Year 10 - 2023/2024 Support Thread

[QueenMabby]

Hi all

A new thread for those needing support (or just wanting to chat or rant!) with teens heading into their GCSE years.

@QueenMabby Good luck to her for today! DD2 still slogging through the exams - too busy to ring me last night as was revising history. Slightly concerned by the WhatsApps about how her head of dept for music is 'talking about what I can drop so things don't get too stressful' - she's just been put into another bit of the Symphony Orchestra as someone has dropped out and she also seems to be in an opera this month she didn't know about. And she has Grade 6 singing, a woodwind assessment and the audition for next year's school play. And three or four other ensembles and the Chapel Choir.

This, for her, is bliss - she has moved to this school as she wants all the music and hasn't had enough of it, but I hope someone is keeping a proper eye over there- especially since she is going into Year 11 in September!

@minisnowballs that's a tricky situation to be in. I think if your dd is passionate about a life/career in music then as long as she has the trifecta for maths, English and science then the rest shouldn't matter too much. If there's a chance that she won't study music beyond 18 then the GCSEs are much more important.

Either way, she should ensure that she's taking a minimum of 8 GCSEs to keep her options open. She's still quite young to be closing off doors.

It must be a struggle to keep on top of all that with the euphoria of All The Music though! Maybe a meeting with her head of year might be worthwhile or whoever is the deputy head in charge of academics? Don't forget - this is an independent school - they will be well used to very demanding parents (not that you are of course!) and these kind of meetings will be very common for them. They should be able
To offer you some reassurance that everything is as it should be.

@QueenMabby yes there is a chance it will not be music. The school does know this. And it may be 'music and' at uni rather than conservatoire even if it is. Knowing her, I can't actually imagine her not doing music in some way, but she needs to know that it's not set in stone by us or the school.

I think I'll check with someone at some point - I am finding 'head of year' is a much less important role at this new school than it was in her old one, so perhaps that's not the right person... She will do eight GCSES for sure and her predictions are good - I'm expecting it will be 8 7-9s of various types, possibly all higher than 7. The only thing she doesn't have any more is a language, but she does speak some spanish. But we will clearly have to keep an eye on it all!

@minisnowballs - I expect there'll be a Deputy Head (Academic) who would be a good person to start with.

Dd had a good last Greek exam this afternoon so she's now done! She's predicting herself a 9 (and she usually errs on the side of caution!) so watch this space.

@QueenMabby - ah yes, I think there is one of those. No-one ever teaches you how to negotiate these different school systems do they - I was all sorted with her old school - where it definitely would have been the head of year.

Well done to your DD - the 9 sounds like it would be well deserved!

Dd gets the results of her internal exams on Friday next week. They get them all on a piece of paper in an envelope like GCSE results.

Normally this happens in form time. Dd isn't in form on Fridays as she has choir rehearsal. This will probably mean that she'll have to sneak a look at her phone in the girls' loo at break time when hopefully they'll be published on the school portal. I'm not allowed to look until 11.30 so she has seen them first. The results are 9-1 so it will be interesting to see what she gets.

@icanbewhatiwant is your DS3 a bit of a perfectionist? Or has he got a good balance? There’s no way any of my DDs would put minimal effort in as they simply wouldn’t want to take that risk. Plus if that’s not his nature anyway the most you can encourage is good breaks and stepping away from study, being with friends etc. So hard to get that balance.
We let DD3 take DD1’s room when she moved out last year - she’s back again next week so will have to squeeze all her stuff into DD3’s room. I have had it decorated though! I’m wondering where you DS2 is going in Oz? Is the uni he’s at now linked to the Aussie uni? My DD2 wants a placement year in Oz (she has a passport) but I think that’ll be a tough call.

Ooh crikey the handing out of results in envelopes for internal exams seems a bit stress inducing @QueenMabby Is your DD cool with that?
End of years here are followed by results week where they get their results in class but more importantly go over papers and the major errors - the stuff everyone got wrong.
DD had her first exams today - English & History. She had a laptop and reader on her desk which she’s never used before so that threw her a bit. Need to check with senco that she’ll have that set up for all exams incl GCSEs and it’s not some mix up today.

@NotDonna it's ds2 who put in as little effort as possible. I never saw him do homework, he didn't revise that much either. Now he's at uni he leaves everything to the last minute. He'll be up all night finishing essays. I've given up nagging him. He used to go out to the school taxi with his jumper, shoes and tie in his hands and only get up and go in the shower 10 mins before leave time. It always caused me a lot of stress. Ds3 is the opposite. He's very organised. He showers at 6.15am though doesn't come down for an hour. He's always dressed, shoes on, bag on his back ready to leave a few mins before he needs to. He's always doing homework and revision too. So they are both very different. Ds3 puts too much stress on himself though.

At least 18 have had interviews for head boy and head girl. So I know it's unlikely ds will get it. A friends dd was head girl 2 years ago, she had volunteered at all the open eves at school, helped with after school sports, volunteered in her village etc. her brother is in ds's year and also applied for head with ds, his dm said she knew her dd would be head girl as she does so much volunteering. She says her ds has no chance, so I know it'll be the same for mine. The only chance will be if none of the boys have done out of school stuff. I just hope he's not disappointed. One of the other roles he's applied for will be good though.

