Year 11 2023-24

[Maxus]

Anyone else got kids starting year 11 in September?

Mine is quite similar. Predicted 3s and 4s but working at 2 in lots of subjects. And I honestly don't think he properly understands the concept of revision. He told me, in all seriousness, going to his youth club would count towards his Btec Sport revision as he would be moving around!

In one breath I'm telling him that exams aren't the be all and end all of everything and in the next I'm telling him he's only got this last year to get through and he needs to put the work in!

Would it work if they knew will have to do GCSEs for another year if they dont pass? My DS is almost completely motivated by what he doesn't want to do next year - maths again, and to be with his friends. Going toothed college open days has been motivating

I've told mine he'll have to do it next year if he doesn't pass this year. He was suitably horrified but I think 'next year, once school is over' still seems too far in the future to him to really worry about!

@Worriedmun i threatened my son he would loss his game consoles and vr etc if he fails his mocks from not doing any revision. Seems to have worked.

@Worriedmun got one of those here!
they’ve just lost their game console and phone.
I hate upsetting them and feel awful but got a phone call from
school earlier in the week saying they are basically failing everything. They started secondary with 6+ being the lowest now they are trailing in at 345. I wouldn’t mind if they struggled as my others did but I know they are just lazy.

Thank you for your responses, it’s a lonely place feeling like you’re the only one who has a kid who may fail, I have to listen to friends whose kids are debating which sixth form to go to where I know mine is unlikely to get in anywhere.

For those of you with DCs who are struggling to revise, would revising with a friend help? My older DS did this with his friend for his Biology A level, he was so disengaged due to a terrible teacher that he would rather sit and stare out the window than revise but then agreed with his best mate to revise together and it made a huge difference.

I've told them they'll have to re-sit next year while their friends are going on to college / sixth form if they don't get the passes they need.
We had the year 11 GCSE info evening yesterday, they pointed out that to carry on to sixth form they need 7 passes and it's only 21 weeks ish away 😬
They did give them CGP and AQA revision guides, 5 in total and science flashcards which is nice and a bit less for me to buy.

My DD is year 11. Hoping to get a place at a grammar school for sixth form but the grades are a stretch. She wants to apply to a couple of private schools as back up as the offer is slightly lower. Does anybody know how this works? I know this will vary by school, but will we be expected to pay large non refundable deposits for private sixth form. I can’t see the info on their websites.

@newmum1976 it will certainly vary by school, though some are more transparent than others on their websites! Around us private school sixth-form deposits payable upon accepting a place range from about £1,000 to an eyewatering £5,000 and are largely non-refundable if you choose to go elsewhere or don’t get the grades. One does make it known that they will refund, but it’s an exception. A small number of parents for whom money is no object will pay multiple deposits so that they have Plan B and Plan C in place for results day. These are all schools with high thresholds though - higher than all the local state sixth forms - so aren’t used as backup in that sense.

Would your DD need to do assessments to get offers from the private schools you are considering? If so, beware of entry deadlines which are typically expiring soon.

Registrars at the schools you are considering should be amenable to a phone call or email for any information you need on all of this.

@Worriedmun you are definitely not alone. My DD even told her DB he would be lucky to get into 6th form unless his grades are a lot better due to demand at their school the 6th form has been rated outstanding for a while. They had a big fall out and he locked her out of the house.

Is it just me but shocked at the variations in grade boundaries always assumed you needed 50% at least for a pass. However this is not the case for some past years!

@newmum1976 private school dates should be in the admissions section of website. Our private school deadline for external applicants was last week. Another one we have registered with was also last week. But one other is Feb. You normally pay a registration fee of around £200. Then sit tests and may be invited to interview. If successful you pay deposit to secure the place. You may also have to pay first terms fees if you accept offer, meet grades but don't go. T&C will be outlined in the offer letter. Admissions teams are normally helpful so call them and ask about the process and T&C.

@Worriedmun.. Dc are not motivated for a huge range of reasons and sometimes due to undiagnosed sen?

Low self-esteem, a sense of hopelessness, a feeling of not knowing what to do and setting the bar low.

1:1 help, positivity, small wins can really help.
Help them see what they can achieve but don't scare then off with heights. Small wins.

