Year 11 - 2024/2025: Heading down the home straight towards that finish line!

[QueenMabby]

Next thread. 10 days of exams to go. Looks like we’re all heading into a busy week this week - good luck!

@Libre2 - that’s such a shame for your ds. I hope he makes it into the hall today and as you say - at least there aren’t many exams left.

Good luck to everyone for chemistry this morning. Is that the only exam for today?

On my invigilating timetable there is just alevel sociology this afternoon. Guess there might be something but my state school doesn’t do it!

@rosemarble… oh, bloody hell, what unnecessary stress for you! I’m so, so sorry. As @frozendaisysays, there could be a myriad of reasons why their website is saying that, so 🤞it’s something that will be sorted after today..🤞 🤗

@Libre2.. Oh, how I feel for you all and your lovely DS. Huge 🤞🙏 🍀 for calm for him, this morning, to get safely there, to school with your friend, and into the exam hall. I hope there are less distractions than yesterday, and that he can focus. Huge 🤗, too…

GOOD 🍀 Chem peeps!!! Long wanted Last Day at Shitsville for DS!! Aside from any bully stragglers, none of which are in his small room for exams anyway, he may briefly see at Physics, I hope 🤞and pray 🙏 his Chemistry goes calmly, he can focus, and the dreaded “shirt signing” and Leavers Assembly goes without a final bullying, and that he never sees these asshole turds 💩 every again! 🤞🙏🤞🤩 🥳!!

….keep calm, all!! We are nearly there!! 🍀 💖 🍀

Last exam this morning and the last day at school for my girl 🥳

What a feeling!

We started a Stranger Things rematch last night and in one of the first episodes Steve quizzes Nancy on her flashcards, she gave the answer and DD went "it's not, it's boiling points", which of course it was. So we're hoping for that to come up for fun 🤣

DD thinks she's almost completely decided not to take Spanish at A level and I'm gutted tbh. I loved languages but lost that by the end of exams so decided not to take them, and I've regretted it ever since.

@rosemarble I agree it could just be for next years applications changing it now for the incoming cohort seems harsh.
that said a school around here does the combined as well - with all the subject choice English often gets forgotten about so this may they can get both the lang and the lit in one

@CocoPlum i can sympathise DD refuses to do maths just won’t do it or even try as her fourth alongside Bio Chem and Geography. Barely did any revision on it either yet according to TikTok marking lost no more than 12-15 marks on her gcse.
But it is her choice and she accepts and knows that any regrets are hers and hers alone

What a glorious weekend ahead to finish on
Not done here until Tuesday 10am

We finish Weds afternoon (along with all the further maths people)

Morning all. Happy Chemistry day. DD informs me she has done SOME revision - but was mostly showing me prom shoes and worrying about prom bras on the phone.

There was some GCSE music info up by her bed so hopefully she has looked at that. Meanwhile I've been buried under a welter of Biology A-Level flashcards - my nitrogen cycle game is so strong now.

@Libre2 @rosemarble thinking of you. Hopefully it's an error with the ALevel or there will be more demand, and @Libre2 hope today is better.

May they all eat today. And leave no crumbs.

Thanks for the wisdom ladies. I emailed the 6th form to ask about the A level. I hope you are right and I'm looking at 2026 intake. They are not known for their prompt responses (if you get one at all).

The alternative ones involve me taking DS to town (10 mins) and then him getting a bus (45mins - 1hr) into the city. It's not too bad, but he's used to leaving home at 8am and being back by 4pm and also me being able to shuttle him about if needed (I WFH).

@rosemarble I hope you get an answer back from the 6th form, most likely it is for the next intake.

@Libre2 hope this morning goes well and calmly for your DS.

@Sisublondie hope the leavers assembly and shirt signing goes well for your DS. Is today the last exam?

I had to wake up DS this morning. Usually he is good at getting up on time for school and morning exams. This morning however, he was still asleep at 7.20am which gives him about half an hour to leave the house. He never has breakfast before a morning exam as too nervous, so still enough time but the tiredness is getting to him now. He finds the hotter weather difficult to deal with too.

