really helped him to concentrate. My DH has pirouetted through his room a couple of times doing his best impression of the dying swan - he thinks he is very funny!

As for me, I dream of going into hibernation until after the exams are over. I will keep smiling, supplying food and encouragement and drinking Pinot Grigio Blush! I find chocolate is a great comfort too.

Thank goodness for the forum. We can all go through it together!

[cherryvalley]

Hi everyone! I've lurked here for several years, but finally decided to register to join this thread. My DH is thoroughly fed up with me fretting about year 11 DS1's GCSEs, so I thought maybe I could fret here instead.

DS1 is at a local comprehensive which gets average results for our borough (a bit above national average, as far as I know). I found out this year, while researching 6th forms, that his mean CAT score would be average at the boys' superselective. Since the beginning of year 10 he has been bringing home reports containing predicted grades (based on Fisher Family Trust) of A* for everying except French, which is A. According to his form tutor, these are overall the highest predicted grades in his year group.
I'm sure he is not actually top of his year in any subject; he's not an instinctive mathematician, for instance, as I know some are. I think he's just a good all-rounder at the subjects he does.

So am I being unreasonable in thinking that a boy of that ability should be able to achieve at least some A*s? Because it's looking unlikely that he will, and I cannot help feeling disappointed at his underachievement.

Will probably post some details about his work ethic (or lack of it!) and current results in due course, but do not want to make this first post too long.

Thanks for any comments or advice.

[Amber]

Hi cherryvalley (not the duck farm? ) and welcome. Just wanted a bit of clarification - you say your DS has been bringing home reports with predicted grades of A* but it is 'looking unlikely' that he will get them. Could you explain why you say that? By now he will know what he currently has under his belt in his previous 2 lots of Science modules, and if he is doing any other modular exams he could be done or almost done with those too. Why don't you think he is on course to achieve the A*s?

[cherryvalley]

Thanks, Amber.

His module results so far are 2 A*s, 7 As and 3 Bs. This is after resitting 3 Bs and getting a better result in 2 - the original results were 1 A*, 6 As and 5 Bs. He has applied to resit 2 more of the Bs, so will be doing that in May. But looking at the percentages of each subject that have already been completed (and the coursework in the case of his sciences), I think there are probably only 2 or 3 in which it is still possible for him to achieve an A*.

If he had been working steadily, I would be happy that this was the limit of his ability. However, he has always done the bare minimum. More of his grades would probably have been Bs if we had not nagged him during the actual exam periods, drafting revision timetables for him, printing off past papers and marking them. Even the night before an exam, he says 'I know most of it already' and thinks it reasonable to spend 1 hour on revision and 4 on World of Warcraft!

According to him, 'I'm getting mostly As, what more do you want?', 'I'm doing more work than anyone else' (probably true in the case of his main friends, who are also always on World of Warcraft) and 'no-one else's parents nag them about work like you do'.

I suspect he will end up with mostly As, but just wondering if anyone has any ideas to inspire him to put in a bit more effort. I also can't see him doing the 5 hours' work per subject that I keep reading will be required for AS levels!

Thank you.

[Guest55]

What does he want to do in the future?

Year 11 is hard and pupils cannot always understand why As are a better foundation than grade Bs and grade Cs. The more As he gets then the more options post school are open to him. A levels results generally link to GCSE grades and outcomes for pupils with GCSE grade B/Cs are far less good.

[Amber]

Hmm, yes, I see your point. I assume that entrance into his sixth form does not require higher grades? That might be a motivator if it did.

The 'what more do you want?' comment is interesting: I am sure you have already said that this is for his own benefit not yours! Does he know what he wants to do in the end? I think most university courses like to see some decent GCSE grades so perhaps get him to go onto http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and have a look around - this can also be quite motivating in itself when you see some of the comments and marks posted by other young people. My DD has found it useful I think.

Regarding AS levels - yes this is when the amount of work really starts to kick in and it does matter from day 1 - the key to high A2 grades is to get some very good AS scores under your belt, and university offers are based on predicted grades which are based on AS modules. Many students find the step up to this level of working quite difficult at first...so it is as well to get him used to the idea now!

In short, I think that the motivation has to come from him; but the more information he has, the more likely the light will dawn. You could also try the simple 'it is only a few weeks of your life, but think how you will feel afterwards if you almost get top grades, but know you could have done more.' At the end of the day, it is his choice, and all you can do is what you are already doing, imho. Good luck.

[Daogroupie]

Hello Cherryvalley, I know someone who teaches a GCSE core subject at one of the most oversubscribed schools in Hertfordshire. Every year at this time of year she tells me about the mums who go on about how they can trust their able 15 year olds and how they are just there to be a friend to them, blah blah blah. And off they go on their normal Easter hols ignoring all the revision courses being held at the school. She sees those same, now rather tearful, mums in September who now have very able 16 year olds who do not have enough good grades to do the A level courses they wanted to do. Sometimes she does not even see them again because they have had to move to the local sixth form college. They blame the teachers. "Why were we not told how important it was?" The children blame the parents. "Why didnt they nag me and take away my phone and computer like my friends parents did? In private they blame themselves, but take it out on those parents who did grasp the nettle and plunged their children into a strict regime for those few short months left between April and early June. I would remove all possible distractions including books. I found out my dd was not creating texts but simply answering those sent to her. But this is just as time consuming.

I am not there yet, but just as I did for eleven plus we will stop everything and the phone and the computer will be taken away and there will be a schedule and she will hate me but will thank me in the end. I dont hear any parent or dc saying I did far too much but as with eleven plus there are lots of regrets at the opportunity missed. DG