Jack, 15, did 4 IGCSE examinations this summer. Two of the results are in. Chemistry and Biology. He got a B for Bio and a C for Chem. (Both CIE IGCSE's)
Now, I know a lot of you have brilliant academic students who routinely get A*'s and this may seem somewhat underwhelming, but this is my sports-obsessed, guitar-playing, non-academic son who does NOT enjoy studying.
Or reading books.
Or sitting still.
What makes it even more amazing is that he only studied each of these subjects for 12 weeks. As Jack is only 15, this is pretty amazing. I am over the moon. It seems there's more going on in that brain than the pictures in the post below might indicate! LOL!
For an idea of standards for international readers, the IGCSE course of study is roughly equivalent to 1st year of a 4 year US college course (according to the Cambridge exam board which sets the examinations.) And I found out, too late, that CIE's exams are much tougher than Edexcel's! Friends who have gone on from CIE IGCSE's to A level say that they have covered most of the AS course in the IGCSE from CIE!
In order to go on to post-16 academic study Jack needs at least 5 IGCSE's at C grade or above. To study a subject at A(Advanced) level he needs at least a B, for most of the institutions we are looking at. He had been hoping for a good enough grade in Bio to have that option. And he has it.
A couple more weeks till we get the results of the other 2 subjects he studied last year. Art and Drama. We're not sure he did as well with those, but are hoping for the best.
That C for Chemistry is a flippin miracle, I can tell you...
Onward and upward. 4 more subjects next year! Physics, Religious Studies, Maths and English.
And then I'm redundant.
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15 comments:
Congratulations to Jack (and to you Dorothy!)!!! Those are great results! And I'm sure the rest will be just as good.
Yeah! Congrats on all the hard work!!! ;-)
That's awesome, Dorothy! Congrats to Jack. :)
And who thought homeschool children needed a "florist"?! ;) Congrats, and I know Jack is very proud as well. Good job master florist!
Well done Jack. And Mum. And the ferret. I reckon the ferret must have helped somehow ;).
Seriously, excellent results for IGCSE at 15 :)
I'm with Bookworm - I'm sure the ferret helped :)
Congratulations Jack!
Oh and Dorothy - I'm sure you won't be redundant anytime soon.... or if you are maybe we can find time to get together and scrap as we'll BOTH be so?
Thanks Folks.
Not to take away credit from the red ferret, I do feel I ought to be awarded some sort of certificate after the work I put in this past year! LOL!
All the home educated kids in those groups passed apparently, quite a few with A*s, which is great news.
Top scientists are bemoaning the lack of single science GCSE's at the moment, so hopefully, that is added kudos for his CV. {g}
Wooo hooo..... esp thrilled wtih that B in Biology... yeah for Jack.
Sounds like it's comparable to Madeleine's 4 on her AP Biology exam. Her test included both multiple choice and essays... is the IG similar in that respect?
Renee,
There are three papers for each science subject. One was an Alternative To Practical Exam with 'short' answers, testing knowledge of experiment procedure. One was a multi-choice and there was another, longer paper with 'long' answers, though not essay length.
The Chem was especially tough though, so this grade (C) is excellent for him. (The grading system is not equivalent to that of the US.)We were much more excited about that because we'd been assuming he'd have to resit it in the autumn.{g}
LOL, I was also going to say perhaps it was an effect of the red ferret! We do place a lot of pressure on ourselves as moms. We worry that a bad test will reflect poorly on us, but when they test well, it's because THEY are smart!
Hi Kristine,
I don't think that I was under pressure, in that sense, at all.{g} I didn't teach those subjects. He's been going to tutored groups (think of those classes Chris teaches.) I could help with the Biology homework and revision, but the Chemistry was beyond me. I did not study it at all at school.
So I wasn't invested in his results in that way at all.
There is a different pressure at work with public examinations in the UK. They aren't 'tests'. They aren't like annual checks to see how they are doing. They are the end result of 10/11 years of full-time education for students in the UK. They are the key to future employment and/or university entry, along with 'A levels'. So they are really important.
There is no equivalent, in terms of significance, in the US. Perhaps SAT's / AP etc, but are those results put on your resume (for the rest of your life) for employers to see?
I'm nervous about the next two results due in 2 weeks. I'm still not sure it was a good idea his taking 4 of these examinations early this year.
Congrats Jack...and Dorothy.
Dorothy,
I've read some about the differences because of an aunt who lives in Europe that likes to compare and I agree with you that I don't think there is a comparison mainly because of the freedom of choice which we have to puruse an area of study of interest as opposed to one that can only be had by scoring well giving you the ok to move on. I've been wondering lately what happens if a child gets put onto a path he/she doesn't really enjoy? Are there any other alternatives or is that just the way it is based on the these types of tests? I know you know I'm just asking because I'm curious not because I want to start a debate, but I thought I should at least mention that so others wouldn't wonder.
Cynthia,
I don't really understand your comment/question here.
I suspect you must be confused with the German education system where children are channelled early on into academic or technical schools. That doesn't apply here.
There's lots of choices about fields of study here, possibly too many! {g}
Dorothy
Congratulations Jack!!
and Dorothy!!!
and the Red Ferret!!!!
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