Year 9 - 2022/2023 Support Thread

[QueenMabby]

Hi
Having got a lot out of the thread for my ds who's just finished year 11 I though I'd start one for anyone wanting support/chat about dcs in year 9 from September.

Some schools will be starting GCSE syllabi this year and for those that don't there'll be options later in the year.

I have a dd starting year 9 in September. Her favourite subjects are languages and chemistry. We've not taken gcse options yet - that joy is to come.

@NotDonna yes me too. I've seen @sofakingcool on another thread and read as sofa king too 🙈

DS submitted his options form today. Geography over History, they have to do Spanish and he has chosen Music & Economics. He will likely do Further Maths. They find out in the summer term if they will be in the triple or combined Science class depending on their summer term test results. He would rather do combined as he knows he doesn’t want to do Science A-levels. Stress is starting to ramp up a bit with his older sister in Year 11.

I think we are the only ones on here without an options evening. I don't mind as I attended my older 2 ds's option eves. There are less options this time though with the extra compulsory subjects. Ds did have an assembly all about options, so he is happy with that.

We have the options evening on Monday, but headmaster has now asked for appointments with every set of parents (and the kids) in year 9 to discuss their options with him. Got that booked for next Friday.

I’ve just realised that I didn’t even see the form. The DC do it all online. She had a meeting with head of year but parents don’t. It’s all very DC focused. Easy for me as she’s my 3rd but it must be quite odd for those parents where it’s their first child.

@NotDonna - I'm not sure how I'd feel about no input, even though dd is my second! Unfortunately Fortunately she wants to discuss it all in great depth with me so I hear all about it anyway.

We have no blocks or similar at our school - free choice. An MFL is compulsory and in years 7-9 they have opportunity to study two out of French German and Spanish. Spanish is the main MFL.

Sciences are either all three individual ones or combined.

Top set maths students will also do gcse further maths but that's done within the standard maths timetable so doesn't take a slot.

Technically they've started the three sciences specs this year but the other subjects don't start until next year.

Good to see pps with uni aged dc. My oldest is year 12 and I know @minisnowballs also has a dc in that thread too <waves>

Hi, I have been lurking in this thread. <waves to QueenMabby> Dd has to submit her option form at the beginning of March but they advised us not to fill it in until after parents evening which is the 23rd of Feb I think. She has already decided that she wants to do History (they have to do one of History or Geography) Spanish and Art so not much angst here. I'm a bit nervous about Art as I have heard it is a massive time commitment but she loves it. I think it will be good to have a subject which is different and over before the start of the exams!

Hi fellow members moving to the Area , due to work . Have a concern over my Year 9 child as his options are due to be in March this year . As a parent if only i had a crystal ball i dont know how he would react and being such a big move year 9 not to distrup his option choice.
Anyone else had similar problems and how did it go for you. any input would help . i am even prepared not to take the job.

@Viperex is your DS in yr9 at the moment and moving school after options?

IN YEAR 9 will choose options next month and move id due to be completeed a week or so ?

Guess cold feet just want best

@Viperexyou need to contact his new school. Have you applied to the new school already?
If he has a place then any options discussion will be done with his new school now/soon and before he actually starts in September.
Most schools offer maths, English lit, English Lang, biology, chemistry, physics (either as triple science or double science), then choices are often from history, geography, RS (humanity option), art, DT, drama (art options), Spanish, French (modern foreign language). These are standard but some schools offer even more choices such as photography, film studies, law, business, sociology, psychology. The new school will send you their option choices. It’s up to your son, with your guidance as to what he fancies studying and how the school works with timetabling - some schools have student choose from option groupings.

My DD will be starting Y7 in Sep 2023. I obviously mad to think about this already but had a question please for parents with children heading towards GCSE. So when my DD started prep school I was naïve enough to think tutoring would not be required and the school would prep her for 11+. Realized well in time that was not the case and got a tutor.
Am I being naïve again to think that if she is at a top selective secondary school G&L and LEH - she should not need a tutor? Would I still need a tutor for most subjects?

