Y10-13 milestones/timelines

[SecondaryPlans]

In September DC1 is going to start Y10. I remember important milestones in primary school coming up earlier than I expected, e.g. looking into secondary schools was best done in Y5, as by the time they start Y6 you've actually got less than 2 months until the final application deadline! And in our neck of the woods the grammar school test has already come and gone.

So I'm turning to mumsnet to find out what sort of important milestones are coming up in years 10-13, and when exactly they occur.

It may seem mad to worry about this now, but our families live abroad very far away, so trips to see them are both rare and expensive, so planning is essential. We were thinking of going to see one side this coming Christmas with the idea of going to the other side the following year, but have just realised that DC1 might be doing GCSE mocks right then. Then we've got DC2 following right after. So basically we're trying to figure out which school holidays are actually not going to be available for travel as a family in the next few years...

Obviously I know there are GCSE and A-level exams. But what about mocks? Is that school dependent? Do GCSE mocks matter? I'm not completely across how the English system works, but my understanding is that A-level mocks are quite important as that's what uni offers are based on?

What about the university application process - is that like secondary where you actually need to start looking into it in Y12 as Y13 is actually getting a bit late? Are there set times when universities typically schedule visits by prospective students?

Are there other things we need to consider? I remember friends of ours getting caught out by DofE expeditions clashing with a long planned trip years ago, so that's something else I'll keep in mind if they end up wanting to do that.

Many thanks in advance for any insights!

GCSE mocks matter in that they give a good idea of the grade your child is looking at in the real thing and also highlighting areas of weakness so that they can improve on them. Predicted grades may also be needed for college applications.

The date of mocks varies by school, some do them before Xmas of Y11, some after.

You might have work experience at the end of Y10, and Y10 exams are also big ones.

Open evenings for sixth forms and colleges happen late September/early October of Y11. Your child should have a reasonable idea of what subjects they're hoping to study by then so that they can talk to the relevant teachers in those evenings rather than wandering around aimlessly.

University applications - should be thinking about this towards the end of Y12 and looking at open days. School might want a start made on personal statements before the summer. For UCAS applications, early entry (Oxbridge and competitive courses) are due very early in Y13. Normal UCAS applications should be done and ideally sent off by Christmas Y13.

So mocks are school dependent but a common model is:

End of year 10 exams are basically mocks. You will be given a predicted grade.

If your DC is looking to change schools for a levels then these predicted grades are what is most likely to go on his report, although they can be changed up to Christmas.

Many schools now do two sets of mocks in year 11, one in November/just before Xmas and one end March. If they only do one set of mocks it is usually January.

If you look at your school calendar on your website it should list them.

There is work experience in year 10. The schools tend to put a lot of responsibility on the students to find their own placements these days and some students don't find one/do it in the summer holidays instead.

Run up to GCSEs from Xmas to the summer is intense. We went away for the Easter but took all the revision stuff with us and did a mix of day trips/helping with revision.

Depends on school, but check for mandatory revision in school or (conversely) long periods of study leave. Be aware that public exams finish a lot earlier than term finishes, but DC have to be available until the last possible exam date (often several weeks later, though still
before the end of term).

I’d assume definitely not possible to go away Easter and May half term of exam years, as a minimum.

Yes as others say all mock exams matter.

The timings will vary so maybe check with school. Some schools have November mocks, some December, some January, some in March as well.

I would not plan any big holidays in exam years at all, at least not until late June/July/. Is summer feasible for visiting your family? I think day trips and short breaks in Year 11 are OK (not May half term tho) but no more tbh.

@noblegiraffe has explained about uni applications perfectly - deffo by this stage of year 12 it's time to be reading up and looking at possible courses and unis.

At my DC's school, A Level mocks are before Christmas (Nov/Dec) in year 13 and GCSE mocks are after Christmas (Jan) in year 11. It does vary by school though. Yes, A level mocks are very important- as you say, uni offers are based on predicted grades - and similarly the end of year 12 exams as the predicted grades will also consider those. I'd say GCSE mocks are quite important too as a learning experience for the student.

Going to uni open days is June/July year 12 or Sept in year 13.

Tempting to book a summer holiday as soon as exams are done but don't book your summer trip for Y11 or y13 before you have ascertained if Prom is important to your kids. Such a shame to miss that if they want to go.

