Year 11 - 2024/2025 - In the thick of it!

[QueenMabby]

New thread. Sorry. Forgot to start it - I hope everyone finds this!

So sorry to read this. Was her other placement any good? Is it things the school is failing at? Can she speak to her tutor at uni?

And yes, is teaching the right career for her? It’s ok to spend a year finding out it’s not.

Assuming your DDs health condition is known to GP/specialist, can you ask them to write a letter explaining the condition and impact on her study / exams, and submit under special considerations (the exams officer does this after the exams have finished).

DD has anorexia and her ED clinic wrote a letter explaining the impact of starvation on the brain, not just during exams but the whole of her study. It might only help with a few marks, but it can't hurt.

A 9 is not an A though. A 7 is equivalent to the old A.

I teach this syllabus and all of Year 11 loved the Unseen this year.

I honestly don't know

@WhatsitWiggle
Yes, I've done that. She has some meds in school of necessary

@clary I’ve had a similar discussion with my kids, on the new system a 6 sounds quite low because it’s the 4th grade down, but it’s actually a B which is a really good grade. I kind of see why they want to differentiate more at the top, but it does feel like it makes some of the others sound not as good.

Just had a look at AQA maths boundaries for last year and for a 9 it was 219/240 over the 3 papers, depending on the paper 6-8 marks could be dropped

All the CIE lit questions are 45 minutes apart from the unseen paper. It’s frustrating as it’s just not enough time to write a decent essay.

Absolutely agree, I do not like the numbers! And I don't think media coverage of pupils getting 10 x 9 grades in record numbers helps. Well done to those kids, but let's see the pupil who worked really hard and got a 6 instead of a 5, and is absolutely made up.

I was the third year ever of GCSEs, and got 2 x A. I'd only been expecting 1 so I was shocked and so happy. And that was at a grammar school, A grades were scattered about, I don't think anyone got all As. But teaching was very different then, it wasn't test after test like you have now.

Yes - but in the past people felt incredibly happy at getting an A.

Now they feel it's not really an A in the same way because there are several numbers above it.

Even more so for those kids who are not going to be getting a whole string of top grades, but maybe 1 or 2 in their best subjects.

I think this is what I'm struggling with tbh.
1st placement was good.
She loves the subject, but I felt needed a break from studying after her degree.
She agreed then my "d"h convinced her to do it straight away.
I'm SO furious at him.
She has worked herself into the ground, got very little support from the uni/TP2 mentor and today was told she's made progress but not enough 🤷‍♀️
I've told her to request clarification and maybe consider redoing TP2 next year.
She looks so defeated and ill this evening.

@clary
I've said this, but she feels it's a wasted year and would feel she failed.
I've pointed out that she can go back anytime and that maybe she could look at something else.
She has a 1st from an RG uni and is really hard working.

Aren't the govt planning to being back A** - U?
Or was that a fever dream I had!?

Hi, newbie here!
DS had AQA English lit on Monday, the Macbeth question was apparently ‘a blessing’ , Price and Prejudice one less so, apparently a bit of a random piece of text which was difficult to provide quotes for.
AQA higher biology was ok, but he struggled with a couple of the 6 markers, he managed to answer them but thinks his answers lacked depth. I’m assuming that over 2 papers, maybe not the end of the world? He’s predicted an 8 so reading about all the students who found it ‘easy’ is concerning!!

AQA geography today was ‘great’

Maths tomorrow which hopefully should be ok and the dreaded history on Friday, there’s so much content and so many dates, it’s his nemesis( along with French!!), hope it’s ok as 2 more history exams to come! He’s got exams every day next week and after half term until 16th. He’d be envious of those finishing earlier and even more so of those who have coursework, I didn’t know that was a thing any more? I guess you just get immersed in what your. Hood is doing!

anyway good luck to all!!

DC said Geography (AQA) was "fine" which seems to be what they say for every paper. They're good at maths so hopefully tomorrow will go "fine" too.

Then a long weekend until Chemistry next Monday.

On a more basic point, even reading a string of grades which are numerical is messy...reading 5As and 3Bs, for example, is so much clearer.

@2025istheyeari there are many different exams boards plus it depends I think on topics DD for example was thrilled that one topics she wanted plus one she had just revised came up on geography

hate the new numbers a C sounds better than a 4

Popping on here to say one of my other hats is teacher training. They need to support her to pass - there should be options - or to leave without failing.

@MrsHamlet
Leave without failing?
What does that entail?

I have no idea about any of this...
I so want to advise her well

She would need to agree to withdraw - if she fails, that is the end. She cannot restart.

If you want to pm me, please do.

How do I pm??

Oh. Can't do it on app. I'll log on and try...

@MrsHamlet
Pmd you x

@2025istheyeari physics is on 16 June which pretty much everyone takes either as combined or single science so very few students will finish before then. Tho I see Spanish paper 4 is the following day which is mean – in DS2's year almost all his mates (and he) ended with physics, but a few had German writing on the Monday.

Coursework is only an option with IGCSEs which are chosen by some private schools for some subjects. For state school students there is only CW in practical subjects like drama and food tech.

I don't think media coverage of pupils getting 10 x 9 grades in record numbers helps. Well done to those kids, but let's see the pupil who worked really hard and got a 6 instead of a 5, and is absolutely made up.

@WhatsitWiggle totally; or the student who was expected to achieve nothing much at all and worked so hard and gained 3 x 4 and 2 x 3 grades.