Y11 2025/26 The Final Stretch

Yes two a day is not nice. It also means they are too tired to revise that evening.

RE and biology today. Intense. Though fortunately this is only one of two days that dd has two exams in one day. I know others have multiple which seems unfair.

Is that the one about guys in the gym?

DD showed me the poem and said it wasn’t too bad.

But she said the play excerpt from Streetcar in the earlier exam was random. She knows the play like the back of her hand but the excerpt was a scene where nothing much happens and she really struggled to say much about it.

That sounds similar to my DD. She'd be happy with a 5 in any of the essay subjects. And this one went much better than any of the mocks (that she got 3 & 4 in) so fingers crossed. I get the impression the poetry anthology and unseen are her least favourite parts though but hopefully she'll have more confidence after today. Now on to the slightly easier (for her) few days until history on Friday.

Mine was happy they managed to write several pages for each question, much more than the mocks - at least there is more to mark this time. Has also done Spanish speaking and paper 1 of the fairly niche subject of Geology (usually well under 1,000 children take it each year).
Mocks were terrible - to the extent their current school wouldn’t offer them a place in 6th form at any level. Fortunately they have a place at a college that enrols children onto English and Maths gcse resits if they are needed and dc would also be doing a btec alongside if they wind up at that college.
if they get the grades there have a conditional place from another local college that does a levels, I don’t want then staying on at the school that wouldn’t even give them a conditional offer.

@Wincher AQA here. Macbeth & CC today. Inspector calls and poetry is paper 2. Biology AQAhigher tomorrow but no idea what topics that is

My DD seemed happy when she got home. Happy she could answer the questions and no disasters. She only wants 5 and is confident she wrote enough for that. She wiped though and didn’t get as much biology done as she wanted tonight

That’s what DS had for paper 2. I think the poetry anthology is published by the board so will be different for others. I was chatting to a colleague in the office this afternoon whose son is also doing GCSEs and she said her son had called her and said the Inspector Calls question was quite good. I mentioned that to my DS when I got home and he was so confused as it wasn’t in paper 1 for him! Didn’t realise different boards do the same book but in different papers.

DS was pretty happy, he said guilt in Macbeth was the theme he had been hoping for and he was happy with the Christmas Carol question too!

DTs in different English sets. Aqa board

1 DT Macbeth and Frankenstein
1 DT Macbeth and a Christmas carol.

macbeth and ACC were ok/nice questions according to them. Frankenstein was 🫤.

biology tomorrow (and RE for ACC DT)

glad day 1 went ok. 1 every day this week.

in less good news DH has got a cold in May ! Hoping he doesn’t pass it on to DTs. Arghh fingers crossed.

We are AQA and DS doesn’t have An Inspector Calls until paper 2 : his strongest along with his weakest.. the dreaded Power and Conflict. Is the poetry anthology the same for all boards? I have no idea how it works. All I know is that he’s doing the exact same texts as DD did 3 years ago.

DS said both papers (English Lit and Business Studies today) were "easy", then skipped off upstairs to put his Macbeth revision guides in the cats' litter tray. I suppose we'll discover the truth of that in August!

You can’t be good at everything right? Frustratingly if he put the effort in he’d probably find he had the ability, but I have had to pick my battles. Can not wait until it’s all over.

It’s quite hard not to get pulled into the panic. DD was just asking me what will she do if she doesn’t get what she needs. I had to hide my panic and go ‘we will work it out’.

Dont want to add pressure.

It made me realise I’ll get no bloody sleep the night before results!

@wonderstuff same with my dd. Biology and Maths this week, and all other Maths and Science papers, will not be her favourite or her best. All part of the inevitable ups and downs, I guess…

Happy DS here and the few kids I spoke to in school were happy. English Lit is DS strongest subject so nice to have a confident start. Biology tomorrow is likely to go less well, but he’s been entered for the foundation paper so should know some of it at least!

Its in sections so they need to find the books they have studied
And ebery year someone panics and does a book they haven't studied in school just randomly. Or makes a start answering them all (I can understand that a bit as other exams are "make sure you answer everything"

Really stupid question (as I am really stupid), but if it's the same paper, how are they doing different books (or is it in sections?) Sorry for being so dim, DD hasn't really talked to me about how it works, as her English teacher was so full of praise for her, that I trusted her to revise without asking.

I'm obviously not a teacher, but I agree with the Y11s I know. I only know girls, as DD goes to an all girls school, but her friends are AMAZING, I am so happy that she chose that over the mixed grammar, I was a bit worried as my son went to all boys grammar and he would have thrived at the mixed one, but DD has flourished there, and I am so grateful that she has an amazing friend group.

@36and3 I meant with so many of them declaring it easy 😆 But yes the Section B balances it out. In any case it’s all much of a muchness - they all get the same paper!

That’s what my DD said 🤣

DS said he almost laughed out loud when he saw the Macbeth guilt question. He said they were all running to find their English teacher afterwards to tell her <3

Biology and RE tomorrow so a looonnnggg days

I hate the days with two exams, think it’s cruel!

DD said that she actually smiled when she saw it was guilt - apparently she has a ‘feeling’ it would not be kingship.

She found the CC tricky, and is worried she did not write enough.

Timings have consistently been an issue for her in mocks.

Surely it’s the reverse - if lots of people found ACC challenging, surely the grade boundaries will be lower not higher?

Do any other teachers find this year’s cohort of Y11s particularly adorable?! Maybe it’s because I have one a at home 😆, but they’re so lovely, friendly and quite a lot of them are so hardworking and interested in learning and improving. Rooting for them all!