Y11 2025/26 The Final Stretch

We hope he will stay to A-level at the same school. There are not that many who are planning to do it there- it's a small independent, and there is an attrition rate due to a number of factors. They usually have about 30 A-levels students. It's fairly non-selective also so as long as he passes most of his subjects they will accept him.

Is he staying at school for alevel or starting somewhere new?

Are any Surrey mums here?

Thanks so much for the handholds everyone. i appreciate it so much. Sorry for my upset posting. Thanks to posters who say they will ask their kids to look out for the quieter ones- that would be a lovely thing.

Onwards today I hope. Well done to your DS @clary! You are right- if DS passes we will be so excited. Every day is a struggle for some children and just by getting through the achievements are immense- the resilience required to just get through the day is huge.

Oh @3GoldenLamps I am sorry. I agree with PPs that it is particularly poor of the teachers not to spot him and say "oooh DS let me sign your shirt".

I hear you on the struggle with a child with SEN too. My DS based on his disability should never have gained any GCSEs but he got CCDDDEE and we were so so proud. It’s all a struggle. Well done to you and your DS on getting this far. Hope he shows what he can do at GCSE – that’s what we all hope for.

We start exams Thurs. no official study leave. School emails say it’s lots of revision lessons and boosters but looking at the DC social media it’s lots of ‘last subject lesson ever’ posts and reels and fun

@3GoldenLamps I'm so gutted for him. Really poor of school / teachers too. I volunteer with kids and it’s really not that hard to avoid these things so it’s valid if you are angry. I’d be angry and upset.
my DD is ND with diagnosed ADHD and prob AuAdhd and it’s a battle to fit in fully every day. I’m hoping she chooses the college near us with best SEN support so she can find her tribe and not try follow a crowd

@3GoldenLamps I’m very sorry. That sounds shit of the teachers if not the probably just thoughtless due to excitement kids. I don’t know what to suggest I’m afraid though :(.

I don't even know what I can do.

He's gone to bed.

I always say that having a SEN child- you repeatedly have the micro-griefs. They are slightly different. They are behind in their reading. They dont seem to make friends. They can't use their cutlery properly and an adult in the dining hall messages you to ask you to sort out their dexterity with cutlery. They don't quite 'get' the nuances of friendships. They are so terrified of the termly fire drills that even now in Year 11 the Head of Year has to alert them in advance and take them out of class so they don't fall on the floor with their hand over their ears in shock at the sound. They can't get their hair cut and the school tells you they are in breach of school uniform and you try and mousse their hair back to hide the fact that it physically freaks them out to cut their hair. Educational and medical professionals call you an over-protective mother because you are literally propping them up every single day. They roll their eyes about you to each other and you see it.

I have got my child this far. His last ed psych said we would never get him this far. I'm quite tired tonight. And more than a bit distressed. I do think more of his peers could have signed his damned shirt, I even washed and ironed a fresh short this morning so that it was ready.

Sorry- feeling a bit shit. Which I will never show to DS.

I know you can't fix it today, but is there a possibility of making the school aware so they can get his shirt passed round for signing during the exam period?

DS's school is doing shirt signings and ice cream on 5th June. I'll make sure to remind him and his mates to look out for anyone on the sidelines and make sure they're included.

Oh this really pulled on my heartstrings. I hope those 9 pupils wrote something lovely beyond just their name.

Oh bless him, poor, poor lad. It's such a shame that so many kids can be so thoughtless. That's poor of the teachers too - you'd think they'd be watching out for him and making sure to include him.

Last day here too. DS got back about half an hour ago and his fear of having no-one (or very few) people sign his shirt came to pass. Out of 64 students 9 signed. A few made him sign theirs then ran off (I assume in excitement rather than active snub). He's utterly beside himself with upset and also anger and hurt.

We can't say anything to him right now as he is throwing it all back at us so I have made him dinner and told him we'll talk about it tomorrow. Apparently none of the teachers signed his either thought they were signing others. i suspect he hung back waiting to be noticed.

