Year 13 2024 - General support thread part 2

[Rollergirl11]

All welcome as our young people head in to their last full term before the summer exams. Between UCAS applications, receiving offers/rejections, learning to drive and taking driving tests, revising for mocks and sitting them the pace hasn’t let up for our DC.

This thread has been a lovely supportive and immensely helpful place to talk as we guide our DC’s through this challenging time!

Old thread here https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/4851165-year-13-20232024-general-support-thread?page=40&reply=132323436

My DS is spending protracted periods of time in his room with the door shut and he says he's revising. But really, who knows?!
That said, he normally has a break from his maths tutoring in the holidays but he's asked for extra this time, wo he does seem to be taking things fairly seriously.

Gosh @legosnowqueen it’s been a whirlwind for you all and it must be very disconcerting to have everything change in the space of a few weeks. Yours and the schools plan really does sound like the best approach for your DS though; giving him the time he needs to recover without any pressure. Besides, would he really want to be heading off to university with the uncertainty around his health and also not being able to fully partake in student life. Please do remain on the thread, you have been part of this journey since before GCSE’s and your absence would be sorely missed!

Witb regards to revision I don’t feel like DD did as much as she should have over the last week. I reckon she was averaging around 2-3 hours but some days she did none (her birthday and the weekend just gone). And now she has gone to Paris with her boyfriend early this morning and not back till late on Friday and then she’s working on Saturday so no more opportunity. I think she will knuckle down once back at college. She has had consistently good grades in her mocks and historically DD tends to do too much rather than too little so I’m fairly confident that she won’t allow herself to be ill prepared. Her first exam is not until 23rd May so still a good 6 weeks away.

My DD worked all 4 days over the Easter weekend then worked all the following weekend and an all night party following one of the days working which included 5 hours sport (got a 4.20am message Mum I feel ill can you wake DH to get me please so off he goes, fine now and didn't drink much so think was just overdoing the partying and sport and maybe a bug). She also shuts the door (well there's a trainer in it for the cat) and leave her to it - not sure all the courses are even 100% finished. Mocks were one grade down overall in one subject on what she needs but she added she didn't write some answers in full as it was only the mocks. 🤔She tends to do a lot last minute - I was the same and just leave to it but does depend on child.

My DS seems to work pretty rigidly - 5 one hour slots with half an hour break between each or an hour for lunch. Starts at 9 and finishes around 5.

He’s always worked a bit like this. Took 3 days off over Easter weekend and has a day off at weekend.

Hard to know how efficient he is - much of it is revising for stuff he’s already revised for yr12 exams or yr13 mocks. Says he’s reading, making notes and doing essay plans or essays. So sounds okay.

I think the thing is it’s a marathon this time. No good peaking too soon or losing interest. So it’s good to not go overboard at the start. Building in social activities etc seems a good thing. My DS has a small social life but certainly isn’t out more than once or twice at most a week. Often doesn’t get dressed until mid afternoon. But he seems to have found something that’s working for him and I can’t fault his work ethic, so I’m very grateful not to have to nag him.

I keep trying to buy nice snacks for the breaks and offering to get more stationary if he needs it. It does feel like a long haul though.

@legosnowqueen, glad you and ds now have a plan going forward that everyone is happy with. I wish him a speedy recovery and also hope you update on the thread.

Ds is doing a lot of maths revision and I'm slightly concerned he needs to get on with the science revision too. He's putting in around 5-6 hours a day (I think but I'm out at work mostly so can't really monitor). He seems to get very distracted by his phone. He's got 6 weeks to his first exam. He printed off a FM past paper yesterday so will tackle that later this week. It's his longest exam - 2hrs 40 plus he gets extra time so he needs to practise that one.

He's not going out that much this week although he had a few half days out last week playing sport and meeting his friends at the gym plus a couple of family afternoons out for Easter.

Completely agree with you @WombatChocolate in that it’s a marathon and so completely different from how they revise for GCSE’s. The focus now is on depth rather than breadth. DD has found that the biggest challenge, certainly when it comes to History where the amount of content can be overwhelming.
She was showing me an essay that she wrote last week where she was trying out a slightly different handwriting style and asking if I could still read it okay. I asked her why she was doing that and she said she was trying to adapt in order to get more written down quicker. Her RE exams are both 3 hours long and she still struggles to get enough written down in the time! It’s things like that I would have never thought of.

Interesting. Such a broad range of work ethics!

@SooperOuting what is the revision tracking app?

@Rollergirl11 as an exam veteran, I can remember the game-changer in my 20s that was the tip to write essays with a rollerball not a biro!

