Education, Education, Education ~ AGAIN

[Snoopy]

The THW is now well into the revision stage of her GCSEs (Mocks in four weeks). I was unaware until now, because it wasn't done this way when I or my much older children sat O Levels and GCSEs respectively, that the Mocks are used to grade the children and a poor mark in the Mocks means that the child will be deliberately targeted at a lower grade in the actual exams. Anyone thus targeted has no chance of achieving an A or A* nor even a B because they will not be permitted to sit that "higher level" of exam paper. 
I don't know if this is a local thing or if it applies everywhere these days and am having problems finding out ~ One for you Nick.

Meanwhile the Headteacher has been on a course and come back buzzing with excitement and new ideas ~ ideas that he is now preaching to the children on a daily basis ~ ideas that I learnt 55 years ago such as "If you find it hard to remember something think up a Mnemonic to aid you". He is offering this as if it were the Holy Grail.

He has also produced a booklet of some 35 pages to help the children through this "most challenging part of your school life to date" It is A4 sized and contains all sorts of aids to memory, helpful tips and hints, pages on problem solving etc. It is also the most poorly written, misspelt, grammatically incorrect piece of work I have ever read ~ bar none. I have in front of me a photocopy of page 22 that contains no fewer than 7 grammatical or spelling mistakes. This is by no means the worst page ~ a copy of the entire booklet is being posted, suitably marked with a hi-lite pen, to the Welsh Assembly Government's Minister for Education.

Even the kids in the school are spotting the errors and laughing at them ~ and that will probably be the excuse "It's an exercise to show the children how not to do it" ~ anybody care to bet that they won't try that one on? 

B@st@rds ~ this is our future they are busy fvcking up. 

[Bar Wench]

The THW is now well into the revision stage of her GCSEs (Mocks in four weeks). I was unaware until now, because it wasn't done this way when I or my much older children sat O Levels and GCSEs respectively, that the Mocks are used to grade the children and a poor mark in the Mocks means that the child will be deliberately targeted at a lower grade in the actual exams. Anyone thus targeted has no chance of achieving an A or A* nor even a B because they will not be permitted to sit that "higher level" of exam paper. 
I don't know if this is a local thing or if it applies everywhere these days and am having problems finding out ~ One for you Nick.

That certainly was the case when I sat my IGCSEs. Your mocks were used partially as an indicator of your grade for predications and also to serve to weed out those incapable of taking the higher papers. However, if THW has proven that she is capable of taking the higher papers and has a blip in the mocks there should be no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to.

I screwed up my biology mock to the tune of a low C and was still allowed to take the higher papers. I got an A for the official exam, which would have been an A* if they had introduced them a year earlier.

[Nick]

He has also produced a booklet of some 35 pages to help the children through this "most challenging part of your school life to date" It is A4 sized and contains all sorts of aids to memory, helpful tips and hints, pages on problem solving etc. It is also the most poorly written, misspelt, grammatically incorrect piece of work I have ever read ~ bar none. I have in front of me a photocopy of page 22 that contains no fewer than 7 grammatical or spelling mistakes. This is by no means the worst page ~ a copy of the entire booklet is being posted, suitably marked with a hi-lite pen, to the Welsh Assembly Government's Minister for Education.

We await further instalments 

[Snoopy]

The THW is now well into the revision stage of her GCSEs (Mocks in four weeks). I was unaware until now, because it wasn't done this way when I or my much older children sat O Levels and GCSEs respectively, that the Mocks are used to grade the children and a poor mark in the Mocks means that the child will be deliberately targeted at a lower grade in the actual exams. Anyone thus targeted has no chance of achieving an A or A* nor even a B because they will not be permitted to sit that "higher level" of exam paper. 
I don't know if this is a local thing or if it applies everywhere these days and am having problems finding out ~ One for you Nick.

That certainly was the case when I sat my IGCSEs. Your mocks were used partially as an indicator of your grade for predications and also to serve to weed out those incapable of taking the higher papers. However, if THW has proven that she is capable of taking the higher papers and has a blip in the mocks there should be no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to.

I screwed up my biology mock to the tune of a low C and was still allowed to take the higher papers. I got an A for the official exam, which would have been an A* if they had introduced them a year earlier.

Thanks for clearing that up. In my day we sat the Mocks simply to (i) get you used to the "examination conditions" and (ii) to enable both you and the teaching staff to see which areas needed attention before the "real deal".
The school is adamant that low grades in the mocks will debar sitting the "higher grade" papers though. I have to say it seems to me to be a lot of bollox as one paper should fit all sizes. If you do well .... jolly good show, if you don't do so well then your grade has been judged by the same standards as everyone else ~ surely? Or are they now saying "You got an A but in the grade B paper". It seems to me to be another example of fiddling the figures so that every child is a winner ~ even if they can neither read nor write.

[Snoopy]

He has also produced a booklet of some 35 pages to help the children through this "most challenging part of your school life to date" It is A4 sized and contains all sorts of aids to memory, helpful tips and hints, pages on problem solving etc. It is also the most poorly written, misspelt, grammatically incorrect piece of work I have ever read ~ bar none. I have in front of me a photocopy of page 22 that contains no fewer than 7 grammatical or spelling mistakes. This is by no means the worst page ~ a copy of the entire booklet is being posted, suitably marked with a hi-lite pen, to the Welsh Assembly Government's Minister for Education.

We await further instalments 

Because there are exercises in the booklet for the child to do and as she has done some of them I have asked her to get another blank copy today. Once I have it I'll send you a copy.

[Nick]

Can't they e mail it as a Word file, like?

