Starting Year 11-GCSE2021 (title edited by MNHQ)

No I know you didn’t. Just really frustrated. The school is planning on a school trip next summer for over 200 kids to France yet they the Y11’s can’t have their bloody prom when they have been all together all year anyway.

Oh I didn’t mean to sound glib @ihearttc it does seem rather premature doesn’t it? but I wonder if it was about getting back a deposit. Nightclub or barn it’s still lots of kids. Hopefully, you’ll be able to organise something nearer the time. But like you say it’s disappointing for the kids... it’s soooooo good to have something to look forward to, I totally understand.
Awww teen that’s really hard. One of mine had anxiety and school refusal for several months and it was heartbreaking. Is she seeing a therapist? Sending hugs!

@TeenPlusTwenties

Exactly, it was the one thing they were all focusing on to get them through this year and it’s now been snatched away before they have even started.

I think it is crazy to cancel prom now. Prom is one of the few things giving DD hope. School have booked it for a bit later than usual - second week of July I think rather than end June.

@NotDonna

It’s the school that organises their prom. Nothing is usually mentioned until at least after Christmas anyway so to even mention about cancelling it now is strange when we have no idea what’s happening next week, let alone in 11 months time. It’s not in a nightclub either, it’s in a sort of barn and is a huge thing in their school (it’s basically the only social thing they ever do while they are there) so to cancel it is huge for them.

I'm in a weird position of on the one hand being able to opt out from all this worry, and on the other being in despair about DD.

She is far to anxious to attend school or even access work. So all this talk about bubbles, tests etc is kind of irrelevant to me. However this simultaneously means her GCSEs have been blown out of the water...

Currently thinking that 4 GCSEs would be enough, and doable if we can get her accessing some work by Christmas.

I lurk on the coronavirus data thread and it’s not looking like it’ll be as bad this year, providing rules are adhered to.

That is disappointing ihearttc
The PTA organise that type of thing here, not the school and there’s been zero chatter about leavers parties. That’ll be a long way down the list. Maybe they had to cancel now to get the deposit back etc and can organise something nearer the time? Maybe smaller groups rather than 100s at a nightclub? To be honest no-one here, including the kids, is even thinking about proms. Albeit Leeds & Reading festivals are on the radar!

We have had a rubbish few days here. DS1 got told on Friday morning that they have cancelled their Leavers Prom for next August as they believe restrictions will still be in place by then and there is no point “getting their hopes up”. He is so upset and so are the rest of his year. He actually said that there is no point in anything because if they truly believe we will be in the same position this time next year, then clearly we won’t do our exams. How to completely demotivate an entire year group in the first 2 weeks of what is going to be an incredibly tough year?

It is going to be like Hokey Cokey though isn’t it?

Absolutely this!

A lot of pressure from the teachers since they went back and lots of testing. DS, by his own admission, didn't work as well with the online classes as he does in school.

I know titsywoo seems like a lot more pressure this year. Mine have hit September with so much work and constant tests. Then there’s added stress of just not knowing what may or may not happen. I’m trying to switch focus away from their studies a bit & onto keeping them sane; telling them regardless of grades it’ll be ok. They’re not the be all and end all. They’re both working too hard I think and not having much fun. When I suggest doing something I’m met with not, I have to do 6 homeworks and revise for 3 tests’. We didn’t go anywhere in summer and I now regret this.

Dd said to me today that she feels quite stressed. The mocks are coming up in Nov/December and she knows that if exams get cancelled her mock grade will really count but with all the coursework and homework there isn't really much time to revise. I am concerned about their stress levels this year. So much uncertainty and pressure.

Welcome greengreengrass
Yes, I think there’s been a lot of focus on academia despite chatter about mental health. My PE/games hating DD came home on Friday after having a Zumba session instead of hockey... she was bursting with happiness and lovely to see. It’d had obviously been a good laugh.

NotDonna, the hokey cokey thing made me laugh, yeah totally spot on...

got to laugh haven't you?

Hello there, hope I can join here for my DD, just turned 15 in August.
I've only just found this thread, or a kind person made me aware of it. Got a feeling with the next lockdown going to need it.

We are South West England.

DD doing Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Lit, English Language, Spanish, History, Maths and Drama.

I've been stressed around the school start and Covid so organising is a way of dealing with it, that and making lists.

English Inspector Calls, Macbeth and either Jekyll and Hyde or Christmas Carol.

At the moment I feel there is a balance between trad academic and right brain artsy things for her and the PE department has laid on activities which are good for stress management.

DD like many I'm sure on here had a tough time, with being an only child and not being able to see friends as often as she wanted to. Hope we will deal with the second wave better.

Keep us posted everyone, we need all the support we can get. Thanks for starting this thread.

It is going to be like Hokey Cokey though isn’t it? (To the tune of right leg in, right leg out...) sing... We have Yr8 in, we have Yr8 out, in, out, in, out. Deep clean all about. We do the Hokey Cokey and turn around. We have yr9 in, we have.....
Not sure what else we can do though.

According to DS there's about 8-10 pupils off in his year though i'm assuming no one can get a tested to confirm Covid. One of DS's friends almost certainly has it (sibling tested positive) but he's not been in school for a few days.

Am desperately hoping we mange to avoid it for at least another week as i have too much work to do.

Yes, there’s a lot of primary bubbles bursting and I think some families know that it’s going to be in & out and perhaps they can keep the older kids going in if the littlies are home. Not too sure about the fine situation though. That’s a tough decision!!

@NotDonna really? I thought I might be overreacting a bit. I have definitely got a better chance of supporting home learning for my primary son than my yr 10&11.

I might discuss it with the school. It would be different if it was realistic to get a test.

@ISBN111 I’ve heard a few people say that they’re keeping younger children home so older ones can go in.

We are now self isolating for 2 weeks. My younger son brought a cold and cough home from primary school, and we haven’t been able to get a conclusive swab off him.

I am considering home schooling him to avoid this scenario happening repeatedly. Performing the swab on a small child is challenging, and I don’t want to traumatise him by doing it repeatedly.

In the mean tome only revision materials are available for the kids online.

They are NOT happy.

We’ve just had our first confirmed case earlier this evening, but thankfully not in DS’s year group. They aren’t closing, as yet, to the full affected year group, just to those in close contact currently. It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds.

Apparently she did it last year but had forgotten all about it.
I’m not convinced there’ll be exams anyway given so many schools are already having covid outbreaks after only 1-2 weeks of being back.

When DD2 did hers it was incredibly low key. It was only because DD1 had done it 5 years previously that I was aware it was a vaguely important thing, (so we practiced as DD isn't good at speaking). I was only certain it had been the real thing when I asked at parents evening 9 months later.

Thanks teen I’m going to have to ask DD as I have no clue. I thought I had my finger on the pulse but....