Year 13 -2025/26 - Support, discussion and looking after each other - thread 2 - exam time

Seconded here!

DS first exam on Tuesday (Chem). Nerves seem to have set in. He found this week revising tough due to the heat. Glad it’s going to be cooler next week. Good luck to all of them.

History here too this week. Please make it not a shocker like paper 1! 🙏🏻

You don’t often live in St Andrews but the villages around or Dundee (short bus ride).

Nearly fainted when I googled rent at St A

News flash some revision is happening!

We're on the Arsenal parade route and today has been very noisy and distracting so to be getting some done now is a relief.

Good luck to everyone next week, DD kicks off on wednesday I think and she has another 5 to go, three next week and then a week between the last 2 maths ones. She says for paper 1 maths she is getting between a high C and a high B - this is her strongest paper and she needs a C overall - so much luck in it if you are at that level. She's dreading the third paper and thinks the course they are doing isn't taken by many 6th forms. Who knows. My youngest GCSE revision is a far bigger cause of stress as he's not doing anything really. Wishing my life away, but I'll be so glad when we are at the end of these exams.

I've resigned myself to uni outlook uncertainty. DC has friends there and is adamant their course is a core one and the cuts are mostly postgrad but I wouldn't be so sure... what I do gather is when unis fall apart they'll likely get absorbed into another one (which at least gives a lot of options in London) but still can't be sure what will happen to individual courses. I am going to remind them that if it doesn't meet what they were hoping for, they can change uni after first year. My sister nearly did that with her degree but demurred in the end after meeting her boyfriend.

DC is going to revise with a friend - got two exams this week, both on tube strike days but I think at least both in the afternoon so they have time to make it in by bus

The lovely weather hasn’t inspired dd but she did discover the library has air con so went there for an afternoon. Her pet died today so that isn’t great (and we have an 11 yo bunny that we’re praying can last another 3 weeks to get through exams).

this week she has 3 days in a row but once that’s over it’s 2 exams a week for the next two weeks (she finishes 16 June and our twins start gcse mocks on the 16th for 2 weeks 😩). Roll on July!

Revision is just practice papers at this point and they’re going well. Keeping everything crossed.

@Ventress sorry to hear your lifelimited.
{mention:BlackBean2023}@BlackBean2023, @Echobelly and anyone else who commented about uni finance. Off to Google rent at St Andrews as that's where DD wants to go !!!

@Ventress what a lovely offer to keep an eye on clearing for people.

DS has done little revision which we expected as GF was staying for the week. Got an exam tomorrow and is currently on a train escorting gf home.

So glad the weather has cooled for exams.

Good luck everyone! So pleased for them that it's cooling down as it's been so much harder to concentrate in 30 degree heat. DC has done his best (although one of my friends said her DD has been revising 9 hours a day which is nowhere near what DC is doing...) but think he is starting to feel a bit fed up and has been a bit irritable the last few days and is really looking forward to exams being over. He has 3 this week and one final one the following week.

@GirlsInGreen going to Sicily sounds like a great back-up plan, I'm sure that would take her mind off things pretty quickly although hopefully she will do really well and get the grades she needs!

@Ventress DC is also saying he can't revise for English - has just been re-reading a couple of books and watched the film versions - at least that's quite doable in the heat....

DS’s exams kick off tomorrow!

3 this week and 3 next week.

I’m so pleased that the hot weather has eased off. That’s one less distraction!

That’s reassuring to hear @BlackBean2023Thank you

it’s a bit cooler today, and forecast for similar this week. Thank goodness.

good luck to everyone this week. It’s June tomorrow which means the end is in sight.

Hope everyone gets back in the revision groove this week.
We have had a reasonable half term, DS says he has done an average of 4h a day, which I'm happy with.
He has also had a few days off and some nights out, so a good balance.
Only two more short history papers here. I feel for all the STEM crew who have a long way to go. Hang in there 🙏

Good luck to everyones DC this week, so glad the weather seems to have cooled just in time.

