First of I'd like to apologise for not replying much recently, I'm afraid that my current troubles at home have left my with very little energy to do anything that involves interacting with the outside world, sorry. From what I have seen everything looks good and I'll try and catch up this weekend.

I've been a bit apprehensive about today. It's been my first actual GCSE and that's been yet another source of stress at a time when I don't really need much more to worry about. My homework over the last few weeks has been of less than average standard and on occasion late, for example I was a few days late with an English Coursework essay which likewise counts towards my end GCSE and got into an arguement with my Maths teacher on whether or not there are some things in this world more important than homework (what she didn't know was that I'd been up late the previous night writing a statement on me and my brother's views and needs for the then upcoming court hearing and it was this, combined with an arguement with my mother which was responsible for the questions she'd set escaping my mind). Since my mother moved out a week ago life has become even more busy than usual which I can't say has helped with the homework thing.

For the most part my GCSEs are over a year off but an unfair amount of them are either semi-reliant on coursework or else - and worse - modular. Modular means that I learn a part of a topic and then do a test on it before learning more, I have to work this way in Science, Maths and possibly (but I'm not certain) History. Today's exam was on Science.

I don't honestly know how well I did in the tests though I'm relatively certain I didn't fumble it too badly, the first paper took the first half of my first lesson and the second paper claimed half of my third and it was only after this that my day started looking up. The lesson I should have been having had I not been selecting multiple choice answers on the Periodic Table was English and after the test was up I still had half an hour of that to attend, the teacher - also my Form Tutor - Mrs. Kaye had by intention or accident arranged for this to be the lesson in which we received back all the coursework we've done this year, a task which only takes half a lesson anyway. I have to say my results weren't that bad.

For the Speaking and Listening Coursework we had actually acted out a court case which could have come after a play we read, a detail I found ironic considering how much the legal process has become central to my current difficulties. I was a 'mystery witness' which basically means I had to completely make up a character that was not in the play as well as prepare for being questioned, in case you are interested my side won. The feedback claims that I was considered by the jurours one of the most convincing speakers and I was rewarded for my effort with an A*.

The other piece of coursework was an essay written about the same play, the same essay I was late with. In my defence I would like to note that I'm not the only one who handed that in late and was the only one at all whose finished piece was fourteen pages long. The grade for the essay seems not to have been affected by its somewhat belated handing in as I was given an A* for that as well and my mark for it was 54 out of 54, which is good. I'm now £10 richer thanks to my grandmother and that score. It's also nice to see people in my family really happy for once and while I haven't had a chance to tell Alex yet (he's still at school) my grandmother and father both seemed considerably cheered up by the news so that's good.

Just to top everything a handfull of poetry books "A World of Difference" arrived in the post on account of a poem by me being in them and were waiting for me when I got home. There is a going plan of fish and chips for tea tonight as a special treat.

Sounds like you're not letting those 'troubles at home' get you down. Keep at it Rhiannon, you have a life to live too.

Nice to hear you're doing ok, though, and you still have that creative nature we've been seeing bits and pieces off here at the board. Feel free to give us updates or post whatever you want - we'll be here.

Don't apologise. We're glad you are still operational.



Believe me, there are disadvantages the other way as well - When I did my O and A levels they were almost entirely exam-based.

Still, not the sort of things you want at the moment...

I'm glad the marks so far are looking good.


Surprises in the post are always good.

...an A* is one up on an A. It's apparently the highest it's possible to get, so now I'm going to have to struggle to top it.