Year 11 22/23 support thread.

Brilliant, thanks!

Thanks that's helpful!

I hope not. It caused more problems than it solved for teachers.
It would, however, be helpful to allow formula sheets etc.

Do we think there is a chance that the 2022/23 A Level/GCSE cohort will received advanced information on what will appear in exams - as done in the 2022 exams

@BumblingBy

It is a grammar, yes. The school day it’s best to get into a good routine right from the start of the year as it’s very difficult to do so at a later stage.

Tbh I think 3 hours is a reasonable expectation so you could consider asking your DD to do this to start with. DS is home at 3.30 so he’ll still have plenty of free time.

The school (and I) are a big believer that a bit of hard work doesn’t hurt and that a lot of DC (including my own) actually respond well to high expectations and standards.

They have a big focus on having a growth mindset and the importance of a strong work ethic over natural intelligence, and this is ingrained in the DC from year 7.

@LockAqua our school haven't made any suggestions yet so no idea what to say to DD. Is your DS's school a grammar? Ours is an academy, and they get good results but seem fairly hands off so I wonder if a lot of it is down to parents.

@BumblingBy

The recommendation from the school is 2.5-3 hours a night to include homework and revision.

I was quite happy to set 2.5 hours as the initial expectation but DH wanted the full 3 hours.

DS is aiming for top grades- however he isn’t self-motivated at all so DH and I felt it best to put some structure in place to ensure he reaches his potential.

@LockAqua is 3 hours a night what school recommends? I think my DD will struggle to concentrate if that is what she needs to do. Is DS aiming for top marks?
I was thinking an hour a night on top of set homework but I have a feeling that might not be enough then?

DS has now been told that the expectations from September are:
3 hours homework/revision Monday-Thursday evenings
3 hours homework/revision per day on Saturday/Sunday
Phone to be handed over during study time
All screen time will need to be earned by doing the expected amount of study and meeting target grades

Initially he wasn’t best pleased but eventually admitted that he will benefit from having structure to his revision.

Oh yes @Silkierabbit good point - we had a 6th form taster day in the first week of July too.

My DD just did GCSEs and would agree it was immediately after exams in June there were celebrations and a non-compulsory school thing, like a day to return books and a bbq. There is the prom in July (dates will vary by school), ours was first week but DD did not want to go so we could go away then. Other time to avoid is results day and after is results, enrolment. They also get some work to do pre A levels and some wait until after results if not sure where going. Quite a few get summer jobs so going at start works well and was nice to go outside main school holiday.

@marvellousindeed My DD has just done her GCSEs. Most things happened in June with the exception of prom which was the first week of July.

Can I join as well please? My son will be going into year 11 in September. He's very laid back about everything. Meanwhile, I'm stressing out at his lack of revision and attitude.

I've told him his Xbox will be going away for the foreseeable future. Starting in September!

Please may I join. Bright but hugely distracted DD heading into y11 next week

Can't believe our DCs are going into the GCSE year in a matter of weeks. Hope everyone has as smooth a journey as they can have.

Looking for advice from those who have gone through GCSEs before as I'd like to book our next summer holiday soon but don't want it to interfere with potential 'post GCSE parties/events/festivals etc etc'.

Those who have been through the GCSEs, when would be a 'safe' bet to go away (bearing in mind our school often finishes in the first week of July though DC does have friends whose schools finish 1-2 weeks after this)? With GCSEs finishing June, do most of the 'celebrations' (or parties) happen between then and the end of year in July or do things continue once schools are out?

And what sort of things might they want to do with their friends? E.g. know that some like to go to Reading Festival, others might want to go away with mums and a group of kids having finished GCSEs perhaps to a camp site or shared airbnb - any other things that tend to happen?

Finally, looking for a very dependable, fast B/W printer!

Thanks in advance.

I think when mocks are is school dependent and there were more than normal recently due to government insisting on contingency plans. Our next ones are in November.

My DD got her GCSE results today and did better than she thought. Now I need to try and spur DS on for next year...

My daughter has just finished Year 11 @Tallulahbel and we had about 3 sets of mocks last year - but I don't know if that was because they were still expected to have a covid contingency in place.

Does anyone know when mocks are next year?

I'm guessing at early December based on the posts on our school's FB page last year but we haven't actually had any communication about - anything really to be honest!

May have been mentioned to DS but it would have gone over his head, don't parents get first hand info from schools in yr10/11?

Wrote an essay, should have just posted this - sums my DS up perfectly 😂

Hi I'll join you two. Dd anxiety already increased and she said yesterday she wants to stop dancing as she needs to work. She loves dance! I forsee lots of anxiety for no good reason year 10 exams were good results.

I'll join. Ds needs a rocket up there to get him serious

This is exactly like my DS.

Due to his year 6 SATs he was put in the gifted and talented bracket at secondary and given target grades of 9 in Year 7.

I admit, I dropped the ball a bit as my youngest was having severe school issues due to undiagnosed adhd at the time so my focus was on him, my eldest DS's target grades were dropped each year pretty much, he's now target grade 6 or 7 for most subjects.

His most recent assessment grades were averaging at 5 or 6 and I don't know whether I need to worry yet or wait until the mocks to start panicking 😐

DS is autistic so it's hard to get his focus off his gaming and he just doesn't revise. He also kind of rushes through his work and does the bare minimum.

It quite often takes him 3 hours to complete an hours worth of homework just because he's upstairs in his room which is where his PC is, but bringing him downstairs to do his work seems a bit unfair (like I'm 'watching' him) and he doesn't react well to being watched.

He's got intervention in English for an hour after school starting in Sept but I'm surprised that so far, school haven't raised any concerns about him.