Year 11 - 2024/2025: Half way, half baked, half term!

[QueenMabby]

Continuation of the year 11 support thread. Go!

DS has been issued with a 20 min after school detention for arriving late to his lesson after the Eng Lit exam.
I am being THAT parent.

Can't they turn a blind eye and be pleased that he's taking everything in his stride?

Good luck to the physics gang. Rather them than me!

I got told off for telling my daughter she would “cook it” .
Not cool apparently to use teenage lingo when you are old 😂

my daughter does cambridge international exam board and has 3 exams for each science subject. no formula sheets at all and has to memorise all the formulas. can’t help thinking it’s a bit much

Good luck to all for physics today.
Foundation French AQA yesterday seemed a bit iffy - apparently some 'weird' questions.
Hoping today goes much better!

I do this just to annoy them... but maybe today isn't the day for it 😂

Same - I am enjoying getting it all slightly wrong.

DD is amused/horrified but has made me promise I won't ever do it in front of her friends. Now I have new leverage to encourage revision 😈

I do think there’s a discrepancy between boards… certainly at A level, AQA is perceived as the easier board.

Your DD’s science sounds far more rigorous than other boards and I agree it is unfair.

Surely it’s an automated detention rosemarble?

When they finish an exam at my DDs school they get free time to go get food/drinks/have a toilet break. Last week their teacher told them to have some free time on their phones before getting back into their next revision session.

Even my military style parents in the 80s (do as you are told mentality) would have been THAT parent too. No effing chance - good luck with that!

DS is feeling cool as a cucumber about Physics this morning, he is doing foundation double science Edexcel and found the first two pretty easy - and Physics is his best science. Don't be fooled by the cockiness - I am just pleased there is a subject that he is really comfortable with and can hopefully breeze through. He still needs to work to get a 4 or a 5, but compared to History and English Lit I am just happy there is something he is confident in.

Speaking of History - he absolutely loves the subject - he can chew your ear off about the expansion of America and the rise of fascism and cause of the second world war, anything he doesn't know about those subjects isn't worth knowing etc. HOWEVER the poor lad just can't get it down on paper, the formation of the questions absolutely flummox him.

I just wish there was a better way, even just a question like 'tell me about the Versailles treaty - what led to it and the consequences of it' or something - he would boss that. The questions do 'sort of' lead to that but as he is so literal he clams up.

I find the questions on the history papers quite odd. I did GCSE and A level history (albeit a long time ago) and have completed a relatively source-based/analytical degree & PhD and work in HE (so regularly mark students attempt at analytical arguments). But, when working through some past papers with DS it took me a while to get my head around what answer they want the student to give.

For sure, some aspects are triggered by whatever system they have, but it was logged on the system on Tuesday, I discussed it with his form tutor on Tuesday and yesterday and now today I get the text. This indicates that no measures were taken to disregard it. If it's not removed and he doesn't go it will roll over into a longer one tomorrow. I guess I'll just let it roll over until he leaves.

They should be bolstering the kids right now, not being jobsworth.

They did reading first, which DD found odd (higher paper). Not sure if invigilator messed up but they only had 30 seconds between exams so not sure it makes much difference on the order. DD didn't see if the late kid came in time for the second one as he was on foundation in a different room. She said he was headed for a 3 at best anyway so he probably didn't really care. I wonder if school charges parents for missed exams. They should!

Thank you @mojobrojo that actually makes me feel better!

Does anyone else do Edexcel triple science? Everyone seems to do AQA!!

Oh yes that is weird. The order on the exam schedule is deffo listening (paper 1) first. Still I guess it doesn't make much difference. Just good to get L out of the way haha (tho IME DC sometimes do better than they think. like with speaking).

Oh if a 3 at best then I guess he will not do well at all. Hey ho.

@VivaDixie
Thank you for those links, they are excellent.

Not us. Dd does separate sciences so AQA for biology and physics but Edexcel IGCSE for chemistry.

Showing my ignorance here but can you do triple combined science? At our school the option is either all three individual sciences or double combined.

What is the benefit of doing combined if you’re doing all three? (Tone: curiosity not accusatory!!).

physics - edexcel combined apparently 'hard. lots of calculations. Just felt like a maths paper.'

No problem at all - it was such a relief when I found them and DS was pleased too - it just slots it all into place - much better than the info heavy stuff his school have given them. I feel I had to share them far and wide!

@QueenMabby the combined science is less intensive - at our school the higher level science students were encouraged to do the triple. Foundation combined is the easiest option but the best way kids like DS can get a pass - we will be delighted if he gets a 44

Combined is all 3 - AQA call it Trilogy rather than Combined.

6 papers, 2 in each science, marks all added together to give a total number and that number goes against a scale that allocates you 2 GCSE marks - so a 7/7 or a 5/4 or whatever.

You can take Higher level or Foundation level - Foundation being max of 5/5

Triple is three separate sciences, with separate grades based only on the 2 papers in that science, not a combo.

Syllabus for Triple has more content.

They should, imo, offer the option to just sit one of the Triples as a Science option, or come up with some new Science for non Scientists worth 1 GCSE for those who would prefer to spend their option elsewhere.

We just had to pick one Science when I did GCSEs. I have found the 3 languages I was able to take vastly more useful in life. My lack of Chemistry qualification has never felt like an issue.

DD said: I'm focusing on the maths questions. She's better at maths than physics. Hopefully higher was the same.

@PrincessOfPreschool this was higher, but combined. So confusing, the science levels and layers.

DD2 is now done for half term and I can have her back tomorrow.

Because obviously she now has a bassoon lesson, and an 8:30 am wind band rehearsal tomorrow. DD1 has an A-Level tomorrow and then we can chill for a week at least!

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/science-8465/specification

There is an option that more straightforward and gives one GCSE at the end of the course. I just don't think it's widely taught. I agree that it should be. I think loads of young people would benefit from this option.

DD does edexcel igcse for all her sciences. Two papers to each subject for triple science, just one paper per subject if double science. She gets extra time so it could go to 2.5 hours! She loves Physics and is hoping for some good maths questions in there too.

Seems crazy that more schools don't offer this.

Especially when there are teacher shortages in sciences.