Parents of Year 11's - in the midst of exams!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

roll up roll up, for our new support thread for all parents of year 11 kids. Whether your kids work hard or not, what ever their goals (or not!) this is our place to de-stress :)

DD's boyfriend has a stomach bug and I have just read on another thread that there is a D and V bug going round. I'm panicking a bit now as he was here last night.

Well I didn't want to be the one to start a panic but DS has been off today with DnV. Not a lot of either (sorry for the detail) but the speed with which they turfed him out of school was impressive. Usually they try to talk them round and jolly them along but he was straight out of class and I got the call to fetch him.

Dd1 was off yesterday. Luckily no exams though.

English Lit, Drama, Geography and Maths for DS next week. He is still not revising so I will have to do what I can with him this weekend. Any other non revisers out there? I'm hoping he will wing it and get Bs and Cs but I know there could have been a few As in there if he had revised.

DS has two English papers, RE, physics and maths next week. And a leavers' assembley. There's also a BBQ but he's not going to that, he doesn't see any point since (a) all his mats are going to college with him and doing the same subjects to a certain extent (b) he hates BBQs

I spoke to DD's HOY in Thursday. They are still not on study leave but DD is finding it impossible to revise (which she's desperate to do) because the other kids (and even some teachers!) are just not knuckling down and being quiet! I told him I will be letting DD stay home to study from now on and he agreed it was right for her. She came home lunchtime yesterday and made revision posters to stick on her wall

English lit x2 and maths next week

Books allowed in English lit here too. Makes me a bit sad when I think of the reams and reams of quotes I used to memorise!

I think DS1 is going to have a shock next week. He's only done 1 exam (science) so far and next week he's got two AQA English Lit, AQA Science and EDEXL maths. The week after half term he's got 7 exams

The week after half term DS has history, English Lang, RE, computer science, maths, 2x biology and music. On the Friday he has a 3 exam day. It's going to be hellish, and music (which he could/should (is predicted to) get an A in and which he is doing at college) is the last one of the lot - he will be shattered by then :( He only has so much writing in him, you know? Because he finds it so hard. Not physically, just...mentally.he has come up with a new strategy for writing 'enough' though...he is treating everything as if he is explaining stuff to Hodor. He's been doing that in his structured revision sessions (which seem to be more like never ending exam practice as far as I can tell) and it seems to be a solid strategy. His new motto is 'if it only needs 2 sentences write 4' - it's not going to get him great marks but it should help secure the Bs he is aiming for. He thinks.

I hope there is no more sharing of germs! I felt distinctly off yesterday with an upset tummy. Very much washing of hands - obsessively so!

Bluegazebo it sounds frustrating. Winging it, if they have understood the material should get them a decent way through the grade hopefully.

BOOP that sounds like a sensible HOY.

DD started exams this week with stinky cold and very sore throat as doing the rounds at school - really hope D&V bug stays away 😷!! Friend's DD has gone down with tonsillitis poor thing!

Lots of illness's here too!

"but DD is finding it impossible to revise (which she's desperate to do) because the other kids (and even some teachers!) are just not knuckling down and being quiet!"

Same at DD's school. I think I might contact school and have this discussion. A few of DD's friends were absent yesterday for this reason, some having "doctor's/dentist's appointments"

Ds gleefully realised he was halfway through exams last night. Yippee! One exam per da this week, which is doable.

I'm a little,concerned that he has spent so much time on his other subjects in the last couple of weeks, that he hasn't actually looked at geography or maths for two,weeks. Hopefully he hadn't gone off the boil with these two, and it all will come flooding back this weekend.

Hello to all those in quarantine corner . I'm hovering on the edge, feeling under the weather first thing, but better late on. However, was near two people who were sick on Wednesday and Thursday, but fortunately one was from a migraine, so not infectious (fortunately for me, not her).

I'll be glad when these exams are over. We have no ds's sporting events this weekend (hooray), but can't do anything nice, or go out for the day, not that the weather looks good, due to,the spectre of revision.

Incidentally, does anyone still remember quotes from their O- and A-level (showing my age) English lit books. I can vaguely remember a soliquay from shakespere, and the plot of Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household. also can possibly list some of the features of 1984 at a push.

I can remember a couple of lines from Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon poems from 30 years ago!

Dd thought pissed rat biology was very hard. She was the only one of her friends who hadn't cried so far but did have a moment the night before chemistry as the biology had knocked her confidence.
Chemistry fine though..
Spanish very hard but after reviewing the questions later, thinks she's done better than originally thought.
She's been round people who are ill. Fingers are very firmly crossed.

I find it so bizarre that they can take the book into English Lit exams as I was also from the generation of learning lots of quotes (quotes that you'd drop into your answers regardless of whether they were relevant to the question in the hope it would get you a mark anyway!! )

Illness wise I'm really hoping we get through this without any sickness, not least because DD is an emetophobe.

Am relieved this first week of exams is over. English Lit (2 exams) and Maths (non calculator) next week.
I have also started invigilating (but not at dds school) and this week it was Chemistry (Foundation) and PE. We had one of those "it shouldn't happen to an invigilator" moments this week when a fellow invigilator was leaning on a desk and the desk collapsed. The contents of the desk and invigilator ended up on the floor. Fortunately it was towards the end of the exam and nearly all pupils had finished. Order was maintained but there were many stifled giggles. (PS Invigilator wasn't hurt).

We are hoping we got all incidents out of the way at mocks catslife and last year was pretty eventful so hopefully it's our turn for a quiet run (fx there's no more ill teens next week, don't fancy invigorating with buckets!)

I remember some of my friends a level quotes for English!

oops on the desk collapse!

Can I ask how much revision is likely to be happening in your households this weekend?

Next week is virtually full on wall to wall exams so I'm just wondering what would be a fair amount of downtime?

I ask because DD has so far spent the morning in bed, then having breakfast, having a shower and washing her hair, faffing around for a bit wondering what she'd look like with a fringe and finally 10 minutes ago has sat down in front of her books.

No doubt in 5 minutes she'll stop for lunch!

I suspect dd lies on the more extreme end of revision. She did get up at 9am and had an appt to go to, but she has scheduled in 6 hours of revision each day. I have to admire her dedication to her timetable.
Think she might be getting over tired though.

What DS1 has done so far today:
Got up at 11ish, had a long shower, chatted to visiting grandparents, ate lunch.
I think he's planning to go to a local canal/music festival this afternoon.

DS2, on the other hand, got up at 7, and did two hours of revision for his end of Y9 exams, which don't start till 6th June.

As predicted DD has appeared asking "what's for lunch?" (don't say that I don't know my own children !)

DS has allegedly been revising since about 11 (apparently, I was at an orchestra rehearsal). DD1 started revising at 7 but has stopped now, she gave orchestra a body swerve so she could get a full morning. We are hitting the shops this afternoon to spend her birthday money.
There will be moderate revision tomorrow too - we gat back from mass around 11 I guess they will revise till about 4 or 5. Nothing after that - DD1 has to come to Dd2's dance school show with us, DS is getting a free pass but I hope he spends the evening relaxing to be honest.