Starting Year 11-GCSE2021 (title edited by MNHQ)

[indy69]

Good morning Mums,

My DD will start her GCSE journey this September. MN always has such good advice that I thought we could have a new thread to support each other. My DD has 4 options apart from English, Science AQA and Maths Edexcel. She has Art and History - Edexcel, and Psychology and Economics - AQA. It wpuld be lovely to know what your DC are doing and we could share resources here. I look forward to meeting you all on this thread. We have 4 weeks to go to start of term and a ton of homework to finish. My DD is feeling too lazy to do anything at the moment, but I guess they have earned the break. I will start reminding her next week about the work. Thanks

I’m totally feeling for them too ISBN. What a clusterfuck.

It is saddening that a bunch of bright young people have been let down so badly.

It totally pulls the rug of ‘reward for hard work’ from under their feet. Teachers and families work so hard to instil this ethic to help teens feel there is a point to education, when it is so exam focussed that the more holistic point of learning about interesting stuff is lost at times.
It has a knock on effect for younger children, whose perspective on the whole system becomes even more jaded.

Can I join you, I just found this thread. My ds will be year 11 next month.

Hi AsPerMyLastEmail what sort of courses is your dd looking at for 6th form?

When do they update the EHCP? I think my dd will need her dyslexia reassessing, but i’m think that wherever she goes will need to organise that?

I hope she will stay where she is, although they might not let her if her results are poor.
I did want my dd’s to go to this school in part because it has a good 6th form; my DSS school didn’t have a 6th form and he had a bad experience moving to a 6th form based in an FE College. I think due to his ASD he just couldn’t deal with making all those new relationships with teachers.
Sorry to be gloomy about that prospect.
I think the most important thing is that the courses they choose are really the ones they are most interested in.
Hello Rhubarb brothers; what subjects is your ds doing?

Just joining in as well and saying hello properly!

DS1 is going into Year 11 in September. I’m really concerned that as well as this years exams being totally messed up it is also likely to have a significant impact on our children next year whether they even get to sit exams or not!

DS’s last predictions were mostly 7s and 8’s with a chance of a 9 in Maths (but I’m not sure that’s very likely). His weakest subject is English Lit and that’s what he has really struggled with since lockdown. He wants to do a very bizarre mix of A levels which I’m not convinced is actually going to be possible-Physics, PE and Media Studies. Having never done this before I don’t even know when they have to apply for 6th Form?

@ihearttc... I mentioned college above as we've had no info, DS's school doesn't have a 6th form. I checked one of the colleges DS is considering it said was best to have applications for this September in before 11 January 2020, so am assuming it will be 11 January 2021 or thereabouts. It is heavily oversubscribed that college though, so others may be different

@Hellohah thank you! We live very rurally so if he doesn’t go to 6th form it’s an 1.5 hour bus journey to the nearest college and he’d have to leave at 7 every morning so I don’t think he’d fancy that! Might need to look into it as a back up though.

@ihearttc... We live in a small town on the outskirts of a big city so he has no local options and would need to travel a fair way wherever he goes. My opinion, and his too is that he may aswell try for the best he can get all things considered. It's a nightmare really. Every option for him is at least 2 buses or train/bus 😭

Yep good point!

In my school 6th form interviews for external candidates are usually Jan|Feb. Open evening November.

DD likes the look of some of the courses at our local 6th form college but I would prefer her to stay at her school sixth form but it's not really my choice

We've only had predicted grades at Xmas and her only parents eve this year was the first week of lockdown so that didn't happen so haven't had any contact with her teachers which makes me nervous. I'm trying to find a maths tutor for her at the moment as she lacks confidence in maths and her teacher is less than helpful.

Hello Rhubarb brothers; what subjects is your ds doing?

Thank you for the welcome. We're in a similar situation as others, a small town so the option is the school 6th form. Fortunately we know the school very well and the 6th form is good, it's a comprehensive school but a selective 6th form and has a good reputation. DS is doing the standard GCSEs (Maths, English, Triple Science, RE) plus Geography, Engineering and PE.

Can I join? I have a dd about to go into year 11. We have a dilemma because dd’s current (state) school only offers the IB. Which is arguably harder work than A levels. There are some good options which offer A levels but dd isn’t so good socially and with change. So it’s not clear. She will cope ok with the IB but really doesn’t want to have to do English which is compulsory. Tricky.

@Thethingswedoforlove welcome...
I don't know much about the IB, what is it?

I have one DS who I think knows which college he wants to go to BUT has no idea what A Levels 😂. Teenagers

@Thethingswedoforlove IB is usually offered in the U.K. as a 6th form option instead of A levels. If your DD is being offered it at yr11 and doesn’t want to do English (compulsory in uk) I’m guessing that she’s overseas. There’s a GCSE type of level IB too, which I’m assuming she’s doing. Or are you In UK & thinking ahead to 6th form options?

We are in the UK notDonna. Dds school offers the IB only. So it is a choice of sucking up the English and being able to stay or moving to a whole new environment. She is very able. She just hates English. I’m not sure if open days will happen this autumn at the other sixth forms for her to get a feel of whether going somewhere else appeals. The IB feels like a load more work for not much recognition (but a great education). Her school is amazing. It’s just the English that is the sticking point....

@ihearttc he is choosing an unusual mix. My DCs school don’t offer media studies. They’re also a bit anti having more than one non traditional subject. They don’t even allow economics & politics together, which is odd & annoying!
I’ve not introduced myself.... 👋🏼 My DD doing the usual 2x English, 3x science, maths, 2x humanities & 2x languages. Fancies A level psychol, maybe economics, maybe politics, maybe biology. maybe history. Or maybe EPQ. Obviously not all of those. So really no clue!! Anything she decides now or even by the Feb deadline could change depending on gcse results.

@Thethingswedoforlove I understand. They don’t offer IB at our school but did at a previous, albeit A levels were also offered. Teens that chose it were decent across a range of subjects rather than ‘scientists’ or ‘arty’ or ‘mathsy’. You have to be a good all rounder don’t you? I understand your concern; mine wouldn’t like maths at that level!

@NotDonna
I’m very doubtful they will let him do it either tbh. He absolutely loves those subjects (and Maths but doesn’t fancy Maths A level despite it likely to be his highest grade). He has 2 very different career aspirations and those subjects do all lead directly into them in a roundabout sort of way. He said there is no point doing A levels in subjects he doesn’t enjoy for the sake of doing A levels. If he had to change I think he’d probably drop PE and do Maths, Physics and Media but he is scared by the horror stories of A level Maths which is part of the reason he doesn’t want to do it. It’s scary that this time next year we will all be waiting for their results!!

@ihearttc he’s right that maths A level is no walk in the park but if he enjoys it and is likely to get 8/9 then he’ll be more than fine. I’ve got an older one in 6th form doing maths. If he’s doing Gcse Ad maths the jump up is less steep. All A levels are a big step up though. If he’s doing anything with Physics, maths is likely to be very helpful, if not essential. If he knows exactly what he wants has he looked at the gov.co.uk website at higher apprenticeships? They offer some very interesting stuff!
This time next year it’s a double whammy for me - A levels & GCSEs..... I’ll blooming need a holiday by then!!

@NotDonna
He either wants to be a pilot (which has been his dream his whole life) so Maths definitely would be helpful for that. Or he wants to go to UCFB in London to do a Sports Media degree.

UCFB?

@AsPerMyLastEmail
University Campus Football and Business. It’s affiliated with Wembley (there is one in Manchester as well at Etiad stadium and also some in the US). Bit left field but looks amazing.

Ah I hadn’t heard of that but it sounds great!

I like your unintended pun (left field)