Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Year 11 support thread - keep on keeping on!

867 replies

AtiaoftheJulii · 09/06/2017 06:36

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 🍀

OP posts:
sergeantmajormum · 16/06/2017 20:16

Long time lurker here. Thank you all for helping keep me sane and calm through DD2s GCSEs; second time round for us and her approach is so different from her sisters that it's been in many ways easier as she's done it her way and just got on with it, in contrast to the constant cajoling DD1 needed! She's worked so hard so really hope it pays off. Out partying now, then prom, work experience and sixth form induction till summer can really start; see you all in August!

castleontheground · 16/06/2017 20:55

BertrandRussell If it makes you feel any better it was a horrid question and my Dd said she didn't get many marks from it

Madhairday · 16/06/2017 22:21

Bert my DD did higher edexcel and did mention a toothpaste question. It's a worry when they seem to have missed something but I'm sure he'll have done well. It's so hard for them now right at the end of it, they are just knackered Flowers

Right... 3 to go - see the few of you next week! DD is fed up as loads of her year are finished and partying. She's been to the cinema with her bf and feels better for that. She's very, very tired.

TisGlorious · 16/06/2017 22:26

EdEXel IGCSE Physics - No question about radioactive toothpaste. Perhaps GCSE?

Sprog19 · 16/06/2017 22:57

Physics was hard according to DS ( I think it's AQA but it's late and I can't remember). One more history to go on Tues and then finished, thank God!

MrsK · 17/06/2017 07:46

All done here, last exam yesterday morning Physics AQA. It's been an emotional rollercoaster here too Giddy, don't know if boys are easier maybe they express themselves differently? DD went out with friends last night to celebrate. She brought a boy back to stay who is having trouble at home, he keeps getting thrown out by his parents. It makes me so sad, he's stayed a few times & seems a nice kid. A situation like that won't have helped him prepare for his exams. I want to adopt him & DH would like an Xbox buddy.

We've got Prom next week, I'm enjoying all the excitement & the vicarious pleasure I'm getting. I bought DD a Givenchy lipstick which is quite fab & in a glorious tube. Wine you are brave to host after Prom. DD has been angling,but, I know if I say thirty people it would end up with a hoard! No other parents seem to want to do it. So they'd all end up here. We already host a gathering which has become so frequent it's called "Friday at the K's".

Anyway, this thread has been a God send. Lots of great advice & wise words & humour.

Good luck to all our DCs & top marks all round. Here's hoping they have a lovely long hot Summer after the stresses this year has brought. Especially ☀️ For Reading. I need to find a thread about that as this will be our first Festival experience.

🥂 To you all too

errorofjudgement · 17/06/2017 07:48

Ok, I know I might get flamed here - dons hard hat- but as we're getting towards the end of GCSEs, is anyone thinking of perhaps going to 1or 2 university open days in September?
Bookings open from about now, and often you need to pre-book, particularly if there are particular talks that you want to attend.
Just to be clear, this is for the DC, not me!

teddygirlonce · 17/06/2017 08:35

DS came home yesterday saying Physics papers were okay - as with Chemistry though, one more difficult than the other.

That's him done and dusted now and he was back on his PS4 within minutes of walking through the door. Celebrating with his cohort on Monday when most of the rest of them finish.

There's not much going on for DS over the next weeks - they didn't have an official end of year event (boys school so no prom!). They seem to just drift off until September (expectation is that with one or two exceptions they will all make the grades demanded to get into sixth form). They did their official work experience at the end of Yr 10 and no sixth form induction day either, this side of the summer hols. Although DS has got a week of paid work in a couple of weeks and then some family holidays to break up the summer. He refused to do the NCS thing, although having wriggled out of it this year he will be doing it next summer!

I cannot believe that you are so 'on the ball' already about uni open days @errorofjudgement. Need time to regroup in this household. We have DC2 transitioning to secondary school too, so have been juggling lots simultaneously. The whole of this academic year has been punctuated by exams for both DC, from September to June Sad. Not sure we're ready to start jumping the next academic 'hurdle' already, particularly as DS doesn't really have a clue as to what he wants to study (although it may turn out to be Geography as it's his strongest subject).

Also a bit Hmm at whoever intimated, 'upthread', that Geography and languages were easier/less important subjects, so better placed at the end of the exam timetable! All a matter of opinion and personal skill-sets, I would say.

