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

[QueenMabby]

Continuation of the year 11 support thread. Go!

@ThisPerkySloth2 when you say plan C, what grades are you thinking? In other words what grades does he need for plan B, so what is he getting if he misses that?

Physics A level without maths is very unusual and rather demanding. A lot of schools won’t even allow it. Core maths alongside might be a good shout. What is he expecting in phys and maths? Why doesn't he plan to take maths A level?

If your DS is on for grades 6/7 in his chosen A levels happy days. But I suggest if he is looking at a plan C where he gains lower grades than that you might want to think about college courses that are based around Btec or similar rather than A level.

ETA most sixth forms IME will offer the subjects you mention (DT is the least common perhaps but plenty take it). So look at schools in your area that are well rated and have a sixth form. Can you say whereabouts you are?

Where do you search for sixth form colleges on basis of subject? or do i just find a list of all sixth forms and work my way through?

There's not usually that many 6th form and colleges in any area. This area it and area I grew up in it's a big regional college with multiple campuses offering a variety of course from city and guilds to degree and school sixth forms doing A-levels and limted GCSE resits usually alongside A-levels.

The sixth form here is hard to nagivate - as to offer a wider range they are in schemes to bus to other schools - and it varies each year who in and offering what.

One of DD2 friends needs to take A-level French - weirdly the college no longer offers it leaving one sixth form that does not in current school scheme- that was found by contacting all the local A-level providers directly.

There is here a council run careers services and they also know most of the local courses in city - there maybe be something similar in your area.

So I'd google local colleges and see what courses they offer from their webpages - and then maybe contact their addmissions - this area you can usually apply after GCSE results even for some as late as October with late start but some courses will be fully booked other area there are more restictions.

Welcome @ThisPerkySloth2! I’m only recently new and am pretty sure you’ll fit right in here- I just realised I didn’t really check first, I happened upon this thread and thought, “ Oh, thank God! I’m not alone”! 😹.. but, everyone has been SO welcoming and helpful!! So, you’ll fit right in! 🤩

I understand what you are saying about your DS and your concern for him. It’s a truly terrifying time at the mo, isn’t it? Well, you’ll find unwavering support here. The positive is that you have firm Plan A and Plan B’s for him, which is excellent. Am I right in that if a Plan C is needed, and the DT option at his current selective grammar, with travel to sister school, is not viable that you will need to find a different college/school entirely? With the hope he can study DT there? I don’t know of a UK universal site in which one can check, but that is to say that there isn’t one. We couldn’t find a way to search each so I can only advise what we did. We are on the border between counties, so my DS ( who won’t be staying on at his school) had the option, within an hour radius, of choosing between three colleges, one of which is in a separate country. He chose to apply to the one which is not normally chosen by students from his school who leave ( he has been badly bullied), he can get a bus from our village, has a nice “vibe” and he had a “good feeling” there, so we looked to see if they did the BTec he wants to do ( to hopefully go to Uni and then, or directly join the career he wishes to be in) and he was interviewed and has conditional place there. The college over the border has different applications as did his primary school as they are in a different county.

My advice would be to think of the colleges nearest to you, if they run similar course, and see if there is anything you know about them, perhaps chat to DS to see if he knows anyone there ( in random chat, if you don’t want him to know you are thinking of a Plan C back drop), reputation etc, and see what you can research online, and perhaps give them a call when they reopen ( I found the admissions teams really helpful at the colleges I called) and see what the procedure would be after results day ( if worst case scenario, but hopefully not, of course).

I am so sorry I can’t give any further advice but I just wanted to advise what we did for DS in applying to colleges where we really didn’t know much about any of them.

I wish and DS the 🤞 best of luck!

I’m not sure but I think you may be able to search on

https://applicaaone.com/

under “search for courses, schools, colleges and events”.

I assume it will only show courses where the provider subscribes to Applica, but it’s probably a good place to start.

Don’t worry, Delatron! “ It’s Bank Holiday”, just an extension of the decompression weekend, in which your DS did maths tuition, which is great 🤩…. You are right, it is so gruelling for them. I think it is good your DS had sleep ( I hate when people don’t place enough importance on the value of it, and force teenagers to get up early, on weekends and holidays, for no reason but that they “ don’t waste the day”.. ( not at all scarred by my Mother- bless her!)), so his body and mind are recuperating, and plans this afternoon will help him clear his head for whatever revision tomorrow brings 🤗.