Forest. DD has just earned a Gingko tree!

Oh yes we have that one on the go here. Thanks.

I have a meeting at DDs school at 6 - a year 13 progression meeting. Could well be the last time I go inside school which does feel a bit odd

@legosnowqueen so glad that there's a plan in place for your ds - sounds like a very sensible one too. Hopefully that will enable him to focus on recovery without so much stress.

DS allegedly doing 5-6 hours a day with one day fully off per week. He did have the whole Easter weekend off. However today he says he feels sick so is just lying on his bed. Think he needs a rocket up his backside! He's doing one full past paper per exam this week (9 total) so he can take them into school to be marked next week which should hopefully give him a good benchmark as to where he's at before the final push.

I have absolutely no idea if DS doing any revision but the intention is there, as he has been to the library with friends every week day of the Easter holidays. Hopefully not just messing around but really I have no clue. Can’t wait for the exams to be over.

DS has just given me a shock, but in a good way. It's his Prom on Friday and as he normally sees his maths tutor after school on Fridays I had assumed he would cancel it - and I wouldn't have complained to be honest. But no, he's just told me that he is going to do his maths lesson before he goes to Prom as it's more important and he doesn't want to lose any learning opportunities between now and the exams.😯
Who are you, and what have you done with my son...😂😂

Congratulations @KerryT2004, you must be chuffed. Sounds like a great course.

Well done @KerryT2004 that sounds amazing!

Glad to hear the school have been so supportive and found a way forward @legosnowqueen hope his recovery goes well with no further incidents.

DS has just entered his firm and insurance choices on UCAS - eeek! Seems to have lost momentum with the revision a bit this morning and says he doesn't want to do (yet another) past paper. Hopefully he will find something else productive to do! I know it is a marathon not a sprint and he has five weeks of teaching at college before exam leave but it is all feeling rather close to me now.

That's good news @legosnowqueen but must still be a shock for you all. Hope recovery continues well for him.
How do you all know how much revision js being done?! Ds is in his room all day, door firmly closed, gets dressed at some point- he says he's working but that's what he said for mocks, which were a disaster- and everything I say is annoying and unhelpful!

I'm with you @aramox1

I ask every now and then if DD needs any help (I helped a lot with AS revision but she has started ADHD medication since then so is more on top of things). All she has asked me for so far is multiple revision plans, but I have no idea whether she's actually doing any of it. Adds a certain extra frisson to results day in August.. 😬

I'm glad she's taking charge but just hope it's going ok and we are not in for a meltdown with two weeks to go 🤞

Luckily once next week is out of the way I will be around a lot and quite flexible with work until the exams finish.

It's difficult to know but I must admit ds does like the odd bit of help, for example, he's just started past papers so I 'offered' to mark them using the mark scheme so am starting to see where the gaps are. He's only done 3 so far though for maths.

We're also running through the science checklists when I've got time. It's tiring for me after a days work but I guess I'm 'lucky' that he'll let me support him even though we don't really understand the content at all. We did the same for GCSE. It will no doubt get very fraught in the couple of weeks before they start!

DD likes to sit opposite me at the table whilst I work. She will occasionally go and work in her room if I have lots of disturbing work calls but generally she prefers the company. So I can see exactly how much she is doing. I wouldn’t have a clue how to mark any papers or indeed write any essays/answers but she will sometimes ask what some words mean and tonight she wants me to watch a documentary with her for one of her subjects.

DS was totally different - he didn’t want me around at all. He either worked in his room with the door shut or round at his girlfriends so we had no idea how little he was doing. It was very upsetting and stressful.

I think ds is working. He's done 8 past papers this week. He's going to take them into school for them to be marked.

He has a revision timetable and I pop into his room unannounced every now and again to keep him on his toes! 🤣

DD is quite independent and just goes in her room so no idea how much is or isn't being done though I know her boyfriend gives her past papers to do and he marks them, his idea. I do get told various things but she doesn't like me asking about revision etc and prefers to chat about the cat, her work, her day etc. I am very happy she is that independent. DS is the opposite. She will chat to me for an hour or two a day but its 90% cat.

You enter his room?! Unannounced? The bravery! I don't think I want to see inside ds's cave until it's all over when I shall insist everything is picked up!

@aramox1 that made me laugh! DS's room is actually pretty tidy and he doesn't object to me popping in and out. I generally knock but more of a "knock and walk in" action. We don't really do closed doors so if his door was shut then I wouldn't go in but most of the time it's half open.