Year 11 - 2024/2025 - Support Thread - the final stretch

[QueenMabby]

A new thread to take is to exams and beyond! All welcome.

DD did edexcel Portuguese last year and I got the themes from the resources page on their website - will see if I can find a link.

@Daffodilpup - quote didn’t work, sorry!

This is the specification for the Spanish exams - hope link works: https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/GCSE/Spanish/2024/specification-and-sample-assessments/gq000027-gcse-spanish-specification-2024-issue-1.pdf

DD’s school doesn’t organise a prom, the kids do it themselves. I have paid for the prom and yearbook, I enquired about a hoodie but got a 🤷‍♀️ in response. DD wants to wear a suit, not sure where to look for one of those.

Dd has her Spanish speaking this morning. I’ll report back later to see if she had any random bits! She did say that the teacher sets the questions in the conversation so hopefully she gets something nice.

Good luck to all with MFLs this week - DD2 feels fortunate she doesn't do one. She does speak Spanish to a reasonably conversational level but wasn't bothered about putting in the effort to actually gain a decent mark, it has to be said. It does seem like they put them in quite an artificial situation when it comes to speaking.

Trying to negotiate the muddy waters of study leave at boarding school here, which starts at the end of next week. DD can wear home clothes in house, but the second she sets foot in other school buildings for a music lesson, ensemble or even a practice period it's full uniform. Part of school is an open campus so it's not really always clear where 'school' is. She's bound to get in trouble as she hates wearing it at the best of times and will do anything to wriggle out of it.

She can come home when she doesn't have a day with a music lesson - but that day doesn't appear to exist...

Good luck to all MFL students 🍀

Good luck to all those doing the MFL tests this week.

DS's school still hasn't covered the curriculum for some subjects. I only know about Biology and Maths but there could be others, although I know for a fact English was covered by Feb half term. I'm surprised maths is still not done as DS is not doing much revision for it at home and I was hoping they were doing it at school. They cover further maths at the same time, no extra lesson times, so perhaps that's why they haven't got to the end of the curriculum despite it being the accelerated set of a selective school.

@DataColour - that is surprising. Dd is in the same situation and was finished just after February half term!

dd is back from her Spanish oral. She said it went well. Her photocard was about exam celebrations and she was asked if she got nervous about exams which was ironic as for her mocks she was so nervous that the minute it finished she burst into tears! Her teacher and she had a bit of a chuckle over that afterwards!

At dds school it's science and history that's not finished (which is not unusual)

I was surprised the school didn't do more Easter sessions (they always have previously)
Dd didn't go in at all over Easter as she was told she didn't need to go for art (her portfolio is done and final piece planned)
The teachers made the sessions that did run invite only which I guess makes sense to target those pupils that need the help
It's been a loooong Easter break and I'll be very glad when dd is back on Monday...she doesn't do well out of routine

I remember history being an absolute nightmare with DD1 @destiel00 - the cold war is just so much content and they really scrambled to finish. Chemistry was last to finish here.

Well done to your dd @QueenMabby on the aural. a tick off the list.

I couldn't believe the amount of content when older dd did it...Just impossible to cover it all in any useful way.

DD has her French speaking Monday. Good luck all DC with theirs!

She just got back her non-exam assessed Music grades. She did extremely well and is very pleased, having worked really hard at her composition especially. But she's worried that they may change after external review. Does anybody know how common this would be, and what sort of difference can there be?

External moderation can lead to decreased grades but schools can appeal

Yes @stickygotstuck , I'm worried about moderation too. DD2 just got her history coursework back. Her mark is very, very good - but the school has been externally moderated and downgraded in the past so I'm counting no chickens.

We don't have music back yet. Well done to your DD chances are they will stay as they are and it sounds like she has worked hard for them!

Thank you @destiel00 and @minisnowballs . Good luck to your DD and well done her.

DD is very annoyed and wishes she hadn't been told untill the end now!

I hope it doesn't go down too much. Ideally, not at all, it would spoil it for her. She's very understadted, but I can tell she's very proud of herself (which is lovely to see as her self esteem is not the highest).

