Starting Y11 support thread

[AtiaoftheJulii]

(Yeah, I'm procrastinating ....)

For all those with one or two (or more?) offspring going into year 11: controlled assessments, coursework, practicals, performances, GCSE revision (or not ...), being guinea pigs for the Maths and English 1to9 exams, choosing what to do next - schools/sixth form colleges/college/apprenticeships/BTECs/A levels and more - and generally being 15!

It's a tough year academically - in some ways harder than sixth form I think because there are just so many subjects and exams - and a tough year emotionally - not always mature enough to organise themselves, too old to have organisation imposed upon them!

Ds still has an MFL CA, a couple of science practical CAs, and two assessed drama performances, plus coursework to do for History I think. I can't see there's going to be much let up and he's definitely feeling the pressure I think he'll probably end up staying at his school for 6th form (he's very mathsy and his school is a good fit) but we may well look at a couple of sixth form colleges as he's already talking about whether he can go somewhere that won't feel quite so pushy.

DS had his maths mocks on Monday. All 3 papers with a 30 minute break in between. He was exhausted afterwards. It was way too much for them. He had done a bit of revision (or so he said) but said that it was the hardest exam he ever did. He said there were loads of questions on topics they had not yet studied. He said that lots of the kids were in tears afterwards because the tests was so difficult and stressful. Afterwards he spoke to his maths teacher who said they didn't expect the kids to get high marks and they knew there would be subjects they hadn't studies. Well what was the bloody point, all it has done is knock the confidence of a whole load of kids. I am furious and have sent an email to her. Lets see what the results show next week. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

It's bloody stupid minesawine ... dd has her maths papers spread out over the week but the maths teacher has told them that there will be lots they can't answer. I'm trying to prep dd not to utterly freak out when she opens the paper. All the other subjects have tailored the exams to the topics they have actually studied. Why can't maths do that poor kids. What on earth is the point in testing them on stuff they haven't been taught?

A Level choices are upon us! DD is applying for the sixth form at her current school as well as another college. She thinks she wants to take History, French, Psychology and Class Civ, but she also wants to do the EPQ (about which I am more than clueless). Both places she's considering only do Linear A levels now rather than ASs, which I did myself, so it seems like they've gone back to the old system like I did in the 80s (l was last year of o levels!)

dd's done 4 papers today - P1, C1, B1, which were all fine and then one of the specimen calculator papers for maths (aqa). She got 51/80 ... and is now crying in the shower. I have searched & searched and have no idea what the grade boundaries will be ... I don't think it is that bad a mark. Dd reckons it is another 6 rather than 7 though.

Don't suppose any of you have any inside knowledge about boundaries?

She's going to do the additional science papers & the other calculator paper tomorrow.

Laniakea head of maths told me when emailing that nobody has any clue about where all the grade boundaries will be for Maths, she said everybody found the mock extremely hard and this either means the results will be really bad or the grade boundaries will reflect this, which may mean somebody doing only 60% (random number) could get a 7. Nobody will know till the actual exam/ results day.

About the EPQ-my dd, who's in her 3rd year at University, says it was the most useful thing she did in 6th form- it meant she really hit the ground running for university essays both in terms of actually writing long papers and individual research. Just thought that might be useful info.

FleurDeLise: yes, we are submitting sixth form applications. 3 forms plus accompanying personal statements and one needing a photo all completed last weekend and taken into school for the reference. They need to be submitted by Dec 2nd and Dec 9th.

The whole A level thing is confusing me a bit. One sixth form has scrapped AS , one does it, one does no AS but does offer EPQ.

I gather that an EPQ gives more UCAS points than as AS level. But what if the school does neither? DS is wanting to do Biology, Chemistry and Maths and then Physics in Yr 12 only. For AS. But if they end up in a 'Linear A level' school, how do they get the extra UCAS points to compete with other candidates?

Shouldn't be an issue. 'Better' universities will give offers in terms of (usually) three A level results, and won't tally up ucas points. For universities with lower entry requirements, which may be in points, three A level passes should give you enough points.

tiggytape thank you! I really appreciate the response.

She got a 7 in the Pixl maths paper but I understand that the boundaries on that were ridiculously/unfeasibly low. We've had the most depressing weekend - all bloody maths trauma. At this point I don't even care what she gets but she thinks she'll have a battle to be allowed to do three science A levels (she's predicted A* for all three and doesn't have to slog her guts out to get high marks) without the 7.

