Year 10 - 2023/2024 Support Thread

We got a mini report for DD2 - it's a new school so had no idea what to expect. No GCSE grades - just the old letters. Utterly surprised to get anything, but delighted to see that the move from her old school hasn't left her floundering in the new one.

Science tests after half term apparently. Not a lot of revision going on...

I haven't had a report yet. His tutor said she will give me an email with all his grades from his recent assessments 2 weeks ago. Maybe when we get back after 1/2 term. Then I'll sit him down and look at whether it's a 6/7/8 equivalent and tell him what I'm not happy with.

Ds is very relieved to be on half term - but no so happy about having to revise! They have exams starting middle of November. We had a mini report/ assessments, it was GCSE grades based on the work they have done so far this term, but no baseline grades, and no predicted grades so I’m not sure how helpful it is 🤔

Ds is looking forward to his termly report. We will get one sometime this term, nearer Christmas i should think. Previous reports have had predicted gcse grades based on year 7 tests, it used to be based on SATS but as they didn't take them they've had to do it differently. Apparently the next report will have predicted grades based on the work they are doing now and what teachers actually expect them to achieve. I don't think the grades will be much different. But Ds thinks otherwise.

We also got a mini report where they are scored between 1 and 4 for three areas. Not hugely informative but after just 6 weeks with new teachers it’s fair enough.

We had a mini report before half term that I wasn’t expecting.
All ok marks apart from PE and RS so he needs to work on those but a good start.

This first half term has flown by. Obviously I wouldn't say anything to DD but the other day I thought "Oh crap, that's one less half term until the GCSE'S"

Those of yours doing Art, any exhibitions in London over half-term you would recommend?

@DataColour 🤦‍♀️ I guess they get used to it and don't notice that it's a problem. Like me when I started off not seeing stuff up close, I just moved it further away, but after a while my arm was no longer long enough 🤣 Ds did have his eyes tested a few years ago with his brothers. So it is more recent at least. We were watching tv last week and there was writing on the bottom of the screen, I asked if Ds could read it, he could, so he's not too bad. He has to go back in 6 months to see if it is worse or unchanged. We were given a leaflet about myopia management, saying if his eyes are worse in 6 months he may need special lenses. But at the moment he only needs them for tv and distant stuff. He will need them for driving when he gets to that age too.

I remember being mortified when DD's teacher approached me in year 4 saying that DD needs her eyes testing and hadn't I noticed. Well, I hadn't! Turns out she had taken to walking to the front of the class to see the board! I assumed she was a late developer in primary school and also an Aug born, she was kind of average academically and after she got new glasses she was suddenly top of the class! I felt SO bad, but she never told me she was having problems! @icanbewhatiwant hope your DS gets on well with the glasses at school. My DS needs glasses for seeing the board too, but doesn't like wearing it out of class and is constantly taking it off and on and he's already lost it once and I was not happy! Luckily, they have him a free replacement pair as his prescription changed slightly.

Ds asked me a few months ago for an eye test. I didn't think much of it to start with as none of us have needed glasses (until dh and I hit mid 40's) Then ds asked again so I booked one. We had the test recently and he does indeed need glasses for distant stuff. So now I feel bad dismissing it. But he said he has been able to see the work on screen across the classroom but had noticed it wasn't clear. So Ds is the opposite to dh and I. We need them to read, Ds is fine for reading.

DD says she has had an end-of-unit test on music and I know she has a maths test, but because she's so far away I don't really have any handle on what she's doing. There must be more tests but I don't know when and can't check she is revising.

Ds seems to have so many tests at the moment. He had English and maths tests yesterday. Chemistry weds. Geography today. It is endless. Only one more week and they are off for a week. Half term feels earlier this year.

@DataColour yes. I think bc it’s 3 sports it’s quite time consuming. Unfortunately one of DDs sports isn’t accepted (so does 4) but it’s a fave so she’s very reluctant to stop it. The teacher would be annoyed too and given she teaches two of her other sports it would create an issue. At least according to DD. I’m going to see how things go and review at Xmas. Her sport was cancelled tonight so she was early home and said she’d crack on with some homework - I’ve just popped into her room & she’s tidying the chaos. So this 10 hours a week will definitely take her longer 🙄🙄 🤣

