Year 11 - 2024-2025 Support Thread

[QueenMabby]

Hi
A continuation for those of us with DCs going into year 11 - GCSEs are looming!

I've never understood the S&L in English language...it should form part of the end grade, surely?

DS is getting on with some Physics on Seneca in the mornings this week. He wants to do well, but will not start revision or think about doing it if I don't ask him! But once asked, he will do it. I guess it's better than not doing any work, but just feels like I'm constantly nagging at him. And I hate to do this to him during the summer holidays (I don't feel so bad about during term time!). He did have a good month or so without doing any work at all, and holidays and fun times, so he should be nice and relaxed now. He's going away again this weekend with DH on a cycling trip.
Not sure how to juggle all the revision/homework once term starts, as he's got 3 evenings of sports during the week, plus daily music practise. Year 11 is going to go so fast! My DD is going into year 10 too, and the other day, DD mentioned that for the next 4 years, we will be getting GCSE and A/Ls results every summer! Plus all the exam stress 4yrs running...argh!

DS is doing triple science too, and I wish he wasn't as it's his weakest. He might do physics at A/Ls as he's good at Maths and A/L physics is a lot of maths I hear. But he definitely won't be taking the other 2. He didn't like any other subjects enough to take them instead, so we are where we are now.

Triple science is compulsory in my friend's daughters grammar school, which seems ridiculous to me!

DS didn't have any work set over the holidays, and I'm glad about that because term 6 was intense (exams towards the end, work experience, field trips, sports fixtures) and he needed a break. The only 'work' he has done is Duolingo for French. Oh and I've dragged him out to see a couple of performances for English😬A couple of teachers have just set their next lot of coursework to crack on with if inclined (not back until next Thurs).

He has mocks in November and February. Will be keeping an eye on and encouraging him to try out some of the revision tips on here!

No pupil should be doing science A levels unless they get 8s or 8s in both the science and maths.

I know several hugely bright kids who got 9s in biology and maths and still struggled with biology A level.

I'm delighted dds group will be doing combined...I anticipated school being difficult.

We are in a situation where schools have to jump through hoops re; ebacc for ofsted and this fails so many pupils who just don't have those skills (imo).

Dd also has extracurricular activities, and next month will be BUSY, and dh is away a lot :(

@destiel00 I've just checked the 6th form DS is aiming for and it requires a 6 in the subject and if wanting to do two science/maths subjects then at least one 7 in those. It's a very high performing 6th form. I'm surprised as I thought it would be 7s for every subject. But I agree, 8s would be great and preferable to starting A/Ls.

Ugh. Just looking at the uniform, which I washed and bundled away without looking at the end of term. WHY does DD2 have four sports shirts (three of which aren't hers), but is missing her school skort and swimming costume.

Yes, I should have done this earlier.

She's back next Thursday. Her room looks like an explosion in a sheet music/woodwind shop, and she's gone to stay with her cousin rather than doing anything about it.

Hard as it will be to lose her again, I won't miss the incredible messiness - sorry for whoever gets to be her roommate this year!

@QueenMabby It's this speaking exam she has to do which is part of her English. They can basically talk on any subject for a short period of time and get either a Distinction, Merit or Pass. I think that's what it is anyway!

It doesn't count towards her final grade for the actual subject though and doesn't seem very important but apparently she was meant to have planned it out during summer as she'll be busy with mocks now and once they're finished in November, it is literally like a week before she has to perform them so it's quite nerve wracking!!

@DataColour My daughter's grammar school also requires her to do triple Science as compulsory subjects and they also expect 8s and 9s in all subjects with 7 being seen as acceptable.

My daughter's sixth form requires an average of 6.625 in their best 8 GCSE grades as well as a GCSE grade of at least 6 in English Language and Maths. But there are also specific requirements for each individual subject and generally, you need at least a 7 in your chosen subjects to get in.

DD1 is in the sixth form attached to the local comprehensive - they only need a six to do the subject at A-Level and many are doing GCSE maths resits/BTECs alongside. That's much more what I'm used to, and does at least mean that it caters for the students who came up through the school like her. But some do struggle given they don't have high grades.

Another local comp though requires all 7-9s and only does A-Levels, which is a bit hard on those who can't stay on at their own sixth form and aren't prioritised for anywhere else.

@QueenMabby its highly likely your DD did this English speaking bit in yr9/10 and you knew nothing about as per my 3 DDs! No one seems to pay any heed whether it’s a distinction or otherwise.

@theorangecounty same at DS's school. They expect most grades to be 8/9, also a grammar. The school has it's own 6th form too but DS is not keen on staying on as all his friends want to go elsewhere as the current school's sixth form has a strict "smart business" uniform.

@destiel00 ds1 did A level biology. He got A in his gcse (he was the year where most subjects were the old grading apart from maths and English) maths he got 5 I think, it was whatever the highest grade is for lower tier maths. He went on to study biology at university. So it is possible to not have the high grade for biology, I'm sure they'd need to be better at maths for chemistry and physics A level.

Older dd considered biology A level with the same grades as your ds1

She was told she couldn't do A level at her 6th form college of choice due to not having top grades (8s and 9s) in biology and maths

Luckily, it was absolutely the right call for her, and she has gone on to study the "replacement" A level at degree level

I'm not sure if biology A level is harder now than it was then?

I have a microbiologist friend who would agree it's very maths heavy (especially statistics)

Glad it worked out for your ds1

@destiel00 they had to have min of A in gcse biology. But not the same for maths. He did do core maths alongside A levels. Then at uni everyone who hadn't taken A level maths had to go on the maths course. He hated maths, but he got on with it.

Ds1 was disappointed that he had to take the lower tier papers at maths gcse. The school said that it was an exceptionally high achieving year group for maths and that only the top 2 sets would do top tier. So the rest had to take the lower papers. Frustrating at the time. He found the lower tier papers quite easy.

I don't think he'd have coped with chemistry or physics at A level with his maths skills though.

That's really poor re: maths paper!

@destiel00 yes maybe. I didn't have to think about it for my other 2. Ds2 was in set 2 and ds3 is set 1. So they take higher tier anyway. The top 2 sets do the triple science too.

My ds who is off to uni got a 9 in gcse maths from set 2. Some dc just need a different learning style rather than not being bright enough.

I think all our sets do the higher paper (although the school is selective) but just the top set (2 of them) do FM which they do in the same amount of timetabled lessons as everyone else does maths.

It's a very small cohort at dds school that does FM - about 8 pupils.

The first 2 days seem to have gone OK for dd, which I'm relieved about.

We are off to Ally Pally for 'Inspector Calls'. This thankfully is our final theatre visit.

@destiel00 wow they’ve gone back early! Are you in England? DD returns on Thursday. Albeit she’s done three days of pre-season sports. Can’t believe how the summer has flown!

Enjoy the play @Oblomov24

Yes
In a county that, for some arcane reason no one can remember, break up early July
🤷‍♀️
My late father used to say it was to do with when the factories (remember those?) used to have their fixed holidays.

Oh a bit like ‘potters week’ in Derbyshire. No clue if that still exists or not. You can get away early before the crowds.

Yes.
We've often done that

Dd decided not to do pre-season in the end. She likes her sport but isn't fussed at being in a high team so will just trundle along to club in the first week.

Tomorrow I've told her we need to sort her desk out - she has loads of stuff in there from year 7 and 8 which I want out of the way so she can organise her notes with space on the shelves. I love sorting and chucking things out and she hates getting rid of anything so we are likely to have at least one falling out!