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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Y9-2024/2025

111 replies

CouldNotStayAway · 02/09/2024 11:34

Hi everyone, just starting a new thread for the new academic year.

Link to the previous thread here - Y8-2023/2024

OP posts:
CouldNotStayAway · 19/12/2024 19:19

Been a while since I've updated on here. Hopefully everyone's dc have had a good term so far.
Everything seems to be going quite well, no major issues thankfully. I can't believe how fast it's all going, and a little worried how quickly year 11 will arrive.
Half a day to go here before the holidays.

OP posts:
DeathMetalMum · 19/12/2024 21:56

Glad your ds has had a good term. Half a day left here too.

Thinks seemed to have calmed down a little. Though I think dd may secretly be hoping for a move still. She's signed up for duke of edinburgh award with school this half term, and was accepted. We also had options evening recently. We started the evening her saying she was doing history, drama and possibly media studies or triple science. By the end of the evening PE was her second choice, she had fleetingly mentioned it but discounted it until she realised she could use two sports she does outside of school for the coursework element.

Dd is hanging out with a friend after school tomorrow as they finish early. Which is a first and I'm really pleased she's organised it and it's actually happening.

BobbleHatDay · 19/12/2024 22:05

Can I join? DS is now on xmas holidays - next year will be navigating options for gcse! As neither parent was educated in the UK and he's our eldest - it will be new for us all!

Hope everyone has a good Xmas!

LetItGoToRuin · 20/12/2024 15:11

This term has just been 'business as usual' for DD with no great dramas, which I'll take as a win!

We've not heard any details about GCSE options, but we now have a timeline: there will be a GCSE curriculum evening in late February, early reports in March, closely followed by progress evening, with option choices submitted before the Easter break. So sounds like it'll be a busy term!

Good news that things are more settled at the moment, @DeathMetalMum. Welcome, @BobbleHatDay - I'm sure there will be a few of us agonising with our DCs about GCSE options next term, so we can support each other!

Enjoy the break, everyone!

RosieRiveting · 20/12/2024 16:12

There's a couple of us who have already done the GCSE options making so we can offer advice!

Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky · 20/12/2024 21:33

My DD is in first year of her GCSE courses, they can drop them though so it's not final until the end of this year.

She is doing Child Development which she loves.

CouldNotStayAway · 09/01/2025 20:48

Hope all dcs are doing well.

We have the first in person parents evening soon; ds has settled into y9 quite well, and so far is happy with the subjects he chose.

Unfortunately we have norovirus now so ds has missed last two days of school and most likely won't be in school until Monday.

OP posts:
PuttingDownRoots · 10/01/2025 11:25

DD is having a dilemma about Computing Vs Spanish.
She just doesn't know which she will be happier doing...

I think she's pretty certain on Geography and Animal Care as her other two subjects. Unless Dance is on the list this year....

If only there were more hours in the day, but realistically 9 Subjects is enough!

RosieRiveting · 10/01/2025 11:42

@CouldNotStayAway hope everyone is back to health soon, hate norovirus!

@PuttingDownRoots everything I've read here about computer science at GCSE is that it's pretty dull and the fun bits you can do by yourself. Not sure which qualification/board you're looking at, but I'd check the content very carefully. The computer science offered at my DD's school looked dire when you actually saw the course content. Really, really dry and technical, not much fun coding or anything.

LetItGoToRuin · 10/01/2025 14:49

@PuttingDownRoots my other suggestion when weighing up subject choices is to check that the subjects are well enough staffed. We have dissuaded DD from Computer Science as it's the one subject that her school has struggled to recruit teachers for over the past 18 months or so.

PuttingDownRoots · 10/01/2025 15:15

LetItGoToRuin · 10/01/2025 14:49

@PuttingDownRoots my other suggestion when weighing up subject choices is to check that the subjects are well enough staffed. We have dissuaded DD from Computer Science as it's the one subject that her school has struggled to recruit teachers for over the past 18 months or so.

Historically Computing and IT (they offer both) have been popular and there are two teachers.
Its the MFL department that struggles!

PuttingDownRoots · 10/01/2025 15:20

The other thing is DD is technically on the top set for both IT and Spanish currently. However the setting is actually based on their Maths and Science ability, and the top set had to switch from French to Spanish at beginning of Yr9 due to lack of French teachers. So she's only done Spanish for one term so far.

RosieRiveting · 10/01/2025 18:32

Hmm, if the MFL department struggles that much for staff it does put a different spin on it!

CouldNotStayAway · 10/01/2025 20:20

DS had chosen DT and art; and it was only when I came across a thread on here that I realised how much workload that would mean and time consuming it would be to have two portfolios to complete and revise for other subjects (very grateful to have come across that). Anyway, he switched art to computer science. He's the sort of person who happily spends hours coding, making games and websites, so the work for C.S is easy. He found the history subtopic interesting (especially when I told him how we didn't have internet until I was into late teens and floppy disks were the way 😂).
In a way, I'm glad he finds it doable and not demanding, it will mean he can spend longer on another subject.