My dd has two tomorrow & two on Tuesday, a break for 4 days a couple of more papers & she's done!
The fear has set in over not making her offer/2nd. I've told her not to think about the end destination- just meet each paper & do her very best.
I tried to mention clearing & got daggers, later she told me apart from deep personal disappointment, the shame of facing her friends (some of whom have brutal high offers) and teachers will kill her.
She has an Irish passport so by all accounts, she's running away to Sicily and getting a job in a bakery on results day if it all goes sideways🙄
I just nod....

@GazeldaI have an apprenticeship vacancy in my team that I’m holding for a few weeks so I can advertise after the exams finished. I assumed if I put it out now then I’d be excluding the YP who are just focused on revising! I agree with you - she should hedge her bets and keep all options open! I wish DD would consider an apprenticeship but she’s adamant she wants to go to University (far away!) - if you ask her what she’s going to do with a History degree you just get a shrug though!

It is reassuring that so many others have slacked off a bit over the half term - at least it puts them all back on an even keel! DD has history (China) and Sociology this week - Tuesday and Wednesday.

And another one joining the team here! Not much work done but on the positive side dd has had a great week with her friends!

Thanks for your positive thoughts @Ventress

here’s wishing all our kids a great week. Just history for DD.

And the UCAS deadline which I’m almost certain DD has stuffed to the back of her mind. She’s still hoping for an apprenticeship, but has local unis lined up ‘just in case’. So we don’t need to fret about accom. I just wish she’d blimmin’ confirm her choices and then she can forget about it.

Solidarity with @Ventress and @BlackBean2023 !!

I have another who is taking the casual approach to revision! Ie not doing any!

Same here @BlackBean2023
i was speaking to DS yesterday, he has English lit 2 first thing tomorrow, and offered to help him revise and he said that he couldn’t revise as it’s not a “revisable” subject 🙄 I suggested he do a couple of past exam essays.

I hope you manage to get your dd to study!

@Gazeldawe do seem to have two different sets of DC. Either those like yours who are dedicated and work or like mine who are far more lassez faire about the whole business. I hope your daughter does well this week.

Good luck to the English literature exam takers tomorrow morning. You got this! 🌟

This week has been a write off - the sun and half term has been too much to resist and DD has spent most of it out with friends.

I have given up nagging but am finding it very stressful - her exams will be finished in 2 weeks, it doesn’t feel much to ask to put her head down for a few weeks before a long summer of fun.

AGH.

DD has been beavering away all week. I have to keep reminding her to take a break, have a drink, eat some food etc.

having said that, I suspect a lot of her time is spent on her phone. It’s frustrating that she allows herself to be distracted, but on balance I think I prefer that to spending 7am-7pm studying every day.

she’s good at putting the phone away when she does a practice paper, and I’m resigned to letting her do it her way and live with the outcome.

It’s so frustrating to come home from work and she tells me she’s had an ok day but the heat made her unproductive. I wish she’d just do 4 hours of absolute focus each day and spend the rest of her time having some fun or relaxing.

I swear we have the same son sometimes @JustHereWithMyPopcorn! I do think that once they’ve started panicking if just gets worse and they blank out. I do feel for them; A levels are so hard.

Good to see you @TruffulaTree. I feel your pain and really agree with you about the absolutism of our yp and their exams and their place in the universe (great way to express it). We had the “bad” exam during GCSEs and I dread having this again as it was very difficult to get past.

i hope your son does well next week. Very difficult when they have more than one in a day.

I’m sure your DS has been working @Muchtoomuchtodo. I had my 18th in the middle of A levels too. I’m sure your DS will be looking forward celebrating once the exams are over 😊

Oh crikey, results day. I daren’t think about it! DS is at his job on results day so DH and I may go up and lurk until he talks to us 😂

I did review clearing for several days last year so I’ll do the same this year. If anyone wants me to monitor their dc’s clearing options, please let me know. I’m not at work and wake early so I’m very happy to monitor 😊

Same here @Ventress , exams for the first three days and still doing next ton nothing. Today he started to panic but he still won’t do more. 🤦🏼‍♀️