Year 9 - 2022/2023 Support Thread

Thanks QueenMabby for new Yr10 thread. I have posted on new thread.

All dd2’s friends from the school she has just left have got timetables and are stressing about which teachers etc- which I think is making her feel left out as she’s moving on. Still we are on hols which is helping.

she has her ‘house allocation’ (not slytherin) and I have emails for her house mistress and her matron, which is good as we have dull practical questions about boarding like ‘can she take an oodie instead of a dressing gown’ and ‘what about alarm clocks if phone was taken away’?

Assume she got her options but won’t see timetable til early sept before a new pupils day which is quite the opposite of what we are used to- it seems to involve both lunch and tea with staff as well as a tour. She’s been taking herself to school since year 6 so this is all new to us!

She was very happy to be able to hand over her ABRSM mark sheet with a distinction on it for grade 8- I know that will help her confidence as she goes, but it really is beginning to seem a bit real!

I’d love to join as DS will be starting Y10 in September. He had taken history,Spanish and PE as his choices and they have to do RS as well as the usual others.
He said that he would have to make more of an effort next year and not leave everything till the night before-we shall see!

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer break. Managed to get a glimpse of DD's timetable for next year by logging on to their parent portal. She did get her chosen options, I had assumed this was the case and they would have told us if she hadn't but it's good to see it confirmed. School continue to be bad at communication, we had a report with her end of year exam results but no report with written comments all year!

She has also discovered she has a little bit of homework to do over the summer which she wasn't impressed by, I suspect it will be left until the last week of the holidays! She is ignoring it at the moment and just enjoying meeting up with friends and chilling out at home.

She will also have a new form teacher next year as the one she had is going off on maternity leave. She is really hoping next year will be better, year 9 was not great for her, at least she will get to do lots and lots and lots of art!

Oh @elkiedee I’ve almost joined that thread too! Easily done. Welcome!

Hi, I just joined a thread that was for year 10 just finished parents - I only read the first few posts and then the last few were quite recent so it was only after I posted that I realised.

DS1 has just done GCSEs so is 2 years above DS2. They seem to have changed slightly how options are approached, which I was a bit confused by initially, but I can see arguments for it. DS1's year were offered 1 of 4 pathways with 1 being offered triple science and 3 options, while DS2's options form set out triple science/an extra GCSE in that subject as 1 of 4 options. I was surprised by DS2 choosing Combined Science as I think he would have been able to do Triple, but it does give him more choice and flexibility at this point.

@QueenMabby - ha! I think it's easier to teach a music class that doesn't have DD in it!

@minisnowballs oh wow, I wonder what's up with the music department in the current school. Good that she is going to a new school! Has she had her music exam yet?

Our school let's the kids choose triple or combined science. If triple science or indeed any other subject is oversubscribed, then they look at the mid-year test results to decide. Only a very few year 9's won't get all their preferred choices. DS is not that into science, but he's generally bright and top set in maths, plus he's not keen on most other subjects, so went for triple science because he'd rather do that than do history for example. I hope he's made the right choice. I'm a chemistry graduate and DH is a secondary/sixth form science teacher, so DS can get help from us I guess.

@NotDonna thanks for the tips, sounds great, will definitely plan a trip to Kensington Palace.

They've changed the rules at DDs' school between the Year 11 (who did triple) and the Year 9. Now the top set covers all the combined stuff in two years and then they choose at the end of year 10 whether to continue with triple or revise combined for a year.

The latter sounds dull, but given the scramble DD1 had with Triple in the same time everyone else was doing combined I can see why they're doing this. There is no extra option slot if you don't choose triple.

DD2 would have gone for combined anyway I think, as she doesn't love science.

In new school musicians have a separate combined science set, I think, which goes faster or uses fewer lessons but only does combined, so that they have more time to practise. But I'm not really sure how that will work in reality.

Oh and she's feeling very grateful that she's going as the entire music department of her current school has just resigned. Again. They've only been there a year. Likelihood of that twilight GCSE still running slim to none I reckon.

That sounds very encouraging @Oblomov23

Yes, their 6th form is superb.

