Year 10 2024/2025 - come and join!

[36and3]

A thread for those with kids beginning their GCSE course next month.

Dd is my oldest so this process is a first for me. Her options are: triple science, Spanish, history and food/nutrition.

We've spent the summer organising her room. We've bought revision guides and files etc for every subject and she's excited to get started!

Would anyone like to join me for the ride?!

DS has gone into year 10, chosen triple science, geography, business and PE. PE is my worry as he has sports training or games 3 nights a week plus games both weekend days and goes to the gym at least twice a week - I'm worried about fitting in the homework/ revision, though he seems to be coping at the moment...

Thanks @UncomfortableSilence. DS is very enthusiastic about the virtual day so I'll get him started on a suitable email. I'm hoping to offer a couple of places in my department to other students as DS is utterly unimpressed with my job (medtech).

@mamajong I hear you on the PE. DS is taking it too and every evening has something on. At the moment I have a clash between DS' badminton and DD's riding, with both DC needing drop-off at 5 and collection at 6.30 from opposite sides of town. Fun! On the plus side, DS is sleeping extremely well so I don't have to go into his room at 11pm to confiscate his ball/book/notepad.

We’ve just had information about y10 work experience too. Having been through it with my older ds who’s now in y12, I think there’s a lot of sense in targeting y10 work experience towards places that they might get a part time job out of - if they are likely to be heading towards sixth form, there’ll be other chances in y12 which are more geared towards longer term career options, and by then they’re over 16 and it’s much easier to arrange.

That is very true. I did WE at our local Asda and really enjoyed it. The highlight was being allowed as much cheesecake as I liked from the canteen, but I imagine they'd put limits on DS. The child is a bottomless pit.

Compulsory DofE sounds bonkers to me! DS signed up for it about a year ago but it still hasn't started yet 🙄

We have the dates for work experience but we are really struggling to find a placement. DS wants to work in Conservation so we're looking for something environment or animal care related but lots are saying they can't offer work experience due to safeguarding or insurance.

@MyBestFriendKenny Forestry England does year 10 work experience. If there's a site near you then it might be worth contacting them.

@mamajong similar story here, though dd is not doing gcse PE. She does however do a competitive sport out of school. She was doing 6 x training a week but I've cut it down to 4 x now. It was too much for her with all her school work.

Your DC all seem very busy. Mine was a few years ago but he’s dropped most of it and have failed to interest him in anything else. He does need to do a bit more physical activity but finds it very difficult and so is not interested.
Here no word on any work experience (not even sure if they do any - sounds like a nightmare to organise!). DoE also thankfully not compulsory.

Work experience is on the school calendar but not heard any details yet. Dd currently in Y12 was at a different school and they basically asked parents to organise everything and then pay school £50 for it, which felt like a bit of a scam. Dsil is on senior management at a Uni and offered dd a place there for a week, ds would like to do the same (nice to spend some time with auntie and hopefully will get ds taking study seriously?). We’re heading up to see her October half term so will ask, they’re miles away so it was quite the adventure getting a train independently.
I did mine at Argos when I was in y10! It was very dull.

@RealHousewivesOfTaunton ooh, thanks for that. We definitely have a couple of sites accessible from here so I'll get him to get in touch with them!

The insurance thing is really tricky for under 16. I had a friend with a year 11 who was trying to arrange something in music or theatre and no-one would cover it.

Dd1 is interested in architecture and we have a few friends who do that freelance or have their own company so hoping one of them will be able to help her when the time comes.

We have had German exchange students staying all week - they're very sweet but it's been quite intense and Dd1 hasn't had much time to do homework.

DD pleased as punch with her end of module biology test this week. Came 3rd in the class. She said she had to teach herself a lot of the content as most of the module was "covered" last year when she had hated biology teacher. Happy with new biology teacher.

Sounds like my daughter! She does tennis 4 times per week after school (usually 2 hours) and also rides our 2 horses a minimum of 3-4 times per week and competes on weekends plus goes to the gym once or twice per week 🤯

Brilliant! Dd also having end of unit tests at the moment. Only one result back so far - Spanish and she got a 9 so thrilled over here too!

Hi, late to this but just saying hi, my eldest just stared Y10 and as his school have postponed their year 10 information meeting until January (🤷‍♀️), I’m a bit at a loss!! You guys all sound very on the ball 😬 He’s doing computer science, drama, history & Spanish and enjoying all of them so far.

No compulsory DofE here but he did do most of his bronze last year, including the expedition- he’s just got some of the sections to finish off over the next couple of months. His school only charged them £15 for the expedition to cover hire of tents/ rucksacks etc, he’s not had to pay anything else so I’m amazed schools are are asking £500 for it 😱 He wouldn’t have been able to do it if it was that much!!

