Y11 - 2026/27 thread

@purplejeanie he sounds ideally suited - what a shame he's not enjoying it! Are you sure he would even have the option to give up at this stage? It does feel very achievable if he can just find that bit of spark.

@brackengirl it sounds as though your DD is well suited too. It is a pain taking your instrument in - DD has to take hers three days per week (not for GCSE music but for ensembles / music lesson) and she does struggle on the bus. She is lucky as her peers are all traditional/classical players so she fits in. They are all music nerds together.

@LetItGoToRuin She has a 20 min walk so can manage, but a bassoon and a clarinet don't fit with her trendy bag and non-robust shoes! She came home today saying they have offered her a place in the senior wind ensemble so she'll definitely have to take the bassoon (affectionally named the baboon in our house) 2 days so I imagine she'll end up using one or the other more in music lessons too.
She did suggest hiring another one so she could have a school one and a home one but that is very wishful thinking and won't be happening!

@LetItGoToRuini think he would have the option (probably after January mocks). The school is very results focussed and so far music is an outlier for him in terms of how he’s doing. But I’m going to push them to help him more (and try and get him to properly engage!) to see if that helps.

Just joining in this thread.

Can’t believe DS is now in Y11. Although I have an older DS (he is 21), his year got TAG due to Covid so a completely different experience of Y11 than DS2.

DS2 has ASD and is academically not as strong as DS1. He is predicted relatively good grades for English and other subjects but finds maths/science quite challenging so it’s going to be quite a slog to get him the grades that he needs. He has spent a lot of time over the summer on Cognito (online learning platform) and doing past papers, all his own doing.

He wants to stay at 6th form to do a combination of 3 BTECs, school is his safe place and I think him changing at this point is not a great idea.

Dd went to a sixth form taster day this week, came back unimpressed, they didn't even go in into the sixth form building and she wasn't inspired by the day. Think we're crossing that one off the list.
She's been selected by the school as a super student, email from the deputy head saying they are looking forward to getting to know her this year. She's been in the school for 5 years, the cynic in me feels like they should have made an attempt before now?!

One of the Sixth Form open evenings is the same night as one if the performances of the current school production.

Do you think it would be worth going alone?

Nothing to lose.

It may help completely cross it off the list.
Or, if a potential, you could ask if it would be possible to go another day with DC to have a look. Obviously it won’t give the full experience but better than nothing.

Its tricky as the reason we are looking is she foubd tge Sixth form college overwhelming.

This would be smaller, but still 350 per year, and she eould not know anyone.

Other option is a Catholic school. (She is athesist!)

Hiya, can I jump in on this thread please. DS is in yr 11 and planning to go to 6th form. I’m a bit out my depth 🫣 He’s already done Maths, Further, Statistics and got 9,9,8. Mocks coming up for triple science, business studies, English, French and Religion & Philosophy, history! I’m worried he’s studying too hard.. he has autism and academically a bit of a bright lad but in his head failure isn’t an option. Hell bent he’s off to uni after 6th form. Currently attending a private specialist school with two day release at Kings for science (also study A-level maths) to keep him on their timetable. I’m just overwhelmed with it all. ExH is far removed from it all - typically.

Thanks for your reply @Echobelly The kings school want him to stay (obviously good for their stats) but it’s a long way to travel and he’s done 4 years there and many will move on as he was studying two classes above. His brother (currently yr9) is at a local grammar (equally good IMO) and he’s keen to move there. I have spoken to the head of house and he’s been very supportive and seems to think my son would have no issues getting in. Academically smashing it (if not a bit hard on himself) socially-needs some work. I’m thinking the grammar school option might help him as it’s much bigger than the private school and could help him adapt a little before uni. 🥴

First Sixth Form Open day.

Its confusing. A levels. BTECs. V Levels which havent even got the final syllabus yet.

She was worried it was foo big, but it seemed smaller today. About 800 per year.

There will only be a very few V levels for next Sept so unless those specific subjects appeal, that's an easy swerve.

A levels vs Btecs IME is around the kinds of subjects you like and the way you like to work.

If you like Eng lit, chemistry, history, maths then A levels are your badger. If you prefer more applied subjects like H&SC, business, applied science - and crucially if you are better with ongoing CW that has to be kept on top of (but then les emphasis on exams after two years) then Btecs are for you. A mix is also possible.

ETA 800 is a big sixth form so there should be a good range of subjects on offer.

She will suit BTecs better than A levels. Just the worry they would be considered lesser.

The choice would be
Medical Science BTEC vs A level biology
Pyschology A level vs BTEC

Werent overly impressed with Health and Social Care BTEC (they seemed to be putting off the science students).

V Level Education.. they were honest. They dont have the final details. They are working on the presumption it will be considered the same as BTEC Early Years its replacing. Good choice for those considering Primary Teaching.

Maths and Chemistry were a bit overwhelming.

Its the logical Sixth Form choice. (It used to be part of her school, separated 10 years ago). Very highly regarded.

@BirdLandedonmyHead Btecs are not considered lesser as in, they are accepted by many universities and are a great choice if they will suit. Bette ra high grade in a Btec than a lower one in the A level, surely.

But it does depend on what her final aim is. It's fair to say that unis such as Oxford, Cambs, Warwick for some courses, LSE and a few other unis will not accept them, or only for certain courses, or only in combo with one or two A levels. Also I think I am right in saying courses like vetmed, medicine, dentistry will not accept them, or again, only in tandem with A level chemistry or similar. If her aim is anything of that order then research now.

Her aim is Nursing or Primary teaching. We are looking at university requirements now.

(My next question, which may be too slecific for this thread on Yr11... once a nurse is qualified, does the university matter?)

Then Btecs if more suitable would be fine IME. I am not aware that it matters where you did your nursing degree (not my area tho! but when I worked for an NHS trust, we certainly were not fussy about the uni for the nurses we recruited). Be aware tho that apparently it is not the certain route into a job it once was due to a freeze on recruitment. I think some areas may have more openings though.

First sixth form open evening for us - think it's ruled out already as English Lit and History are in the same block so can't do both.
It's given us more ideas on what we need to look at so was still helpful.
Half term for us now, revision to do before Nov mocks but for now they are fast asleep!

This surprises me. Back in the old days one of the 'standard' combinations at my school was English Lit, History & French. Seems to me English Lit & History would be quite a common combination.

DD is looking to do English with History/ Classical Civilisation and French so I would agree it's a common combination.

We are limping to half term here, drama devising went well on Wednesday but she is absolutely shattered. Looking forward to a week of revising for mocks and doing her college applications (we have two big colleges, hardly any school 6th forms so she is going to apply to both) but at least she can have a lie-in!

Half term at last! DD has been working hard (mocks start a fortnight after the break) and needs a rest, though I think she will be quite diligent and do a decent amount of revision.

She had a breakthrough last week with revising for a science test, and really felt she knew the material after testing herself on some initial questions, then watching videos / reading material, then doing some final questions. I think she'd just been doing passive revision before - reading her notes etc. She is not a fan of flashcards or mind maps, but actively testing her knowledge with exam questions is working for her. She has probably worked this out just in time!

We had parents' evening earlier in the week, and DD was a bit affronted that another of her science teachers (who only took over their class in September) doesn't seem to think her capable of a top grade, and was only talking about 'securing' the grade she got in her Y10 exam. She has decided she will show him! We'll see how that goes...

6th form open evenings are coming up mid-November. Irritatingly, there are clashes on two evenings - on one she won't go to her school (even though it's her preferred choice) but she and I will go to another, and the other evening she and I will go to one, and DH to the other. They are all school sixth forms.

Have a great break, everyone!