Year 11 - 2024/2025: It’s all downhill from here!

[QueenMabby]

New thread to help us get through the next week or so!

Quite a few of us are similar in age, late 80s alumni @rosemarble @Sisublondie 🤩

I loved Yazz and will be singing myself to sleep. I think 'The only way is up' can be our mantra (and next thread title 😍)

Good luck to the Historians tmw. Normans and Health and the people for us. Good luck also to the french students and any others 👍

You’ve nailed it, @VivaDixie!! The late 80’s alumni, 🧑‍🎓 indeed! Our new Mantra!!!!
New thread name, too!- one will be needed soon!
If I knew how to change my ringtone to Yazz, I would! .. going to treat myself to YouTube before I go to bed, so I can really get an “ear worm 🐛”!

Yes, GOOD LUCK HISTORIANS! Et Bonne Chance to the Frenchies! One more down once it’s out the way…. 🍀!

Well, every time he complains about the birthday-results clash I keep telling him he’s only got himself to blame. If he wasn’t such a laid back soul then he’d have been born on time at the start of August!

I remember the Thurday when I was induced (because he was so chilled out and STILL refusing to budge) was GCSE results day. He was born on the Friday morning - it didn’t occur to me then that this would come back to be our reality 16 years on!

It also means he’ll still be 17 when he gets his A level results and not legally able to drink… so I expect some more complaints in 2 years time!

Ooooh! I love that blame game! Excellent! Because it is literally true! 😈😹! Is he bad at time keeping now?! I’d be using that all the time! Unfortunately, I was too honest when he was little and exams were moons away… he knows he was due September and he was planned ( medical reasons) section so I physically booked it myself… old style, at a desk, big London hospital, big diary out.. midwife hovered over the 20th, ( I really didn’t want someone else to share it with, already got my twin!), but she said, “ Nope, that’s a Sunday, it’ll have to be 21st or 22nd”… so, I didn’t want him to share HIS with my Nana ( even tho passed on), so 21st it was!

I can’t lie…. your DS probably will be all Kevin “Oh, it’s SO unfair”!!!!!!, in a couple of years time..🙄😳! I got the “everyone is going out clubbing after the pubs in town EXCEPT ME!!” I couldn’t even pull off my birthday being the day before so I went through it after my A Levels …
.” Mum, EVERYONE had fake ID back then….. and you told me you all went to the pub even after your GCSE’s!!” ( oh, so different in the Yazz days!)…. The driving thing, play it as a positive, get lifts for longer. And, not that he’ll see it this way, but you can tell him that when he’s coming up to Big Birthdays he DOESN’T want….. he’ll be younger for longer than his school friends! It’s a win later on!

The other positive, what a COOL way to celebrate your 16th Birthday!! His mates can’t replicate THAT!! 🥳🥳🥳

My DD along with 2 others is staying at one friends apartment (owned by the one!s parents). The parents are taking them for 5 days and staying in an apartment next door/nearby. So 4 girls with one set of parents. I have 3 girls anyway so taking 4 away (that are actually friends rather than bloody bickering sisters) would be a breeze. It’s very lovely of them to have offered this! The girls will just occupy themselves - they won’t need looking after so it’s not like they are infiltrating a family holiday. they’ll not be drinking as only 16 and my DD looks nearer 12 so would never be served! They’re currently sensible and know to be guarded.
DD2 did similar after A levels - there were 5 of them in an Airbnb no parents but most were 18. No drama renting the flat. She’s doing it again in a few weeks and 6 of them. DD1 recently rented a house for 16 in the Cotswolds - they’re a bit older in their early 20’s. They don’t have parties so it’s not like a hen or stag - it’s simply somewhere to stay and explore the area / holiday etc. They actually did lots of walking & pub lunches.

@mojobrojo I got my GCSE results on my 16th birthday too so I can sympathise. The perils of a later August birthday!

I’m just glad the results are the day before my birthday thisbyear

Oh I love reading the holidays planned. DS and I have a city break weekend after he finishes and then 10 days in Portugal later in July. He still wants to go away with me which is cute and who knows when he'll not want to, I'm enjoying every minute of that lasting. He is v v excited about the prom and has various things planned with friends and really wants to get a job if he can I hope him and his mates go camping or something, the independence is good I think and to be encouraged (safely). I don't remember doing anything after GCSEs- A levels was Malta

The tic toc check your mark thing is not helpful. Maths he thinks he is on track for a 7, which is the minimum he needs so hopefully paper 3 ok too.

Good luck everyone for tomorrow - History up next!!

