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

Discussion and advice on GCSEs

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mystery
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Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

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

Post by mystery »

Tinkers wrote:
Miltonkeynes1 wrote:Thanks all for the messages. He has asked his biology teacher but she said the papers they have are for the school only, he is going to ask again when back on Monday. He seemed a bit happier yesterday, managed to get a lots of French revision done. I'll have a look on the exam board's websites. Thanks again.
There’s a fair bit more available for teachers than the mere mortal can find on the exam board sites.
I’m not sure why at this stage the teacher wouldn’t give them more unless the teachers are going to use the extra materials with students in class.
As my sister is a science teacher and she needed to download stuff for her own students, she offered to send some for my DD for the sciences. There’s tons of it and far more than my DD will manage to go through in the time left. It’s mostly separated into topics, so useful is there’s areas that need some extra work. My sister has been giving the same stuff to her own students.
Getting Dd to actually do anything with it at the moment is a different matter.
The stuff you mention on the teachers' area on the exam board website sounds good. Is it AQA science, physics, chemistry? All I can see on there is an advert for Exampro at £240 per annum for three users - which is a bit steep ... does cover all three sciences but what school could afford that?

Not year 11 yet (phew) but struggling a bit with revision material here each time school exams come up.

Part way through GCSE AQA in physics, maths and chemistry (first exams on this new specification will be this June 2018). She does the questions at the end of the text book chapters (AQA approved textbook published by Oxford) and then is stuck for any other questions to work through. There are no questions in classwork or homework to go back over and the questions at the end of the textbook chapters are a bit thin.
Tinkers
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Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Tinkers »

I’ve just replied to your other post, but yes she gave DD stuff for all three sciences.

I think you’d struggle to get them out of the teacher at this stage (they might want to use them for tests etc themselves), maybe in year 11 they would be much more willing and when the students might get more benefit out of them.
mystery
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Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

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

Post by mystery »

Thank you - sounds good but like I can't count on this happening as it sounds like a huge amount to release in year 11 and also a bit overwhelming to get it all x 10 subjects or more in year 11. I can understand why your child does not want to get into it at this late stage.

DD has asked if there are any questions to work through at the end of each science topic but drawn a blank at school. Can't believe that it is this hard to get hold of questions based on the up to date specifications. Is there stuff from previous specs or other exam boards which would be useful? I'd happily pay for a book if it existed.

People say there's loads of GCSE stuff out there but DD has looked and failed so I've had a look too and it's not as easy as it seems. These new spec 9 to 1 s are so new that it's not clear what to do - maybe the secret teacher stuff is the best stuff there is at the moment?

Oh just spotted some Scholastic exam practice books which claim to fit with the new AQA 9 to 1 syllabus. Wonder if they really do.
Tinkers
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Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Tinkers »

For the sciences DDs teachers all said to look at past papers, even before the 9-1 ones, as ‘the science itself hasn’t changed’ so might be worth looking for those.
My sister said the CGP books are worth looking at. Plus some others that I will have to look for in DDs piles of revision stuff.
mystery
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Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by mystery »

Thank you - that sounds like sensible advice. I wonder what has changed.
KS10
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Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by KS10 »

I hope I’ve got this right but apparently there are links in the spec to video clips for AQA science. One of the teachers at my school mentioned them but I wasn’t really listening properly. DD uses My GCSE Science, for which we paid a fiver through school.

ETA: can't see anything myself though
Tinkers
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Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Tinkers »

KS10 wrote:I hope I’ve got this right but apparently there are links in the spec to video clips for AQA science. One of the teachers at my school mentioned them but I wasn’t really listening properly. DD uses My GCSE Science, for which we paid a fiver through school.

ETA: can't see anything myself though
I find this by accident the other day, is this that you meant?
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/p ... SPACE.DOCX" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
KS10
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Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by KS10 »

Well, if the truth be told, I wasn’t sure what I meant but that looks like it could be what she was talking about. Thanks, Tinkers.
Reading Mum
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Re: The Final Push - how's it going for your dc (and you) ?

Post by Reading Mum »

Day 1 of 10 hour Art exam today - I will be glad when this one is over!

DD was told her idea for the piece wasn't going to show enough skills so she needed to add some portraiture - cue a photo session with me. I thought that the title was 'Shattered' and I thought that the inclusion of my face fitted the title rather well as that pretty much sums me up these days. It turns out that it is 'Fragments' :(
buzzybee
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Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:29 am

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

Post by buzzybee »

Dance GCSE practicals today and tomorrow and dd's choreography piece is first up this morning! She received 1 point off full marks when the teachers graded it last month so she's hoping with a bit of tweaking she'll get full marks. Not so positive about her duet but will be glad once it's out of the way.

All seems or real now............
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