Good luck to all doing Chemistry DD is doing Edexcel Higher. Heard her talking to her friend in the car about chemical tests. Hopefully it will go better than Wednesday’s maths as she seems to be feeling better this morning! Then 3 more to go 📣

Hi all - chemistry (combined) will be all over now so hope all your DC and mine did well and the paper was a dream! DD is waiting for the triple ones to finish then has shirt signing followed by the leavers assembly. She then has to come home and tidy her shit pit bedroom as wants her mate to stay over after the party 🥳

Dd all done with chem 2. IGCSE so paper was 75 mins. She said she used up all her Friday 13th bad luck by initially sitting in the wrong seat 🙄 but that the exam was good.

she’s off to a piano lesson and a drama rehearsal so some fun stuff to finish off the week. 21 down, 3 to go!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

DD2 has called from Edexcel higher combined GCSE (not i - why so confusing?). Apparently she couldn't get one of her equations to balance properly, and forgot the precise function of a particular catalyst but then went back as she remembered halfway through, but the six marker was amazing and she wrote a side and a half. So I reckon OK for something she absolutely hates. She says she has no idea why anyone needs to know this stuff so I gave her a lecture on drug development and the importance of crude oil to the economy - because I am such a fun mum.

I then informed her she was going to wear her school uniform to the woodwind assessment and not a tiny summer dress because even if she thinks her head of department doesn't care he probably does. Sigh.

Anyone else's child celebrating by playing Prokofiev's Fifth symphony this evening?

Thought not...

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - not this evening but dd is celebrating the end of chemistry by playing Liszt and then singing Sorry Not Sorry from Six! Then a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria tomorrow. Prokofiev’s 5th would be lovely. Is it a concert? Are you going?

I get critized on here in other section when I mention how much support DS got 2 years ago doing GCSE - he needed it and ended up doing really well got into the advanced program they run in schools and colleges.

He's been pretty independent doing A-levels - he's doing 4 and Welsh bac (they have to ) - I've printed off exam papers and put my head round the door to check he's working - but not sure that was actaully needed.

He hadn't really been taught how to revise at GCSE, everyone sure there some SEN/ND no-one sure what and school was a failing mess. His ablities have grown over last two years. We've also slowly stepped back in none-acadmic areas as well making appointments eyes, teeth - GP getting him to cook more expecting him to plan getting places.

DD2 always been a different kettle of fish - but she needed support last year with phycics and maths due to poor teaching - some of her more academic peers have had to re-take this year those exams - so she at least avoided that.

It seems all ths studnets have now given up on going in for any lessons as so many find they are ones and often now even teaching staff for left subjects aren't there and a few find room is being repurposed for other groups- the offical position though is they should all be doing in every day till last exam.

@QueenMabby - no - this is just for fun. They play symphonies on fridays 'for a laugh'.

Guess it must be amazing sight-reading practice, but it does make me giggle that this is how they relax.

For concerts we have a woodwind one on friday where she's doing some solo flute, then her solo lunchtime slot a week or so later on bassoon, then the biggie is symphony at the end of term (Mahler 5). And apparently she's singing for Speech Day. Should keep her busy. And she's off to do some outreach in the local primaries.

Vivaldi sounds great. Also Six! DD2 hates Liszt. Can't say I know much about it.

I'm waiting with baited breath now for DD1 to come out of Biology A-Level. Much more worried about that one!

DD really happy with combined higher chemistry.

@Tiswa I know I shouldn't put my regrets on her, but it's hard when you think "I know you are likely to regret that choice" isn't it!

dd is celebrating the end of chemistry by playing Liszt

😄

Mine is celebrating the end of Chem and first day of legal study leave by....you've guess it....a trip to Londis!

I’m so upset for my DD. Likes chemistry, always done really well, but for some reason this paper threw her, made mistakes and didn’t get same answers as her friends. Now in floods of tears. She wants to do biology A Level, so now thinks this will ruin her chances. It’s really hard for her to hear her friends talking about how the paper was easy. I hate this 😢

Londis sounds great @rosemarble. I’m WFH right now and would happily murder some snacks!

dd has a party next Wednesday for the end of exams. Her first house party! A select invite list of about 20 and all girls as far as I can tell so it shouldn’t be too rowdy but she was debating whether she needed to contribute to the drinks trolley so that’ll be the next milestone to navigate!

@Itchybritches poor love. She might have done better than she thinks... so hard for them when they lose confidence. My DD1 has done A-Level biology without chem. It hasn't been an issue. Is it a school requirement that it is high?

@rosemarble I suspect there will be a trip to Greggs here.

@Itchybritches oh no. It's so hard isn't it. Hopefully it went better than she thinks.

That’s really hard. If it helps, pupils who come out of an exam saying it was hard and they know they made mistakes often do better than they think. Something about metacognition and knowing what you don’t know. They also often focus on the questions they struggled with rather than those that gave them no bother and on which they will have scored well. I hope she’s ok.