Poor year 11’s seem to have been just forgotten about

So have the year 9s OP!

I completely disagree with year 11s getting automatic acceptance into Sixth Form and College courses, I know of at least two year 11s who will now be going into sixth form who were very unlikely to get the grades if they'd taken exams, class sizes will be larger and they're going to struggle with the work, it won't be good for their wellbeing in the long run.

I know the kids were initially disappointed, feeling their efforts had been wasted. But I think most of them have moved on now and can see the positives. And as Marching says, their grades will demonstrate their abilities in just the same way that they would have done. It's just based on more evidence, which actually seems fairer to me.

My dd isn't in the camp of proper grafters who've given 100% all the way through, so there's a possibility she won't do quite as well as she hoped. But that seems perfectly fair to me. While some of her friends had already been revising for months, she hadn't started at the beginning of lockdown. I would hope that that additional work her friends did would be rewarded!

Anyway, we need to help them gain perspective if they're still dwelling on it. GCSEs are really not that important - no exams are really! This might be a helpful life lesson to all of them. I certainly knew people my age who spent too much time on academic work to the detriment of other things, thinking they were all important. I can still see the impact in their lives today. And academic success doesn't really correlate with work or life success.

The transition to sixth form is a worry in these circumstances - I can see your concerns @Punxsutawney. Dd decided to leave her school and as it's independent we've given notice and lost her bursary. She's now worried that was the wrong decision, but we'll just have to help her adjust.

Oh MarchingFrogs

but for many kids they will never have had the chance to showcase their learning

But they will; if their learning has been demonstrated consistently through their GCSE course, then there will be no issue with their teachers putting forward bigh grades for their actual award.

Unless they have been keeping their light firmly hidden under a bushel for the entire 2/3 years (because only the real thing matters, not homework or internal exams) and their 'showcasing' was always going to be a matter of, 'I'll show them' in the exams?

Punx, that would have been DD’s experience, had she stayed at her original comp after year 7. In the space of that year, she changed from a happy, reasonably confident pupil to a miserable wreck. Her SEN wasn’t dealt with at all, and in fact she was punished for it.

I’m so sorry you’re finding both schools unforthcoming. Could you contact the SEN team at the new school and ask for transition help, eg to be included in bridging work or at least in contact of some sort with his new teachers?

They have been forgotten now but what else can they do? There would be zero point asking them to return to school when their course has now finished and some kids aren’t returning to school at all as they are going to college / apprenticeships etc. I think for secondary school’s the priority is to get year 10 and 12 back ASAP.

For the poster who said year 11’s have got off relatively easily and now don’t have the stress of exams - if you’d have seen the crushed faces on some of our children who had been worked for years towards those exams and then they were just cancelled just like that. That’s going to have more impact that you can imagine. Yes I feel for year 10’s and year 12’s too but for many kids they will never have had the chance to showcase their learning and that’s definitely not a positive for my son. When they get their results in August it’s really not going to feel the sale for them. I wish all year 10’s well and I’m sure the grade boundaries will reflect the fact they’ve lost such a large chunk of learning.

Also they do sound fantastic, the pastoral care at Ds's present school is pretty much non existent. His school experiences have caused so many issues for him including significant mental health problems. I'm a little disappointed too that the prospective school have made no contact as I know from friends they have been supporting their internal students to make the transition.

The thought of sending him back to his present school makes me feel quite sick. I would love him to go somewhere that he will be welcome and part of the school community. I'm not sure though that will be the case with prospective school as it seems external students have not been considered at all in their communications.

Punx, DS is already at the school and the pastoral care is fantastic, which is partly.why DD is moving. She has SEN (ADHD) and they are already going the extra mile for her ( it's an independent school, and we're not actually paying fees yet, which tells you everything about their ethos).

On my school the Y11s are already nearly four weeks in to A level studies so they are seeing it as a huge positive to go ahead with that. Not all will stay at this school but will still obviously be hugely beneficial. The school had also invited in people who have applied to 6th form form elsewhere so a very positive vibe. (Obviously all delivered via Zoom, but still very effective.

Sorry my last comment was to Also. The school sounds great!

crazy I don't know whether Ds would engage in his home environment. He is very much, school is school and home is home and they don't mix. He definitely feels that home is his safe space away from school anxiety and pressure. We had been having a pretty difficult time trying to get him to engage with any study or revision before the exams were cancelled. His school had not been supportive either so things were becoming increasingly stressful and difficult. He is on SEN support but does not have an EHCP.

He made one external application to a smaller more supportive sixth form but Ds is unsure. He hates change and I do worry that if I can persuade him back to education then he will go back to the school he is familiar with. Even though he is unhappy there and they have not been supportive enough. He has had no contact from the prospective sixth form so it's difficult to try and encourage him to think about going there.

This whole situation is just so hard for all year groups and their families. Although being a parent of a child with SEN I'm used to anxiety and uncertainty around school. That's been our normal life for a very long time!

Marching that sounds like the school are making a big effort. Very welcoming!