Your school will likely have an evening early on in Year 10 where they give you a schedule of important dates (English coursework, art exams, btech deadlines etc)

GCSE mock exams are important. They need to have a clear shot at them so they can have a brutally honest assessment of where they're at, and whether they're working hard enough (without being able to hide behind "oh, well I didn't have a chance to revise properly")

Year 11 is the time to be researching universities and course, and picking A Levels accordingly. Year 12 is the time to bolster up their UCAS application with extras (volunteering, positions of leadership etc) and being actually useful within the school! Year 13 is when they have a good idea of their likely final grades, and finalise their applications accordingly. Early applications (notably oxbridge and medicine) need to be in by October of Year 13 I think.

In a state school in England taking GCSEs not IGCSEs there is no English coursework btw (apart from a speaking exam which doesn't count towards the grade).

Also (sorry to say - or maybe I am glad!) I wouldn't worry too much about bolstering the UCAS application with volunteering., Ofc volunteer if your DC wants to - but no one gets a place at Imperial or Durham bc they have gold DofE. Deffo only do that if your child is keen.

And don't forget any school trips - geography, history, MFL etc. some schools do ski trips in feb half term.

DD is Y11 and has been offered booster revision sessions in feb half term and during Easter hols. She didn't want to go away over Christmas either because mocks were early in the new year.

Ds's high school has mocks in November and February of Y11.

Mocks really mattered to the classes of 2020! The kids next door both had completely different reactions to lockdown/no exams/marks based on past performance. One was quietly confident, and got good estimated grades based on her mocks. Her brother's grades were also based on his mocks, but in his words "I was going to cram after Easter". You never know when and why you might not be able to take a real exam.

I'm so glad I asked - so much useful input!

It definitely sounds like I need to get an idea of the timetable from the school itself as it can vary. And looks like we will need to take mocks into account - fingers crossed our school does them at a convenient time.

For the person who asked about travelling in summer instead, it is possible and sounds like what we may have to do. We just wanted to try to have a family Christmas, which we haven't done in a long time, but ridiculous as it seems it's not sure we can fit trips to both sides in the next few years!

It's been really useful to also get a bit of a better idea on the university application timelines. Sounds a lot like secondary applications, where it's all done and dusted early in the final year, so you actually need to do a lot of the research the year before.

Work experience is also an area that was not on my radar, so good to get a heads up.

Thank you all, I now have a much better feel for what's in store the next few years!

Round here it is all 6th form colleges.
I would recommend a first look round in autumn y10 or summer y10 at the latest.

You (your DC) need to be looking at what courses appeal and their entrance criteria as well as at the colleges. We found that visiting different places highlighted info we had missed at previous.

Then use autumn y11 for confirming views.

Have a look at the school calendar/year group pages on the website to get an idea of how your school organises things like work experience and mock exams. At my DCs' school, work experience happens in the February of Y10 after January assessments.

The UCAS website has a calendar of events including its Discover events which are aimed at 16-18 choices or uni choices. Timings seem to be similar from one year to the next which may help with planning. If you think there's any chance your DC maybe be interested in applying for a summer school between Y12 and Y13, they will probably need to apply in the autumn of Y12.

We carefully said we'd avoid any proper holidays in yr 11 and yr 13 (apart from the summer)

Especially don't go away Easter or may before exams.

However we stuffed up a bit by going away Easter yr10 and they have big yr 10 exams a few weeks after.

Dont make your child try to revise while away. It's not the same as focused revision and then they feel a failure of they can't manage it.

Mocks are school dependent, I would say Y10 mocks have several benefits which may vary school to school:

-Get to practice being in the exam hall, possibly for the first time, this is a big deal to some kids.

-Get to practice full length papers- this is important for timing and many papers are longer than the standard lesson so not that many opportunities to do this.

-Get targeted feedback from teachers based on strengths and weaknesses of exam technique.

-May influence predicted grades for 6th form, and may also influence whether they sit higher/foundation tier.

You could ask the school for a calendar, but definitely be aware this is subject to change.

I'd also mention sixth form applications- if they're just planning to stay on at school then the school will guide them through. However, locally to me the big FE colleges have their open events in the autumn term of Y11, with applications normally done by February Y11. They will consider late applications, but there may be less choices of course etc.

It is worth looking into all your local options for sixth form, IMO, because there may be places offering subjects your children would love, or may be an environment better suited to your child.

When applying to uni, most open days would be in the summer term of Y12, ideally they'd go into Y13 knowing roughly where they want to apply and getting their application in before the end of the autumn term.