Y11 2025-26 - Trying not to melt and pushing through the final weeks

My son knackered this evening two intense days have taken a toll.
golf planned for tomorrow afternoon

Thanks MabelsBeats - I mean I can say he’s not well - it’s the only way for not to go down as unauthorised but I suppose that doesn’t really matter at this stage . His attendance is up around 98 percent so it’s fine . Trouble is he is lazy really and wouldn’t do much at home . Thank goodness it’s nearly over !

Is there a problem with him being at home, could it be accommodated just for this final push, if he promises to work? DD has been on study leave since just after Easter holidays, I don’t know how she’d have coped with having to be in school, she’d be climbing the walls.

Anyone else having a problem keeping them in school when no exams ? DS school are saying they are able to leave at 12.20 but only if no revision planned for upcoming subjects or lessons in subjects yet to be examined. He has had it and just wants out - it’s hard work persuading him that it’s in his best interests to be in school . He came home with a headache today 🙄 I’m sure he probably did have one , it’s so intense and of course they all just need some down time

DD reports Elizabethan/Cold War was really good and French Reading was easy 🤷‍♀️ She really does not seem anywhere near as stressed now. She’s been doing some English Language this evening.

I’m very proud of how she’s coping, she definitely gets the laid back worry free attitude from her Dad and not me!

Hope everyone else has had a good day and good luck to all for tomorrow.

DS added French writing to his list of exams that were "fine". He said he spent an hour on his laptop revising this morning and that gave him some good material to use.

The school have announced that the kids will be on study leave after tomorrow. They only have to go in for the pre-exam revision sessions and the exams themselves. DS is delighted. Luckily, all his remaining exams start in the morning so I won't have to re-arrange work to make sure he gets in for any afternoon exams.

French - DS chose Stephen Fry as his celebrity to write about and used all his extra time. Any info on what other topics were?

Anyone else’s DC do igcse ICT practical today ? Worst yet apparently. Couldn’t do one section at all .. there were only 4 tasks

Music teacher has now emailed back after I queried the official guidance I managed to locate online. Sticking with usual way of working, common sense prevails thankfully.

OCR Music exam question if anyone's DC are in the know: DD just been told after her history exam today that she 'needs to wear headphones that are plugged in for tomorrow's music exam due to a chance of having a question about pan sound'.

She's not done so before for either of the previous mocks, and not sure she even knows what panning is as she's not mentioned it in any of the hours of revision we've done together.

Anyone else been told the same? Would have thought usual way of working would be needed, and last minute change is highly likely to make Autistic DD feel anxious and confused. Have emailed school back, awaiting reply now. Thanks all 🙂

And as for Hadestown, I like loud concerts so maybe I’ll be ok!

@Callmejudith - thanks for that! We revised all those things last night. She wasn’t confident on Reagan but pretty sure the rest of it would be ok for her. She’s said it was ‘good’ anyway but that’s a bit of a default answer.

Would also love to know the Henry questions. It’s usually her strongest area so hoping she smashed that part.

@makemineadecaf please can you ask her what the Henry questions were?

Dd really pleased with history 😊 Cold War and Henry

From reddit: Edexcel Cold War: -one consequence of construction of Berlin Wall -one consequence on Potsdam conference -narrative account on Cuba (bay of pigs incident and Cuban missle crisis) -how did the Berlin blockade affect tensions -how did Czechoslovakia events (Prague spring) affect relationship of east and west And some other question about Reagan in 1980s
Elizabeth

• one factor of the poor
• one factor of Virginia or smth
• explain why revolt of northern earls happened
• Spanish Armada
• weakness from when Elizabeth first became queen

Absolutely perfect for DS on Cuba yey!!

Trying to see what the Henry VIII ones were

DD said history (Aqa elizabethan and medicine) went really well except the question on the importance of sailors which threw her a bit but seemed ok in the end. Relieved this one is over!

Been tricky adapting to study leave for the first time after half term here. DS1 trying to revise in hour blocks sticking to school schedule but has found his brother going to school and leaving him behind very weird.
No idea how geography and numeracy went yesterday- but he was very glad to finish those subjects off and very very tired. Was the last double exam day though so that’s good.
Sociology was our sacrificial subject - he quite liked the lessons but couldn’t remember the terminology and names of the sociologists and all the studies at all.
Last English Language exam tomorrow - I’m so so nervous as he needs a C for all his future plans and it’s very borderline. Depends a lot on what writing questions he gets - no choice but fairly specific questions. He has been known to just write nothing as no ideas…..Have been working on it either him this morning but limited success. If he gets questions he has ideas about he will be fine though so crossed fingers!
DS1 saw Hadestown last summer - he thought it was good and liked the staging - he went with school so I missed it. He did not mention the volume (glad I missed it if it is that noisy).

History (AQA, Elizabethan England and British Migration) was hard according to my son but he thinks he did ok.

Hate it when DD has two exams - when she has one she usually sneaks into the toilet to message me to let me know how she got on.

Have to wait to end of the day. Really hope History went ok it’s her most favourite subject.

Dd2 and I saw it last year. I quite liked some of it but didn’t love it. She preferred to me but a tiny bit disappointed as she’d really built it up - musicals and greek myths = dream combo. We didn’t like the Orpheus much. Loved Hermes.

Not sure what board for history but public health and Normans. Dd1 said v happy - plague and battle of Hastings, the 2 bits she knew best. Dd2 also good on these so hopefully she’s happy.

we had a bit of a maths debrief yesterday. Dd2 found it fine as did her math-y friends. The non math-y people found it tricky. So dd1 thinks she’s probably around a 5 on it (did better than her mock which was a mid 5) and felt she did well on paper 1 so hopefully a good paper 3 will still see her able to get a 6 which is what she needs.

She did cry 8 times yesterday - she counted. Once was about a dead bird she saw on the walk back from the gym and was once was because we’d run out of her favourite yoghurts. From a girl who very rarely cries…

History went well here apart from he thought he had 10 min left to write his conclusion which he didn’t have. So no conclusion on Elizabethan 16 marker

DD is 15 down, 9 to go, including today’s history and French. She was in great form this morning as she loves history and her history teacher was really reassuring yesterday about paper 2. We are going to do a day trip to Ham House in the summer for posterity, but I think we will all be delighted to never think about charterists or trade unions again! She really wants to do well as she wants to do A-level.

She has totally written off French, as although she likes it, and the written paper is her strongest, she just hasn’t had the capacity to do enough revision. C’est la vie ( or something…)