The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Discussion and advice on GCSEs

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Tinkers
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Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Tinkers »

What’s a ‘desk’? DD never sits at one. She is usually sat on the sofa. She had the choice of three desks and the dining room table, but no, the sofa is the place. The dining table does have a stack of revision books on it, as of an hour ago. Before that they were scattered in various places and she could never find the right one. She no longer has that excuse.
piggys
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Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:29 am

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by piggys »

Tinkers wrote: (As an aside to Piggys, DD is doing Eduqas English Lang and Lit and there doesn’t seem to be much available, either as books, past/practice papers or online. She tells me the emphasis is different from Eduqas compared to other boards, so their stuff isn’t that useful. Any suggestions? )
Hi Tinkers. The EDUQAS paper is most similar to the current IGCSE one in my opinion. There are fewer long, high mark questions and more short answers required. The comparing perspectives question on paper 2 is only awarded 10 marks, whereas the AQA paper awards 16 and the EDEXCEL paper awards 15. Very odd, IMO, seeing as it's a tough question which involves paralleled analysis of two separate unseen texts :shock: Anyway, the skill set is pretty much the same as the other boards.

The Lit paper is more typical and predictable. If your dd looks at specimen papers on edexcel and OCR etc she'll get some good practice papers.
Tinkers
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Location: Reading

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Tinkers »

Thanks that’s very helpful. I’ll pass on.
fairyelephant
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Location: N London

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by fairyelephant »

Have to admit its better now she has a timetable and knows what she is doing. She’s working hard, hope not too hard. Reckon she’s doing roughly 6 hours a day when you take out the breaks. I’m tipping up with drinks and snacks and cooking her favourite dinners. DD has met up with friends and been out with us. It all seems ok although she has exploded once or twice over minor things. With DD its often the thought of doing something which is way more scary than actually doing it. :wink: Have to admit I can’t wait til its over now but also slightly dreading next year (no way DS will be this diligent)!
Btw post it notes weren’t on the scene when I did my degree let alone O levels :shock: DD is on the hunt for a good pen to use in her exam (she usually uses a fountain pen) and this week is trialling the uni ball V pen. She thinks changing cartridges in the exams will be annoying. She used a BIC biro in the mocks but doesn’t really like them. Any ideas?
piggys
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Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:29 am

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by piggys »

I'm not sure about the pen issue, I will ask dd and see what she likes. Personally I'm a bit :shock: at how she will be not being allowed to take tippex/concealer into her exams, as she uses it all the time and is so pernickety about presentation.

What do people think about listening to music during revision? I don't think it's helpful but dd swears there is "research" which "proves" it is helpful to revision (yeah, right...). Anyway I have decreed that no music shall be played. I am most definitely Bad Cop. :lol:
Tinkers
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Location: Reading

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Tinkers »

I think it definitely depends on the music and the child. I think DD needs the stimulation of music to stop her being distracted by other things. I’m similar.

When I’m at work in an open office environment, I can concentrate better on work and not get distracted. However when I’m working at home, my brain struggles to settle. I put music on and my brain suddenly engages, but it has to be the right music. Some stuff just doesn’t help.
Guest55
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Guest55 »

Yes there has been research about music helping revision - not sure it was the sort of music they would want to listen to though!
loobylou
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Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by loobylou »

Weirdly I found with some subjects having radio 4 muttering away in the background helped me focus. I find it impossible to concentrate when music, especially classical music, is playing because I find I'm listening to it too much.
Amber
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Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Amber »

My three all seem to have been permanently plugged into some kind of headphone device when revising and working. It does not appear to have affected results in any way. I have also never removed phones, though one never knows where the phone is anyway, and the other two voluntarily brought the phones downstairs when working so they couldn't be distracted. Happily no one wanted to stick post its round the house as I would not have allowed my walls to be defaced! And there is a pen thread somewhere else but can't readily find it.

Good luck to all going through this for the first time. Not fun.
doodles
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Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by doodles »

Ds has taken over the dining room although he does have a desk in his room. I think it's because he escapes to his room in down time and he has the radio on in the background all the time.

He's not a post-it note reviser but ds1 wrote physics equations on balloons and used to lie on his bed bouncing them around his room, it worked for him!

He's off to the RSC screening of Macbeth with DH next week which is a bit of light relief. Unfortunately his LAMDA public speaking was cancelled because of the snow and has been rearranged for the weekend before GCSEs start :roll: he stills wants to do it and as it was quite expensive I'd like him to finish the course but the timing is rubbish!
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad !
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