[Bar Wench]

The THW is now well into the revision stage of her GCSEs (Mocks in four weeks). I was unaware until now, because it wasn't done this way when I or my much older children sat O Levels and GCSEs respectively, that the Mocks are used to grade the children and a poor mark in the Mocks means that the child will be deliberately targeted at a lower grade in the actual exams. Anyone thus targeted has no chance of achieving an A or A* nor even a B because they will not be permitted to sit that "higher level" of exam paper. 
I don't know if this is a local thing or if it applies everywhere these days and am having problems finding out ~ One for you Nick.

That certainly was the case when I sat my IGCSEs. Your mocks were used partially as an indicator of your grade for predications and also to serve to weed out those incapable of taking the higher papers. However, if THW has proven that she is capable of taking the higher papers and has a blip in the mocks there should be no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to.

I screwed up my biology mock to the tune of a low C and was still allowed to take the higher papers. I got an A for the official exam, which would have been an A* if they had introduced them a year earlier.

Thanks for clearing that up. In my day we sat the Mocks simply to (i) get you used to the "examination conditions" and (ii) to enable both you and the teaching staff to see which areas needed attention before the "real deal".
The school is adamant that low grades in the mocks will debar sitting the "higher grade" papers though. I have to say it seems to me to be a lot of bollox as one paper should fit all sizes. If you do well .... jolly good show, if you don't do so well then your grade has been judged by the same standards as everyone else ~ surely? Or are they now saying "You got an A but in the grade B paper". It seems to me to be another example of fiddling the figures so that every child is a winner ~ even if they can neither read nor write.

No, there are say three papers. Two of which everyone will take and will cover the 0 - Cgrade, the third paper will be the paper that B-A students will take. I think the paper split was brought in to stop the C-grade students feeling daunted or some such nonsense.

[Snoopy]

Can't they e mail it as a Word file, like?

The school will not email it to me as it is a booklet produced for the children to use not for the parents to carp about. Beside which they barely acknowledge my existence as I am a known "trouble maker".
ALSO
The school won't email anything because they are "inclusive" and some people may not have email facilities.

The THW is going to say she has mislaid her copy and ask for another ~ apparently many have done this.

[Nick]

The school won't email anything because they are "inclusive" and some people may not have email facilities

dOES THAT MEAN EVERYONE HAS TO GO BY BUS, BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE DON'T HAVE CARS?

[Snoopy]

The THW is now well into the revision stage of her GCSEs (Mocks in four weeks). I was unaware until now, because it wasn't done this way when I or my much older children sat O Levels and GCSEs respectively, that the Mocks are used to grade the children and a poor mark in the Mocks means that the child will be deliberately targeted at a lower grade in the actual exams. Anyone thus targeted has no chance of achieving an A or A* nor even a B because they will not be permitted to sit that "higher level" of exam paper. 
I don't know if this is a local thing or if it applies everywhere these days and am having problems finding out ~ One for you Nick.

That certainly was the case when I sat my IGCSEs. Your mocks were used partially as an indicator of your grade for predications and also to serve to weed out those incapable of taking the higher papers. However, if THW has proven that she is capable of taking the higher papers and has a blip in the mocks there should be no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to.

I screwed up my biology mock to the tune of a low C and was still allowed to take the higher papers. I got an A for the official exam, which would have been an A* if they had introduced them a year earlier.

Thanks for clearing that up. In my day we sat the Mocks simply to (i) get you used to the "examination conditions" and (ii) to enable both you and the teaching staff to see which areas needed attention before the "real deal".
The school is adamant that low grades in the mocks will debar sitting the "higher grade" papers though. I have to say it seems to me to be a lot of bollox as one paper should fit all sizes. If you do well .... jolly good show, if you don't do so well then your grade has been judged by the same standards as everyone else ~ surely? Or are they now saying "You got an A but in the grade B paper". It seems to me to be another example of fiddling the figures so that every child is a winner ~ even if they can neither read nor write.

No, there are say three papers. Two of which everyone will take and will cover the 0 - Cgrade, the third paper will be the paper that B-A students will take. I think the paper split was brought in to stop the C-grade students feeling daunted or some such nonsense.

In other words the teachers will be deciding who may or may not get the chance at scoring an A or A*.
I wonder how they would manage with someone like me who actually bunked off all his mocks (I had a job and was bunking off school daily ~ hard to ask for time off to sit the mock exams when the employer thinks you have left school ~ I resigned to take my 'O' levels and then went into the RAF.

I scored straight A's in the actual 'O' levels. One with a "Distinction" ~ what would now be A*

[Nick]

We have the first 11+ paper this week 

[Snoopy]

The school won't email anything because they are "inclusive" and some people may not have email facilities

dOES THAT MEAN EVERYONE HAS TO GO BY BUS, BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE DON'T HAVE CARS?

No but it does mean that those who don't have a PC cannot receive emails.  

About 33% of her year group have to do all their computer based homework during the lunchtimes or at the homework club after school ~ they also have to book space on the limited number of PCs available.

And what was it Tony Blair said about "every child will have a computer on their desk" ~ 12 years have gone by and we are still waiting.

[Bar Wench]

I honestly don't know. Especially as I was educated in the private system and basically if you were paying you could do as you like.

In your situation I imagine you would have had some sort of an ASBO for not attending school or your parents would have been hit with a truancy fine.

[Snoopy]

We have the first 11+ paper this week 

Wish him luck ~ but then he has already had that by being able to sit an 11+ ~ most kids cannot. It is a bit of a post code lottery.

[Snoopy]

I honestly don't know. Especially as I was educated in the private system and basically if you were paying you could do as you like.

In your situation I imagine you would have had some sort of an ASBO for not attending school or your parents would have been hit with a truancy fine.

Indeed ~ instead of which I was thrashed in front of the whole school, given an excellent report and went off to serve Queen and Country.