@NotDonna - she's pretty chill about results but then she's never had less than an A* in anything so it'll be interesting to see how it works on the 9-1 grading. For her worst exam (Eng Lit) she's predicted herself a 7 and she's usually pretty accurate. However. She considers anything less than 90% to be a bad result for her so.... 🤣🤣

She'll get upset if she thinks she's performed less than her best as she then thinks that she's let people down.

@icanbewhatiwant yes, that’s what I mean! Your DS3’s nature is to be on the front foot and he probs won’t listen to your DS2 about taking it easy. It’ll seem too risky to him. My DD1 (20) is the same. Always has been. I do hope that if he doesn’t get Head boy, he’ll get the other role. 🤞🏼🤞🏼

@icanbewhatiwant - fingers crossed for your ds - hope he gets a good role for next year. Does his school not have a sixth form if head boy/girl are being selected for year 11?

We will get "middle school" prefects selected for next year. I suspect dd will be picked. Her older brother was (and was a senior prefect too) so no reason to think why she wouldn't. They get a green badge to wear on the blazer and some lunchtime duties but that's it. It's a pretty easy ride!

@QueenMabby yes 6th form at school. But head boy/girl are year 11.

@NotDonna yes, ds3 won't listen to ds2. He might pretend he has listened.

I’ve never heard of heads being in yr11 when there’s a sixth form. When do they find out?
There’s no roles in yr11 here. Not that DD would get anything. 🤣

We have head students in y11 and head of sixth form students in 13

Ds didn't get head boy. We knew he wouldn't really. But the most annoying thing, his best mate who he's known since reception, who he's always competed against in everything, is now the head boy. Ds has always wanted to beat this lad in sports, all tests from spelling tests, to SATS, to end of year tests and mock GCSEs they've always compared. Ds is starting to get better grades than his mate now, so that is great. But to lose out on head boy to him is frustrating. Ds didn't get deputy head boy either. There was a head prefect for science too, he didn't get that either. Ds is a senior prefect. He has to go on the school council. At least he tried.

In our 6th form pupils aren't there all the time, especially by year 13 my oldest was mostly in just for lessons, then he'd drive home. Ds2 had to stay there more, mainly due to missing school during covid. But he could come home afternoons if no lessons. Plus a lot go off to college and there are a few schools further away that don't have 6th form, so they come to our school. Maybe these are reasons why heads and prefects are year 11.

Well done on your ds for being appointed a senior prefect. Sorry he didn't get the role he wanted.

In our school everyone has to be on site during the school day. Sixth formers have to stay in school for study periods too so they take senior leadership roles.

I'm sure your ds will enjoy his time as senior prefect once the initial disappointment has worn off.

@icanbewhatiwant I'm so sorry he didn't get the job. It is so hard when they compete with one particular child isn't it. Senior prefect is good though - and on the plus side he'll be able to concentrate on his work and get excellent grades.

In Dd1's school the Year 11s are prefects and head girls - the Sixth Form is split so they don't get involved. It is a lot of work for year 11s who are busy anyway. DD decided not to apply and I'm glad she didn't. DD2's school it is Year 13s, she definitely doesn't feel she's head girl material but there are years to go.

@icanbewhatiwant Ahhh what a shame and a toughie when his best friend gets it, as he’ll want to be pleased for him when it actually grates. Hope his friend is gracious with his new role.
A friend’s son isn’t a prefect but his two friends are and are therefore allowed to walk across the school lawn. Only prefects allowed, no one else. So this boy’s friends never accompany him around the lawn. It’s petty but it hurts several times a day. Doesn’t say much for the friends does it? So sincerely hoping the new head boy is decent about it all.

@NotDonna that is AWFUL! Lawn privileges seem ridiculous. I suppose i see being head boy or girl as an act of service to a school really, not a showing off thing. Poor boy.

@icanbewhatiwant so sorry to read that, seems unfair and harsh. He is better than this (twats) . Thank goodness he's a Senior Prefect.

Not Donna those lawn rules are questionable, although I know a few schools that still do such.

We knew it was unlikely he'd get head boy role. So that's fine. Especially as he has never volunteered within the school or done anything extra outside school. But having said that, neither has his mate. Though his mate did help with the scenes for the school play each year. So that may have helped, plus he's very friendly and approachable, Ds isn't really. But he'd have had to be if he'd got the role.

Now the competition will be on to get better gcse grades than him. I guess that's not a bad thing to be competing. As long as it's ends well.

@NotDonna how silly about the lawn...nice friends!

@icanbewhatiwant well done to your DS with the senior prefect role, that's great. Sorry about the head prefect role, hope the disappointment wears off soon and his friend is decent about it.

DS has some end of year exams for some subjects next week which weren't expected and only told about last week and is on top of regular topic tests too. it all seems too much right now especially for DS who is doing a lot of sport at the moment. The results of these tests doesn't really matter, as their official mocks for predicted grades are in Nov. I guess it's just to get them to revise earlier topics again to refresh. Just feel a bit stressed on his behalf as just don't know when he's going to have the time to revise. I don't remember constant tests like this when I was at school!! The weather being so rubbish at the weekends is in a way helpful as it would be even worse if we were missing out on great weather due to revising for tests plus homework!