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

AQA Geography and AQA Food prep and nutrition today, both "fine". Just chem and physics to go.

DH's pasta bolognaise apparently wasn't up to scratch for dinner, pasta too clumpy, which resulted in DD screaming at him about it. Not an over reaction at all. I imagine DH and DS were laughing though which would have wound her up more. She said she thinks the neighbours would have heard her but serves them right for walking on my plants. Future Mumsnet poster I think.

I only have DD so last weekend was my last ever ‘uniform laundry’ 🥲

we live very rurally and no busses etc so I am currently juggling school runs, exam finishing times, pick ups, Starbucks pick me ups etc around work 🫠

I am looking forward to zero school runs for 10 weeks!!!

With so much going on with DS I hadn't even thought until now with him being my youngest that will be the end of school at 11am on Monday. I can't say no more school runs as I don't do them anyway but it will be odd not having a child at school. No uniform to iron, no dinner money to remember to top up, no homework to nag about or parents evenings to go to.

His study leave started on Monday, all his exams have been in the morning and revision sessions in the late afternoon but luckily he has a friend who lives in walking distance so we haven't had to drop off and pick up multiple times a day.

That honestly sounds like a clumsily worded compliment to me

Yes. We started study leave on Friday last week but some of them rely on school buses so they're in for full days when they're in.

Some teachers are just awful. DD’s head of maths keeps sending “motivational” emails telling them to keep up the hard revision, the work they do now could mean the difference between an 8 and a 9.

Like they don’t have enough pressure! 😡

DD bumped into her maths teacher he asked about yesterday paper.
Told her if she didn't get a 9 he may as well quit teaching. 🙄
On another thread someone added a spreadsheet no idea how but could be good for putting results on.

2 more to go for my son (chemistry and physics) and I am looking forward to no school runs for 10 ish weeks! He has SEN and moving to specialist for September. My school run journey will start again September but is over double the distance one way!

Please can we keep this thread going for results day 🙂 I like reading all and seeing what everyone will get 🙂

Happy with Edexcel geography A today. Tired. Revising chemistry now 😢

OCR Food Tech was apparently "decent" today 🤷‍♀️

Dd thought Geography today was the best paper shes done so she is happy. Chemistry is her weakest subject but shes not too worried at this stage
However she said her wrist and hand is really painful and keeps cramping up!!

Yep those are among the reasons ‘against’ study leave I was referring to. Also: young carers (for siblings, parents, grandparents), kids with minimal parental presence at home etc. I work at a similar school and I’m so bloody proud of the students, and of what we provide for them right up until they leave.

Study leave started last Friday here, which has pleased DS no end. He had geography today ("fine") and said Edexcel Maths Higher yesterday was also "fine - ~70-80%". Just chemistry tomorrow and physics on Monday and he's done!

I have mixed feelings on study leave. On the one hand, it's been a relief to send him off to school knowing that he's in focused revision classes. On the other, the moaning has been intense! The school has excellent results but is in a very deprived catchment. There are a lot of kids in temporary accommodation, overcrowded or poor quality housing. At school they have a quiet study space and get fed.

We’ve been on study leave since 1st May! (Independent school) but they have the option to go in to do self-study or work with teachers. 4 more days of school uniform!

On school runs DS1 passed his driving test recently - it has made me feel pretty strange as hopefully by September he will have some wheels and be driving himself to year 13 .. we are rural and I school run to 2 different towns in the opposite direction at the moment.. so good but strange feeling

As a teacher, I believe not having study leave is the most socially equitable approach. There are lots of factors which mean disadvantaged kids are even more disadvantaged in the scenario where study leave is given. I’m happy to go into these factors, but don’t want to be a bore! I think perhaps it should be a choice. But it’s not just done for school attendance data. It’s done in the belief that it will help a lot of kids and reduce the disadvantage gap.

😂It's ok I wasn't offended, you made me laugh. We're all different!!

I’m so sorry. I regretted minimising your sadness immediately. I might feel differently when my last child finishes school. 💐

I can’t flippin wait for no more school/bus runs!! 🥳

Very thankful that awards evening is by invitation only. I don't think year 11s get any, as there are two evenings for years 7+8 and years 9+10.In 8 years and two kids we've been invited four times, although one of those was virtual as during lockdown and dc1 didn't actually receive the prize and certificate until about 6 months later! Each department nominates 3-6 people per year group and the learning support team can also nominate which is how ds2 got awards, as otherwise he would not have done.

Just checked DDs records she is shown as present every day she has an exam and a revision session. The rest of June from next Tuesday guessing as just a morning exam are shown as authorised absence. She has actually only had one day off as either had exams or study sessions. However the leaving an hour or two earlier has made a big difference.
Her school has a real big problem with attendance !

Oh that is sad 😔

Last exams on Monday here, and one tomorrow. So only 2 'school runs' left. Very sad :(

Personally, I don’t think that forbidding study leave does the kids any favours, particularly if A-Levels and university is their plan.

By 16 they should be able to study independently. They shouldn’t need someone watching over them, forcing them to revise. And if they don’t study, then they should accept the natural consequences.

I’m all for schools having study sessions and revision lessons, but they should be optional once the exams start at the latest.

DD has been off since start of May. I have not had any involvement in her revision at all other than reminding her to take breaks to eat. She has worked exceptionally hard as she knows it’s all down to her, no one else.

Conversely, DS is in year 9 and has done very little revision for his end of year exams. I have not said a word to him about revising. It’s up to him. Part of me hopes that he has a bit of a nasty shock so that he understands the importance of revision by the time he is doing his GCSE’s.

@MabelsBeats Y11s statutory leaving date is the last Friday in June so after that they will be marked as leavers. They should be being marked with an ‘S’ code while on study leave although looking at DDs app they have used a complete variation of codes including unauthorised absence when she was in exams! I have queried this but didn’t really get anywhere so have given up now.

The DfE then exclude the Y11 attendance data from the final half term when calculating the schools overall absence rates.