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

[QueenMabby]

Continuation of the year 11 support thread. Go!

10 down 12 to go. Well done all DC for getting to this point!! And parents

I cannot contemplate thinking about A’levels right now!

Will assess that issue 21st August, I think? Or not who knows.

Well that's eng lang paper 1 done! Just had the call from dd. It was 'ok but the extract was ... weird'. Doesn't sound too bad ?!

Mine hated the extract!

Which board?

DD has extra time and then printing time, so on tenterhooks here. She's Edexcel 1.

Which board?

AQA here: creative writing prompt was “the day the technology failed”. Urrrgh.

Picture of a town/city (AQA)?

Dd is edexcel

We have Edexcel IGCSE so no creative writing (that was coursework) but transactional writing and also a non-fiction anthology. Dd got the text she thought would come up. Not a favourite but not the worst either. Said the exam was “not bad”. Hope she was more eloquent in her exam answers! 🤣🤣

Yr11 DS who is a stem child said AQa was alright but he ran out of time . I have a yr10 taking IGCSE Eng lang today as well because that’s what his school do - anyone’s child reported back on igcse yet ? Edited to say @QueenMabby posted while I was typing !

DS has scaled the school fence and escaped managed to get out of school.
He says the exam (AQA) went well. English Lang is his best subject so this is encouraging.

Dd has creative writing and something else for edexcel paper 1

DD said it went well. She wants to study combined English at A-level so it is one of her favourite subjects but her nerves get the better of her even in subjects she is confident in.

Dc had edexcel H tier today (I think). He said the imaginative writing was talk about a boat journey… or at least that’s what he reported!

He said the first two questions (low marks) were ok. 15 marker on the structure/form was hard and then the 40 marker on creative writing, which he said (probably rightly!) is hard to judge how you did, but thinks it was probably ‘fine’ but not stellar.

English is not his strong point at all. He’s more STEM plus history.

Thanks for this - same board for DS and he really needs to pass English. So a reasonable exam will work in his favour.

AQA extract was midwich cuckoos I have to say have tried the book and the recent Keeley Hawes tv series and have never liked it and I love sci fi so can see her issue!

I hope it's OK to join at this late stage. I'm just relieved everyone else's child seems as knackered as mine. He also has a saturday job so is working tomorrow as well so no rest until Sunday.

He has Type 1 diabetes so has that whole hoo ha to contend with levelling blood glucose for exams, which is not straight forward and just something else to think about. He has had the exact same identical breakfast every morning for the last two weeks because it works. I'm glad that most of his exams are in the morning.

He was so nervous about English Language as it's his "thing" and he is actually very good at it. Doesn't seem to get so riled up about the others. Not helped by his teacher saying yesterday "you did really well in the last mock, you should do really well in this one" - I'm not sure that sort of encouragement is wildly helpful, although kindly meant of course.

They are all in school this afternoon, but have a picnic on the field and an ice-cream van and stuff which is nice. Still no study leave but we have done one day illegal study leave when he had no exams and it worked well for him.

I’ve had a message to say it went ‘pretty well’ for the same exam. Who really knows - as long as DS doesn’t feel it was a disaster I’m happy!

They have threaten the prom and we've paid and got a dress and rest already - but honestly the school has a problem with low attendance - they had to publish a governor report recently - and her general attendance has been 97-100 % all her time at the school - this year been 100% minus orthodontsit appointments.

She been happy to go in so far and her friends were in - but many are pretty much done bar last english and maths exam and few friends in the two last exams are already not going in when they don't have exams. She has a large friendship group - which hangs out in breaks as it's not the nicest school behvior wise and there is safety in numbers.

Spoke to DH and he's happy to allow follow her lead and have her home when she wants - and she not there for A-levels - counting it out it's not that many days/sessions over remaining three 3 weeks and while I can see school being a bloody pain about it not sure we care - so decide that's what we'll do.

@rosemarble DD is doing the whole, I have a headache due to not sleeping well and exam stress rhetoric after lunch. This is after the email to HOY who wouldn’t authorise her leaving so not sure how that will go! I said to just leave and I’ll email but think she just wants me to pick her up so she doesn’t have to walk back 🤨

DD said exam went well - expect the full debrief later. Last night, she was talking in the style of creative writing which was very amusing 😆

DD wasn't thrilled with the creative writing options (normally her best paper of all subjects).

Edexcel options were
Writing a story about being apart from someone important
Travel (picture)

Not had any info on extract yet.

Mine did aqa but has worried me. Said she didn’t do the technology question but did the description one and turned it into a story. Told me the picture (day time, cobbled street, buildings etc) and told me some of her descriptions including cars and dark nights 😬😬. She said it’s fine to do that but has me worried that she’s gone completely off track and won’t get any marks 😬

At DD’s school the consensus on the edexcel iGCSE was that it was “rough”

She doesn’t know for sure. She’s had tasters. But absolutely no others appeal. She’ll not get the grades to do maths, sciences, MFL at A level. Her sports won’t all be at a high enough level for A level (plus she’s not sciencey so the A&P elements will be tricky). There’s no such thing as Food & nutrition A level. History & Eng lit were each considered but the NEA (and the topics covered) put her off history. Leaves Eng lit which will probs be her best grade but prefer the idea of sociology, politics, business & psychology.