If you can get some tutors and make sure those tutors are very good that could help enormously.
Esp if you can target speficic concepts.

As an aside I speak to several mums with dc at different school to my dd and as someone who struggled to revise myself the way some come at the problem i know... Is making it worse.

Ie nagging, you've got to learn comments and references to pie in the sky futures that they can't conceptualise yet.

I just know being spoken to like that would have made me feel even more hopeless. What I needed was someone intelligent and knowledgeable to sit with me and help me get organised. Work out where I needed speficic support eg my literature was always excellent but I had no grammar.. My biology cell stuff was v good but I struggled elsewhere.

Helped to study with rewards would have worked with me and achievable goals.

Luckily my dd is self motivated. I take care to never ever nag her or sound depressing or negative over work. I trust her and she will start next week. I will be hands off except for asking what books and materials she needs.

My other dc will definitely need different strageties. But always positive and targeted help.

@Dispairrepair I think you are right about not knowing how to revise, I was also one of those people and found it hard to then teach my children how to revise - well, I didn't really teach them to be honest. I know my older DS struggled with this too but did find working with a friend helpful. Our school engaged an outside company to talk to the students the best methods of revising statistically, while still understanding that this doesn't always suit everyone and discussing what else may work.

DD has her mocks in November & has been revising for a couple of hours most evenings & a stretch at weekends.
She really wants to stay at her school for A levels but I've told her she needs a back up. There's an A level parents meeting next week & then she'll need to get her choices in.
Bit of a wobble today as life seems to be coming at her fast. I think I'm becoming one of "those" parents, I looked at her today in her teddy bear ears hoodie & thought "They're TOOO young for all this pressure".
And breath. All shall be well.

Mocks in November for us too:
DS has been having 2 hours a week extra English and 1 hour maths at home with a tutor. He’s started an hour after school 3 days a week revision club. He struggles to be self motivated but is trying bless him!

One thing that had surprised me is how much harder gcse is compared to when I was at school! It’s bonkers! Also his school are quite direct in saying that to do A level they want a 7 ideally. 🥴🥴

7 for Alevel? That’s higher than the entry at our local (& v good) 6th forms. Dd is doing an hour revision each evening for mocks, poor thing has a November birthday so is in mocks on her 16th.

She is doing okay apart from English, I was pretty surprised reading her work yesterday how much she’s struggling to write formally, she just doesn’t have a sense of it. I’ve told her she should start reading news reports. She has an English tutor once a week who’s great, hopefully she’ll get there!

Have persuaded the SENCO to assess her for extra time, she’s never actually finished an English timed assessment and her spelling is shocking, she gets p & b confused, I’m sure she’s dyslexic. SENCO seemed to think because she reads well (in untimed assessment) it wasn’t worth looking into. I’m afraid I was super awkward until she agreed to at least do some working speed assessments.

I think they like a 7, 6 is ok but they suggested that less than a 7 in certain subjects is really hard on the student???

A 7 is a standard requirement for maths.
It is also a relatively common requirement for sciences or MFL.

They are coming round fast DS mocks 2 wks tomorrow ! Male sure to check the grade boundaries if they are doing past papers was shocked by some for Maths!

Because maths is tiered, you need a relatively low mark to pass on the higher tier, as the lowest you can get on the paper is a 3, otherwise a U. Whereas for the foundation tier it is a relatively high % to pass as the highest grade is only a 5.

This us what I'm worried about with my DS. He was on the higher tier and was getting 3.9 but he has now been put into the foundation paper, which he finds much easier and prefers the teacher but I'm worried that he'll end up having to get a huge amount right yo get a pass. I did look at the past papers. They are ridiculously difficult! Surely that is far more than they will need for basic maths!

What is your DS like with stamina and silly mistakes?

The foundation paper is definitely way more accessible, but you do have to manage the easier questions well before getting through to the grade 4/5 ones.
I don't think it is ridiculously difficult though agree some of the grade 4/5 questions are a challenge. iirc it is ~55-60% for a pass?
Agree though that some goes above 'basic maths' such as the trig, algebra, and angles of a polygon.

If he keeps plugging away, he will hopefully get there.