I am writing to confirm that your child will be in a group that will work towards the Combined Science qualification. This will give them the best chance of achieving a high grade in the GCSE exams and therefore making it more likely that they will meet the entry criteria should they wish to continue Science to A-level. This is because there will be less pressure to cover additional content required by Triple Science and therefore more time to master the material that they do learn. We will continue to review this decision throughout Year 10 to make sure that this remains the most suitable course for each student. If a student is making exceptional progress in Combined Science, we may in rare circumstances look to move them onto the triple course.

So, I guess combined science is ok for A'level. Ds1 dropped from triple down to combined, plus he was never that science'y. But ds2 is sporty so will need A'level Biology for anything sporty - whatever that is.

It was good @DataColour there's plenty of tickets and if you’re feeling spendy ‘The Pavilion’ in the gardens is nice for brunch or lunch. Lots of the Met Gala outfits. Didn’t take as long as expected - 1.5/2hrs. The Ashes will be great and I’m sure school won’t mind half a day.
Do school offer A levels @Oblomov23 if so what do they say about combined science and the prep for A level?

It's end of year for us tomorrow too. Although...........DS is going to pull a sickie and going with DH and DH's brother to watch the Ashes! I asked DH to ask the school's permission to go, but it's only a half day and DH is teacher too (not at the same school and he's already finished) and thinks it's fine, so leaving them to it 🙄They have tickets for the weekend too, but it looks like the weather will make it a washout for the weekend, so I guess its okish! Plus, DS plays cricket for a club so he's really into it. So today's his last day in year 9.
We still haven't got his timetable for year 10, don't know whether his options have been accepted, feel a bit in the dark about it all. I guess his options are ok, otherwise he'd have asked to choose alternatives.

@Oblomov23 that sounds great! What an experience.

@NotDonna that exhibition sounds good. I'm in London this weekend with DD who's just finished year 8, so might consider that. They aren't always interested in the exhibitions I drag them to, but this one sounds good as DD is also interested in history.

Hope everyone's DC has a good end of term!

@NotDonna

I've just sent Not Donna a private message.

Remember her? God, I'll never forgot her! She was so lovely to me, discussing her eldest dd, And then my ds1 finally got his PwC place. And then I saw her on the year 9 thread! Her youngest and my youngest the same age!

Well, my ds2 got his timetable for yr 10 today. It looks ok. He dislikes his Geography teacher who is also HoY and even I find him a jobsworth - I think he's petty because he's trying to get promoted to senior leadership? , so box ticking, including detentions (for a child who has never had them before) which seem to be for incredibly petty reasons.

He's only allowed to do combined science. Which is a worry because he's sporty so needs Biology A'level to go into anything sporty.

End of term tomorrow thank goodness.

Ah @Oblomov23 that sounds great. What a fab way to end the school year. How’s DS1 doing? Enjoying his uni course? Not sure if you remember but we exchanged messages last year re accountancy apprenticeships etc. Camp America will be amazing. DD1 is flitting back and forth a bit atm which is lovely for us all but especially for DD3 (my yr9).
DD3 has been given some work over the holidays- some booklets to complete for the sciences and a thicker one for maths plus ‘An Inspector Calls’ to read. I overheard her being delighted with a friend that ‘it’s really thin’. She’s not an avid reader unfortunately. 🤣 The only subject she’s remotely interested in is history.
Im taking her to Kensington Palace today to see the ‘Crown to Couture’ exhibition. We’ve never done a London museum/gallery/exhibition before but this one sounds right up her street with a combo of fashion and history.

Got Ds2 Report card. It was good. He's got 2 weeks left.

Last night took ds2 to his first ever concert - the Weeknd. (Did have a 3rd ticket for ds1 but sold it once he found out he'd got his post 1st year Uni, Camp America place). It was spectacular. Ds2 knows all the lyrics to most of / many of his songs, as do I. He played 33 songs. The crowd sang every word. (Not dissimilar to that touching clip of Glastonbury Lewis Capaldi), which is surely just the ultimate compliment to the artist? Ds2 is now spoilt re future events, I tried to explain that not all have that much showmanship.

When DD was a lot younger, her maths teacher once handed back test papers and said to her “you can do a little scream in your head, well done!” after she did particularly well. I thought that was lovely 😊

Lovely comment on MiniMabby’s report there @QueenMabby , it’s always lovely if you think they ‘get’ your child. And also if they ‘get’ them positively 😂!