Year 11 - 2024-2025 Support Thread

[QueenMabby]

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

@marshallmum - I don't know but I imagine it would be English language.

Dd had a good day back yesterday. She's been made a prefect which she was very chuffed about (we have year 11 prefects and year 13 prefects).

There is also a play afoot so auditions this week also. It'll be a hefty schedule I think as they're performing it the week before half term so only 5 weeks of rehearsals.

Otherwise all teachers the same so that's good.

We need a minimum of two 7s and four 6s for entry to our 6th form, to include English and maths. In reality most science subjects and maths also require a 7 to study them.

We have an open day in a couple of weeks but need to balance that with the fact that dd thinks that morning will be an "on show" drama rehearsal for the benefit of visitors and she'll be needed for that!

DD had a great day back yesterday- she's a peer mentor and a prefect.
DD goes to a tiny school, so they don't offer a huge range of GCSEs so she's doing
English, maths, combined science, music, french, textiles and drama
She is a nightmare for rushing her homework, or doing it the night before it's due in (or even doing it on the bus on the way to school).
She started off well yesterday, she made a good start on her Merchant of Venice essay, which is due in Monday.

What do all your do outside of school?
DD volunteers at rainbows, which includes planning activities.
Goes to Rangers (more of a social event by the sounds of it)
The school play rehearsals are 1 night a week until December, and DD is stage manager so has to be at them all.

DS has to achieve 54 points (sum of all grades I think) across his GCSEs and 7’s in the a levels he’d want to do , if stays at sixth form at his school.

but alternative sixth forms will be researched as a back up plan is always a good thing.

DD did open evenings for our two large local sixth forms back in July. I think some of the smaller options may have them in the autumn but most people go to one of the two (they are really big!) Her school doesn't have a sixth form, most schools around here don't. Applications have to be done this term.

DD went back yesterday and had a good day. They spent the morning doing a careers session using software to assess ability and also personality (including what type of work you might like eg outdoors/indoors; with the public). She’ll get a report back later and then have a session with the careers service to help decide next steps.

She’s applied to one other school for sixth form with an entrance exam in November. Her mocks are in January so this seems quite a good early revision process for a couple of subjects at least. Both schools ask for 6 grade 6 GCSEs as a minimum with 7’s in subjects you want to take. She is currently planning on Maths, Physics, DT and/or chemistry. But unsure about Uni so we need to consider whether DT or chemistry makes the best third option, unless she definitely prefers one by then.

Glad she’s back, but these early mornings are a killer!

DS back today-my last ever first day as he is my youngest although he will be at college next year but last one in uniform anyway…
He needs to apply for his college this month (no school 6th form) but needs to decide what he wants to do crucially first.

My dd does textiles and drama too
Plus geography and media then the core subjects
She is in 2 youth theatre groups atm which takes up a lot of time
She also volunteers at an animal shelter

DS has:

• Kung fu and fencing on Saturdays (1 hour per activity)
• Explorers on Mondays (8 to 9:30pm)
• Fencing on Wednesdays (5:30 to 8:30pm)
• LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) lessons during the school week, as part of his school’s extracurricular offerings

Not sure if it’s too much for Y11 but he enjoys it all.

Ds2 played football last night and football socks oddly disintegrated, leaving 4 mahoosive blisters, which grimly the whole of the skin peeled off, sore. So he's at home in bed, no school for first day today. I sprayed the open skin with savlon spray plaster, which he yelped, because it does sting. A lot. <<evil laugh>>. Poor sausage. Not the best start though. I sent school an email and they then asked for medical evidence, so I deliberately emailed over the 4 photo's, sniggering with laughter.

@BreakfastClub80 if it's chemistry and DT and there's no preference, I'd consider choosing chemistry. Perhaps I'm biased because I'm a chemistry graduate but it opens up doors to most careers and graduate schemes, even if they are not science related.

@ThisPerkySloth thanks for the Seneca advice. Do you have the paid for version, is it worth it? DS needs to do more questions on the sciences, so that sounds good if there's mini mocks, papers etc

@Oblomov24 ooofff, that sounds bad. can't believe the school asked for evidence! hope he recovers quickly.

@SB1971 that's quite early to be applying for college. Are they using predicted grades from year 10?

DS is still in quite a bit of pain from getting his braces in on Tuesday. Been giving him painkillers in the morning. The pain is probably quite distracting at school, but doesn't seem bad enough to stay at home.

