Current Year 11 2021/2022 support thread pt II

[StColumbofNavron]

Thread for those with Y10s finishing July 2021 ready for Y11 in Sept 2021.

All welcome.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Can't wait for chemo and GCSEs to be over so more normality can resume, well it will be radiotherapy for me but that is easier than chemo and then hope we can get somewhere in the summer. All is calming down which is good, DD back at school yesterday and answering e-mails so hopefully lovely DD will be back soon but so hard for all of us at the moment. 10.5 more weeks for me of chemo and think she ends 27 June. Phew. Got counselling today at 11am for first time.

Her school said 1.5 hours a night from January, I just leave her to it, she seems to get the grades fine and think it varies from child to child. She does a lot of socialising and going to gym too so has a balance so think its fine. She is looking at universities and courses but changes each week which course, wants Oxbridge atm.

Yes, sorry to hear that you're experiencing so many challenges at the moment, at at time when you should be able to focus your energies on yourself, @Silkierabbit. Wishing you the very best with your treatment.

DD isn't getting her mocks back until after Easter (so that's two weeks of extra push in the subjects she may not have performed so well in, lost). I'm getting a sense that the school is getting so bogged down in doing the right thing for the TAGs (even though the Exams Officer told me the other day that he really didn't expect them to be used this year) that they've actually forgotten that exams are going to be sat in six weeks! I'm less than impressed. Apparently there's further guidance coming out tomorrow which may explain why many schools are being so slow with communicating about arrangements for the next three months.

DD did a piece for her English oral (today) which really impressed me. Although of course it doesn't actually count towards the final grade, as far as I'm aware.

I'm impressed that some of you are even thinking about university visits yet. DD isn't even entirely sure what A Levels she's taking yet, let alone thinking about what degree she wants to do and where.

Highly unlikely that a school will put on a geography A Level for two pupils, although I'm sure at DS's school there were only five doing A Level Eng. Language (of a cohort of 150), but they still ran the course. The school could possibly set up an arrangement whereby the pupils wanting to do geography A Level do their lessons at another local school or college, assuming there are ones close enough to easily commute to? Is that an option worth exploring?

We'll do Uni open days next year I think, she's got a rough idea of what type of degree and what sort of uni she wants.

DD is struggling emotionally at the moment which is hard, she had a panic attack yesterday but she's stressed with school, boys, friends. Tried to talk to her and let her know she can only do her best and nobody will be disappointed in her as long as she's tried hard.

She's currently doing about 2 hours of revision a night but not every night, I like her to have some nights off just to veg and watch Netflix. I'm certainly not going to be heaping lots of pressure on over Easter, as long as she does some I am happy. She needs a break, I can see it in her eyes, she's been going to bed to sleep at 9pm recently which is very unlike her.

DS does an hour per subject per week at the moment. This will increase to 2 hours per subject per week in the Easter hols. I've just started sitting down with him to fill in a detailed revision plan. He has one with the days and subjects on and we're now drilling down to topics etc.
will try and attach a photo. I do the writing and he does the deciding! Worked well for mocks.

Meant to say - he has one day a week with nothing. Usually a Friday but it depends what else we have on.

@CornishGem1975 sorry to hear your DD struggling with anxiety too. I think there is lots of turbulence with friendships at the minute. That’s what DD’d HOY has told us. My DD has had 2 panic attacks at school in the last 2 weeks and she had to come home one day last week. She is so shattered from putting a brave face on at school that she is coming home and sleeping for up to 2 hours and then doing her revision. She is desperate for the Easter holidays.

@QueenMabby

DS does an hour per subject per week at the moment. This will increase to 2 hours per subject per week in the Easter hols. I've just started sitting down with him to fill in a detailed revision plan. He has one with the days and subjects on and we're now drilling down to topics etc. will try and attach a photo. I do the writing and he does the deciding! Worked well for mocks.

I'd like to learn about Mumbai, Lago and Birmingham please. In fact, I think Birmingham is an interesting addition to Mumbai and Lagos.

@StColumbofNavron - I think it's about traffic - who would have thought they'd have a gcse question on spaghetti junction! 🤣

DD’s school have sent home the arrangements for the exams and run up now. There are only revision classes before half term except for when exams are actually on and after half term there are revision classes before the actual subject and they are to be attended but can be at home the rest of the time. There are even some 7:15 maths revision classes before the morning exams.

[quote QueenMabby]@StColumbofNavron - I think it's about traffic - who would have thought they'd have a gcse question on spaghetti junction! 🤣[/quote]
Not quite. I think most specifications require three case studies eg for Edexcel B, form the specification:

"Case Studies and located examples
All students will study three in-depth case studies:
● a case study of development in an emerging country in Topic 2
● a case study of a megacity in a developing or an emerging country in Topic 3
● a case study of how a major UK city is changing in Topic 5"

That seems to cover Mumbai, Lago and Birmingham. I think other specifications must be similar, as DS did OCR, and they also did similar case studies.

So last day of term (only two mock papers returned so far), finalised GCSE exam schedule now given to students, and final details about DD's performing arts performance/final paper (BTEC) now confirmed. So a bit of progress but not enough really.

7.15am maths revision classes seem a bit much. DD is hardly out of bed at that time of the morning (and is still half-asleep).

Really interesting to read about the very different approaches schools take to manage the revision process, and use of time across the six week GCSE schedule.

It is interesting I agree. There are no extra revision classes in DS’s school unless you are struggling. DS has been able to make use of extra practice for his language oral exam but that is it.
My friend’s DS who goes to another school and is a high achiever is having revision sessions from 7.30am, during lunch and after school, twice a week. That is OTT in my opinion.