I understand your dd has only recently started Spanish, which probably makes it harder to judge how much she would enjoy it (compared to having studied something since y7).
Does she feel she would like to continue with a language? Or is that not something that she's too worried about?
Are there any other options that she might be able to maybe switch so that she can continue with both computer science and Spanish?

It's such a difficult choice, ds was set on Latin for so long, switched to German but eventually went with French. Also was really looking forward to food tech, but chose DT instead in the end. Humanities subjects weren't much easier 😂

As pp have said, you can do computer science at a level without having gcse, so not choosing it now wouldn't make a difference.

OP posts:
ScoutFinchMockingbird · 11/01/2025 10:57

Trying to decide between German as an extra language here (they have to do French) or Music. I am nervous of the amount of vocab needed for 2 languages. DS is nervous of the composition element in Music. Not sure what to do. He does well in both.

Thesquaregiraffe · 11/01/2025 11:08

A very general question here. Did your schools get in touch regarding choosing GCSE subjects or hold any sessions with parents on how to help/guide your child through the process? So far I haven’t heard a thing DS school but wasn’t sure if this is the norm?

PuttingDownRoots · 11/01/2025 11:19

Thesquaregiraffe · 11/01/2025 11:08

A very general question here. Did your schools get in touch regarding choosing GCSE subjects or hold any sessions with parents on how to help/guide your child through the process? So far I haven’t heard a thing DS school but wasn’t sure if this is the norm?

Nothing official yet, but can see the Options night/parents evening on the school calendar.

Thesquaregiraffe · 11/01/2025 11:30

PuttingDownRoots · 11/01/2025 11:19

Nothing official yet, but can see the Options night/parents evening on the school calendar.

Hadn’t thought of looking on the school website but can now see it’s in the diary there for 13 Feb - can’t believe I didn’t think of looking there haha

thank you! 😀

RosieRiveting · 11/01/2025 11:33

Ours does an options evening and they also had info on the website that's there year round with run downs of the different courses and the various pathways open to the kids. They did extra sessions for the kids in assembly as well.

PuttingDownRoots · 11/01/2025 11:48

Thesquaregiraffe · 11/01/2025 11:30

Hadn’t thought of looking on the school website but can now see it’s in the diary there for 13 Feb - can’t believe I didn’t think of looking there haha

thank you! 😀

DH works away so we checked last month to try and block it in his diary... unfortunately unsuccessfully but we are used to checking for important dates!

CouldNotStayAway · 11/01/2025 14:39

Thesquaregiraffe · 11/01/2025 11:08

A very general question here. Did your schools get in touch regarding choosing GCSE subjects or hold any sessions with parents on how to help/guide your child through the process? So far I haven’t heard a thing DS school but wasn’t sure if this is the norm?

We had an online options evening, around February time last year (dc had until June to choose subjects).
It has been useful they've already picked their subjects, as the first term of y9 was a bit more of a see how it goes. A few of ds friends changed their mind.

OP posts:
CouldNotStayAway · 11/01/2025 14:40

ScoutFinchMockingbird · 11/01/2025 10:57

Trying to decide between German as an extra language here (they have to do French) or Music. I am nervous of the amount of vocab needed for 2 languages. DS is nervous of the composition element in Music. Not sure what to do. He does well in both.

Ah that sounds like a tough one. Is there one he is possibly veering more towards?

OP posts:
LetItGoToRuin · 12/03/2025 09:37

Hi everyone – this thread has been quiet, so I hope no news is good news, and the DC are getting on well.

I know some of your DC have already picked their options, but DD's school is still in the thick of it. In the last few weeks, we’ve had an options evening at school, a written report and a progress evening (online.) In DD’s school they only get one full written report per year and one progress evening, and in Y9 they do them in March to help the DC make their choices.

Everyone does triple science (grammar school) so they have four options, one of which has to be a foreign language. Surprisingly, they don’t have to do a humanity. DD has been pretty set on French, Spanish, Music and RS for a while now, so we’re hoping the options form (to be released later today) allows for this combination!

@ScoutFinchMockingbird what did your DS decide between Music and German?

ScoutFinchMockingbird · 12/03/2025 09:45

@LetItGoToRuin He decided on Music, as he plays an unusual instrument that would be needed in compositions and ensembles by others doing music gcse so we thought he may as well get some credit. They also recently did composition using Sibelius (he hadn't done this before and was nervous) and it was easier than expected. Hope that helps.

PuttingDownRoots · 12/03/2025 10:09

Weve had two "careers" events (basically the post-16 options and the types of careers available, one in school which parents could go to after school and one for all the schools in the area, sixth forms are generally separate to schools here). Actually really useful as DD discovered T levels and found that the BTEC she was considering was needed for the course she wanted to do!

So we haven't formally chose yet, but she's pretty set on what she wants to do. They get three choices with no restrictions on humanities or languages.

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