Momentum got a spike here about an hour ago! DS18 off to his summer job pre Uni, DH at his hobby, just me and DS, so quiet house. DH had printed out past Eng Lang Paper 2 for DS, he’d had late bf/ early lunch ( lie in, too!), and agreed to start it at 12.00…”Me and DH will mark it separately and independently using the mark scheme ( 🙏@MrsHamlet!)… So, we had “exam conditions” in his room. Bottle of cold water. Instructions to “ask Siri to text me” if he needs loo/ or one of the dogs breaks in….

All sorted!! I thought I’d cracked this getting back into revision after weekend off lark!!! I’d only just got to start doing laundry when hear footprints behind me…… “ Yeh, I can’t do this paper, I’ve already done it. You don’t want me to cheat, so I am being honest with you”… …

Anyway! Momentum 💥!! I can’t get printer to connect so can’t print out different one right now…. He says he’ll do other English revision until DH gets home… but 🤷‍♀️, anyway! I’d take him out for a walk with said dogs but it’s very nippy and hammering it down right now!

I hope your DS has a lovely afternoon and a mental break from revision 🤗.. ( and you get the same!!).

Ah thanks @Sisublondie I completely agree with you about the importance of sleep. DS has also been in school the whole time with no study leave - so very long days plus exams/revision. It’s a lot and their mental health is so important. I think he’ll have a nice afternoon out with his friends and hopefully back on it tomorrow

Sounds like your DS is doing really well! Let’s hope the momentum keeps flowing!

Oh, absolutely!! Yes, you know the “ illegal study leave” chat?, well, my DS is precisely same as yours, having to continue school at the same time! As you say, no respite. It’s mad! What’s more irritating is DS18, at same school, they HAD study leave! Just differs by year. In fact, the school did send out some lengthy timetable about study leave/ no study leave on DS return next week…. But, I didn’t read it as after I picked him up from there on Friday, I saw no reason to make my 🤯further!! Best see what that says…….😳😈😹..

Hope your DS has 🤩, tomorrow is a whole fresh new day 😸

Yes I’m hoping to have a refreshed DS tomorrow! We will see….!

The annoying thing is I get to do this all next year with DS2! The joys of having two children with a small
age gap!

Nooooooo!! Oh, just nooooo! I dodged the A level and GCSE combo by a sheer matter of days at birth which means DS18 and DS16 are almost two years apart…. but blessed with three school year gap….. wellllll….. if we’re being glass half full…… you’ll be an old hand at it by then!! 😈 🥇 🏆 🥳 …. ( yep, no, sorry! still a noooooooo !)….

This thread next year can be “Year 11 GCSEs…. And How to nail them!! With@Delatron” ! 😸😸😸

😂 I’m not sure we’ll nail them but I will know how to protect my sanity maybe…!

So I have 4 years of exams ahead of me GCSEs this year and next then A-levels. Woo hoo. DS2 is a slightly different kettle of fish - neurotypical so finds everything a lot easier. I’m
hoping to have an easier ride next year!

The double is not joyous @Sisublondie .. you have dodged a bullet.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow gcse composing seems very odd, and DD2 is already worried for A-Level. She seems ok on the 12 marker, it's the dictation she struggles with. Her coursework scores put her on the 8/9 boundary so she'll need to do pretty well in the paper to get a top grade.

So, I had suggested DS have the whole w/e off and get back to it today, but instead he did some work yesterday and is (mostly) taking today off. He's going to see his girlfriend this afternoon.

He did do a maths past paper and I'm chuffed that I worked out one of the answers he didn't know.

I think he'll get back to it properly tomorrow when I'm working.

Dd has done a small amount of geography revision.
I think that'll be it for today 🙄
Hoping English language gets a look in at some point

@clary hi DS is predicted to get 8s across his GCSEs and a 9 in maths only didn't do so well in his November mocks - 4/5/6 and one 8. his end of year 11 report was slightly better. he got mostly 7s and a couple of 8s end of Year 10. He should make it, I guess I wanted to have contingency plans so less stressful for DS on results day just in case if things don't go as planned.

I agree Maths would be the better / appropriate option. he wants to do architectural engineering. i think its a bit of laziness / wanting easier life but he did say he's still thinking although he was not keen when chose options for 6th form application. got my fingers crossed.

we're in west midlands - have found one viable option asking for 5s. Decent option but applications closed till result day. but yet to look at results / performance.

thanks

@ThisPerkySloth2 what grades does he need for plan A? And plan B? Are they realistic - in line with his mocks / predicted? You may not need a plan C if plan A is inline. Only a plan B.

I’d agree with clary that A level physics is best supported with A level maths as there’s a fair amount of mechanics involved. If he wants to take physics further (engineering, product design etc) it’s likely university will be wanting maths. If, indeed, he’s thinking of university. Then, of course, to hit the high grades in A level maths and/or physics he really needs to be getting at least a 7 in gcse maths. noble giraffe posts every year regarding this. What is his maths like?