Danglingmod · 17/06/2017 08:56

I think they meant for their dc they were the least important...

LittleHo · 17/06/2017 09:09

ds finds languages to be the hardest GCSEs. That will be his dodgy result.

ds won't organise Open Days until the end of the old AS year. However he did visit Bath with his older sister and has already decided to put it on his list if A Levels go well.

GiraffeorOcelot · 17/06/2017 09:22

There is no way DS will be going to any uni open days this year, he has zero idea of what he wants to do with himself. It was hard enough picking A levels....

foundoutyet · 17/06/2017 09:39

O well, ds has been ok with exams but had a complete flop yesterday. He thought he had 75 min for his exam instead of 60min.
Got a txt from him (I was at work) at 1am saying he couldn't sleep.....

Well, 1 more exam next week

He has a "job interview" lined up for the end of next week as well

Giddyaunt18 · 17/06/2017 11:41

No uni days here planned. Only just got A levels chosen in time and they changed every week for 3 weeks!! I need 2 years of calm before DD1 sits A levels then the following year DD2 will have her GCSEs! No celebrations here yet as 3 Science exams next week.

pointythings · 17/06/2017 13:48

No chance of uni open days here - our DDs are not UK citizens (EU national married to US national here) and post-Brexit I have no doubt at all that they would have to pay foreign student fees here. We can't afford that. We're looking at Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany, all of which would require a lot of travel, so that won't be happening until next year.

LIZS · 17/06/2017 13:53

Only uni day planned here is to give dd an idea of what course content might be.

titchy · 17/06/2017 14:36

Pointythings - nationality is irrelevant for fees purposes. It's domicile that counts. If they'll have been UK domiciled for five years prior to the start of their course they'll be assessed as home fee payers.

pointythings · 17/06/2017 15:30

titchy they will now - those are the current rules. I have zero faith that this will be maintained once Brexit has actually happened.

At least they will have options. Their UK national friends have had a lot of doors closed on them.

titchy · 17/06/2017 16:58

I'd be incredibly surprised if the domicile rules changed. Brexit doesn't effect these at all.

AtiaoftheJulii · 17/06/2017 17:22

I might try to take ds to an open day or two in the autumn. He's not a great one for crowds, or wandering about just looking at stuff* and it might be useful to get him used to the idea slowly. Maybe I'll take him to a local one that he definitely won't be interested in, just so he can get an idea of what uni open days are like!

*he recently went to the Hay festival with my parents. Enjoyed the talk they went to, hated the mooching about. He's also going to Reading festival, but we are near enough that he doesn't have to camp if he doesn't want to - I think he will probably need a bolthole!

OP posts:
Draylon · 17/06/2017 17:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AtiaoftheJulii · 17/06/2017 18:07

I've got two older dds but they're already at university, wrong gap for tagging along Grin Ds knows pretty much what he wants to do for a degree, but doesn't really know anything about university.

OP posts:
readyforsunshine · 17/06/2017 18:09

Well that was my first teenage/mixed sex/with alcohol party hosted & it was a success! They were all really well behaved, I think it helped that they were shattered Grin
fleur guess what? End of July bday here too! Uncanny.....
I think a festival thread is a great idea. I'm now really excited for him but was initially v nervous about the whole thing. Top tips would be v welcome.

Laniakea · 17/06/2017 18:16

I think they meant for their dc they were the least important...

Indeed - as I clearly said!

DD has got to get very good grades in maths & three sciences - not just for her A levels but for university too. Dropping a grade in any other subject would not be ideal but obviously not such a big thing. French & geography were her first exams & I was gently joking that it would've been better for her given the loss of motivation as the weeks rolled on for those to be later & the sciences earlier. Hardly disparaging.

DD has a list of universities she wants to look at - it's a short list as she's interested in a niche subject. I'll give her a prod to check dates but right now I'm totally worn out & think my other kids need the focus on them for a while.

Laniakea · 17/06/2017 18:18

well done ready Grin They were sedate here ... though suddenly came alive at 11:30pm & wanted to tell me their life stories just as I was desperate for bed!

Leeds2 · 17/06/2017 19:12

Not really relevant, but the one thing that made my DD decide that she definitely wanted to go to uni was doing the NCS and staying in uni accommodation for a week. I think it helped her to visualise what the uni experience would be like.