I had the wild idea of entering her for maths iGCSE as an external student ... she'd still have to sit the 9-1 though so not much point!

Mocks start on Friday with maths non calculator and English. Sixth form evening is on Thursday & she's got school drama on Tuesday. I anticipate a tricky week ahead.

(as an aside dd's school do the EPQ as an option in their enrichment module for y10/11 ... about a quarter of the year pick it. Up until now they offer it again in 6th form - not sure yet what the school's plans for y12 are now)

Fleur thank you too! Guess we have to hope that the schools who are so reliant on league tables decide to go with the iGCSE.

Thank you Atia.

That makes sense now. The scant research we have done into entrance requirements listed subjects and grades, not point numbers.

Another one crossed of the worry list!

There's so much information to sift through, it can be so confusing! Ds is child number 3, and I started reading sixth form stuff on MN when dd1 was in y11, to try to get a grip on how things worked. So I've spent far too long reading and thinking about all this stuff. And then just when I thought I had it pretty much sorted, the A levels and GCSEs change!

Lots of courses do go on points. But a mistake that a lot of people have made is to translate A levels into points and assume that if they have enough points they willl carry the same weight as A levels. Even some teachers say this, but it's not true. If a course asks for A levels it usually, not always but usually, wants A levels.

If you are in any doubt at all, ring the admissions office of the institution you're interested in. They are usually incredibly helpful, and will explain things.

Thanks Bert.

DS is interested in Biochemistry-type degrees, and they seem solidly A level focussed.

DS is submitting his A levels application today (his preferences) he wants to do Biology, Business Studies, Geography or English. They submit 4 subjects but this isn't the final application, they are just trying to gauge the interests in each subject.

Hello ..Can I join please even though I am late! I have been following this thread but was always on the lap top that I was not logged into .

I need some advice /have a question that I hope someone will be able to help my ds and I.

He is due to do his English Speaking assement thing soon and cannot think of a topic /theme ...and I was wondering what your dc's chose.

He is not a natural speaker ....this will be his biggest nightmare !! Some have already done it but he does not know them well enough to ask what they did.....not to do the same ...but to get an idea on what he is suppose to be doing. All he knows is it has to be " sophisticated" !??

Thank you

My ds is doing something about the development of hip hop and the anti racism movement. Or words to that effect.

What are your ds's interests?

Thank you ...I asked him what his interests were....I got "the look" !! He does not have any intrests....but thinking about it we could do some research onGaming !!

How about the impact or not of violent game on young people? Or can gaming be educational? Or was the world better before video games? Or is it a good idea to have age restrictions on video games?

Ds has done a revision plan this evening
He did have the good humour to say he's just got to stick to it now!
He got his tracker result back for his maths, L5. He did revise-on the train on the way to school I think it did shock him a little, so much so that he's done the revision plan, with coloured pens AND a ruler!
He's back on the Xbox now, exhausted.

"He's back on the Xbox now, exhausted."

ROFL

laniakea She got a 7 in the Pixl maths paper but I understand that the boundaries on that were ridiculously/unfeasibly low.

I just wandered onto this thread to see if anyone was moaning about maths mocks!

The PIXL June exams were graded as if the students were sitting the final exam, so a 7 on that exam didn't mean that she was working at a grade 7 in Y10, it meant that on the spread of data, she was in the proportion of students who should be achieving 7+ in Y11. It was a predicted grade, assuming she continues to perform at the same level, rather than a 'working at' grade. PIXL schools may not totally match the national spread of achievement, but it's better than nothing.

51/80 is a very good score on the higher paper. Even if we had accurate grade boundaries and that score came out as a 6, getting a 6 in November mocks is nothing to worry about. Many students go up a grade between mocks and the real thing, so all it would show is that she is on track for her 7.

And we don't have any accurate grade boundaries. Behind the scenes teachers are collaborating across the country, sharing suggested grade boundaries and sharing results data to try to come up with something even vaguely reliable. What your DD really needs to do post-mocks is not worry about grades or grade boundaries but to really look closely at the papers and where she went wrong, then focus on fixing those areas so that she'll do even better in the real thing. If she's an A-grade student, then she should get a 7 - the boundaries will fit her results rather than the other way around. She just needs to do her job of working hard and revising properly and it will all work out in the end.

noblegiraffe I read the other maths thread last night, that you posted on, & just wanted to say a big thank you for all the info

Another vote of thanks here to noblegiraffe.I've also been following her Maths posts and they are both helpful (in trying to understand what's going on), and scarey (when you realise how much is still unknown).