Y11 2023-24 thread 4

It’s a tricky one, and will depend upon your daughter. Getting grades much lower than she is capable of may really de-motivate her. I think for a lot of 16year olds, they don’t really know how to revise properly (and different ways suit some, and other ways suit others, depending upon how they learn). In our house, we have tended to give lots of support and advice, to try and encourage them to work hard (and show them how to do it / help them to do it) and try for the best that they can do - it can be really encouraging when they get better grades than they were thinking. Also, it is so so helpful if they can be making notes / flash cards / mind maps for earlier tests (like mocks / end of year 10 exams / end of unit exams), as they can use these when revising for the actual GCSEs (which saves a bit of time).

Sorry to infiltrate your thread but my eldest will be going through this next year. Currently doing their year 10 mocks with no revision. Says she probably wont do well even with revision. She’s fairly bright but never going to get 9’s and at this rate I’m not sure she’ll get 4’s apart from her fav subject.

im encouraging the revision but its not really going anywhere. Is it best to leave her to see how well she does with her own (limited) revision and revisit in year 11. Or is it best to push so she sees she can get some passes and hope it motivates her? I’m at a loss.

DS has worked out why he and his classmates found one of the Further Maths questions impossible - they were all over-thinking it! They thought they had to 'rearrange trig identities' when in fact they just had to factorise/simplify.

Anyway, it's been a good learning point for paper 2; don't overlook the obvious!

DD found AQA combined chemistry pretty good today (she does seem stronger in sciences).
2 left to go on Friday so she’s taking the rest of today off.

imedia yesterday wasn’t as good as she hoped (a new spec apparently - it gets changed every 5 years - so not much to practice from).

2nd time going through GCSE’s and it has felt absolutely relentless. Throw in the other going through A levels at the same time and I am spent!

I'm almost beginning to think I'll look back fondly on the last few weeks. It's been intense and stressful but also quite a bonding experience in a way. Feeling oddly nostalgic already! Probably also because there are such big changes ahead with sixth form college etc, so feels like the end of an era

DD pretty happy with both exams today which is a big relief as she was not hugely prepared for history in particular. OCR gateway higher combined chemistry and Edexel history. Just geography and physics left.

History was "goooooood" apparently so happy with that. My eldest had her last sociology today and is feeling pretty ill. She was so panicky that she wasn't going to do well but she has phoned and said it was as if it had been written for her so she felt so much happier.

No revision tonight so we are binge watching house of the dragon ready for the new series and I'm planning an early night as I'm exhausted 🤣

Pleasantly surprised DS with further maths too, he was expecting it to be harder! Said it was still challenging but felt confident he’d done ok. Happy with Chemistry and History too, phew!! He’s shattered so off to play Xbox

DS said Further Maths was hard. He said there were two questions no one could do.

So pleased he has two days off now ahead of Physics!

DS had edexcel chem. Very good paper apart from one question he was clueless about - but so were all his friends so isn't worried. Just 2 on Friday left- Geography and Physics.

That should have said 'geography 3'. Three geography papers are intensive enough!

DS very happy with Edexcel Chemistry 2, found it much easier than paper 1. Shame that it's worth a lot less!

Just two to go: geography 4 on Friday and music on Monday. He is very glad he isn't doing further maths like many of his friends as that's three more exams (including the one today). They finish later than him, too, on the 19th, so that's when his friend group is likely to celebrate.

DS definitely not a prospective engineer, it's looking like social science of some description for him.

DH did an MEng Chem Engineering, but is now a doctor. Most of his peers went into the City.

well, an unexpectedly chipper DD after further maths given how miserable she was after chemistry earlier.

I’ve now told her to do nothing but slob out for the evening. This last week has been very unforgiving.

Even though I gave DS a healthy packed lunch carefully designed to be protein rich to avoid a midday slump, with 2 portions of fruit and vegetables to see him through the day he went to get Chinese for lunch with his friend, stuffed his face and felt sick throughout the history exam 😱
He said it was OK though even with a stomach ache! He said the chemistry questions were difficult but everyone thought they were difficult. So for anyone disappointed at no study leave at their kids school, DS and his mates have spent every lunchtime in various fast food outlets!

DS1 did an MSc in Chemical Engineering and now works for KPMG.
All his peers ended up with good jobs 👍🏻

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn I'm always impressed by young people who know what they want to do. Good luck to your son! As @DominoRules it's a great pathway and lots of career options. Since I've known her my friend has worked in labs for big pharma type companies, for Dulux and even for Mars, the chocolate people (I've known her for 20 years, she doesn't just flit around jobs willy nilly 😅)

DS thought Physics paper 1 was difficult too @steppemum A nicer paper 2 would make the students feel better about themselves.

Hope those who are poorly are feeling better soon.

DS doesn't get hay fever badly but had a real problem with it this morning (probably all the dust in his squalid room) and they wouldn't even let him take tissues into the exam room so that he didn't sneeze all over people. He had to get tissues from the box provided by the invigilators.

Your poor DC, Cudafrog. Hope it all works out fairly in the end.

DS has done chemistry and had Leavers' Assembly and then a group went for a cheeky lunch out! Two more days of revision then ending with a bang on Friday with geography and physics.

I have completely cleaned and tidied DdS room - it was such a state I thought it was the least I could do - she needs a lavender bath and a roast. Feel for these teens. It’s just going on and on.
Chem and FM today.

dd said chemistry was 'alright'
I asked for more info and she said 'just alright' 😂

well at least not a disaster, although a good mark would have gone well for A level.

No school tomorrow. First school day she isn't going in. We are going to pack her bag for holiday on Monday (she needs to do this in advance and out all weekend)

then Thursday revision and Friday Physics.
The WE ARE DONE !!!

I wonder if physics being last will help as she has had so much time to revise. Mind you paper 1 didn't go well, so a good paper 2 would be nice.

Edexel Chem 'good' apparently though dd said she messed up one of the high mark questions. Her prom dresses arrived from Next Clearance and I was a bit teary looking at her as she tried them all on.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn DH and I are Chemical Engineers - it’s a great degree to do as you can go onto so many different pathways career wise with it. Good luck to your DS x

Picking up DS in an hour and a bit, he was in a confined room all day today so no idea how any have gone…… nothing until Physics on Friday so looking forward to a bit of a break for next couple of days

@Waspie DS wants to do Chemical Engineering (plans to do Maths, Chemistry and Physics A levels) so this week the pressure is really on to get good marks. He loves Chemistry but everyone in our house just doesn't get it, he can't understand why we don't get it. 😁

@Tiredalwaystired oh no, poor thing! Hopefully it is better than she thought.