Parents of Year 11s - the end has been and gone

[BitOutOfPractice]

The thread that got us all through the exams is now full so here's a new one to get us through the nervous wait for results

Well done to all our brave Y11s and wish every last one of them all the best

Link to the last thread

DS's exam papers came back with his name on and YEAR 12 written at the top which was a shock to the system. We are now the proud parents of sixth formers/college students on this thread. It's boggling when you think back to this time last week!

Bertrand it's the level 3 BTEC so one A level equivalent. We are off for four hours in the car now so will take another past paper and talk our way through it and then tomorrow he will cycle 120k around big hills showing his knowledge of VO2 max, hydration, fuelling and heart rate boundaries in a joyful practical exam. Certainly takes the edge of post GCSE results lethargy .

His Welsh teacher was so happy to see him yesterday, she's one of the teachers who 'gets' my lovely boy, she gave him a quick hug and told him he was one mark of a C which for him is just brilliant. She's getting it remarked even though we aren't bothered, knowing he did so well is enough for us but if it makes her happy (and probably makes her statistics look better!). I also emailed the teacher who was part of his diagnosis in primary school because she turned him round from a failing very unhappy little boy to one who could go to mainstream secondary with his head held high. She is SO proud of him it makes me a bit teary. Some teachers make more of a difference than others although Mr You Can't Do IT might make more of a difference than he realises with his attitude .

Kitten dd is taking Creative Writing, Graphic Communication (which is a type of Art) and Health and Social Care.
At the moment she isn't considering uni so any argument about facilitating subjects wouldn't seem relevant. I did try to persuade her to take a more conventional English subject but that's teenagers for you.
Thesecond unfortunately the new A level syllabus does mean that second hand text books are unlikely to be available.

Graphic communication is cool. The year after me at school they replaced technical drawing with graphic communication. My sister did a higher in it I think and loved it.

The world would be a much duller place if all anyone wanted to do were the facilitating subjects on the RG list.

Can anyone help me understand these marks for DS's English GCSE please?

AQA GCSE English Language:

Exam Code Grade
ENG02 3
ENL03 071
ENG1F 108
4707 D

He is prepared to do the resit in November but I dont know if it is worth going for a review.

Can anyone explain the above please?

If I have read the grade boundaries correctly:

ENG02 Listening and Speaking Grade 3 is a U
ENL03 English Lang Unit 3 Grade 071 is one point of a C
ENG1F English Lang Unit 1 Grade 108 is a C

So absolutely no idea what went wrong with the listening and speaking!

catslife, it sounds like she is choosing a range of subjects that will make her happy and I think that's really important. Far more likely to do well in subjects she loves.

Kitten I agree with you.
Stepaway that's very interesting - DH used to work as an engineering draughtsman (until it all went computerised and was passed onto subcontractors).

What are everyone's dc's starting dates for their college/school/ next step?

dd starts 5th September.

6th September

DD starts back 8th but has to be back on the 7th as she's a boarder.
Textbooks bill came through some R.S adds up to £50 nearly died

Also DD has seen a lot of revision guides etc for sale at a good price for her chosen subjects would it be worth buying these or will knew ones be getting released soon for the new alevels?

DS1 has an induction day on the 2nd then starts properly on the 5th.

Those wanting to do A-level Maths were given a "bridging the gap" course to work on over the summer, to get them up to speed from GCSE. DS1 didn't do it because he assumed that he wouldn't get the grades and was going to college anyway.

He is currently at a festival, and will arrive back on Monday evening exhausted (if last year was anything to go by). He will then attempt to cover the entire bridging course in a few days, ready for a Maths "readiness for A-level" test in the first week of term.

DS starts back on the 12th which is a week later than the local schools so we'll have a week to hit the tourist traps that have been rammed with people all summer.

Watch it rain all week.

Icould
The 12th
DD is looking forward to back to school

We go back on the 5 th. Dd is excited, but got her timetable emailed to her yesterday and isn't in the same class as any of her friends for anything. She has hoped that since they are all doing at least one subject in common she'd have at least one friend in something, but no. She hasn't even got a friend in her form. Obviously she'll cope, but she's very socially anxious (possibly even undiagnosed selective mutism on the lesser end of the scale), so having a friend in a couple of subjects would just have made things easier.

DS is back in on the 31st so next week. DD is back in on the 5th for a meet and greet then back proper on Tuesday 6th.

This is the first year since 2000 that we havent had to buy 'going back to school' clothes. The end of an era!

Is Cambridge exams CIE?

we bought 'back to school' shoes a pair of Vans, because well, she can wear what she likes now.

MsMermaid, sounds like it's going to be a tough start, I hope she finds some lovely friends quickly.

I'd wait F&H just because you never know whether they are absolutely tied to doing the courses til they actually start them.

yes 228.

We're off to buy a new school bag this afternoon. I have that Year 7 New Parent worry of not buying the wrong bag as ds is going to a new school. he's not that bag fashion conscious, bit I still don't want to get it wrong.

We were given a sheet of grade boundaries, including some from CIE. What subjects are you after? Ds did five CIE exams.

will pm :)

228agreenend I would love to know:

What mark was needed for a C grade in CIE iGCSE Chemistry.

What mark was needed for an A grade in CIE iGCSE Biology.

Thank you.

OYBBK

we bought 'back to school' shoes... a pair of Vans

I dare you to start a thread about Vans as school shoes, asking if it's OK for your DD to wear them to school. Don't forget to include a photo. If possible, spell shoes as shoze.
😂

I've bought her uniform Cost £500 and need a new p.e kit which is a further £200.
School shoes we bought doc martens loafers £50 which she's wearing in I type
Still need to buy stationary and new school bag
DD is looking forward to getting a study to decorate and her Kylie lipkits have arrived so she's happy