The Boy brought home a bit of paper strongly recommending that we buy him an entirely optional OUP workbook in preparation for the exam he will take on Tuesday 16 January, which will contribute towards his final GCSE grades.
Hang on, that's ... running out of fingers here ... 49 days time.
THE BOY'S GCSEs START IN 49 DAYS TIME??
You can't do that! He's too young! Too young I tell you!
I remember my first O-level, as we called it back in the days when you could still buy 75s to play on your gramophone. History. Spanish Civil War. (The subject of the exam, not the time it happened.) I was ill. Didn't stop me taking the exam, only interrupted by idiot nurse trying to offer me tea and cake halfway through and almost being screamed at to go away in case she invalidated the results or something.
But I was sixteen. Sixteen! That's old enough to marry. I was prepared. I was emotionally and spiritually mature. I got a D but let's not go there.
He's at Scouts at the moment. We have an hour to shriek and wibble and run around the flat, before getting into supportive mode. Must try not to hug him when he comes through the door.
I'm sure my first science modules were in November year 10. My second lot of science modules were on my birthday that year! The worst are foreign languages. To be honest these exams are nothing compared to year 11 and they can be retaken next year, it only gets worse. With all they coursework you are taking your GCSEs basically all of year 11 and if I remember correctly the tech coursework starts the last term of year 10. Oh and IT, basically every lesson for the two years is coursework but don't get me started on that. And with SATs you are constantly being tested from the age of 7.
ReplyDeleteI've got 3 exams January, but some people doing completely new subjects also do. They've only had a term doing they subject before the first exam!