DS has had a few assessments recently too, Maths, Biology and then English tomorrow I think and a Music practical assessment next week. Not as many as I thought and they haven't announced anymore. Homework is very manageable too, just a few pieces a week and that's more than what they had in year 9. They don't work him hard enough...haha! He was very happy this week as he got full marks in his Maths assessment, just him and another child in his class, so he was over the moon.
@NotDonna DS is also doing PE GCSE and yes it is a lot of extra curricular sport and the pressure to keep up with it so that it benefits them for GCSE. DS is not doing anything in addition, as he was already doing these clubs but he can't give up on them now as he needs to keep going for his GCSEs! Plus school work!
@Oblomov23 My DS got into trouble in year 9 as he was part of a group of boys who were misbehaving and although DS wasn't directly responsible, he didn't walk away/get himself out of the situation so found to be guilty by association. Things have been fine for awhile now so I'm hoping he has learnt a lesson.

Hi all, joining as I have a son in year 10 (and a daughter in year 11 so extra stress 😬), my son is academic enough to get decent results but not very motivated, or under estimates what needs to be done and also under estimates his own ability.

He's also doing an art GCSE which seems to take a lot of time and is possibly a less useful subject but he's creative and very good at drawing so it's good he's doing something he likes.

@lifeturnsonadime interesting to hear your thoughts on school attendance, my youngest currently in year 5 doesn't want to go to school every morning but seems happy enough when he comes out and says his day was okay. @SuperSue77 I'm also in that FB group and agree they are very quick to suggest de-registering your child and telling you you're emotionally damaging them if you don't, I feel it can actually be a bit harmful in that way.
My own sister had problems with school attendance, this was before they chased, blamed and fined parents so she didn't go to school much although still got good GCSE results, she says in her case she just needed a bit more resilience and maturity and not going did more harm to her self-esteem as she allowed herself to feel she couldn't cope. It's not a one-size-fits-all thing.

Assessments galore for my DD too. Really difficult to revise when they’re given so much homework - 10/11 hours per week. Which is a lot if you do after school sports 4 evenings a week and all day Saturday (which she needs to for GCSE PE). I’m finding it hard to help find enough hours in the day. She’s now regretting choosing PE as she’s having no ‘down’ time.

although he’s not guilty, @Oblomov23, you reading the riot act won’t have done him too much harm. They need to know it won’t be tolerated and he definitely knows that now 🤣🤣

I agree re those struggling with year 7/8+ sometimes flourish at A'levels. In fact that happened to ds1, he wasn't an easy child at all, god he bought me to my knees, but flourished in year 12&13.

Ds2 is fine with school, but kind of thinks it's pointless. I mean most of us don't use trig/nucleus of a cell, on a day-2-day basis do we?

Ds2 has assessment week this week. Very little revision seems to have been done. I've warned him, if grades aren't ok there'll be phone/Xbox/football removal punishments.

He's getting an attitude and been rude to Dh.

Worse still 2 of his friendship group of 4 (ie all 4 of them accused, including him) were accused of bullying a year 7. Turned out 2 boys had. I was horrified. He was not involved at all, but I had firm discussions with HoY to only finally establish that he wasn't even there! And Dh and I had very harsh words indeed to him re how totally inappropriate it was for a year 10 boy to say anything to a year 7 starter. I was not happy.

Though I stayed in my school sixth form, it really didn't feel anything like the first few years at school - was educated in a middle school system so we started at 13 in the "third year" but with no first and second years - what is now called year 9. Teaching was better, everyone was friendlier and for breaks there was a big common room where everyone was able to hang out in large groups, though apparently some people were off to eat toast at someone's house near school, to smoke or whatever....

Absolutely agree @lifeturnsonadime - I have one in Sixth Form. Friends of hers who had really struggled in years 10 and 11 are thriving even though it is the same school. They are enjoying the better behaviour in A level classes and the more relaxed attitude towards them from the teachers. It is great to see as for some of them getting through year 11 was a real struggle.

I used to be one of those people who could never see why people didn't just 'make' their children go to school. I understand now having seen what some of DD1's friends have gone through - it has been awful to watch. School just doesn't work for everyone!

It's interesting. I have a couple of friends with dc who struggled massively from years 8-11 - school refusal, EHCPs, ASD diagnoses etc but in both cases the DCs have really found themselves and flourished when they've got to sixth form level.

I think A Levels are less of a challenge because they suit special interests more, there is no being forced to do 'irrelevant things'.

The behaviour tends to be better too, so there is less unpredictable behaviour in others to contend with which is much better for ND kids.

@NotDonna sorry your daughter is struggling too, I hope she continues to go in willingly