Anyone else's Y11 struggling massively with workload/exhaustion?

DS, who I never fall out with, is not talking to me because I suggested that if he puts in the effort for class tests now, it will go into long term memory and therefore make his life easier in March and April.
He's furious with me but he can't say.

DH has just text me to say that our DD English teacher has phoned him as DD has not handed in 2 lots of homework and teacher is worried about DD, as study leave coming up for them to revise for mocks. DD is fiercely independent where homework is concerned and refuses and intervention from us.

DH and I are going to tackle her soon..... I need

That sounds a lot.

Dd is Year 11. She is doing 9 GCSE's (could have done a 10th but couldn't make the twilight sessions it entailed)

She finishes school at 4pm, then dances for two hours & has an hours journey home. She does some homework at lunchtime & generally ends up with about half an hour per night plus an hour or two at weekends.

She's supposed to get 2 pieces per night of about 30-40 mins duration but it seems a lot less.

DD has loads of HW and has already starting revising in earnest (her choice) - flashcards galore which I have to test her on each night!
She dances outside if school which is 10 hours a week plus competitions most Sundays, we have talked about dropping some dance but she is having none of it. To be honest, her dance is keeping her sane at the moment, but I agree the HW is pretty relentless plus tests every five minutes!

Cuddling babies is definitely relaxing. I doubt he'll mind if she quotes Shakespeare at him either.
You've still got most of the year to get it right. It really is a marathon.

I think as the parent of a Yr11, especially a really hard-working and conscientious one, you do have to monitor that they aren't burning themselves out. Last year I insisted on dragging DD1 out to archery with us (though she wasn't shooting due to injury) just so she could have time away in the company with some agreeably eccentric people and eat a lot of cake. OK, so she did a lot of quoting Macbeth and discussing photosynthesis but it was still relaxing.

Glad you managed to get to the bottom of it...your DD sounds very conscientious .....it is difficult - my DD does the minimum although when she is given a nudge she will knuckle down.

I'm glad to see that not all children have allot of homework I was getting worried why my DD had allot less. We did speak about homework on Friday night and I think she has already adapted to just answering questions in the given time slot (or completing work)- she said she had some History homework and she spent 50 minutes on the homework 45 minutes was allocated) where some of her friends are spending 2 hrs. They have not had any Maths homework for 2 weeks ...but she's in the second set and expected to get a grade of 7-9 - I expect it will be a 7/8 because some of the set 2 and all of set 1 have already been selected for grade 9 work outside class. Which is fine - she's not the most focused of children at times.

DS doing 11 IGCSEs here, plus music and sport.

He does about 2 to 2 and a half hours each evening. Because of school sport, he does no homework/revision on a Saturday at all, so aims for 5 hours on a Sunday. I'd rather he split it over the weekend, but he really is too knackered on a Saturday eve.

With essays, I am encouraging him to spend an hour getting notes together (which he can then save for revision) and then write it in a strict 35 mins.

And he's doing 10 GCSEs - all linear exams- but has the possibility of adding further maths to make 11

DS calculated today how much he had to do between now and the end of the half term for homework and class tests etc - 14 hours.
There's no after school sessions and no lunchtime or pre-school ones (although I think there will be eventually).
He thinks it's incredibly onerous (and he's not taking it well) but it's nothing compared to your DD, OP

I know the new specs make a difference, but my DD (now yr 12) didn't get anything like this. She did new spec maths and English and worked very hard, but it was very much marathon-not-sprint and supported by the school. She got really great results.

I have a DD in Yr10 at present and she is getting a fair amount, more than in yr 9 - but nothing outrageous. I think some schools are just terrified about the new spec and are pushing too hard.

Is this a private school or selective entry, OP? I don't think DD has a lot of homework. They seem to be easing off now in yr11 (they did have a fair bit over summer).

DD is a compulsive high achiever, has a PT job, a leadership role in the school supposedly & a part in school play (ensemble part, thank goodness) & she is not drowning in workload. Whatever your DD has on is too much for her, sounds like something has to give.

Excellent advice here!
Sadly, I do not have a problem with DS working too much at the moment! I see maths homework and there seems to be a lot of geography. Otherwise, I’m really not sure what’s being set. He seems to feel most of the work will have been covered by half term and then they have mocks so I suspect the usual advice to start serious revision from Christmas is about right!

Year 11 form tutor here. Had a Parents' Evening this week which was illuminating. Several complaints were made to me about excessive workload.

School ethos is 2 x 45 minute home works per evening. Subjects are set according to a homework timetable. Most were reasonable but one faculty is ignoring this and setting masses. Typically the conscientious kids (especially the girls) are trying to do it all and getting stressed out and tearful trying to complete it all.

To the OP, your daughter should not be perfecting her essays now. I would suggest spending 5 minutes planning each essay then 35 minutes writing them, as she would do in an exam. Most teachers love a plan as they can see how the student is thinking. If she doesn't get time to finish, at least her ideas are on paper. Communicate with the staff, explain what is going on and ask for strategies to help. At this stage, you all want her to do her very best without burning out, so dialogue is vital.

On the perfecting essays - you need to work with her to break this now. It becomes really unhealthy and you feel you can never hand anything in because you're paralysed by the possibility that it's not perfect.

She's going to have to write timed essays on exams, so she may as well start practicing. Make sure she undeRats day that her results will not be so good while she gets the hang of it, but it will help her organise her thoughts faster and be more concise in the long run.

I think if she is considering Medicine she does need to breeze through a bit more. There isn't time to be a perfectionist and working quickly and accurately will be better for the future. Obviously sciences and maths are important but the amount of homework seems extreme. Work experience will be vital but it can start after the exams and continue in y12. No need to bust a gut now. Sport and music would be better at the moment.

I guess my DD should consider herself very fortunate by the sounds of it ......although she is now doing some past papers off her own back...just one each week....but hopefully it will act has revision for work she covered in Yr 9 and 10 (They did start their science iGCSE's in Yr 9 has a 3 year course)

Charlmum60 - no my son is doing igces too. And still has approx 2 hours a night.

They will be finished the syllabus in most subjects by Christmas/Feb half term, Mocks are in January and then it goes into practice exam questions etc, techniques, revision sessions from then on.

I imagine schools everywhere are panicking as it's final exam from now on.

It's a pretty full on year, but does help prepare them for Sixth form which is worse. My DD did 11 GCSEs, Grade 8 music exam, art twice at lunchtimes, five school clubs, one out of school club as well as making scholarship applications in the first term. There was the odd evening she didn't do much, but homework tended to be 1-3 hours a night and a good few hours at the weekend - she was always one for trying to cover everything properly so she was used to what she had to put down in the exam - sounds like your DD is the same.

I hated the thought of DD going all day without food, but she'd eat the rest of her lunch on return from school.

They do get through it and looking back I'd say Year 11 was the happiest and best year for her at the school. Teachers tended to relax a bit more about homework being submitted on time as sometimes it was really too much to get it in on time which helped.

She doesn't need to be worrying about Sixth Form choice at this stage, apply to the ones she's interested in and see how she feels nearer the time.