Edexcel Higher for dd today. She said it was ‘ok’, but like pp’s she didn’t manage the last question and as the day went on she realised she made a couple of silly mistakes. So she gradually became more despondent about it.

History (Elizabeth and Cold War) and French tomorrow. Both strong subjects for dd, but she is definitely finding it harder to stay calm and rational now.

We are having a joint ‘End of GCSE’s/Mum’s Birthday’ party the weekend after she finishes. (Last exam will be Music on the 16th.) We missed our usual music festival this year, thanks to the exams, so we’re planning our own ‘garden festival’. We’ve done it before and it’s always goes down well. We have six people staying for the weekend, so it’s going to be pretty hectic, but lots of fun.

Then there’s Sixth Form Induction, followed by Prom before she is off camping with her friends. They aren’t going far and it has been arranged via one of the girl’s parents, who apparently has the necessary contacts to allow a single sex group to camp.

Like a PP, it's one of the group's flat. Parents not charging, just the price of the flight and food obviously. I'm less worried about damage to the flat and more about damage to themselves but DS is very grown up. He'll probably ending up cooking every meal and cleaning the toilet - hooe he still has fun. No parents going.

Did you?! August Birthday Club!! The things that you don’t think of before exams become a thing! 🙄 Hope it was a Sweet Sixteenth! 🤞🥳

My DD2 has found the TikTok/Reditt marking really useful. Despite doing Edexcel Higher, she is only working at a grade 4 (5 on a good day), so there is always the worry that she could fail the whole thing. By seeing the unofficial mark scheme, she has worked out that she has 50 marks already (grade 4), and anything else she does on paper 3 will determine if she gets a grade 5. She’s found it really motivating.

Good Morning, just wanted to say Good Luck History and French peeps!! 🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀. Deep breaths ( DC, too!!) It’ll all be over in a matter of hours…. and just think of all that Cold War, Vietnam and Queenis stuff you now all know! 😻

(….…I’ve got a long day going in to the office, so was worrying about DS at school then revising at home…. didn’t foresee him storming in at 06.10hours in a panic that he’s “ground his canines down” and “ needs dentist TODAY!”.. Yeh, that’s probably not going to happen! 🙄🤷‍♀️…. Office now seems appealing….😈😹!).

Good luck with English and Geography revision too 🤞🙏 catch up later…😸!!

Is it just Edexecl? Sounds like it’s worked really well for your DD- that’s a real positive 🤩.. good to hear!

Hope all goes well today esp French. Remind them to write what they know. Can't remember faire de la voile? Say jouer au foot!

Bonne chance!

I’ll tell him all of these things and see if they get any response that isn’t a scowl 🤣

I’ve also reminded how he’s benefitted from never having to go to school on his birthday for all these years - you can guess the response I got - a scowl 🤪

I actually dreamt about history last night - Elizabeth 1 sent Drake to sort out Castro and the Cuban middle crisis 🤪 Let’s hope DS isn’t that confused today!

Not sure about TikTok, but Reddit has exam mega threads for every board. It is risky though as I guess they could discover they’ve done worse than expected!
https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1l2x5zs/mathematics_aqa_paper_2_exam_megathread/

Good luck for all historians this morning and also to those with French this afternoon!

I have to say, I’m very glad that dd doesn’t have TikTok. I think she would just stress herself out! As it is, she’s keeping a running count of her estimated marks in each paper so that she can compare when she gets her results and can see the raw scores. She’s predicted herself 95/100 on her maths paper 2 so I hope she’s accurate! 🤣

dd seems to have spent most of yesterday afternoon trialling hairstyle options for Prom so not sure how much history revision actually got done!

Oooh a garden festival @SilverSnaffles how do you do that?

DS looked at the tiktok maths and regretted it. He said it was fine but now realises his mistakes. Anyway, onwards and upwards.

He usually gets 7s in mocks for history but there is so much to cover and he is still in bed despite needing to be at school at 8! Looks like we will take him in and he will inhale a bacon sandwich on the way.

All the best of luck for those taking history and French today. Let's hope the paper is kind.

DS fully dosed up and is feeling much better thank goodness!

2 and a half hours of history this morning 😭 but then that subject is finished. I think this is the one he feels most sad about finishing as he loves the subject.

But, onwards and upwards. Good luck everyone

Also, DS has tik tok but I haven't mentioned the marking pages as it would fry his brain thinking he has messed up!

So, so close to oversleeping. I worked v late and set no alarm. DS luckily woke with his second. Both our phones were off. Must set my alarm for every exam. He is rushing now, poor thing. Good luck 🍀 all

Good luck to all doing History and French today. Some continued history fact cramming going on this morning.