Current Year 10 2020/2021 support thread

DD looking forward to getting back to school next week (Welsh lockdown).

No predicted grades yet; I can’t remember whether there is a report at the end of term. She seems to be doing well though, or at least is enjoying it. Good marks in assessments; or at least in the ones she reports back on.

I was just about to ask what FFT is too...

DD gets her Grade Collection report following her assessments in the next 2 weeks. It will also include target and predicted grades. Is the target grade what is calculated from the SAT’s scores? DD also had very high SAT scores so I expect this to be ridiculously high! Pressure much??!

No real change at school now we are in lockdown other than the fact that they now have to wear masks everywhere other than the classroom. A few extra positive cases which puts the count to 9. Still not that much really.

What does FFT mean?

DD got her interim report (graded on behaviour, homework and effort) and also her FFT predictions. As she had very high SATs results, her FFTs are predictably high too...

@ButterMeALemon thanks for that info. I have been looking into this and am slightly panicked about our contribution as we are likely going to have to contribute a fair bit but even though on the surface it looks like we earn decently (we do, not breadline or anything) it will be hard for us as we are just at the threshold and if DS2 wants to go to uni we may have two DC away at the same time.

Back to school yesterday and nothing to report according to dS. Expecting some sort of report/comms in late November.

My ASD y9 also back in today but he apparently stood for an hour in rain no coat to avoid PE , he does that every year but normally shifts inside next time.

Both mine back today. DD did her morning run again and went to school late again, argh but good she's keeping so fit. Had another result through as a current 8 so doing very well on ones sat so far, 5 x9 with 6 to go. She's doing Senior Maths Challenge on Thursday but that seems a bit chaotic this year - some can do at home online and about half the postal ones are lost in post. I have 2 parcels lost in post for 2 weeks too, one contains Flopsy Bunny, poor Flopsy, hope she's OK Hoping school carries on as long as possible though not overly hopeful.

A week of online learning for DD here in Wales, then 5 weeks until Christmas which I dearly hope will all be in school. I have to WFH too, might drag her out for a walk at lunchtime.

DS, Year 7, back in today.

Back tomorrow here though for how long?

Just wanted to come onto here to say if you think there is a possibility that your child may go to university and your year 10 is your eldest, have a look at the finances involved.

The tuition fees are automatically paid to the university by Student Loans Company. However then they have to pay to live whilst at uni, so rent, food, books, socialising, travel etc.

This is funded through a means tested loan meaning that parents are expected to fund the difference. They cannot be forced though. There is a maximum loan students can take depending on the household income which can leave parents expected to pay the thousands more that the student needs.

To give a rough idea if you earn, as a household, less than £25k the maintenance loan your child can apply for is £8,944. This figure will now be made up of loan and parental contribution. So if your household income is £45k, the loan is £6,377 and parental contribution is £2,567. For anything above £62,212+ the loan is £4,168 and the parental contribution is £4,776. Per year. This is for unis outside London.

The cost of Warwick uni accommodation is anything from £3080 to £7920 and anything in between. No food, just rent. Most first years live on campus. Cheaper housing can be found off campus. The cost varies hugely by university but this was just making anyone aware who may not know the costs involved. It might give you time to save up.

MoneySavingExpert has all the details www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loan-parental-contribution-tool/guide/

Oh no Hello that's not good. We've escaped so far though think there's lots of test avoidance here.

Half term now here - only got pumpkin field planned (though also just got sale agreed on house so busy with that) and only DS will go. DD meeting up with friends twice.

Aaaaaand.....DD has to isolate. Someone in her year has had a positive test.

Gosh,no tests here and very little work marked at all that I can see. As for A levels I’m not sure ds really knows what GCSEs he’s doing! They only started this term though. H

Thanks Rollergirl DD was very sloth like for the first few months of lockdown then suddenly starting running for an hour each morning / every other morning and seems to have got into it. She used to go super early in lockdown and come across deer and squirrels but later now as it's not as light.

I suspect some people aren't getting checked for covid as they don't want school to close again. I'm very glad its open though hoping to avoid covid as well.

School have just said they are doing Duke of Edinburgh and DD wants to do it, not sure how they'll do some of it with covid but she said her running will count as part of it. One day to half term.

@KoalaRabbit hats off to your DD for going running in the mornings! DD is very much not a morning person. She can have full blown debates with you about why she needs to stay in bed longer and not actually remember the conversation when she has fully woken up. She is a definite night owl that’s for sure and I have to tell her to go to bed!

I also suspect that there are more cases at school but just nothing confirmed. Glad we’ve managed to make it to half term none the less.

We are still Tier 1 and only one official case so far so suspect the real number is higher and people aren't getting tested. DD said half the school are coughing.

We get grades added to GoForSchools as they come out though they wiped all hsitorical ones off. DD has 4 in so far and all predicted 9s. Nothing entered yet for other 7 subjects.

Got told today DD keeps turning up late for registration - she's so dippy in the mornings - she's in a world of her own - goes running for an hour then showers then talks to cat / tries to talk to me whilst seeming to forget she has to get to school. I always say to go to school but cat prefers to be cuddled.

Looking at the website from last year it looks like we aren't expecting any communication re: grades etc until mid/end of November.

Limping on towards half-term here, DD has 4 tests between now and the end of the week then a week off. The tesst are previous exam questions 16-markers in both languages, a 23-mark section in Biology etc and they've been told that they will have pretty much continuous assessment in case it's needed to support teacher assessed grades. I'm praying that by the time it gets to the exam cycle in 2022 this won't be necessary but still glad that school are putting it in place.
Then we have a week off although in Tier 3 so not much to actually do and our planned visit from SiL and her children has gone out of the window! She's a teacher and too far away to go for weekends (plus football takes priority anyway ) so holidays are the only time we see them.
Lots of cases within DD's school - half her year are out isolating as close contacts of positive cases, and worryingly we had an email last night to say that the current cases seem to be linked to a particular school bus - multiple children positive from different years and this journey is all they have in common. Anyone using that route has been asked to stay at home for the rest of the week.

Hi all, lots of assessments for DD the last 2 weeks and this week also. She’s been told it’s for predicted grades. She’s actually done excellent so far and had 9’s for Chemistry, Physics, History and Geography so far.
Half term next week. We are in a Tier 1 area but all her friends live in the next borough over which has moved up to Tier 2 so its looking like they can only meet up outside now.

The school has only had 3 positive Covid cases so far, one of them in the 6th form on another site and the other a member of staff in the Admin team so not in any contact with students. So luckily we have managed to survive this far without any year groups being sent home.

DS tells me that they haven’t been given any predicted grades yet. He seems to have spurts of activity but for the first time ever I have asked him to show me a list of homework as I think he has never been a slacker and won’t want to be perceived as such but it seems that he isn’t working to his full potential and he has lofty ambitions career wise where his GCSEs will matter.

No tests here.

DS is still isolating due to being in CC with a positive case in one of his classes in school. Due back in on Tuesday.

He has been keeping up with work set using the schools scheme of work, but it's not the same as being in school

Tests all over here until after HT. And we got the report with effort and attainment grades yesterday. DD a bit miffed with her art grades, since that’s very much her thing, but generally we are happy campers going into HT.

Two weeks off from tomorrow, three tests to revise for over the hols - Welsh, Physics and Biology.

No tests here whatsoever and surprisingly little homework. Normally has a lot more during this first half term.
My son also has no clue about what A-levels he wants to do so hoping that will become more obvious over the next year as I'm sure I knew when I was much younger.