@DataColour DS gets the free version through school then I pay £89 per annum which upgrades it to the premium version which has the exam prep bit with past papers, mini mocks, cram mode. They show the prices as per month then ask for the whole amount when you pay! I think for us it’s worth it and when you click on revision resources on school website all it has is a link to Seneca albeit schools never say they endorse / recommend something. It’s the tracking reports that I think are worth it as a parent. I wouldn’t say it’s exciting for the DC but then Revision as a whole is let’s be honest boring! Maybe see what you/they think of free version?
👍

From seeing how the system works with DS1, and stories from other parents over the last few years, I will be encouraging DS2 to apply to lots of places - DS1 applied to 5 sixth forms/colleges and got conditional offers from all, although it helped that he was fairly clear about his choice of A levels. He then dithered between two of them right up to the start of term. As it turned out he did well enough in his exams to have his pick.

I don't think DS2 will be applying to study Maths and Sciences like his brother, or that he is sure what subjects he wants to continue with at the moment.

When does application process for sixth form start? When does it have be done by?

is this through education authority or direct with sixth form / college?

@ThisPerkySloth We were told that the applications need to be in Jan/Feb time depending on the 6th form. External 6th form/colleges a bit earlier, Jan, than the school's sixth from which is a bit later, so Feb. Their predicted grades from the mocks in Nov will be sent along with their applications to the sixth form.

Going by older dds experience, I'd also suggest applying to lots of other forms

Partially because results may be better (or worse) than expected and dd changed her mind on 1 of her A level choices by the time registration came around...

6th forms, not other forms

@DataColour that’ll come round soon, hoping he’ll be able to stay at his school but I better get on with looking for other options too - but DS final decision!

@destiel00 definitely will look at various options.

thanks both.

Sounds like everyone's DC's have had good starts except poor mini @Oblomov24 - hope he heals quickly.

Dd does netball, ballet and tap outside of school plus sings in a chapel choir on Sundays (we're not religious but she loves the singing!). She also does a lot of music both in school and out of it.

@Jettyspaghetti - my dd is hoping to be a peer mentor too. I think she has to apply to the teacher who runs it but we need a few days to catch breath first!

We should have had a letter from school confirming her prefect appointment but it's not arrived yet. She knows she's got in as she's been added to the relevant group on Teams but nothing official yet!

She was a bit worried yesterday as she got an email asking her to return the trophy she won at last year's prize-giving - but she gave it back in July! I hope the school manage to track it down...

@Oblomov24 that sounds awful- poor thing! Hope he heals soon.

just dropped dd2 back in her boarding house. Much squealing. She’s happy with her dorm of 3- I have impressed on her the importance of doing work this term. Still a little concerned on her commitments- she has informed me she knew she ‘definitely wasn’t in symphony orchestra’ this term as she is too busy elsewhere. Except of course it emerges she is, and also now in the flagship choir she’s been fighting to get into since she started. And the school musical. I am just praying she gets enough time to work round all that!

Crikey@Oblomov24 that sounds painful for your DS.
DS just does football outside of school, two lots of training and one match per week so not too bad and we need to video him for PE GCSE so will dig out the email on that at some point.
All fine on Day 1 here -am assuming so as haven’t heard to the contrary!

DD had her first day back and is already shattered.

She isn't big on extra-curriculars really but does badminton lessons, swimming lessons and singing lessons - all for fun really!! And she does singing in school too. Used to do Stagecoach and play the piano but she gave that up.

Oh and for DD's 6th form, they need an average of 6.625 in the best 8 GCSE grades which includes English Language and Maths. They need a 6 or above in Lang and Maths, and then generally 7s/8s for subjects they want to take at A Level.

Ouch! @Oblomov24 Mixed first day here: lessons were fine, but they had a long lecture about the new behaviour contract they have to sign, and no sign of Chromebook yet.
DD doesn’t do any activities at the moment. School is just so tiring for her, and she finds the social aspects very difficult. However, I am looking into (indoor) climbing, after she was inspired by the Olympics.

So two of dds possible 6th forms have their open evenings on the same date at the same time 🙄
You'd think as they are in the same town, they'd check?
Dd has been asked by 4 of her teachers to "help" at the y6 open evening in 2 weeks time...so she needs to choose.
Luckily, its the day after auditions for the next show.

Please can I join this group. My son has just started year 11.