2014 entry

[Araucana girl]

lol you guys make me laugh in the midst of the chaos that is rumbling around in my own mind trying to behave like that comedian lady (forgot her name totally) whose catchline is "look at my face, do i look bo-vered!" truthfully yesterday was not a nice mummy day!!! but today somehow have calmed down and even visited the test school - it turned out not too far from home but its in a very built up area and will need to get there early to even go into the road the school is on as there is no parking whatsoever and one way!!!!i can imagine how anarchic it will be on the day!poor residents huh.....................

anyway shall be off now as we all need to get used to waking up early!!!

adios amigos

Catherine Tate

[Fat pigeon]

Weather watch for the "pitch" > http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ig1

Good point baffled about the traffic & parking. The lack of parking & double congestion could easily lead to blocking up access roads. It may be worthwhile parking a small distance away & walking.

Got up waaaaaaaaaaaay too late this morning. Deciding to go easy today & tomorrow, with a final sprint burst for the finishing line on Saturday/Sunday work wise. We were absolutely EXHAUSTED mind & body, fed up; just want this thing to be over with now .

I'd hate to be one of the unlucky ones to fall ill & wait for the next attempt. State of being like a tightly coiled spring under tension. Many dcs are beginning to get the sniffles including our dd in the tuition class. Not surprised after all this crazy effort once the school holidays began. I doubt if even 16+ & 18+ exams will require such commitment & effort. Felt guilty as well .

We are planning to ease off, & give small treats e.g. trips out once the school term begins. DD has mentioned she wants to do the SATS !

[Rainbow Petals]

Weather watch for the "pitch" > http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ig1

Good point baffled about the traffic & parking. The lack of parking & double congestion could easily lead to blocking up access roads. It may be worthwhile parking a small distance away & walking.

Got up waaaaaaaaaaaay too late this morning. Deciding to go easy today & tomorrow, with a final sprint burst for the finishing line on Saturday/Sunday work wise. We were absolutely EXHAUSTED mind & body, fed up; just want this thing to be over with now .

I'd hate to be one of the unlucky ones to fall ill & wait for the next attempt. State of being like a tightly coiled spring under tension. Many dcs are beginning to get the sniffles including our dd in the tuition class. Not surprised after all this crazy effort once the school holidays began. I doubt if even 16+ & 18+ exams will require such commitment & effort. Felt guilty as well .

We are planning to ease off, & give small treats e.g. trips out once the school term begins. DD has mentioned she wants to do the SATS !

Yes believe me, even 16 year olds and 18 year olds put in less work than these 10 year old kids do for a single exam!

[Fat pigeon]

Suffered a major league stress bout today, panicking that not even the minimum I planned has been covered e.g. notes recording of & going through those weak points . Was that all my days off & staying up till early a.m. going through important points cannot be implemented, so I wasted my time & effort.

Luckily dc saved the day, coming back in the evening, obtaining the highest marks in her tuition group for NVR, beating even the boys by a country mile .

Thought good & hard about what are my real reasons for feeling so driven.

Do I love my child for herself, or for my own ego with the reflected glory?
Is the alternative really that bad?
I think it may be time to internalise the understanding that it is better to be among the best in a decent comprehensive, then be drowning at the bottom, with all the attendant negative emotions & self-confidence issues from age 11 to 16.
A happy child, as well as being good in itself as a loving parent, will probably do better academically. Secondary school is a long commitment.

[eastern]

DS had his final lesson today and did opposite to your DC and came in top on his VR.

I feel as parents it is a duty upon us to provide them the right stepping stone to a successful education.

We may feel guilty in how much we have pushed them but in the long run they will look back and appreciate how as parents we were there to support.
We won't be finished until 15th as have Latymer exam but it's been a hard year preparing for this.

I have kept DS focused positive and to go in Monday as if it's another practice paper he's been doing at home.
What worries me if the nerves take over and how this could affect performance.

One point to ensure you all do when register is take the name of who the teacher is taking your child in to test room.I would want to know who is responsible for my child for the 2 hours or so.

Early nights tonight and weekend fo Ds and tomorrow and Sunday just reviewing no papers or testing.

[Fat pigeon]

Well done to team eastern !

Wow, this really brings it home. I am struggling with only one dc & one test to prepare for! Dealing with everything including dc working along with logistics, emotions & feedback is a labour worthy of Hercules, Dps & dcs, I salute u .

Attempting more than one test fills me with awe & admiration. If there are parents who know what to expect beforehand & still persevere for one or, more amazing still, more children, I think u have a special kind of rare strength, which is humbling & to be applauded.

All those negative newspaper reports that constantly demean the efforts & abilities of UK Dps & dcs are selective & myopic, if they fail to laud the likes of the millions like us here. This struggle is an annual Olympics, with heroes & heroines aplenty, fully deserving of medals. A relatively tiny nation, but holding its own positively on the world stage thanks to the rock solid backbone that are the hardworking & intelligent, who sacrifice & nurture, above & beyond the norm, even though relatively speaking we are "comfortable" in terms of creature comforts e.g. Clean Water supply & free NHS etc. Not only that, many are altruistic, balanced & cheery natured, even though the competition is fierce.

The results are a secondary issue - it is the spirit of the participants which I have a new found respect for, & which I will take away with me as a counter to the jaundiced naysayers .

[Fat pigeon]

Dc & I have been relaxing watching the cheery & uplifting message of the old children's cartoon "Dogtanian & the 3 muskehounds"

[Araucana girl]

Good luck for you all on Monday, in case I don't get on the site tomorrow. May your dcs keep their cool and get the results that they deserve, they will have worked so hard for this.

We have two more weeks and, Fat Pigeon, we are one of the mad ones doing two different exams Believe me it has been a roller coaster and I still don't know whether we should have just gone for one and foregone the other but Chelmsford CHS has come completely out of the normal system this year and set their own exam, not sure yet whether that will be a good thing for dd or not.

Counting down for us, 2 weeks to go now and 3 weeks until it is all over

[Fat pigeon]

What? why am I up so early, I never get up at this time on a Sunday !

I had a wonderful stress-free evening yesterday I.e. the last Saturday before the exam on Monday morning, with wise & funny close friends & family, putting things into context e.g. Worst case scenarios, how dc is doing score-wise & state of mind, preparedness for the paper & the logistics of the journey tomorrow. We had a chance to review the whole journey with all the sacrifices, balancing out with the great odds & highlights of the journey.
We ate, drank & were merry, watching our marriage video etc. & reminiscing, jokes aplenty, outdoors & indoors.

The schools in Lbr are among the best in the country by results, so that is a great relief as a back up.

This forum has been a great asset to our 11+ journey, regardless of the final outcome, as we know that we are as near our peak as humanely possible, after all we are human! Of course, not everything one planned to cover has been covered - the reality is that it is very rare that anyone can do everything, & anyway the to-do list expands to fill the space .

The practical advice, cathartic release of emotions, the wonderful posters who have gone out of their way to pick us up when I have been at wits end are acts of human kindness, that mean a lot. When fellows from outside the Essex-Redbridge share such wonderful hearts with sincerity, asking nothing in return too, it lifts the human spirit.

So a huge cyber hug & thanks to all the guys, above all the regulars, & I pray that whatever the result, your children achieve the best & are happy growing up to become balanced, successful & friendly helpful members of society.

As the film "Star wars" line goes with the rebel attack on the Death Star, we can say "Red 5 going in! "

[Rainbow Petals]

Best wishes to everyone's kids tomorrow!