GCSEs 2018

[Reading Mum]

same here - I can't help wishing that they were better distributed.
In DD's last week of GCSEs she has German Listening and then German Reading on Monday morning and then German Writing is the only exam after that on Thursday morning.
There are many other subjects that would have benefited much more from 2 clear days before them
Hey ho - in 3 months time it will almost be over!!!!

[Guest55]

The exam board timetable is final - the only changes now will be for individuals with clashes.

[Tinkers]

The exam board timetable is final - the only changes now will be for individuals with clashes.

Yes that’s what the exams officer has said. However the final version will have room numbers etc, and timings of afternoon exams.

[buzzybee]

Hi Buzzybee,
Sorry to her your DC has had a knockback. Can I suggest a couple of revision ideas for physics and biology?
Physics - unlike the previous spec, candidates will only get about 7 equations on the help sheet. The other 13 or so they need to learn off by heart and be able to either rearrange them (like in maths) or understand how to plug in the figures. You can find the equations on the exam board website. The questions on the exam paper can be made up of a number of parts starting with the equation (they say things like define the relationship between... they mean what is the equation). If they Don't know the equation they can't answer the rest of the question.
If they can't work out the answer to the first part of a question that results in a number that they need to use in the next part of the question, tell them to write 2 and use that in the next bit. They will then get error carried forward marks.
Biology, Chemistry and Physics - make sure you know all the required practicals, how to set them up, what the independent and dependent variables are, what the controls are etc. 6 mark questions can literally be describe a method to investigate one of the practicals they have done. Easy marks.
I'm sure teachers will have loads more ideas but these are some basics that will add marks that are easily lost.
The new science GCSE's are more about applying knowledge than rote learning. I'll give you an example. Remind your DC's that if they are given an element that they are told is a metal but which they have never come across before and asked how they would test it to prove it is a metal, the principles are just the same as if they were testing what they have done in class with more common metals.
Hope this helps.

Thank you Mrs Chubbs,much appreciated. Dd is seeing teacher today so hopefully some more feedback will help. I'll make sure I'll show your post to dd later

[MrsChubbs]

You are welcome. Hope she finds it useful.

[Daogroupie]

Does any other subject have an extra exam like Maths going from two papers to three? DG

[Reading Mum]

3 here for Latin, Maths, Geography, German

[MrsChubbs]

4 for Aqa science synergy, 6 for Aqa science trilogy, and 2 for each Chem, Phys and Biology if they are doing individual sciences.

[buzzybee]

You are welcome. Hope she finds it useful.

I read her your reply and you were spot on! Her feedback was reassuring as she understood exactly what you had suggested and it sounds like that this paper was just a blip. She is giving up Monday lunchtime to go through the paper with her Physics teacher. Hoping that will shed some light on where she went wrong as she seems to know it, just needs to apply it better I think. Thanks again.

[mystery]

Great - we celebrate blips. It's what question practice and mocks are for. If one was getting 100% all of the time it would be a sad waste of time doing this preparation and a blip tells you something about how you can improve for the real thing. Hope the confidence is back up again.