I think dd will get her English coursework raw scores too this week. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. She’s the type that likes to see papers when she’s got her results (August is going to be a bit of shock for her!) and analyse all her marks and she can’t do that here.

Anyone know if we can be given AQA MFL Speaking results before results day? I understand they will be subject to moderation so not guaranteed.

And do we get a breakdown of Speaking/Reading/Writing/Listening marks in August?

DD really pleased with her Tech NEA and English oral result, although she was full of tears about the MFL speaking card misunderstanding the night it happened.

I would say its rare grades go down by very much, unless the school has really messed up.
Dd got a distinction in her English oral which she was pleased about.
Dds art practical next week 😬

I don’t think you will get speaking grades because the recordings are marked by examiners and moderators centrally. The teacher may say it was likely an x, but the boundaries change year on year. You can get a break down of marks by papers for any subject come August.

As Hollyedge mentioned you can't get the speaking results before the summer as the tapes get send off.
Regarding the breakdown, you'd have to pay to see it.
Best of luck...D did her MFL exams in year 10 French & Spanish.

Well done to those who have done their speaking already, DD is glad to have art out of the way! It really feels like the written papers are very imminent. She is doing a lot of science revision but not so much English and History, I think she finds it more straightforward to know how to revise for Science by doing past paper questions. There is so much content in History I'm not sure they have even completed the course yet.

No study leave until half term here, hopefully that will be helpful. They tried to do that with DS's year back in 2022 but the students didn't cooperate and just started going/staying home. We will see what happens.

It's a good thing I checked about the hoodie as she says she now wants one so the order has been put in. Not sure when they will actually arrive, hopefully before half term. I expect they will have some sort of leavers assembly and give them out.

DCs' MFL speaking exams are not until May, just before they go on study leave.

“She can come home when she doesn't have a day with a music lesson - but that day doesn't appear to exist...”
@minisnowballs - is it a specialist music boarding school?

My DC love music, 3 at post Diploma level. I have cancelled music lessons this term except for 5 lessons on the main orchestral one and have scheduled it for clear days. I need DC to refocus on academics, because DC will get too distracted otherwise. DC will still go and practise to “relax”, I am sure. However, my DC is unlikely to pursue a musical career at this point.

Cousin is at a boys boarding school doing GCSEs. They seem to just be following the usual school routine and revising hours every day and sports are still on. The top music scholars seem to still put in a massive performance despite A levels, but I think perhaps those are the kids aiming for musical careers. And I guess in a musical career you have to be able to perform under immense pressure especially as a soloist.

@Araminta1003 - it is yes and she's MDS funded so music comes first.... But she's at the one where not everyone is a musician, so she has competing demands because she's also now an academic scholar so she's trying to be everything to everyone.

She's only been there since the beginning of year 10 (was at a state comp before) so she's still working out a lot of things - including how to revise effectively at boarding school and why there is so much SPORT!

She doesn't know whether she wants a career in it or not yet. Would be easier if she did as I guess she'd be less focussed on the academics. But there is certainly no chance of her canning even second or third study lessons, or symphony orchestra - which take up most of the time. It's great you get more choice on this - with us it's very much that you take the funding (and she couldn't go without it) and you meet their demands.

@minisnowballs - hope your DD will be OK. I think revise during the day like a school day is what DC’s cousin is doing, treating it like a full time job (academic side) and make friends with the kids who study hard and avoid those who do not! However, I doubt MDS intends to translate to not being able to say “no”. If overwhelm is likely to happen, I would speak to the pastoral tutor.

We were going to do specialist music school for 2 DC but we do not qualify for MDS funding, so the VAT means we cannot do it, so we have changed course completely. They may go to music schools in Europe later on.
In our grammar there are kids in the National Youth Orchestra and obviously it runs in the holidays too including during key exam years and there is also pressure on grades alone above most else! So we do get the conlicting interests issue as well. I think it depends on the child. My DC in Year 11 (I have 4 DC) is easily overwhelmed and a perfectionist so for them I have cancelled most of the music and other commitments too (like tutoring and teaching younger kids). Other DC managed to do it all, no issue. And we have friends at grammar schools in NYO with different siblings equally musical with parents taking different paths during exam years, depending on child’s character.