Year 11 support thread

[pasanda]

I can't find a new thread, moving on from the old full one, so I thought I would create one (please tell me if I'm wrong!)

Last night ds stayed up till 4.30am doing his biology coursework

This time the tsunami affect didn't work and he left it far too late to do a reasonable job. Which is a bloody shame because he wants to do biology A level and he has done so well in his other controlled assessments.

I wait with bated breath to find out his mark

Oh well, thank God for half term!!

Chemistry GCSE this morning for this household and AS Media - no more this week but next week is a lot heavier (for GCSE as that's the AS exams over)

Good luck to all the DC with Chemistry exams today,
And Drama, anyone else got DC taking a Drama exam?

it's horrible to see isn't it Fleur, he will be okay but it is not nice seeing them worried (especially when the bravado slips & they are just kids again).

DD was much happier after a nap - we had a pleasant evening, had fun shredding french/B1/C1 past papers (we have a shitload of recycling). Chemistry this morning but dh is away working so there's no-one to pick her up & she'll have to stay in school all day (she thinks she'll be the only year 11 there). She's taken a pile of revision stuff in, hopefully some will get done. Nothing tomorrow.

Next week is way worse - physics (should be okay), geography (still needs to learn case studies), non calculator maths (no comment), both Eng lit papers (she's very stressed about these now). After that it is history causing sleepless nights.

It was dc3's turn to be up ill half the night - I wish someone had warned me quite how terrifying being a parent would be!

DS has chemistry today and Spanish reading and listening tomorrow. 5 exams next week, 7 the week after half term and 6 the final week. It will be good to get them finished.

Good luck to them all today.

DD has chemistry. She came home in a right state yesterday, she was so stressed, she'd missed her train so was an hour late but couldn't tell me as school confiscated her phone and wouldn't give it back at the end of the day. She said that at the end of the morning RE revision session when everyone had finished the teacher allowed them to listen to music on their phones. DD very stupidly decided to reply to a text so the phone was taken off her. I do think she was an idiot but am pretty pissed off that the school took a phone off a student travelling by train. She was petrified that the train would be late or cancelled this morning and she wouldn't be able to ring us and so be late for her exam.
I might just be over stressing but was that a bit unreasonable in the midst of GCSE stress?? It just made her all the more anxious.

My DS also has Chemistry this morning. He was exhausted last night and fell asleep on his bed soon after getting in, so no revision was done. This morning, we looked through the revision guide together and I asked him a few questions, but he said it was making him feel stressed so I stopped. Too late anyway. At least he's refreshed by the rest.

No more exams until next Tuesday - thank god!

Good luck to all the DC taking exams today.

Chemistry here too this morning and second law this afternoon. Nothing tomorrow, but next week very full on, with Eng Lit, maths and physics. Eng Lit worries me a bit as he's naturally very good at it but doesn't seem to have practised a whole paper without the texts. His (excellent) teacher was off sick for a long time earlier this term too. He's typed out some quotes sheets but hasn't learnt them yet. Aargh! He does seem to know the texts well and has a good memory, but....
As an ex English teacher I think this may be the one time I insinuate myself stealthily into his revision plan...

Just remember- they only need what they need!

Mad hair day seems a bit strict under the circumstance!

ZzBoth DDs have chemistry today, PE and Spanish tom.  DT1 tried her prom dress on yesterday and it doesn't bloody fit! She's been comfort eating due to stress. Don't want to stress her out even more but I can't buy another it cost a lot

Thanks, we're usually ones to support sanctions but think this is OTT.

Hope they all get on ok today.

Madhairday pretty much the same thing happened to my dd last term (except she'd lent the phone to a friend & wasn't even the one who had it out!), she also travels in by bus & train ... I called the head of year to say I was not happy - he apologised & gave her the phone back straight away (the usual rule is the phone is taken away for three days). This was the only time I have ever not supported a school sanction & I wasn't rude but they know her travel situation & it was disproportionate.

BigSandyBalls I suggested dd try on her prom dress last weekend for the same reason ... it still fits but is way tighter. Major stress eating happening here!

chemistry "made me think but was okay"

atomic structure, crude oil, limestone environmental issues (6 marks), polymers, early earth's atmosphere, plant oils, plastic bags.

(sounds like it was quite similar (in topics) to the AQA specimen paper for the new spec)

Good luck to drama people!

DS1 also has chemistry today- he was feeling quite stressed this morning about it (its not his favourite science at all and aside from French, is probably the one lesson that he really struggles with).

I called him at 8am and told him to get the 'big mark' questions out the way first. I know what he is like, if he feels he cant do something he will sit there in a blind horror and not be able to concentrate.

DS just called about Chemistry. He said it went very well, way better than Biology. Hope everyone has good news.

My DS was more worried about his hair this morning on the way to his chemistry exam...I just kept quiet aaaggghhhh!

Laniakea

"atomic structure, crude oil, limestone environmental issues (6 marks), polymers, early earth's atmosphere, plant oils, plastic bags."

Apart from atomic structure, (which he is good at anyway), that is fantastic news, they are the only questions I might have been able to answer having tested DS yesterday! He seemed to know them at 11.30 last night, so should be OK today.

No doubt he'll come home and say there was a graph question which showed the opposite of what the examiners expected and he had to go onto extra pages to prove them wrong, just like he did in Biology.

[sigh]

Ds said chemistry was easier than biology. It's the exam that he's expected to get his highest mark in so he's happy.

Next week is English Literature which is by far his weakest subject. He knows the poetry anthology pretty thoroughly but I've no idea how much he knows his Shakespeare/Frankenstein/An Inspector Calls.

Another one here saying Chemistry was easier than Biology! This was the Edexcel iGCSE paper.

Chemistry fine here, Drama had a question focussed in different way to recent papers so needed different examples to those prepared.

yes dd said it was straightforward, just chemistry, nothing strange!

Hope all got on ok with chemistry. Dd has done this last year. English lit for us next week now. Although she is dragging her heels so im leaving her too it today. Tomorrow is another day

There was one chemistry question ds couldn't do at all-something about plants and nickel?