Year 10 2026/27 Support

Anyone else with a DC doing an HPQ? DS will be doing his this year, and is quite fired up by the idea of doing his own project. I don’t know how useful the qualification will be for him in reality, but it will be useful to learn research skills.

Weve only had one test so far (geo) and she did really well 90%+ however she generally really doesnt like the subject and didnt want to pick it because while this topic (deserts and food webs is like bio) is ok she doesnt like several others.
I think we have maths test before half term and a report in oct but they wont generally have anything to put in that so...?

The homework situation is crazy (because she has slow processing it takes twice as long) weve got science x2, maths, re, english lit, art and spanish all currently set. And considering they say 45-60 mins each. But most do have a week to complete it. I dont think its to much but maybe too much due to the sen

Has anyone else found that DCs grades have slipped a little this term?

DS has just had an assessment week for some subjects and he hasn't got as higher grades then he did in Y9. He says that he did revise for them but "forgot" the answers and the questions were hard and he didn't know how to answer them which is really unusual him.

I'm wondering if the step up to GCSE work has come as a shock and once he has a bit more time at this level it will become easier.

Or if it's just a slump that all Y10s go through

Another school hater here - but on the plus side he’s been going in and getting on with it. Seems to have adjusted to his new timetable and is doing the homework. He refuses to get involved with anything after school. Also refused to go to the Sixth form open day for the main College his school feeds into. Hopefully he will engage with it better in y11.

No mention of work experience at all yet. He has lots of tests coming up- Biology, Physics, Maths, Latin.
He’s signed up for silver DofE- rowing for physical (he rows 5x a week), D&D for activity and interact club for volunteering.
He’s going to Rome at half term for 3 nights with school. It’s a very busy time already

All good here as well. We are waiting to see if DS gets a place on D of E and a trip to Berlin in the Spring.

Our school hasn't talked about work experience yet but hopefully they will soon as DS hasn't got a clue what he wants to do

All good here so far. DD managing to just about keep up with the homework alongside the socialising. Wants to do work experience at the local surf place as we Iive near the coast, is going to ask them this weekend if they might have her. She has also approached library and been given a form to complete but apparently others have also enquired!

How are the DC settling in to Yr10? DS seems fine, homework is slowly ramping up but he never has had much in earlier years so it’s still very manageable. We haven’t managed to get work experience sorted yet, doesn’t seem that there are many opportunities in our semi-rural area but we need to find something or he’ll spend a week in school doing it virtually!

Another one with no idea what he wants to do for A Levels or further.

I'm sure school will start bugging him about work experience school soon but at the moment we are just getting used to the extra homework and trying to get him to enjoy English. As a STEM boy he doesn't see the point of it

DD2 has no idea what she wants to do either.

All she knows is that she doesn’t want a 9-5 office job!

No, I agree that it doesn’t really matter at this stage but he does have to arrange work experience for later in the year and I was thinking it might be helpful if he had a vague idea because that could help rule a potential career in or out, rather than doing something completely random for the week just because he has to do something. As it is, he’s football mad and has just started refereeing so I think he might try to find something related to that.

I don't think they need to think about careers yet. My Y12 still has no idea what she wants to do or even study at uni.

I suppose the only caveat is when it comes to choosing A levels if they're going to do something scientific like medicine or engineering, to make sure you keep all options open. Or if they want to do something not vocational like BTECs.

Am pretty sure my Y10 will be going down the humanities route so no pressure as yet.

My DD has just started y10. 7 days in and she’s had more homework in these 7 days that the whole of year 9! She has said she is going to « lock in » too and bless her she has. It’s going to be a long two years for us all - good luck 🤞

we are in wales so Welsh is a GCSE. She has also picked separate sciences, history and music

DD also has no idea what she wants to do and every attempt by me to (meekly) suggest possible careers have thus far been batted away.

Hello, may I join please? DS has just started Yr10 and is doing Geography, German, Business and Food Prep and Nutrition as his options. He has absolutely no idea what he might like to do career wise so his choices are a bit random!
No homework yet but he reckons he’s “going to lock in” this year, although I’m almost certain he said that at the beginning of Yr 9…..

Yr 10 DD1 doing exactly the same.

Y10 dd taking art, geo, combined sci, RS, spanish.
Dreading the art

Joining for DD2.

She's of the 'brilliant but lazy' stock. She could do really well if she buckles down. But I suppose she's got time for that. Marathon not a sprint as they say.

Ooh can I join too?
It’s going to be interesting to see how DS copes with increasing work, although his school did start the GCSE curriculum in year 9.

DS has got homework that's due the same week for the first time which has come as a shock. He had got in the habit of doing it all at the weekends.

His school are trying to introduce revision habits already. Starting small they have to come home and set at a desk and stare at their pencil case for 2 minutes. This will then turn into doing a quick question in the 2 minutes and then the time extends. It will be interesting to see if he manages to stick to this especially on the days he goes to the common to play football with his mates.

Hi, can I join?
DD has Combined Science, Health and Social Studies, Spanish, Art, Film Studies, Geography plus the usual English and Maths (foundation). All her choices.
I am dreading it... Two years of stress from teachers, which they started with at the end of Y9.

DS home and a bit freaked by the expectations as laid out by new head of year.
1hr 45 minutes homework a day! He doesn’t finish school until 4. He does have an 80 minute lunch break which I will encourage him to use but he’s in a lot of clubs… Start of year 7 they were told to join lots of clubs- so he did!
It is a selective independent with excellent GCSE grades - now I can see why…
All the year 11s and 12s we know seem well adjusted and with lots of extra curricular so hoping it’s just to scare them into working hard.

I gave examples of friendships I made or that deepened in y10 and 11 including women still in my life now....and said it does TEND to take longer than 1 day!!!