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

[QueenMabby]

Continuation of the year 11 support thread. Go!

DD2 found aqa English very hard. The extract was from The Midwich Cuckoos which is not very accessible when you have processing issues. Gutted for her and she’s worked hard for this and was making good progress with a tutor. Hopefully paper 2 will save her and she gets the magic grade 4.

DD seems reasonably happy with her English (AQA). She's struggled with getting the timings right in past mocks, but it sounds like she managed to get enough down for the big points questions this time. Started with Q5, and managed to make her prepared description fit in with the given story theme (decided she didn't like the picture for the descriptive one!). Apparently didn't really know what was going on in the Midwich Cuckoos extract, though, and found it a bit dry. Phew, half term can start!

Dd is hopefully not enjoying the art class party 🥳

now

DS also happy enough with English AQA. Didn't say much except for that he thought he'd managed to fit in his prepared creative writing piece into the picture prompt quite well. I dare not ask anymore and just keeping my fingers crossed!

Same here with T1D. The subjects she wants to do at A level seem to be worse affected as the pressure of needing to perform well sends her blood sugar haywire. She's been over 15 for most of the exam in a couple of papers so have applied for special consideration with Dexcom data as evidence. Good luck to your son.

I meant to add that I think some examiners / past examiners are on here and might be able to confirm if she’ll get less marks for going off track or if, as she says, it’s ok?

I love The Midwich Cuckoos! Which part was the extract, does anyone know?

(So relieved DD hasn't had to resit again having passed functional skills last summer!)

Sounds like a mixed bag for them today. DD was done and dusted with both English last week (CIE IGCSE), so I said she should have a good old sleep and lie in; she emerged at 10. Next exam isn’t until maths on the 4th June. She’s planned to spend the weekend doing past papers for that and the 3 sciences, and dedicating Monday to Geography. PE and more past papers (and a LOT of Dr Frost) scheduled for the latter part of half term.

Two full days of heavy training for her sport that she’s looking forward to, and I think will do her the world of good, before cracking on again. I’ve kind of left her to her own devices - she has severe dyslexia and her own way of revising that works for her, needs the occasional push, but with the exception of one day when she was tearful from exhaustion last week, she’s very much of the opinion that while they’ve not been easy, she’s doing her best. That’s all I ask.

I hope all of your DC are able to get some rest and switch off for a day or two, lord knows they both deserve and need it.

There’s an English teacher on Instagram who referred to the examiners’ report where it was clear that the best students just used the picture as a “prompt”

Firstly @NotDonna I agree with a PP who says subjects like sociology etc will be less likely to build on the GCSE (certainly in the way MFL or maths do; an A level German student, for example, is pretty much expected to be on top of verbs, vocab, genders, prepositions as these will not be retaught).

For subjects like you mention, I would say the key thing is that she has studied essay-writing subjects like history or Eng lit and has those skills – which it sounds like she has, so she should be OK there.

PE "not being of a high enough standard for A level" btw – my DS took A level PE offering football and he simply played for a local club; mate of his offered athletics and was at club and county level, so not amazing. But if the science is missing then that's a concern - DS said he was doing biology and biology! (which suited him btw).

I would be slightly concerned tho about her choices; is she thinking of uni? If not, no worries, but if she is, be aware that she is closing more doors than she needs to, as none of those subjects are needed to study the correlating subject at uni, whereas (for example) Eng lit is. Is she likely to drop one after a term or so? No need to take four A levels. You mention maths – there is quite a bit in A level psych, but that's fine as long as her GCSE maths grade is a 6/7. Psych A level anecdotally is often dropped by students who find it much dryer than they thought it would be. Would she add Eng lit to the mix as a familiar subject she is good at?

RE: The Midwich Cuckoos - sounds like it was near the beginning - people trying to get to the village, driving into a ditch and dying?! I know the story a bit but I can't remember if it's one I actually read. Quite liked doing The Chrysalids when at school myself.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ7DC0KIBUo/

@Pinkflower100 This will hopefully give you some peace of mind

I thought it might be that bit, as it would be a good extract.

Near the beginning the whole village go unconscious, a kind of sleep dome over the top of the village. People going into the village collapse once they cross the boundary. A few deaths/injuries from driving and house fires, but after the 'day out' everyone recovers just fine (and then the women all find out they are pregnant ...).

To be fair to NoRevision sounds like he was ok. (Eduqas).
Comprehension straightforward but not basic answers
creative writing included a fair bit of the technical skills, a twist, some jokes, dialogue, no basic descriptions, he thinks best one he’s done.

He is STEM through and through so sounds ok.

DD has sent me two very amusing emails about English Lang Paper 1, which I suspect demonstrate her facility with language far better than the ridiculous exercises in the exam. She ran out of time, and forgot to use an ellipsis or brackets in Qu 5 apparently. She is hoping the grade boundaries are low, “in the deepest ocean trench, ideally”. Now she has to hang around and wait for the school bus. Hurray for half term!

Phew! Thank you!

You're so lucky you get phone calls/texts!
I have to wait until dd gets in from school 😬😫😁

Anyone know what the Eduqas extract or prompts were?

My daughter said it was a ‘good’ paper. Hope she used better words than that in the paper 🤦🏼‍♀️. That’s all I know. Not staying in school this afternoon and think she’s off to get her ear pierced again!

No news re english....but re study leave, ours have to be fully in school until morning break on Monday 16th June....her last exam is the next morning. All in for leavers day on that Thursday

My DD found AQA not as good as some of the mock papers and said she messed up her timings (despite having extra time) so had to rush the longer last question and didn’t do the best conclusion. Fingers crossed for a better paper 2.

@Whoooo AQA for eng lang today.

I've just driven in to school to drop the flowers off she wanted to get for her head of year but not bring in because it's so embarrassing (obvs) , only to find an ice cream van here and the whole of year 11 absolutely hysterically excited around it 🤣 I have parked in the far car park with the embarrassing flowers and hiding out until everyone's gone in!

School have allowed all students home after the exam today.

DS messaged me to say the extract from Midwich was "fascinating".

The SEND team have been exceptional this week in getting in re-regulation time, dealing with his disabilities etc. I am tearful with relief that he's completed all the exams this week. Can't even think about results! That's another issue!

I think she found the creative writing piece 'good', but the extract was 'wierd' but as long as it's done and they've tried their best , can't ask for more than that. My standard line is 'right another one done, put this one behind you now and focus on the next one' and it always seems to reassure dd somewhat.