Aibu

[springisaroundthecorner]

Message from school. Year 11 are leaving in 10 weeks.
What do they do for 5 months until September ??

@springisaroundthecorner

DC not 16 until end of June. So can't work until then

They will be doing exams until then I would have thought?

Sleep, eat, see friends, repeat. Same as I did far too many years ago to discuss.
Actually I did get a job, allowed me to fund the eating out and seeing friends.
Its always been the same, stop babying him and let him figure it out.

When are the exams? I revised 9 hours a day until they were over.

In the army 2000s when I was in year 11 we “finished” school in May and then we’re on study leave so I just stayed home studying or went into school if I needed too.

I stayed home alone all day fine at 15.

Once exams were over me and my best friend went to Cornwall for 6 weeks camping. Was fantastic

Baby sitting
Dog walking
Charity shop
Internship
Work abroad on a summer camp
Volunteer
Anything that looks good on a cv
Paper round

Op do you mean they "finish" before or after exams?

If after exams then I stand by my previous posts, let him have a summer of freedom.

If before exams, then he hasn't actually finished he's on study leave and should be revising full time until exams are completed. Study timetable, the works.

Sleep and go out with friends. Not aong time to fill at all

I wasted my summer after exams working 6 days a week I'm a summer job while my friends were out having a great time. I regret that summer so much. Git paid an absolute fucking pittance aswell and then never got paid the last month of wages for some reason. Counting in my bus fayre there and back I basically worked 6 days a week for free.

I finished in May 16 years ago. I chilled.

Well first of all they revise for their gcses and then their gcses take them through to mid or late June.

Then they have fund with their mates over summer and/or work. Same as it ever was.

Revision timetable - if he hasn't any idea how to set one he should ask at school - even if they aren't running any sessions (which they might well not, what with The Plague) he's expected to spend the term time on school work
Exams - he should be available till 29 June, which is the day any exams which have to be cancelled in emergency will be rescheduled (this came in in 2019, just in time for the biggest cancellation ever )

Is NCS happening this year? National Citizenship Scheme - yep, looks like it. That should take up at least 4 weeks
wearencs.com/summer

We were in school full time during exams

You lived in a different country? I am in my 50s and school always finished in May just ahead of O-levels.

Some of my friends were not 16 until July or August, I don’t remember it being more of an issue for them.

I answered on your other thread so some of this is repeated plus a few extra ideas...
Part time summer job
Volunteering
Sign up for NCS
Learn something new that isn't a school subject
Read for pleasure not exam
Watch a load of films from different genres
Clear out bedroom of things outgrown and have a car boot sale
Go to musuems
Go for long bike rides/walks
Go swimming daily
Try out different hobbies
Experiment with cooking
Learn DIY
If your child is going on to college/6th form then these few months are the rare and probably only time of freedom and no pressure that a young person will have. No exams to study for. No financial pressure. Best few months a young adult can have.

He'll have exams in June, surely? So he'll be revising and going in for exams and stuff until then and potentially doing some planning for sixth form or college if that's what he's hoping to do next. And Yr12 will start again at the beginning of September. So he'll probably be 'off' for more like 11 or 12 weeks, not 'five months'.

Either way - personally I'd be more than happy for a 16-year-old to take a break, chill out and loaf around for an extended break after 11 years of school. If he needs/wants extra money, then a job would be great, but I don't think it's a problem if not.

I always had a Saturday job when I was a teenager, but I didn't get another job between GCSEs and sixth form - I did loads of nice stuff with my mates, pottered around doing creative stuff that I liked, hobbies etc. It was bliss. My friends and I planned for the 'big long summer holiday' for absolutely ages - the prospect of loads of lovely time off was the main thing that kept us motivated through our GCSE year tbh.

They’re not leaving. They finish full time about a week before exams start then exams run until 28th June so not exactly doing nothing!

Think of it as a version of Rumspringa. A time to find out who you really are and whether the life path that's been planned is really what you want.

@Myturnatlast

You should have been there for Y11 2020! No school from March, no exams so no home school, my DD went feral for 6 months and loved it! And they can work when they're 15, there's just less options.

Haha. Yes. I had that with my DS too. After all the shitty Covid I told him to enjoy himself. He had a little job and bit of money so why not!

Chores, see friends, relax, get a part time job when he's 16

Year 11s have always left in May and the time will fly by for when he starts college, this is a none issue

May and June will be revising and exams, so July and Augist can be spent working, resting, maybe doing exercise or hobbies.

It's always been the case that there's a long summer holiday post GCSEs. Although the officially finish in May, they're normally expected to go in for revision classes in the run up to exams.

After exams, it's a time to wind down and chill out. Get a part time job so you've got some space case. Then make the most of the freedom - days out to the beach with mates, picnics on the park, long lie ins, camping, festivals. Once you leave education, it's unlikely they'll ever have the whole summer to themselves again, so they should make the most of it while they can.

10 weeks is the beginning of May. Revise for their exams / sit exams almost daily until June surely?

By the time exams end it'll only be about 10 weeks to September. Part time job/ prep for next round of study/ rest/ have some fun. Same as most 16 year olds.

My kids did NCS and loved it. Absolute bargain.

I'm beginning to think there isn't so much of it. Exams until 23rd. Week off and prom. Sixth form taster days first week in July, followed by hobby event. Then we're having our family holiday. Then a weekend with the gps after which DC is staying on for a few days. That only leaves one month, and there will also be pre-college work set. We already have a list of things to do with the time.

They will have exams until June so if he turns 16 In June he can get a job then

Get a summer job? Go out with friends? Sleep? Relax after the stress of exams.

Surely there’s lots they can do.