Y11 2025/26… come and join

I miss "helping" DS with his school projects. I got a golden house point for my story jar one year 😁 (DS wasn't bothered and I had A Good Idea).

I think I’m going to be excited when my DS never has to do physics or chemistry again, having spent much of the afternoon trying to remember what I possibly never actually knew 30+ years ago. I much prefer “helping” with humanities, some of them are interesting!

Yes I get the middle band thing. My daughter is in top sets so she shouldn’t need tutoring but whilst she’s good on paper, she gets anxious and lacks self-belief so I’ve thrown money at it to give her a boost.

Shes excitedly announced today that in 7 months she’ll never have to do physics or maths again!! (Amongst others!)

@Littletreefrog sadly I think that ‘middle band left to themselves’ isn’t uncommon.
My Y11 should be in the top band but is slipping as just doesn’t seem to get the need to actually actively revise.

Can I join?
DS2 is in year 11 and got grades between 3 (maths) and 6 (french) in the year 10 mocks. We had a weekly term time English tutor last year with some maths tutoring in the school holidays but have now got maths and English on alternate weeks.

Answer is yes to your first comment we keep them but for a variety of reasons and until any appeals have gone through in September

At my most recent couple of schools we've always done two sets, so I can't answer about the second point

DS has just finished his first week of mocks and is shattered. They have had 2 or 3 exams a day and another week to go next week. He is having a night off tonight as he looks unwell. I hope its just tiredness. We have no money for tutors and he seems to fall between the two groups getting most attention at school. They seem to be focusing on those that need help to get at least a 4 in maths and English and those on track for all 9s. Those with pretty solid 5, 6, 7s are being left to get on with it themselves. I hope that doesn't backfire.

Mocks start on Monday here for two weeks. Dd is working really hard without any prompt from me thankfully. She’s having weekly maths and English tutors. Alevel options are confirmed. Reading festival ticket booked!

Thanks @Ifonlyoneday we have multiple sets mocks and also I have now heard of DC having tutors on exam technique so that sounds right. Less about the subject and more about how to get marks - by exam board & subject.

I also heard 2 more things on mocks I don’t know if they are true , (maybe the teachers on this thread can verify).

1. that the schools have to keep these mock paper results as evidence in case they have to be used to do teacher assessed grades (like the Covid years) whereas before Covid I am not sure they kept them. I assume they can bin them all once the real exams go ahead.
2. more schools introduced a 2nd set of mocks in Jan, Feb, March after Covid as they would have more evidence of current performance if the mocks were ever to be needed again to do teacher assessed grades. Also I am guessing that children have done some revision by the second set of mocks and should have been taught all content by then so the second set of mocks were a better set for predicting grades than the November ones.

additionally I am told mock exams should highlight if they know exam technique. Back when I did GCSEs there was much less exam technique I think. You seemed to get points for knowing it or not. Now there seems to be a system (exam technique) within the system (exams) 😀

So another option is DC revise, they know the content but they don’t know the exam technique.

from what I am hearing exam technique can help them with how much time to spend on each question. Also for what words/responses they need to give to actually achieve a mark. E.g on this 6 marker you need to give 2 points, an example of each point, greater depth answer of each point you get 6 marks.

Yes think that’s the case. Target and actual right now are some what apart!
Seems to be 6s & 7s we need in A level choices. I failed mocks badly but I ended up with high grades at the end as worked hard after Xmas.. hence think I DC will
end up doing same and cramming at the end 😖

DS never even took liquid ibuprofen or call. Which was interesting on the couple of occasions he was in hospital he once went from morphine to nothing as taking paracetamol was worse than pain apparently. We finally got him used to taking small vitamin d tablets, after which a half paracetamol can be demonstrated to be the same size. Now I just have to hope it worked.

Hope he gets through the day ok. We’re still working on the pill situation with DD so liquid ibuprofen it is although she has managed a tiny anti histamine so some progress!

These mocks are definitely important. DD has been told to use her grades from her report in October for all 6th form applications.

My DS also has mocks today, and of course woke up with a blinding headache and full of cold. My one achievement over the last week is finally getting him used to taking paracetamol (only took 15 years!) to see if he can just get on with things.

@eurotravel I guess it depends on how competitive the 6th forms you're looking at are. A few of the most academic ones want at least 7s predicted in A level subjects, normally with an 8 in Maths. Some say they want an average of 7.5 across subjects. This is in London.

My daughter's grammar school asks that any applicants get at least six 7s in their GCSEs, plus they set a separate non verbal reasoning exam for any STEM applicants.

There are obviously plenty that have lower requirements but the most competitive ones do need high predictions.

DS set his alarm for 5am today to do the homework he should have been doing over half term. He said he "didn't want to work during his holiday". FFS.

Thx. Was thinking about for college applications etc. I’ll try talking to DC more about understanding current level.

My son is starting mocks today. They are sitting then in the hall under exam conditions. They are important in terms of preparing them for sitting the actual exams but also seeing where they are in terms of grades. If you revise for them and still don't score great then there are obvious gaps or maybe you need to change revision strategy so there are things you can learn from them If you do nothing for them and get bad scores then you can easily explain it away by saying "oh well I didn't revise for these but I will for the real ones" and you haven't actually learnt anything from the experience at all.

I think there are fairly important, to get an idea what they might be struggling with and put in the revision accordingly between December and May. Some schools do these under conditions that are very similar to the real thing, including the results in a brown envelope, familiarising them with the set up so it's not too daunting when the day comes.
It's worth remembering the mocks became the actual results in one of the COVID years. 😞

Stupid question.. but quite how important are Nov mock grades? I am not convinced my Yr11 is really going to knuckle down until after Xmas.. thinking about college applications. I think it still feels a way off for them

DD has worked hard over half term and Art coursework is still all consuming!
Mocks also start 17/11 for her.
We’ve been to one open evening, at my school, two more to go. She will stay at a school sixth form whichever she chooses.

Main issue she is having is picking subjects, on the table we have Maths, English, Computer Science, History, Politics and French! Applications need to be in by the end of January. Lots of discussions going on regularly here at the moment.

7-8 hrs a week teaching is very good. Round here 5 hrs per A level subject seems to be the standard amount available at the state options.

Your class sizes seem similar to the 6th form school options round here. The college has much bigger classses and far more A level subjects.

We love the bee network when we go to Manchester. Manchester has good public transport with the buses, trams and trains.