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

Exit, that is a scary leap to make for your dd. She needs to think of it like a festival, only without the music and the fun and a whole lot of work

fantasy I have moved dd from a school which sounds similar. She is starting big state 6th form next week. 12 doing RS, 35 history. She would have been the only one doing history or RS at her old private. I thought that sounded like the most depressing thing in the world. Also I have grave doubts about the schools ability to stay open!

exit dd also making that move! She's really looking forward to it but worried about how clever everyone is in her tutor group!

bar
The schools numbers raise each year. It's not a small small school. The main thing is will DD be happy or not. The school has done wonders for DD and she will be happy I couldn't put DD in a state school due to issues with bullying.
For history there is 26 students same with English literature there's only R.S where she's the only 1

I went to a reasonably large state comprehensive school in the 1970s and there were only 3 of us taking A level French.

This wouldn't happen in the state sector nowadays. DD's school will only do an A level course with a minimum of 14 students because it isn't financially viable otherwise.

I emailed HO6th form friday I've just had a response in regards to her being the only one doing R.S as she wasnt allowed to do french when there was 2 students doing it, this was later revealed that this was an issue due to staffing. his response is that there will be 2 doing R.S as there was a late application for 6th form. HO6th assures me that this is a fine number and dd will be fine and hopefully succeed and with there being only 2 that shouldnt be an issue as she will develop skills as if there was 12 or 35

Good Luck to any dcs starting back at 6th form/college tomorrow.
I'm sure there were a couple who said the 5th.

I'm not sure how I'd feel about class sizes of only one or two. On one hand I suppose it would be like a university tutorial, so fantastic experience for that. And as a teacher in a state primary, I spend ages wishing I could have more any 1:1 time with pupils, so in some ways it's the dream! But on the other hand I would be worried about lack of discussion and interaction with peers.
Fantasy it sounds like your DD is passionate enough about the subject to use other resources though - Internet forums etc are a great suggestion.
It isn't something I will ever need to think about - think dd's A-Level classes are all 25-30 students, which of course also has down sides.

Oops - *I'm sure there were a couple who said tomorrow. DD is not til the 5th.

Exit's dd is in tomorrow. Good luck Exits dd. Don't get lost!

hes
Head of sixth form said it shouldn't be an issue and if DD comes home crumbling or moaning I should contact ASAP and he'll discuss it with her.
I suppose having 2 pupils in a class isn't that bad.

Ah thankyou Kitten, I knew there was somebody.
Good Luck to Exit's DD, hope it's a brilliant start of a wonderful 2 years.

Obviously the Ho6 has a different take from me but then he has a very obvious vested interest in a small independent school saying that two in an A level class for RS is ok. I'm amazed you think his word is sufficient! I would be horrified at such tiny numbers and don't agree that it would be like a university tutorial at all - the universities which offer one to one or one to two tutorials tend to be at the very top end with very bright tutors; is the RS teacher at this small independent going to be capable of delivering the variety and level of discussion required? Actually I'd go further and say I'd run a mile from any independent which was that small in any event. My niece went to one with tiny numbers in the sixth form for a number of subjects - her education was incredibly weak. For a number of subjects at A level you need a minimum number, and RS is one of them. I'd only be mollified if the teacher was truly outstanding, and guaranteed to stay put for the full two years but those teachers are few and far between and as a general rule tend not to teach in tiny independents where there isn't a great deal of challenge.

I'm sorry but this is my DD and I know what is best for her. The rest of her classes are decent sized. So please don't make it out like I'm incapable of knowing what is best for my DD.
DD is happy there why would I take her out of a school she is happy in to place her in a state system she endured a lot of bullying which effected Her health.
The school is large for an independent school I think your all missing the point. It is not that it is small pupils just haven't chosen to do the subject.
Please do not undermine my parenting abilities no-one knows what I witnessed my child endure and to see her happy now is a blessing
I thought we were here to support people's decisions not demonise people's decisions

Agree with fantasy. This is not Aibu and she did not ask for opinions. Nobody here knows her dd, the circumstances or facts better than fantasy.
Fantasy - please don't question you decision based on comments made by people who don't have any info re your dd. As I said up thread ds was on his own for AS German and got an A grade. The teacher was able to tailor the course to his strengths and weaknesses.

Fantasy, your DD is braver than my DS. I am fairly sure he wouldn't do the subject if he thought he was the only pupil, he's very comfortable in his peer group but that much one to one with an adult would disgruntle him for sure.

I've actually got the other problem, it would appear that DS's Chemistry A Level 'block' will have 21 pupils in it, that seems a lot to me? Unless they find a way round it I guess.

That's an unnecessary over-reaction to a perfectly valid point about class sizes and humanities subjects which require debate. This may not be aibu but that doesn't mean people can't observe obvious pitfalls when a poster raises the question of an absurdly small class for RS. It's hardly an issue about parenting! Apologies about the size of the school, I thought you'd said the entire school was small. I actually thought the point of his section was to share experience in any event, which I did.

Goodbye, this is a support thread, not a debate thread. We share experiences here, there are many different backgrounds and sometimes one persons experience is something that others of us haven't encountered. That is all.

Seeing our kids off into the next bit of their education can be a little anxiety creating and as our kids go into college there are bits we would like to talk about without having a full blown debate.

You are of course most welcome to start a seperate thread talking about the merits of different class sizes.

Thankyou oh
Let me just clarify one thing there will be 2 in the class not just her need of sixth form confirmed
And that's the end.
It's the stationary shop today DD is very use to using folders as she did for all her gcse courses. DD often uses a makeup bag as a pencil case so it'll be a search for the perfect one

dd found a giant pencil case in paper chase. Not quite sure why she needs such a big one. Perhaps she hopes that she will be able to crawl into it and take a nap midway through any boring lesson?

Mmm, crawl into it's giant cwtchy interior and get away from the world, I might go and buy one for myself. Do they still do the huge, fluffy, fluorescent ones?

Do I need to go out and buy 8 million files and all the lined paper I can find? DS1 has always been allowed a laptop due to his SN so I guess that won't change now? The have to take one in for BTEC sport science anyway. DS2 starting GCSE's but because he is NT I've managed to completely ignore what he might need, oh no, here it comes, more parental guilt...

Good luck to Exit's DD today!

MrSlant not only have I bought files & paper, I've bought dividers and labelled them with "classwork/notes", "homework to do" and "to be handed in" in the hope that DS1 will move on from his former 'organisational system' of mixed wodges of folded bits of paper.

Disclaimer: those with non-dyspraxic DCs may not need to do this.

Our stationery is sorted. I handed dd £10 and she went off and bought it all herself. I have no idea what she's bought but since she's a stationery expert I trust her to have it covered.

TheSecond I wonder if DS's laptop is causing some of the organisational problems then, his dyspraxia affects his handwriting much more than his speech so everything is supposed to go down on the laptop, which isn't as organised as a proper file. I think I will go and investigate a really good academic diary, or a filofax type one and organise it like your file. Mixed wodges of folded bits of paper that go in the wash have been our preferred method of organisation recently . Or put in a giant pile of mixed school work (all three boys) so I don't get the letter advising me his current predictions are all D's (Oh if I could find that one again now!).

It's tomorrow . Did I say it was today? Sorry, but thanks for all your good luck messages. DD is still in bed recovering from Leeds Fest.

It's enrolment day here today. It's taking back stage to the vet visit for the poorly dog, he's very bemused by the failure of his back end. The lack of a waggy tail is killing me at the moment and it's totally driven out any thoughts of "what if they don't run music?"

My thoughts are with all of you who have had to put on a brave face and kept on keeping on throughout the exam period.