Year 11 22/23 support thread.

The yr7 child is at different school.

Yep zero summer homework and only one piece so far. My yr7 child has been set more homework both in summer and 2 pieces already! It is worrying

Same here Hellocatshome. No homework set yet

DS school set zero homework over the summer holidays and he has now been at school 5 days and still no sign of any homework despite me querying this in year 10 and being told year 11 would be a huge jump up in the amount of work being set. My DS2s school have already set 6 pieces of homework for him and he's year 8. I honestly give up, seems like we are going tk have to get DS through his exams with no help from the school.

Three days back and DD already has a detention for not doing homework in one subject over the summer and has lost her travel card. Sigh.

Hi can I join you. I have a DD in yr11, it’s interesting reading the different expectations on here. Her school isn’t great their communication is really poor they even removed predicted grades off the school reports after covid! Many parents complained especially for Y10 kids.. She thinks she’s on track for good grades in the maths/science subjects but struggles with English. I was really frustrated as her English teacher on the 5min video parents eve call, just said “well she’ll pass” a G4 would be fine, if we weren’t being told G7+ in most of her other subjects and she tells me she hasn’t learnt much English since primary school! We’ve just found an English tutor to try to see if a 1:1 will help her.

@ShowOfHands my ds is doing further maths, we are working on the basis that he will sit it for now but it can be dropped as a bit of a release valve if he wants to later. It’s keeping him engaged with maths at the moment which is a good thing i think

We are just working on getting a balance. Lots of focus on sleep well, eat well, exercise but lots of down time too.

DD and her friends - luckily a lovely bunch - have decided to set up a weekly Dungeon and Dragons game after school. They're going to do it at each other's houses and it'll give them chance to relax and unwind. They also play Scrabble and Uno a lot and will be having some group study sessions. Again, arranged by them.

DD is prone to anxiety and has high predicted grades. I know it's worrying her but I have made an effort to never, ever mention actual numbers. I try and talk about learning and enjoyment rather than targets because I know that can be where her mind gets stuck.

Hello, joining in for any hints or tips for year 11 survival. DD has one result from last year which was really good and has given her confidence but her predicted grades and expectations are so high I am worried about managing her anxiety.. not sure on mocks yet but they did a subject practice paper they were told not to revise for which she duly didn't and didn't do as well as she liked which caused upset over summer.

I don't think there's an expectation to know about mocks just yet. I know the plans because I work at the school but official communications will go out once they're all settled in and back in the swing. The admin involved means the planning will have started last term and the school will be prepping in myriad ways. In fact, we're already making plans for the actual exams next year. That all started in July too.

I only teach part time so am an exams assistant and do invigilation around my usual work. It's a huge endeavour getting mocks arranged.

I'll order some today I think then.

Surprised people have been hearing about mocks; I literally haven't heard a thing and there's no information on the school website...

We bought revision guides in summer 2021. School sells them prior to y10 and at significantly reduced cost to buying in shops.

DD has been using them in tandem with course materials to revise as she goes.

DD has already done mocks before the holidays and has official mocks coming up from October. Results were good. At or above where she should be for most subjects, including a good handful of 9s. The challenge now is keeping momentum going. The school thought it would allow some experience of exam procedure and help identify gaps before y11. It was very well managed by school and staff (I work there too) and has actually removed some of the anxiety around this year.

DD had a diagnosis earlier this year of a genetic condition (we already knew tbh, Covid simply got in the way of diagnosis) and she is dealing with monthly OT and physio, biomechanics and trying desperately to get to grips with using a laptop for writing heavy subjects like History, English and RS. She has lots of problems with her fingers and wrists and the weakness and pain have intensified over year 10, meaning she can't write as much as she would like. A double RS lesson for example, usually results in 5-7 pages of writing/essays and it's meant she can barely hold cutlery each evening. She hates using the laptop. She's queen of highlighters and post its. She has a really good system of recording and revising and the laptop is too clinical but she needs to master using it.

Anybody dealing with whether or not their DC does further maths GCSE? Our school offers it to all students predicted 7 or above but it's optional. DD doesn't necessarily enjoy the subject and won't do it at A Level but is wondering if it looks good on a CV? It's taught as part of normal lessons but on top of Higher Maths and GCSE Statistics (also taught in lesson time), is it too much? It's an extra 2 exams so around 25ish I think in total.

DD is so glad to be back at school and getting on with it. She doesn't like the anticipation.

Slightly mad here with school already. Missed the meeting on mental health and supporting the kids, couldn't be helped I have covid. BUT just looked at the mock exam timetable 3 sets each one directly after October, Christmas and Feb half terms. HOW EXACTLY IS THAT LOOKIG AFTER MH! Dd is beside herself that they have been told they must study in the holiday before exams. She's an academic people pleaser ,so effectively no breaks for the entire academic year. Email going to school shortly re failing in there duty of care to consider students MH.

Nothing on parentpay, nor any mention of revision guides.

Might just order from amazon.

My school have them to buy on parent pay - I would assume budgets probably don't stretch to revision guides at the moment.

There is no way DS could do 2.5 hours a night!

It depends on the school there is no blanket way of doing it

Hi, first week seems to be going OK, DS seems happy enough and as been doing some revision every night, which is good.

Does anyone know whether I should be buying the revision guides or do the school give them out at some point? My DS isn't sure and I never had a reply to the email I sent to school last term....

DS first day today. He is happy that his new maths teacher has said he will be doing foundation paper rather than higher. Now just have to wait to see what the crack is with English tomorrow. He is not going to be doing any great things in his GCSEs but we need him to pass maths and English to get his apprenticeship he has been promised.

Going ok. Couple of new teachers.

She has an extra period 2 days a week in Y11 and she was hoping that it would be science as thats her weakest area however they are using the time to give extra lessons on their options.

She said she didn't need this as she was predicted 8's anyway (and a 9 for one) I did suggest it may get her to 9's in the rest!

How’s the first week back going for everyone? DD just went back today. First lesson was Chemistry - her nemesis 😬.

This morning’s first day back photo was the last time both DCs will be at the same school together.

Hiya can I join you? My ds is one of the eldest in his year(sep 06) he has a lot of pressure from teachers as he's top set for stuff and they are already saying they see him going to Oxbridge.

This is an ordinary state C of E academy-my daughter has just done her a levels and is off to uni so he won't get any support from her.

I'm not bragging about him-I'm worried that he will crack under the pressure.

I’ll be relieved when Y11 is over for DS.

As I posted earlier, his MH has been severely tested and that for me will be the biggest hurdle. If he can get through these final months and be in a much happier place, that’s our main focus.

He thankfully has a great new school who have allowed an option drop, so I’m hoping those free periods will help.

Thank you very much @Silkierabbit - we are away until next Saturday. That’s an awful lot you have on your plate there .

I can see that DD is getting a bit anxious about the beginning of Year 11. Am finding it a tricky balance between wanting her to do her best/fulfil her potential but also protect her mental health. She was not in a good place emotionally just before the pandemic and I really don’t want her to go back to that state. Feels a bit like walking a tightrope at times.