Year 9 support Thread

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berks_mum
Posts: 939
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 4:52 pm

Year 9 support Thread

Post by berks_mum »

It seems I am waking up from a deep slumber. Last two years passed so quickly as if I just blinked my eyelid and years 7 and 8 have passed. Please can someone enlighten me:
1. Do the DCs start their GCSE work in year 9?
2. If so, what exactly do they do in Year 9?
3. Do they choose their options in Year 9?
4. Scores in Year 9? The school just seems to send us bands(1 - 5) in the reports. No idea what is a good band where the majority sits etc...
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by ToadMum »

berks_mum wrote:It seems I am waking up from a deep slumber. Last two years passed so quickly as if I just blinked my eyelid and years 7 and 8 have passed. Please can someone enlighten me:
1. Do the DCs start their GCSE work in year 9?
2. If so, what exactly do they do in Year 9?
3. Do they choose their options in Year 9?
4. Scores in Year 9? The school just seems to send us bands(1 - 5) in the reports. No idea what is a good band where the majority sits etc...
Which school is this? These are all things which will be specific to your DC's individual school. It seems very odd that the school has provided parents with no guidance or information at all about what their reports actually, well, report about the pupils and that you haven't had any kind of GCSE information meetings. When did your DS choose his options?
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Tinkers
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Location: Reading

Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by Tinkers »

I’m pretty sure it’s kendrick. I’ll PM you later BM.
berks_mum
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Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 4:52 pm

Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by berks_mum »

ToadMum wrote:
berks_mum wrote:It seems I am waking up from a deep slumber. Last two years passed so quickly as if I just blinked my eyelid and years 7 and 8 have passed. Please can someone enlighten me:
1. Do the DCs start their GCSE work in year 9?
2. If so, what exactly do they do in Year 9?
3. Do they choose their options in Year 9?
4. Scores in Year 9? The school just seems to send us bands(1 - 5) in the reports. No idea what is a good band where the majority sits etc...
Which school is this? These are all things which will be specific to your DC's individual school. It seems very odd that the school has provided parents with no guidance or information at all about what their reports actually, well, report about the pupils and that you haven't had any kind of GCSE information meetings. When did your DS choose his options?
ToadMum, thank you for your response. I am pretty sure the school is very good at communicating everything. The problem is my DC. 90% + of all the communication is filtered out by my DC. The reports have explained bands but how does it translate in real world. For example, with the old system 8 A* were the expectations for some unis(medicine etc) and sixth form schools. How the current banding projects to GCSE predictions?
berks_mum
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Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by berks_mum »

Tinkers wrote:I’m pretty sure it’s kendrick. I’ll PM you later BM.
Thanks Tinkers.
mystery
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Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by mystery »

Hi, I can't give you any school specific advice as I know nothing about that - but we don't get a huge amount of info either- and nothing is filtered out by child unless there is stuff they are told in assemblies or lessons that is not being sent home for parents (which personally I feel it should be ..... yes sure in the ideal world parents would have nothing to do with their education at this age, they would be self-sufficient in every way. But mine aren't - surely some are quicker at getting to that point than others and there's no particular reason to let their education suffer at this stage if it doesn't need to is there?).

At our school, a small number of subjects have already started the GCSE syllabus and many have not in year 9 (hopefully the work is relevant though!) but subjects are not dropped which are not being done for GCSE until the end of year 9. But I think the only way of finding out for sure is asking individual subject teachers .... which isn't easy I know. Some appreciate questions and some don't. The subjects which do follow the syllabus have become a lot clearer and at least you know you can buy some textbooks for home (yes, that rare object called a textbook) which follow the right syllabus in case you have a teacher who is a bit kind of random in their approach .... and that happens for sure.

GCSE choices at our school have to be done by end January and we have the one and only parents' evening 6 nights before the choices deadline in addition to a 20 minute powerpoint end of last term. We have issues like - "I want to do DT and I want to do the resistant materials option but I only sawed a piece of wood once for the first time the other day and I don't know if I will ever be able to saw straight". Or, "oh dear, that awful teacher I had in year 7 is the subject leader for x,y, z at GCSE and I really enjoyed that subject in year 8 and 9 but I might get them at GCSE." ( awful teacher was awful, I can vouch for that). Or, "oh I might want to do computer science but we did a few lessons of coding this year and I didn't really understand it fully. Will I have to code for GCSE?"

We'll survive Berks-Mum.

School grading bands --- I dont know how yours work but take them with a pinch of salt. We have had some of our children already complete secondary school and I've seen some really unreliable teacher assessment / predicted grades etc over the years but some amazing degree results at the end of the whole process.

The top end grade at GCSE - a 9 - is very rare in some subjects - much lower percentage get it than old A*. My guess it's going to be a case of knowing the syllabus inside out and having good exam technique and not making silly slips to get 8s and 9s --- not my children I don't think. Don't know when they teach exam technique either. Certainly not in year 9 at our school. And yet, probably like your school, they get amazing results at GCSE. So --- it will all be fine in the end but I wonder if there's something secret going on under the surface just like at the 11plus. All that unpsoken tutoring etc. I don't know.

Have you had a good look through everything on your school website? Useful info gets hidden on ours in the least obvious places e.g. detaield GCSE course information comees under year 9 curriculum.
Tinkers
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Location: Reading

Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by Tinkers »

berks_mum wrote:
Tinkers wrote:I’m pretty sure it’s kendrick. I’ll PM you later BM.
Thanks Tinkers.
Just sent.
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by ToadMum »

If it is Kendrick, according to last year's options presentation on their website, GCSE work will have started in the sciences at the beginning of this academic year. Options evening appears to be scheduled for heart week in February.

DS2 is in year 10 (obviously not at Kendrick :lol: ) - at his school, once they start the GCSE syllabus, all grades (actual and predicted) relate to the GCSE grades. For example, yesterday's second interim report of the year told us that in French, he achieved a 6 (highest grade achievable) in his most recent test, is working at his 'expected' level and if he carries on as he is, is predicted to get an 8. It also told us a couple of other things about each subject, but I haven't got it wgt of and I can remember offhand exactly what.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
berks_mum
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Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 4:52 pm

Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by berks_mum »

Tinkers, Toadmum and mystery, thank you for all your responses. Very helpful indeed.
sheepy23
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Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:39 pm

Re: Year 9 support Thread

Post by sheepy23 »

In my daughters school they've started the GCSE syllabus in English, Maths and Science.

Luckily for us though picking her options was a no brainer :D
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