Marching, we’ve been incredibly fortunate in that DD’s new school has gone to great lengths to include her in the A level bridging work they’re running, so that she “feels part of the family”.
This has included a teams video call from the head of 6th form and the deputy head of academics, and a teams video assembly where the head welcomed the new external pupils by name.
DD’s current school is also offering bridging work, but the sessions clash so she’s had to bow out now.

@punxsutawney could you afford online school for sixth form? I've looked into it for ds who's in year 9 and ADHD, so struggles with school - though not due to anxiety.

crazy we are only encouraging a little each day for Ds as he struggles massively with motivation especially for learning. He wasn't doing much revision at all before the gcses got cancelled but that was more because of his autism than being just lazy. His obsession is his computer so the small amount of learning each day gets him off that as well!

I do agree about the pressure of exams though. Ds has poor mental health and had an awful year 11 including his autism diagnosis at the start of the academic year. Dh and I had already told the school as far as we were concerned his mental health was far more important than his exam grades. He wants to stay in lockdown though and has school anxiety so I have genuine concerns about ever getting him back to full time education.

@Punxsutawney dd is doing nothing at all at the moment, except watching Andrew Marr's History of Britain very reluctantly with me! I'm fairly sure their brains won't deteriorate too much by September! She also has work set by current school but as she's not staying she doesn't see the point.

I think it's a good opportunity for them to do other stuff - whatever that may be. For dd, more music, decorating her room (and lots of TV!).

This experience has illustrated to me how ridiculous the current (pre Covid) education system is. Dd was out every day from 7.45 til 5 (ok, a longer day than some) and then spent most of the evening doing homework or revision. Even weekends taken up.... Why are we pushing 15-16 year olds so hard? Most adults don't work those sort of hours?!

Previously we'd have asked if she wanted to watch an episode of something in the evening or play Mario Kart on the Wii and she'd have said she didn't have time. Now she's so relaxed, we have our evenings back. I'm dreading her going back to the treadmill in September!

@Magic2020 the grades are not guessed at. They are probably more accurate as to what they are capable of than normal GCSEs as there’s no going blank due to exam pressure!

Marching we have heard nothing from Ds's prospective sixth form. They take only a handful of external pupils though so I guess it's probably not a priority to send work out. Ds wasn't impressed with what his current school sent so at the moment he's doing a very small bit of A Level maths that we have found online. He finds studying at home incredibly hard so we are hoping that even 45mins a day will keep his brain slightly active and help with what will be a difficult transition for him in September.

My niece is in Year 11 and her school have started teaching their A-Levels early. Seems like a good idea to me.

Has someone checked that the planned new entrants' schools are also offering teaching (on the same topics) for their own current year 11s, or is it a school which doesn't have many new joiners at year 12, so it won't be a major issue to 'catch them up' if they haven't covered the same (or any) material when they arrive in September?

I feel for them too, they've had the prospect of September resits dangled in front of them and been told to keep GCSE subjects ticking over just in case but it has all gone quiet about that now. Can't do 6th form / college transition properly. Many will have had holidays of a lifetime or other big celebrations for after the exams cancelled. Unlikely to find part time work over the summer as all the usual places, cafes, shops, fast food outlets are going to be restricted. No proper exam experience (although mine did a couple of BTEC exams in Feb and is very grateful for that now). Then the things that apply to other years too such as no sports or group hobbies, can't see their friends (well, one at a time now). But if like us yours goes to a school with a huge rural catchment those friends are miles away. Even in September school / college are unlikely to be anything like they expected with social distancing measures.

spfp Ds's headteacher said in a newsletter they are are now internally moderating the results that the teachers intend to submit. Ds last did any gcse work on the 18th March. He has done none at all in lockdown.

I think you may be right about justification of fees.

Unfortunately I agree the have been forgotten about.
My Child has no idea what school they will be attending in Sep and other schools are not being very forthcoming about their 6th forms which they applied to.
It’s all very well saying about resits but that doesn’t help when they don’t know where they will be.

I do think they should give GCSE and A Level results earlier then the ‘normal’ time to help these poor children.

My year 11 is still doing practice papers (one a week in ten subjects) for 'evidence' for GCES grades. Still has to sign into school every morning and has zoom lessons and discussions thrownin as well. Due to start A level prep in the next couple of week s and we haven't been told how much longer this will go on for - 'til the exams were due to start or. until the end of term... At a small independent school so is it fees justification???

Some schools are doing stuff for Yr 11 and 13. I don't know if it's just private schools, but they seem to be offering introduction to A Level remote teaching with live lessons and work and something similar for Yr13 with introduction to uni style learning. They seem to be getting several hours a day and live tutorials. Perhaps they are trying to justify their fees!

It's true though that Yr11 will have never done external exams until they sit A Levels. I guess the end of year and mock exams will be especially important for them.

They've all lost out indifferent ways.

I understand

Youngest DS was due to sit his GCSEs as well and no Prom (not that he is the type to go but still), leavers hoodie , everything they look forward too
He does have a place in College though so hopefully he, and the others, will get to start in September.

I feel sad for him though .