Year 11 support thread - keep on keeping on!

[AtiaoftheJulii]

Just getting this ready!

Following on from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/2936097-Yr-11-support-thread-the-scaffolding-is-holding-up-well

Good luck to those with exams today 🍀

Thought paper 1 for foundation was horrid, paper 2 much better and paper 3 OK first half but some tricky questions at end

I thought the whole thing was a bunch of wank from start to finish. So totally unnecessary. The only aim that has been achieved has been to make nearly the entire cohort think that they are bad at maths. I'm very angry.

Fleur so funny we've 'snapped' again!
Woodlands I was thinking the same, he can have his party in the garden, I want a yoga break in Sri Lanka with mindfulness, meditation & mixology anyone coming?

Agree with you Noble. Maths education should be about encouraging 'can do ' for the many, and ' stretch' for the most able

The thing I find depressing about the maths -if I've understood properly- is that there is now a much higher level of reading comprehension needed. Which puts lower ability kids at a huge disadvantage, and with the English syllabus being much more demanding at all levels is a real bummer. Both for the kids and for schools which have a high % of lower ability pupils.

I agree noble. The amount of girls in tears at dds school - and these are set 1 girls. Many who were getting A/A* and we're thinking about maths A Level but have now given up on the idea because they don't feel good enough. There's a lot of despondency which is so sad, and very very frustrating.

Were not we're, dyac

"Instead they've just scared people silly who probably would have coped just fine with A Level maths or Physics but who won't now consider it since they feel they are far better at other subjects by comparison"

And completely screwed over the ones who just needed a basic grade to get through to the next bit of their lives.

Absolutely. It's a bloody disaster in a school like ours with around 90% low and middle ability- there have been so many tears. And not just from the kids

And don't get me started on the English!

Completely agree. What is the point of exams where a positive result is out of reach for so many no matter how hard they work? We have a girl living with us during the week who is in that position. She needs solid basic maths and English for her chosen career and has struggled so hard with these exams. It just puts young people off trying. Meanwhile you get people like DD saying how hard these exams are - and she is in the top 2% in her year . That tells me these exams are just putting achievement out of reach for the majority.

ds has a couple of friends who were going to do Maths A Level & have now changed their minds. I suspect that grade boundaries will be lowered and they will get similar marks anyway but by that time the damage to their self confidence will have been done.

I think the powers that be were trying to add harder questions to stretch the top 3% but it has backfired a bit. Maybe they could have achieved this with tweaking the Further maths GCSE instead.

I'm very confused about where the grade boundaries will end up especially at the top.

Edexcel Chemistry OK apparently. DS says he felt it went well, one of the 6 marks was a bit weird but he figured it out in the end. No more details available! Revision day tomorrow, 2 exams on Friday and then Finished!

Me (via text): How was Chemistry?
DD: Okay

AQA chemistry C2 and C3 alright but apparently he was short of time on C2.

Quad - it's so annoying when they do that. What's 'okay' supposed to mean?

Feedback from this morning;
DD1: exam was good
DD2: so hard and worded weirdly!

I haven't heard from dd (she probably only got out about half an hour ago - it seems to take them ages to get the third papers out). She's got history at one so probably rushing to get lunch. I've got a hospital appointment this afternoon so it'll be five before I get a chance to talk to her I expect.

Chemistry 2 was "easier than expected"

AQA chem here.C2 harder than expected because there were 2 topics on it that they had not covered (top set, crap teacher). DS thinks he has done enough for a B but should have got an A.

C3 was apparently ok.

Edexcel IGCSE Triple Chemistry - "think it went really well. Did you get the 3 standing tickets on priority booking?" Ah, the insouciance and ingratitudinousness of the young.

No communication from dd about chemistry yet.

Was just talking to dd's friend's mum - she said friend was in bits about maths. She has SN and has extra time, but still felt she could only do 1 or 2 questions, the rest were like another language (this is foundation). I feel so awful for her because this is a girl who gives absolutely everything, she needs a 4 for her future but struggled so much with this horrendous exam that as has been said above is not fit for purpose for lower ability dc.

AQA C2 (higher) - DS said it was really hard. AQA C3(foundation) was really easy...