He already has a Spanish trip to Barcelona booked in for February which is setting us back over £600 and we’ve managed to book a cheap Eurocamp in Spain at Easter to go as a family, so that should all be good practice. He’s very bright but autistic and doesn’t see the point of revision so I’ve got him teaching me key Spanish phrases ready for hols as a sneaky way of getting him to do it!! He is meticulous at doing any homework set to be fair to him but won’t do anything extra. He hasn’t had much homework up to now but hoping that will increase this year.

I never did Spanish at school, haven’t got the faintest clue about computer science, and his maths is already beyond me so it’s a good job he seems to know what’s what!!

We’ve started having a chat about possible work experience ideas but placement not until the end of March so plenty of time. He wants to do something computing related which should give us lots of options hopefully 🤞

Welcome @sparklyblue81 spanish adventures sound like fun!

DS seems to have had a good week. He’s keeping on top of homework mostly and does seem to be buying in to the whole need to get his finger out. He has an hour of art after school once a week and that’s been brilliant at keeping his art homework manageable. He has two other after school prep sessions, because the bus leaves at 5 Tuesday to Thursday and he previously has been doing very little work here, but I think the penny has dropped and he’s now getting on with things.

He’s made friends with a lad who boards and is travelling to a town a little way away to see him tomorrow (getting the train) they are apparently going to Costco 😂to be fair probably cheaper than the pictures..

Good to hear everyone's experiences. DD very excited about a Paris trip and desperately hoping she gets a place. It includes some time at Disney. She asked if she'll have to speak French. For the cost of the trip, she had better come back fully fluent!
She's also asking for lots of stationery for revision. I hope the enthusiasm continues.

No compulsory DoE here either, they outsource it to a private company which is why it costs £££. DD has just gone up to Explorer Scouts so is going to ask if she could do it through them - leaders are very outdoorsy but I guess they'd only do it if the other scouts were up for it.

Our school have announced that y10 won't be invited on the Spanish trip this year so DS is a bit gutted. He's never been away with school due to COVID etc, although he has been with Scouts etc.

That's interesting. Other way around at dd's school - year 10 do the big trips mainly as they say year 11 should be using holidays to prepare/mocks etc. dd is going to Spain in October half term.

Same here. No trips for year 11s unless they're strictly related to GCSEs, e.g. Macbeth theatre trip, geography field work. DS has somehow managed to get himself invited on a history trip to the French WW1 battlefields, despite not taking history as one of his options. I figured it would be good French practice so agreed to send him, paid up and then found out it was a 3am start! Luckily (for me) it's on a day I'm away with work so DH has the pleasure of hauling himself and DS out of bed at ridiculous o'clock and getting him to school. Neither of them are morning people at the best of times.

Realhousewives* * DD had a 2.45 start for a Rome trip this year, was brutal! They went from Heathrow, we are the other side of London so a long old drive. I dropped her and then couldn't sleep so straight to work

No Y11 trips here either. They've just released a summer holiday trip for next year but DD doesn't fancy it.

DD is still getting on ok but the homework is a lot. She's always been on top of it and still is but one teacher is emailing to say she hasn't finished before it is due which has stressed her out a bit. She's also had a bit of a block with starting her first art piece which I know has frustrated her. She's loving the sciences, especially Chemistry.

Wishing everyone a good week ahead.

Haven't had info about any trips this year yet but from previous years they seemed to be open to both Y10 and 11. Eg Feb half term ski trip.

Chemistry test yesterday had a lot more equations than she was anticipating. Had gone in confident with her revision but found it hard. Will have to see how she does.

Have had quite a few chats about Maths. Was finding it hard to decide on a tutor (well my wallet was finding it hard), and the maths department have set up a "maths clinic" one night a week after school where they can go and get help from sixth formers. She admitted she doesn't tend to do so much maths revision because she finds it hard. Settled on an agreement to do maths revision twice a week using Dr Frost and lots of practice, going to maths clinic for anything she's struggling with and seeing how it goes for now.

@SatsumaCat Maths clinic sounds like a really good idea.

Crappy week here, we have lost three of our four cats to poisoning in the space of 48 hours so are all devastated. DC all adamant that school is the best place for them to be so have gone in. In the midst of all the upset DS found out he'd been elected house captain for year 10, he'd be really pleased if it hadn't been overshadowed by all of the upset 😭 😭

That's awful @MyBestFriendKenny. Was the poisoning on purpose?! Congratulations to your DS though.