Going into yr11 - what do we need to know?

[ColouringPencils]

Wondering what to expect from Year 11. My DD seems to think she is going to spend most of the year revising, which I thought seemed mad, but I have just checked last year's school notices for Y11 parents and they did the mocks in November and then exams ran from mid-May-end of June. November seems so early for mocks!
Hoping my DD is not going to get overwhelmed by it all as she's really hardworking but gets v anxious about doing well. Hope there is time for fun and extra-curricular stuff too.

I would say it's really important to carry on with hobbies as well.

Our school was big on "200 days till your first exam" and the like, but my dc still did football, dance, Guides, athletics through Yr 11. They also continued their pt jibs (paper round).

They all did well (not MN well apparently! but we were all very happy).

It'll go really quickly.

Revise properly for November mocks because this will mean less revision is needed for June. Any flashcards, mindmaps, notes created can be reused. Listen to teacher advice about how to approach past papers, make use of websites that schools have paid for access too. Use them as an opportunity to find out what works best.

The first couple of months priority will be Open Evenings and making decisions about sixth form/college applications.

If she is hardworking and organised, then it is important to emphasise that when teachers are going on about revision, doing more at home, they are talking to the kids who aren't doing any, not the ones who are already sorted.

And yes, any revision timetable should have slots for exercise, fresh air, hanging out with friends.

Thanks this is really helpful. Yes, I have tried to tell her before that when the teachers go on about revision they are trying to speak to the people who are not working hard enough. I think she still assimilates it all and gives herself a hard time. I hope she keeps up her hobbies as she really enjoys them and they don't take loads of time anyway.

I didn't realise she would need to make decisions about sixth form so early in the year. She is really torn on what subjects to do, although knows she definitely wants to stay on at her school. Maybe I will try to speak to her about it in the first couple of weeks.

So if mocks are in late November, do you think she would be expected to revise through Oct half term and we shouldn't go on holiday?

Oh sorry, another question! Is it worth buying the revision books for each subject or are these largely replaced by websites now?

Thanks so much!

Our school provided revision books so check they don't before buying (may have been a covid thing). Decisions on sixth form not made until around exam time ime. School do hammer on about no. of days until exams etc. DD always followed advice on how to revise and that worked well for her. Yes to keeping up clubs etc, DD only have explorers a miss when in the thick of it.

I didn't realise she would need to make decisions about sixth form so early in the year. She is really torn on what subjects to do, although knows she definitely wants to stay on at her school. Maybe I will try to speak to her about it in the first couple of weeks.

If there is any chance she won't meet grade requirements then look at and apply to other places too. Plus if there are colleges that offer her choice of subjects apply to one anyway in case in 9 months she wants a change of scene. You can hold multiple offers right up until results day. (Read the posts from parents whose DC didn't have Plan Bs.) She doesn't need a final choice on subjects, when she applies, but if timetabling is done around choices she may find a later switch isn't possible (especially if she picks an unusual combination.)

So if mocks are in late November, do you think she would be expected to revise through Oct half term and we shouldn't go on holiday?

Personally I wouldn't with Nov mocks (others will disagree), but would look to go Feb half term instead perhaps?

Oh sorry, another question! Is it worth buying the revision books for each subject or are these largely replaced by websites now?

Personally I think lots of the revision guides are really good. It is all there in one easy booklet. You can put posts its in, it's an easy reference, Mum/Dad can test from it. As soon as you rely purely on websites you are relying on the young person not to get distracted onto other things.

Applications for my sixth form are made before Christmas with interviews in January. I don't think that's unusual.

As mentioned, she needs to put down subjects when she applies BUT this isn't a final choice. Those choices are used to help put together the sixth form timetable so if she picks English Lit and French, then they'd try to ensure they were timetabled in different blocks. If she changed her mind later and wanted to do English Lit and Economics, changing her mind is fine but she might find that she can't do that combination of subjects due to the timetable.

If mocks are in November, going away October half term wouldn't be much fun for someone who is anxious to revise. Christmas post-mocks would be better. For Feb half term, check if they are having March mocks.

DDs school do mocks in both November then February/March time. They also have a lot of before and after school sessions for lessons the students may be struggling in. Sixth form open evening is usually October, with college open days starting around the same time. I would definitely buy the revision books, my dc found them really helpful.

November and February - wow! Maybe DD is not wrong that it is a year of revision.

She is aiming for 9s and 8s in all subjects, so unlikely to miss entry to school sixth form. I think making a separate college application would probably be unnecessary extra stress. A few of her friends have talked about going to the college and she seems to have no interest in that. She likes school and hates change! Because she does almost the same in all subjects, the difficulty she's having is narrowing it down to 3/4 subjects she really likes as she hates the idea of cutting off options.

Now that I am thinking about her sixth form choices, she might be wanting a combination that doesn't usually sit together on a timetable eg split of language, science, humanities

She needs to be careful about having too broad a mix as that too could cut off options - eg lots of STEM degrees want two sciences, so there's no point just dong one.

Yeah I have been a bit worried about that @titchy. She really wants to do German and Maths (poss Further Maths) and then probably a Science, but she enjoys all three Sciences. I am concerned only one Science might limit her options, but she really loves the German.

Or may end up choosing something like German, Maths, and History or Geography, but I think that is less likely.

Two sciences and a language would be a great combination!

I include Maths as a science btw.

Maths and Physics go well together.

If she loves German she could then look at STEM degrees that include study abroad.

Ok that's a relief! I remember when I was at school most of the science-y people did all three Sciences and Maths for a-level.

She does enjoy Physics and also likes the kind of deep existential thinking that I don't think really comes into Physics at this stage, but might do later on.

The pressure from school throughout y10, which then ramped up in y11 made my DD fall apart. I went against the MN grain of revision timetables in holidays and made sure she relaxed, ate and slept and tried to be the balance she needed. She didn't get what she hoped for, but did get 9 C+ and started y12 last week.

Sorry to hear that @MaryJoLisa. There does seem like a lot of pressure from school re GCSEs and you wonder if it could be more targeted to those who will actually thrive under that kind of pressure/ need a kick up the backside, as opposed to those who will just feel they are carrying an extra load. Glad to hear she has started y12 and hopefully can start to enjoy her subjects. I remember myself I much preferred sixth form to GCSE and even though the work was harder, managing it all felt a lot easier.

Our school went mad last year and had mocks during October half term. No wonder the parents refused to entertain this mayhem when they asked for a vote.
It means we will have mocks before and after half term, then after Febuary half term as well.

We will go away first week in Ocober half term (we have two weeks) for a couple of days to finally see family aboard. Otherwise no trips are planned outside Easter itself. DD is a mess already, in therapy for anxiety and panic disorder, and even her therapist thinks going away will just stress her out even more, she thinks day trips are more beneficiary. The school is ridiculous
with pressure and grades and we actively go against the grain.

We do look at 6th form requirements so DD has an idea of what she needs compared to what she actually can achieve. She knows what she wants for two subjects, the third depends a bit on what the unis are expecting/recommending to have.

We bought the revision workbooks as DD prefers working on paper compared to websites, only math sand languages are done online as standard in her school.

Maths is a science op so maths, German (yay!) and biology would be great - science degrees, German (or German + x) all possible.