@zighead, DS (who did his GCSEs five years ago) was at a very high achieving selective school. His cohort were on self-directed study leave (with no input from school at all!) from straight after the Easter hols. DS wasn't very good at self-motivating with his revision for such a long time, and it showed in his results.

Cousins at a very highly regarded comprehensive elsewhere, conversely were expected to be in school across the whole six week GCSE timetabled exam period, whether for exams or revision classes.

DD is not good at concentrating on revision in class (certainly not if they're supposed to be getting on with it quietly themselves). I believe she finds it distracting having other people around her. So I'm really hoping they are not expected to be in school revising over the timetabled exams period.

I would think high achievers don't need such full-on revision as your friend's DS is getting @zighead. That really is OTT and really piles on the pressure.

Again, if the schools adopt such different approaches (with some clearly getting much more revision input than others from their schools), the young people's results really are not equal, are they?

DD's school have run revision and catch up classes during the holidays since year 10, this age group have had so much disruption due to covid that the last full year they had in school was year 8.

DD probably won't be going to the 7:15 maths classes but they are there for those that need them and it isn't silent solo revision but instead covering topics that are requested by the pupils, sometimes a last minute review provides extra assistance in the actual exam. I did get an A at GCSE German and still maintain that it was because I said I could play the bagpipes in my oral exam. We'd been flicking through a dictionary in the waiting room and I saw the word for it.

DD’s school run revision sessions after school every day that are compulsory for students identified as being in “intervention”, ie if they haven’t met expected grades in their mocks. They are optional for everyone else. DD isn’t in intervention but goes along to some of them as she finds it useful to be able to speak to the teachers sometimes.

We still haven’t been told the plan for study leave after Easter but I’m hoping we will get an email later. DD seems to think that they go in to school to do revision up until half term and then they are on study leave after.

I'm quite happy with the revision offering at our very standard comp. There are revision classes in the study hub everyday after school that DS goes to - they are self directed but there are teachers about if you need help/clarification and they can study in quiet groups. There are also interventions which can be for any number of reasons and aren't only targeted at low achievers but have run at different times for different cohorts. Easter there are subject revision sessions that they can sign up for, I know he has signed up for a few but they are voluntary. The MFL dept are also running a speaking breakfast club where you take your croissant and have a chat at 8am. I think he will go to a few of those with Spanish being his thing but prob not lots as it is 8am.

Also, I've had no idea about the maths challenges that are sometimes discussed here - turns out DS1 got bronze in the UKMT maths challenge recently and I discovered this via the newsletter! I asked him about it and he went 'oh yeah, not really important'.

What we still don't know is about study leave etc but I'm just going to assume it will be coming soon, the teacher who runs the Year 11 stuff has a timetable to run to so I am sure it will arrive soon.

Our school are offering lunch time and after school revision sessions.

Well done to your DS @StColumbofNavron a certificate of any hue puts you in the top 50% I think.

We got an email today and apparently there will be no study leave, lessons are continuing and they will be expected to be in lessons when they are not in an exam. Not sure if that is for the whole period but I would imagine it is at least until half term. I'm relieved to finally have some information and also think it will quite suit DS as he finds it tricky to study independently at home (too many tempting distractions).

They said previously they would try to run revision sessions next week, all I currently know is that there is one next Tuesday which he will go to. His French speaking mock was postponed due to staff illness so will happen the week after the holidays with the real thing the week after.

There was also another email from school about the new covid guidelines, it seems to be basically treat it as any other illness and stay off school if you have a temperature or feel very unwell. They say even if you have a positive test (which you would have to pay for unless you have LFTs left) children and those under 18 are only advised to stay at home and avoid contact with others for three days! They also say if you miss an exam due to covid (or any other illness) there is currently no system for the school to suggest an expected grade though there is stuff about applying for "special consideration" as long as they have done at least 25%. I'm glad I booked DS's booster jab for the end of next week, might give him a bit of extra protection.

No extra revision sessions at our school (independent). Some for intervention if borderline - ds goes to a weekly lunchtime Spanish one as he's borderline for a 7 and they want to push him over! There are lunchtime clinics for most subjects but they're run as drop ins and v informal.

We're in til 11th May then that's it - just in for exams. We are getting final reports on Monday and 11th May will have a leavers' service. 😳

Still trying to prod ds to make a revision timetable here! He insists he's working, but very focused on mocks which they had three of this week. I think they have at least finished the syllabuses so assume revision for the four weeks they are back at school. My job now to just provide food.

@IThinkIMadeItWorse That's the same for us, normal lessons continue until half-term and then from the beginning of June only in for exams.

That's interesting re exams and COVID, still waiting to hear from our school but from what they said it should be next week. My DD had her second jab in January, she's never had COVID, so it's bloody sods law isn't it.

Interesting to read about the different approaches. Finally got some school comms - bizarrely attaching the full exam timetable which includes all GCSEs, AS levels & A levels! It looks as if there are no revision lessons over the Easter break. There is a statement on study leave which tells parents that only some students will get it, depending on the school's view on individual ability to self study & on how they have done in mocks. We'll find out after the Easter break how this applies to our DCs. It doesn't start until 16 May. I actually think this is a good approach, if DS needs support I'm glad he'll get it. He had his last mock (French oral which he was dreading) on Wednesday so he is having a short break from revision but will be back on it next week. He's had a few results back which are very similar to the November/December results.

Exams start two weeks before halfterm tho, are some kids coming in even between exams?

@aramox1

Exams start two weeks before halfterm tho, are some kids coming in even between exams?

We have normal lessons between exams until after half-term, so yes.

Offer letter finally arrived for our 6th form. Can breathe a bit easier now. School officially ends 6 May and then DC only in for the exams. Can't believe they are only 6 weeks away now.