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

[QueenMabby]

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

Thanks DS was let’s say, less excited than you 🤣 It’s 90 mins, original text, good revision, surely…

My older dd went to see merchant there when she did her gcses.
What an amazing venue!

Dd has had good news today on her drama moderated grades 😊
Just the paper to go now...

It's too outing as it's so odd@NotDonnabut they might as well have said most likely to be on a catwalk for a few categories.

@destiel00it is a lot isn’t it? They want just under £400 in July ready for Sept.

It is...especially when you've got prom on the horizon, too.
Dd knows people who are going to prom in £900 dresses 😯, then to 2/3 festivals over the summer and then celebratory holidays...it must be costing £££££ 😯

@destiel00there’s me complaining at the £95 suit. We’ve got to get shoes, shirt and tie too. But thankfully nowhere near that amount.

You know how different papers cover different topics, is that strictly the case? So a Biology paper 1 won't have even a teeny question on genetics because that's covered in paper 2?

Just checking as I think DD was planning on focusing on some content during half-term before the second paper but I don't want her to be exposed in the first.

I believe that’s the case. We are concentrating on paper 1’s at the moment and will do paper 2’s over the half term, so I hope that’s right.

Yeah there are separate topics. That said paper 2 topics build on paper 1 in the main. All systems go for paper 1s atm!

DS struggling to get through all paper 1 content revision, so ignoring paper 2, although all his March mocks were paper 2…

AQA Maths paper content is not clear cut though, right?

Yeah. 1 x non calc, 2 x calc all mixed up I believe…can’t wait to empty my brain of all this clutter!

Re science. I think iirc there is a unit 'Working Scientifically' and they are expected to know / apply that for all the units.

I would have thought chemistry will have a bit of cross over. Although, the basics are covered in paper 1.
We had an email saying they are going on study leave on the 7th midday. Only going into school for exams and in full uniform (no trainers in which case they could be sent back home- how ridiculous). They have left it really late to announce all this as apparently they have been in discussions with all the other grammar schools in the area so they all have the same arrangements.

Ouch!! Think DD2 had silly far fetched things that were extremely unlikely to happen like ‘mostly to join a circus’; become prime minister, return to school as a teacher, be the best lady gaga, win britains got talent. Daft stuff.

Dd is doing aqa maths. Paper 1 is non calculator.
The other 2 (calculator) papers are after half term so she can concentrate on paper 2&3 then.
Art practical starts tomorrow 😬
Hope it goes OK, she loves it and wants to do it at A level 😬
Drama paper next week, then w/c 12th the core subjects begin.
She's had excellent grades back for her drama performance and coursework, so the pressure is off slightly for the paper.

DD1 had her Spanish speaking today, which she had been really nervous about (she's never been one for talking much at school, even in English!). Apparently it was "fine", phew!

So that's us under way with the real exams - one down, only 27 (😬) more to go.

27! Blimey

I think dd has 20 after her art practical

I know, it's a ridiculous number. Ten GCSEs, plus Further Maths. Only Media Studies that had any coursework-type content, everything else on final exams only. Comprehensive school, but they don't seem to have got the memo about most schools reducing to 8 or 9 rather than spreading everything slightly too thinly.

Ah, I see.
Dd is doing the usual 9, but 2 will be done by this time next week 😬
The media EB that dds school uses is a bit of an odd one (wjec) so all the media papers are crammed in on core exam days 🙄
Dd just wants her art practical done now. She's been planning it for a long time and is a bit sick of it now 😬
Glad your dds mfl speaking went well 👏
My friend and I are planning a boozy night out once exams are over! 🤣

@destiel00 one of our friends held a (very) boozy party after GCSEs were done. Not for the kids - for the parents. She figured we deserved it. It was an epic night!

Well done to all those getting started already with MFLs etc.

That’s a lot -DS has 23 for 10 GCSes and further maths … guess some options must have more exams than others

DS has 22 exams I think, but did one GCSE last year. Languages will add 4 so might explain high numbers for some. So he has 10 gcses in a comp. Some of his peers are doing 11 or 12. He had option to go to 11 and politely declined. Was slightly disappointed at the time. Turns out he called it 🤪 more than this would not be a good ‘fit’

Yes, it's probably because of her choices of Combined Science (so still six exams, but only two GCSEs), Spanish, and Geography (three papers). Guess we didn't really think about that when picking options!