Leavers assembly here - and class party yesterday.
He had a good day and came home with his shirt signed but no work seems to have been done whatsoever in any lesson. I do not feel this bodes well for revision in school next week/ going forward.
I have no tips on planners, sorry - we have a revision spreadsheet but nothing besides a list of exam dates on the wall.
Not as many snacks as I expected eaten here - I bought a whole
load but they have not been eaten. Bit worried he is not eating as stressed and then going to suffer due to low blood sugar but not sure what to do about it.
First written exam on Thursday…..

Last day of school here today! She’s staying for sixth form so not truly leavers day but she’s been there since she was 5!!

@Stowickthevast snacks are the thing for sure! Hang on here's a pic of my snack offering the year I had two DC taking exams: (this was just a couple of days’ worth)

@Tebheag we've got a massive white board monthly planner which I couldn't live without.

It hasn't even occurred to me to make breakfast for dd1 or drive her. I guess I could make her breakfast on the days I'm working from home, but we're in London so driving takes longer than public transport. I did just get a fruit box in so she can make some smoothies while revising. And have got a few extra snacks. Feel like I haven't really thought this out!

I am doing what is best for DD at this stage, I don’t think school is going to serve up repercussions for kids working from home, surely?

That's the thing though @BeasKnee there's no wording. They've not said anything apart from a brief mention on the letter about the prom which I mostly discounted as that's my DS's idea of hell.

I think @Caddycat might be right that attendance may not be compulsory at this point so some schools dance around the wording they use when describing what they want students to do. Our school have said compulsory but I get the impression a lot of children in previous years haven't gone in every day with no repercussions

That must be so frustrating @Lemonthyme We have been told attendance is compulsory so no study leave but I do wonder what they will be doing as time goes on. They've said there will be tailored study sessions around exams but in the final full week of exams, my dc only has 3 exams in the whole week and I doubt they will be doing, for example, a full day with a maths or physics teacher revising when they are the only exams left. Perhaps they mean they will be free to do their own revision in some lessons but as my dc struggles with attention at best of times I'm not sure revising in a room full of other kids will work well! I guess I'll see what happens...

To be honest my son isn't bothered either way but I just want to know so we can make arrangements if we need to get him there outside of normal travelling hours. I share custody with my ex husband and on days he's with him, he gets the bus so he'll either need to be doing so on exam days or I might need to give him a lift if I'm working from home. (We live 3 miles apart and I contract so I have more flex.) It's for arrangements not for anything else and I've made it clear on my emails. I'm just getting nada in reply.

I've mailed again this morning, including the teacher it's now been forwarded to apparently. That makes it the fourth time I've asked. 🙄

@Lemonthyme I also wonder if they are not answering because they don't really want to commit. DS's school don't have study leave apart from they do if they think you would work better at home i.e very studious pupils who get annoyed with the other kids messing about or in fact if you are a naughty disruptive kid and they would rather keep you away from everyone else.

Aww that's an emotional moment for you @EducaatingRita and @waitingquietly . I still cant believe how fast it has gone!

@Lemonthyme I wonder whether this is a grey area as in the schools want them in but legally they dont have to be so they dont say? Ours has been clear that there is no study leave and children "are expected to be in", but I'm not sure what would happen if your child didnt go in. Several of DDs friends have had a day off here or there, DD is going in and is grateful for the support from most teachers although a couple of them have been all over the place with revision. She was moaning about how "useless" her chemistry teacher is being arranging revision although I didnt get to the bottom of why it was bad. She wasnt impressed because 15min after her lesson the teacher came out and asked her if she was in year 10 😂 Overall she studies an awful lot after school, so being in school is a good thing for a different approach to revision. She would probably saturate at home.

I am still, 11 days after I first asked, waiting to find out what is happening with my DS school and any study leave. They mentioned it on the letter about prom but haven't said a word since. 2 days ago the office (after the third email) said someone would get back to me.

First written exam for some kids is next Thursday. DS starts a week Monday. 🙄

@EducaatingRita same for us too - rather bizarre that we’ve got to this point so fast