Year 11 - 2024-2025 Support Thread

[QueenMabby]

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

I’d love to join my dd has just started yr11. First day back today and despite some fun activities they had several talks and discussions about gcse expectations, importance of revision etc. DD not the strongest academically (although keen to do a-levels) and plays/trains region level sport 4 times a week so it’s going to be quite a challenge!!

Welcome @Infracat and @jelliebelly. It's going to be a quick year I think!

Thanks - not sure we’re ready for it!

Hello 👋 both

For those using Seneca, is it suitable for all exam boards? I think it might be a useful tool for DS to have access to.

Activity wise DS has 4 (sometimes 5) nights with an extra-curricular commitment, so he is reasonably busy but apart from one of the evenings he has time after school / post-activity to use for studying. My concern is that he doesn't have the balance of school work to downtime correct, far too much time is spent watching youtube and gaming.

I need to speak to him regarding sixth-form plans. He knows what A-Level subjects he wants to take and I'm pretty sure that he has no interest in moving to a different sixth-form but I think we should maybe look around a couple of outside sixth-forms / the local college and have a vague back-up plan in place. I really hope that we don't need it, but I'm not at all confident that he will get the grades he needs based on his last set of mocks.

My DS's activities are mostly during the week. His weekends are free so that's when he mostly does homework and revision. But of course until now it's only one day at the weekend he's actually do any work as we'll go somewhere as a family or just chill one day. But coming up to his mocks I guess he'll have to put more work in.

Welcome newbies.

@BreakfastClub80

"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."

Breakfast when dd gets her report would you mind pm'ing me because I need more details, to approach our school, as my ds2 is going to need more help, as he has no idea really what he wants to do.

@Oblomov24 yes of course, happy to do that.

DD doesn’t do many extracurriculars so we have the opposite problem to some in trying to make sure she does more than study and TikTok etc. Otherwise, it’s going to be hard to keep any momentum!

Thank you kindly.

@WhenDoISleep Seneca - AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, WJEC, CIE, Edexcel iGCSE are listed when you filter for GCSE - higher and foundation. Covers all of DS subjects.

DS school all of a sudden changed exam board for Eng lit and Language - says gone back to Eduqas which they used previously. Last two years was OCR but grades fell. Apparently only difference is poetry element and I’m sure DS said not done the poetry stuff yet.

anyone else had this?

sounds like a good thing?

Thanks, that is very useful to know. DS has 7 subjects with AQA and 2 with Edexcel.

@BreakfastClub80 do you knuw what they are using for the careers report? I’d love more info too as DD3 has no clue.

Can’t recall who was asking about which English gcse reqd for 6th forms. It’s usually either - Sam as for university unless stated otherwise.

Hope DSs feet have recovered enough for him to have managed school today @Oblomov24

DD’s English teacher is pregnant and leaving at Xmas which is such a shame for the school as only been there a year and actually seems very good. They’ve a lot of work still to do including Of Mice & Men and poetry plus Eng Lang stuff. Hopefully they’ll get a new teacher rather than a ‘floating’ one. She’s bottom set so quite worried about it. DD also has a new chemistry teacher as he only lasted a year too.

DDs extras are all sports - 2hrs every night bar Wed and 2hrs on Sats plus various competitions and half term training.

@NotDonna I think they use Morrisby. I’ll report back when she gets the results. They did a simpler session on it before GCSE choices and I know a few people got exactly what they were planning as suggestions eg psychologist, lawyer. So it will be interesting to see if that still holds true for those who did have a career in mind. To be honest,I think it will still confirm that for A Levels you choose the subjects you like most, unless you have a career in mind.

Tricky changing teachers that late but hopefully it will give a sense of purpose to the term. DD has a new physics teacher too.

@ThisPerkySloth no experience of this but if the school are confident to do it then they must have been planning it for a while? I’m assuming they would have taught things that would be on both syllabuses last year…

Your kids all sound very active, mine has not yet exited her room today 😂

@BreakfastClub80 ahhh my two eldest DDs did Morrisby and it was very good. Our school no longer offers it. I’m sure it’s payable outside school too, so I could take a look for DD3 if it’s not too pricey.

Can I join - my son hasn't had a good start to year 11. Lost history book. Didn't do summer homework (I didn't realise) so that got rushed tonight.

poor attitude

I've removed his x box until he can show some willing. He has coasted through school yet v capable.

Welcome and ha, DS had a detention today (good going on Day 3 son ) for not having handed his summer history homework in. He said it was at home. I've asked to see it. He said he needs to find it as he did it at the start of the summer and can't find it. Sigh.

Obviously a day for missed things. Dd had a Latin vocab test. She'd misread the assignment as grammar so looked at that but had done no vocab revision. Oops.

She's just got a (very small) part in a school play and has been added to two chamber music groups so that's more before and after school commitments to add in.

Hi all,

Good to read how everyone is getting on. DS hasn’t quite knuckled down how I was hoping so we have now agreed to no nagging for a week and then we see how much he has done! He did one GCSE last year and did v well, but had a lot of time to revise. Teachers are emphasizing he could do very well if he applies himself, which feels a bit nerve wracking given he isn’t particularly hard working (yet).

Also have all the sixth form open eves coming up as his school doesn’t have one. For revision for GCSE last year he used revision book and index cards and a few past papers from Save my Exams. He is doing 5 a day from Corbett Maths which seems very good and Quizlet for Spanish. Am interested in Seneca and also careers advice suggestions - thanks.

Good luck all!

Bit of an issue here wrt post 16 open evenings clashes

Need to arrange visits

Dd is tired. Homework has already ramped up

Well, 6th form college application is done!
It did say that A level choices could be changed up to Sept 2025 so that was good as DS is not sure but we have put Business,Spanish and Maths for now.
We have a parent information evening at school tonight-they are all pretty much the same talking about study habits etc but I feel like I should go as it’s year 11 and is only an hour.
Hope everyone’s start to Y11 is going smoothly !

Open Evening tonight which Dh will have to take him to as I am having my haircut pre girls long weekend away to Cyprus tomorrow. I don't know when our application date is yet, but well done SB1971 for completion.
Ds2 feels like I'm nagging but I have told him he needs to really knuckle down.

Well done on the 6th form application @SB1971 that's quite early isn't it. Ours aren't till December.
A few open days happening in October. Looking forward to visiting them, just because DS seems to have no idea what to choose as his third A/L. He's pretty sure he'll choose Maths and Geography. He doesn't seem to have any interest in a 3rd!
DS is starting to revise for his mocks in Nov, but because of homework and sports etc only really at the weekends. This weekend is busy with sports, the cross country nationals on the Saturday and a cup final cricket match on Sunday. But apart from more cross country competitions throughout the winter season every few weeks, the weekends are not so busy after this one.

@Oblomov24 & @DataColour this college has a deadline of 30 September which is pretty unusual i believe so I grabbed DS between gaming and eating and forced him to do it with me as am away a bit with work over the next few weeks.
No revision done yet for Nov mocks -standard!
I feel like I do him down on my posts-he is lovely!

It's exciting and scary seeing sixth form applications go in.

Dd wants to stay at her current place. We don't need to apply for a place but we do need to apply for scholarships. Dd wants to try and "upgrade" her music exhibition to a scholarship and will sit the exam for the academic scholarship although as she has one already (it continues into the sixth form) I'm not sure she can get another one!

We will have an A-level "carousel" in about March where we can go around all the subjects and get information. I expect that she'll do maths, FM, biology and chemistry but I want her to keep an open mind and decide as late as possible. There is always opportunity to change especially after gcse results so selection is not set in stone.