With regard to clary’s suggestion of Core Maths supporting physics, I’m much less certain as it’s not the pure and mechanics needed for physics. ‘Core Maths’ is an umbrella term for an AS level (not an AS itself but same level) of a maths qualification if students aren’t taking A level maths. My DD2 took it and at her school the Core Maths studied was ‘maths in context’ which was heavily statistics and financial maths which supported her A levels in psychology, economics and history. So, I’m not convinced all core maths options would support a level physics as the one DD2 did, certainly wouldn’t have. Here’s more info re the different Core Maths options for you or anyone else interested. https://amsp.org.uk/app/uploads/2023/06/AMSP-maths-comparison-1.pdf

@CatHairEveryWhereNow thank you for those pointers, found one since posted. will make a list and work through each one!

@ThisPerkySloth2 cross posted! I don’t think you’ll need a plan C. But I would really ask him to look at what A levels are required for architectural engineering (I’ve no clue). If he’s capable of doing A levels maths it’s a no brainer as it’ll massively help with the Physics A level. Is he dead set on history? Maths, physics and DT (I’d guess) are a good combo looking at what he wants to do.

@ThisPerkySloth2 only a quick Google but A level Maths essential here… (other universities available)
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/course/architectural-engineering-beng. Given he’s predicted a 9 in gcse he’ll find A level accessible and not having it could restrict his university options significantly.

@Sisublondie hello thank you that is helpful, I'm getting I need to find the colleges then work through each to find if do course and whether would suit DS. I'm hoping won't come to Plan C but its good to be prepared. Plan B would be a different / new selective grammar than DS current one - i'm concerned it would take up alot of DS time travelling between schools. But its not a wholly unsatisfactory option if it came to it. I am definitely hoping / praying for Plan A not just for academic reasons but less disruption / upheaval for DS.

Best of luck to your DC too

@MaffsMover don't i feel dumb - that's the site both DS current school Sixth Form and the Plan B school used for applications. 😬thank you for pointing it out 😀

How are your children revising for eng lang paper 2? Mine is on the cusp of a 4 so really want to push it to a definite 4 but unsure how to help. I’ve seen that the main marker is giving a viewpoint. Paper 1 was ok apparently but I’ve seen so many saying it was awful I wonder if it was worse than thought! Hopefully I’m not being cynical. Anyway, any tips to revise paper 2 (aqa) would be fab!

They need to know:

• how long on each question
• the areas they need to cover in each question
• the techniques they want to use in q5

@NotDonna hi DS predicted grades are definitely ok regards grades required.

yes he wants to go to Uni and so agree Maths would be better option. So ideally he'd do Physics, Maths and DT.

I'm hoping he will rethink, and I'm now further encouraged to "gently" persuade him by results day!!!!!

DS is better at considering things when presented with evidence so I'll do some more uni research regards requirements. and take a look at which Maths is appropriate / goes with Physics. thanks for the link.

I'm glad i posted looks like i need to do a lot more research to support DS.

School used laptops from year 7.
This is why a lot of children have problems with writing.
I persuaded to focus on writing since November 2024 and now - my DS is able to write longer stories.
Yes, he asks for help to explain the meaning. It doesn’t not mean to help to find a solution.
Invigilators should to remind to focus on the task and assist with understanding unclear questions.
I wish your child all the best 🤞🤞🤞

Hi there - DS is also on the cusp of a 4 so we really want him to just get that so he can move on without the pressure of resits

I have just finished helping DS with his revision planner for the next two weeks and we have decided to do this format:

1. Print off four past papers and source material - save the mark scheme in a file on laptop.
2. In one session he can look at two past papers and do Q5 only on each paper, that gives him practice in completing Q5, he can then look at the mark scheme to see where he can improve
3. In another session the same applies for Q4
4. In another session the same again applies for Q1-3
5. Then in another two longer sessions he does a full past paper on each session (after we have worked out timescales for each question)

So he then gets lots of practice doing the questions without the pressure of completing a full past paper until sessions 4 and 5.

<both mentally scarred from the lack of prep for Paper 1>

He is doing well, he had a break Friday afternoon and Saturday morning when he did a refereeing gig (his weekend job) which was brilliant for his mindset. He did a couple of hours writing out flashcards for science P2 in the afternoon and did some more yesterday and today. We would love to give him a break but if he stopped we would NEVER get him back on the cycle (undiagnosed ADHD) and it would cause arguments and stress all round.

Super proud of him - he has had a few grumbles but is cracking on.

Keep the faith everyone 🙂