Y11 2023-24 thread 4

It’s a good job we didn’t have much planned for the first few days, DS has succumbed to post exam illness. Told him it was inevitable really! Thankfully prom was pre illness, they had a brilliant night by all accounts.

Prom is next week for us. I got Ds’ entire outfit (minus shoes) off Vinted for about £10. DD bought her dress herself and plans to sell it once prom is over.

It's the first day since mid-April we've had no exams. Alevels finished yesterday. Whoop! So bloody proud of DS. He's worked really hard

No rest though we're off to see family that DC haven't seen since Xmas!

@jessycarr
Thanks v much! Nottingham might be doable!

@ouch44 the remaining summer ones in England & Wales that I am seeing on the UCAS website are:

Birmingham, 24-25 June
Aberystwyth, 26 June
Hull, 27 June
Carlisle, 2 July
Nottingham, 3-4 July

(Then there are several in Scotland, but I am assuming our GCSE group are not in Scotland).

They are free to attend and are aimed at showcasing and advising on the full range of 16-18 choices, as well as post-18 choices.

@JessyCarr those look like a good idea! Although I can only see ones for Autumn term. I'll look again when fully awake!

DD came along to Birmingham Uni open day when we went we DS and we looked around a different dept to him and she loved it. She had a fab chat with lots of students and lecturers- they were very happy to speak to her and she is actually thinking of it as a possible future uni course. It's helped guide her Alevel choices

@WinkyTinky regarding what to do next - there are still some UCAS Discovery exhibitions around the country this summer. Might something like that be helpful for your DS?

I felt the same putting the uniform in the wash for the last time!

Our school did the leavers assembly and handed out the yearbooks back at the start of May when they started study leave so it didn’t feel quite as final.

They had their prom last night which they all seem to have really enjoyed.

Now the proper summer of fun starts according to ds!!

Leavers assembly here and while all the others are celebrating, my ds is quite down about all of it. I think it's just hit him that the familiar routine of the past 12 years has come to an end, and he's still so unsure about what to do next. He didn't get changed out of his uniform til almost 7pm, as if he didn't want to take it off for the last time 😭

I’ll be so glad when prom is done, who came up with the idea anyway! Expensive and stressful imv 😂. A day out somewhere would have been so much better.

Prom today here too. Put it this way, she was over at her friends at 10.30 am to start getting ready 😂😂

Prom tonight 😳 Last minute run to get shoes and shirt yesterday but he’s declared himself pleased with how he looks.

His main problem tonight will be staying awake as he’s had 6.30 starts every day this week and a lot of hard manual graft. I’m sure his lovely girlfriend with give him a nudge if he drops off 🤣

How seriously do yours take it?

Congratulations everyone on finishing! We made it!

DS has been enjoying doing not very much, though he did help his sister with a project, got a haircut and got his textbooks together. He's going into school to return them today, which is officially their last day of fifth form. The school are also doing a celebratory lunch for them.

Well done to ALL the students, they've been brilliant. It's no mean feat, getting through week upon week of stress and often anxiety.

DS has spent the afternoon with friends, some of it even outside in the sunshine!

DS finally finished today!

WJEC additional maths was apparently ’really easy’ and he had finished with an hour to spare (2 1/2 hour exam).

He’s been to the gym, done some sports kits prep for his first competition back this weekend and is out with his friends now.

@Countrylife2002 I still have a recurring nightmare about A Levels - which I did in 1986!

DD is having nightmares every night about exams and she finished on Friday!

I took the week off this week, to regain my own sanity really, but it has proved useful as we’ve been quite busy as I think she would have moped around if I’d been working all day. We even went to the gym together today!

thank goodness it’s all done now for everyone

Well done to all the kids who did their exams. Hope they have a great summer whatever their plans are whether chilling, catching up with friends or looking for jobs or working. For those going to Prom hope they have a great night filled laughter.
Congratulations to all you parents for surviving hope you have a great summer.
See you on the 21st 22nd when we are struggling to sleep with nerves.

Yep..... A timetable from the Joint Council for Qualifications sets out that GCSE exams run from 9 May to 19 June. GCSE results day for students will be on Thursday 22 August.
Wooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooo

Is that everyone finished now?

Coming out of the woodwork to say I feel the same way. I'm not all that chatty, and my son has additional needs, but reading this thread has settled my GCSE nerves. DS did his Further Maths today and is all done which is both a relief and yet somehow poignant. Maybe I will keep my eyes peeled for an A Level thread because something tells me the stress isn't quite over.

Got to do it all over again with my DD in a few years when she sits GCSEs!

Yes same here. Change of pace was a bit of a shocker, misses his friends And now he hates work experience - not given much to do and doesn't see the point. I dont know if I'll manage to convince him to keep going...Prom Friday and trip next week...

They will all have a revision hangover and likely to find it difficult to unwind or cope with unstructured time suddenly. We made a plan and organised some adventures to help them acclimatise to the summer holidays and being able to properly finally relax and chill

Just to add to @Paperclipp 's post, thank you everyone for the support 😘

My DS has enjoyed the intensity of the exams and is now very much at a loose end and has no idea how he's going to fill his time 😫I'm hoping with all my being that the little chat me and him had last night, revealing to me for the first ever time the potential of a lady friend, will come to fruition.........

Where's the 'like' button when you need one! Lovely post x