@WimMum2015 your child is in yr6? And you’re already considering GCSEs in 5 years time? Breathe. Enjoy her. Have some fun! There’s so much more to life than academics. Please do not fall into this ‘tiger mama’ trap. The issue you now have is that you had her tutored to get into a selective school. This suggests that she wasn’t smart enough to get in on her own merits in the first place. Will she do ok at the selective school? If so then there’s no need for further tutoring. Let her be. The school will help her succeed & hopefully she’ll be motivated to put the effort in. I don’t agree with kids being tutored for entry into selective schools but I do know lots are. If she’s then struggling during yr10/11 then revisit a tutor AFTER exhausting all possibilities at school.

@NotDonna great reply. I don't think I'd pay for a tutor unless I felt one of my dc's was really falling behind and I knew they shouldn't be behind, my dc's all do or have done the best they can and that's good enough for me.

It’s such an easy trap to fall in. People think it’s London only but unfortunately it’s not. It’s prevalent up north too. I’ve 3 (19, 18, 13) and know how easy it is to become an alpha mum. I’ve not been immune! It’s such flipping ridiculous nonsense and there’s a huge risk for parents and kids. We need to smell the roses.

@NotDonna I grew up in Surrey where we all took the 11 plus and 2 or 3 girls and boys in each school got a place at Tiffin girls or Tiffin boys (early 1980's) no idea whether it's still the same now. My father went to tiffin boys after passing his 11 plus and I know he'd have liked the same for me. I don't think anyone tutored back then, but if they did then I'm glad I wasn't tutored to pass as I'd have been well out my depth. I'm not very clever.

Where we live now in Suffolk there is no 11 plus, most of the dc's go to the local primary school and then onto the same secondary. The school bus serves the villages and takes them all to the secondary school. There aren't public buses. It does take the pressure off looking for schools as if we do want to go to a different school we have to drive them, which for most people isn't practical. But the secondary is a great school so I haven't needed to worry about it.

Hope everyone is well.

I have dispatched DS to his grandparents this week so that I can concentrate on helping DD a bit who is starting to panic about her GCSEs - another set of mocks next week. He is helping my parents sort out their various tech questions in exchange for unlimited access to their snacks cupboard 😬.

@icanbewhatiwant that sounds quite idyllic.

@Circleoffifths it's been a long time since ds1 did GCSEs he's 22 now. They have so many exams don't they...then all the mocks. Ds2 had his GCSEs cancelled as they would have been in 2020. He took his A levels last summer. So didn't didn't experience all the exams.

@icanbewhatiwant - 2020 must have been a bonkers year to be sitting (or not actually sitting) public exams. I remember saying to DD at the time that if that had happened when I did GCSEs I would have been buggered to have had to rely on TAGs as I did all my work at the last minute.

Yes, one set of mocks in November, another set after half-term and then 19 actual exams.

@Circleoffifths Ds2 said he would have had better grades for some subjects had he actually sat exams. He'd been getting 8's and 9's in science mocks, but they gave him 6's. But he didn't go on to study science at A level so a 6 is perfectly fine. He did get higher grades in his A levels than predictions, so maybe he was correct about GCSEs. We will never know.

Sounds like a great idea @Circleoffifths tech / snack swap and out of the way! How many GCSEs is she doing?
My Yr9 DD also out of the way whilst DD2 studying for A level mocks. We had the pleasure of CAGS for her GCSEs and DD1’s A levels. Not the debacle of TAGS but still horrid. They were constantly sitting tests. And I mean constantly. IIRC DD2 had over 100 ‘exams’ for her ten GCSEs. Obviously they were short papers but it was incessant. So she’s never sat a proper 2-3hr exam so mocks next week will be telling. Meanwhile my yr9 DD is having a lovely time ‘out of the way’ skiing with her dad and probably not looked at any books despite her having tests first day back.

Hope all those on half term are having a good one. We're off next week so am limping along these last couple of days.

Did anyone else's child do the intermediate maths challenge this year? DD's class did but I don't know much about it.

We are off next week as well, ds is exhausted, and I work in a school so I’m desperate for a break now too!