Worry for year 11s

[DinkyDaisy]

Where will we all be in September I wonder?
My year 10 will be a year 11, my year 6 a year 7.
I am more concerned about my year 11.
There is so much that is up in the air...
My year 11 had/ has high expectations on his potential academic achievement. I now wonder [and have said to him] his main concern should be getting to his next stage.
It all seems limboland at the moment...
How do others feel?

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-81-parents-worry-over-covid-impact-gcse-and-level

This sums up some worries I guess...

We will just have to go with the flow and do what we can where we can.

Worrying isnt going to change a thing.

True.
There is, I guess, a lack of control in everything at the moment. A sense of the rug being pulled at any time in all things.
My year 11 pretty sensible so far, and, far more what will be will be than me!

Should have put new year 11s in title...

They are all going to be in the same boat so we will just have to wait and see. September start is a few weeks away, who knows what can happen, look at the local lockdowns happening now. If your area is affected then the schools wont be able to reopen.

It is tough. I'm a secondary teacher and I know we are prioritising year 11 and 13 next year in our planning to ensure they can catch up and be successful.

Yes, I will have an impact on a young person starting Year 11 this year, but spare a thought for this year’s Year 11’s who it has had a massive impact on and the huge number of last year’s Year 11’s who have lost apprenticeship places etc, etc and are now redundant and without college places.

My daughters school has a large cohort of children from a town that is teetering on lockdown. We are simply trying not to think about it

Some seemed to have jumped ship learning wise at ds school.
All in same boat yet not...
Who knows which schools have done best by pupils? Hard to judge.
Ds school has a lot of disadvantage. They did their best in that many vulnerable children in school.
Going with the flow is all we can do yet such a mess to iron out.
And yes, of course, more lockdowns may occur...
An unequal mess...

With a year 7 and a year 11 this year, I have got both ends of the school!

I will have a year 11 & year 13 in September. It’s horrendous but it is what it is. My youngest did really well in lockdown my eldest less so and I’m quite (very) concerned about them and just hope they can get good enough predicted grades to get some offers and have the opportunity to go to university. Thank feel desperately sad about the world they are going out into

I do feel my eldest will do less well than he might have done.
However, my hope is, he will do well enough to go to the sixth form he wants to and do the subjects he wants to do there.
We shall see...
My youngest in year 7 will be starting a school that I know will be doing their utmost to make the year 7 experience a positive one but in very difficult circumstances.

I’m concerned because private schools have had full lessons and homework. They’ll be doing GCSEs alongside the kids who have had little work and guidance.
My dc are quite hardworking but they’ve had to teach themselves some stuff as there’s been no teaching. This has been really time consuming and there’s no way they’ve been doing the same amount of work as my friend’s yr 10 dcs in private schools.
Mine is doing a couple of hours work most days to try to be where he should be by September.
At least they’ll have learnt some good perseverance, independent learning and research skills

My dc are doing a bit of revision during the hols but not 3weeks we're away and only a couple of hours a day as don't want knackered.., most of the other stuff they would be doing isn't on so may as well! Have read their final book as well ..
School have said will prioritise yr10/11/12/13 then yr7 if need to restrict numbers... But no other details yet
They also testing to just check where kids are at and how much/where to focus catch up

My ds done nothing in the summer holiday so far.
He did work hard in lockdown though hard to know how effective his work was and pretty much no meaningful feedback on any work from the school.

He will have to start doing his music practise though!
Music gcse suffered I think.
Was supposed to be doing Triple science but who knows now.
Maths teacher Ace.
English not so much.
Not sure whether he is where should be in other subjects at all though he has worked hard.
His Btec seems to have gone out the window...
All bit of a worry...

I think September testing for gcse kids is good. They can see where everyone is at and help those who need it. Pull them up for December mocks.

If they didn't do exams in lockdown then September testing makes sense to gather data in case we go back into local lockdown.

I am just hoping that loads of concerned parents responded to the Ofqual consultation and that if the Government insist on exams as usual, that they do something to offer some degree of choice in questions.

Allowing teachers to demonstrate science practicals rather than kids having to do them or not having to record language orals goes nowhere near the concessions that need to be made for this cohort.

Ideally teaching and learning should be about more than teaching to the exam but that’s what’s needed here so we need to have some idea what the exams will look like.

The proposal for maths just says 100% exam - doesn’t specify how much is non calculator/calculator so presumably the expectation is that all topics are examinable i.e no real change.

The proposals would be laughable if the implications weren’t so dire.

Tbh I’m broadly happy with the GCSE proposals (have child doing Maths, 2 x Eng, Triple Science, History, Music, French & Drama). Am very concerned about the A Levels and the complete lack of any meaningful adjustments to VERY content heavy subjects.

Sorry meant to add ...

You mentioned Maths - Ofqual said no changes so I would interpret that to be all content and 1 x non calc, 2 x calc.