Year 11 2023-24

Yes! This is my worry. He’s been doing higher for ages and been in this set for years. I worry about him forgetting the basics and his brilliant at algebra. His tutor finds his profile bizarre: harder questions (6 ish) are easier than maths basics but he’s still struggling to get a solid 4 now in the higher

The perceived wisdom is that it is easier to guarantee the pass on the Foundation.

Higher jumps straight into grade 3 problems which can still be tricky, so a less confident student can get put off straight away and end up not doing even the questions they can do and thus failing.
On the other hand if your DS has some grade 6+ topics they are confident on, then they won't be there on the Foundation paper.

Foundation starts with much easier questions which give a good run in to the harder ones. However if accuracy or stamina is an issue then this could be problematic as they have to get much higher marks to pass, and the grade 4/5 questions don't appear until the end of the paper when they may be more tired.

Also if teaching has been aimed towards Higher then they may have 'forgotten' some easier topics so they will need to be checked. However there are a whole bunch of topics you can throw away and not bother to revise at all if dropping to Foundation.

If I tag @noblegiraffe she may give some more insight.

Does anyone have insight into maths tiers. DS wants to move to foundation level to secure a 5 more easily. He’s really struggling on the higher. His teacher keeps saying that if you are aiming for a 5 you’ll get that on either paper but his tutor disagrees. 🙈

Mocks today and T2 wrote for 20 mins then fell asleep 🙄🙄

Really worried about the real things tbh!

School on a Saturday 10-3???

Wow @CactusPeach thats impressive that they are helping with with that much study. Non on at DS school at mo wondering if they are waiting for the results 2wks Friday!

@mylittleprince It's good in terms of the amount of guided revision / tuition and I think the more she can do there with them the better as it's a lot easier than revising on your own, it's just intense.

Our state school has revision sessions at 8am 3 days a week. English, Maths and Science.
There is a MFL drop in until 4:30 on Wednesday.
They finish at 3:15, 2:15 on a Tuesday.

@CactusPeach is that not a good thing? My dc go to private schools and they finish lessons at 4.30 every day.

Feeling sorry for my daughter her currant schedule has an extra hour of a different subject every week day after school so she's not finishing until 4.15pm Mon and Tues, 5pm Weds and Thurs and 2.55pm Friday (early finish for whole school) plus Saturday
tuition in different subject every week 10am-3pm. It seems so full on. This is a state school.
Is anyone's else's school like this?

Agree with the comments about art, it is very time consuming. DD2 loves it so sees that as her relaxing time and constantly has a paintbrush or pencil in her hands, to her it isn't work.
She has a second week of mocks next week but has been far calmer than her older sister was about it all. We paid for CBT counselling for DD1 she was so stressed. DD2 is more academic than DD1 and I'm hoping she'll remain calm. She wasn't happy with her maths exam but her maths tutor will go through it when she gets the paper back and I'm not worried about the grade. She is though, she wants to get a grade higher than school have predicted to prove her teacher wrong. 😀Solidarity to all going through this with their DC.

Bit late, but keen to join please!

I have identical twin girls.

One is quite academic, revising all the time and wants to do 4 A levels at a private 6th form college. Needs 6x6's. Needs to work hard but should be ok.

The other one wants to do a BTEC in Health & Social at the local college. Needs 5X 4's. Done no revision at all. Finds it all overwhelming and has had lots of days off, self harming 😞 and spending lots of time in 'The Link'

Mocks start on Monday.

I'm stressed about one and relaxed about the other one!

So glad to read that they may get the equations etc for physics and maths. They both hate STEM subjects so this should really help.

Thanks @Gazelda for the heads up my DD starts next year and had considered art now off the list.
@gingercat02 I had hoped it would work as a wake up call and DS would revise more before next mocks maybe when he gets his results he will do!

DS doesn't have mocks until January, but if anything, I'm planning him doing more, not less after his mocks.
We need a minimum of 4 5's for 6th Form and a 6 in the subjects they want to do.
He is planning to stay at school and the open evening is in 2 weeks so we will know more then.

DD still doing some revision. Maybe 30 mins a day? And we still listen to a podcast on the journey to school each day. Next set of mocks are Feb and I think the most recent ones were a wake up call that she needs to prepare more if she wants to achieve target grades.

She's doing Art GCSE which is still taking up many hours every week.

Advice for any student considering art - only do it if it's crucial to your career plans. It's the subject that's taken the most of her time this year and last, but the one which has the lowest target grade. And she only did it because she didn't know which subjects to pick so went for ones she enjoyed the most. A mistake in hindsight.

Had 6th form open evening last night. It was over subscribed school phoned up some parents to check they still needed their tickets! Dreading results now as looks like DS definitely needs a 5 in English to continue to do A Levels in our area. Got parents evening 2wks after results so hopefully can have a good chat with English teacher.
If your kid has recently done mocks have they stopped revision? DS just doing homework and nothing extra.

Poor boy...hope he's feeling much better soon!!

It's apparently quite common, have since discovered a lot of men we know have had it. One of those things that you don't know about until it happens! He has small group invigilating anyway, so he will already be in a less intimidating environment. He's feeling mostly ok when he's sat still so reckons he will manage. 🤞

What a painful nightmare! How did that happen? Can he do the mock in a different room or at home?

I'm going to keep mine inside for a week beforehand 🤣 although the testicle thing happened when he rolled over in bed so ....

He seems more traumatised by how many people have had to look downstairs than anything else! Meanwhile internally I'm thinking BUT HE'S DONE SO MUCH REVISION!! He's already missed his DT all day mock but is going to try and do biology tomorrow then come home. 5 days post op so fingers crossed he can sit down for long enough on those horrible chairs..

We had that this time last year! Frightening.
Hope he's OK x

Progress report landed today.
3 4's, 3 5's, and a 6. It's not great, but it's better than the Y10 exams, so at least we know we are heading in the right direction for January mocks.
Gives him an incentive to keep going!

Hoping the poorly DCs are feeling well again very soon. It's the last thing they need with the stress of exams.

I invigilate at a secondary and the number of kids who end up injuring themselves THE NIGHT BEFORE their first actual real exam is incredible