Y11 2025/26… come and join

[wonderstuff]

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I got a 3 in CSE, even Y7 stuff was like a foreign language to me (in my defence I was sickly and I had school phobia, English was fine, but Maths you needed to be there for).

I'm hoping she will do both English subjects (they do Language and Literature), she wanted to do English Language but got a 7 in the mock and a 9 in Literature). She wants to drop Maths for Sociology, I think (if I'm honest), I'd be happier with that, she is capable, but I think it will too much of a challenge, and she said she doesn't like Maths, she chose it thinking it would be 'best'.

Anyone else really thinking that yr11 is misearable?

Not really to be honest, I can pretty much see DS maturing in front of my eyes. He is doing so well self motivating himself to revise, voluntarily attending everything his school is offering in terms of after school revision. Keeping up with his running and swimming to give his brain a break and looking forward with excitement to the challenge of going to college. He seems a different boy to the grumpy bored child of the last few years.

I do feel for some of the children I hear being discussed on this thread as there seems to be a lot putting a lot of pressure on themselves or a lot of pressure being put on them by schools so I don't doubt for some it is a miserable time but that's just not my experience at the moment anyway, fingers crossed it may continue.

I did warn DS that year 11 is a slog and so it is proving to be. Years 10 and 12 are way more fun. I’m hoping we’re through the worst of it - I hate the Jan/feb time of year when it’s dark, cold and muddy and fun stuff seems a long way off. I’m hoping that now we’re beyond half term and final mocks are nearly done that it’s all feeling a bit more positive for DS - almost begins to feel that the end is in sight. 4.5 weeks to go until Easter holidays, then next term will all be a bit strange. DS goes running in the early mornings and was very excited today to go in the light and warm, for a change. Spring is coming!

Dd is doing ok. She’s never been a child I have to nag to do homework, thankfully, so she’s very independent about cracking on. I wish she’d go to more lunch time sessions that are on offer but then I get it, she needs a break! End of term is 25th March and then the fun really starts…

I think year 11 is largely better than year 10. At least this year they have learnt the material being tested. DS has done 7 out of 18 of this set of mocks but he is working through very diligently. I wish he’d take slightly more breaks but year 10 nearly broke him with 2 exams a day for a week, at least this time some days only have one!

I agree with both of you @eurotravel and @Littletreefrog - I can see DD maturing, learning how to organise herself, work independently, testing gaps in her knowledge and revisiting hard topics and I'm super proud of her diligence and maturity, but gosh it's a miserable process too! She's given up so much of her dancing (She was doing 12/13 hours a week, now is signed up for 5 and hasn't been this week as it's mocks...) the very thing that keeps her happy. She wanted to go on monday but had 2 mocks the next day and DH felt it wasn't a good idea. She felt guilty and stayed home revising and I felt so sad for her.

Oh @Caddycat that is sad that DH told her not to go to dancing. It's important they don't stop doing the things they want to do and I think when they go or don't go should be led by them as long as they are generally getting on well with their revision etc. DS has also cut back as he used to swim 19 hours a week which just wasn't sustainable but he still swims and runs a lot.

Definitely finding it a miserable year here. DD is having a hard time with teachers, got one who keeps making stupid digs ( boy A wire came loose asked teacher why did that happen teacher replied tebheagDD looked at it. Then said should stop making comments like that about tebheag DD but it makes girl A laugh.)
She stopped running around Christmas and thanks to injury, weather and mocks hasn't done much Rugby or athletics this year. Last year she was doing about 12/15hrs hrs this week 90 mins.

Finding it frustrating/worrying rather than miserable, I do worry about DS but have a tendency to worry generally about the DC anyway. He has always been mature and focused at school, always the kind of child to get the 'good role model' comments in a school report (albeit still has a reluctance to get off his bum at home and revise!) and I am relieved that he seems to be taking GCSEs in stride so far. I really feel for other posters whose DC are severely stressed/working all the hours etc.

At the same time I feel DS is almost a bit too laconic about it all so I think he'll find the step up to A levels a shock, and I also worry about lack of physical activity - he gave up an intensive sport that involved a lot of training hours at the beginning of Y11, which was the right decision overall, but he hasn't really replaced it with anything and all my suggestions seem to fall on deaf ears. So there's a danger of him becoming a bit of a couch potato too.

@Littletreefrog I don't think he realises that this is what makes her relax. He is a stresser too, so her staying made him feel better I think. I'll make sure she goes next week.
@Tebheag that's really not acceptable, what an awful teacher! Did you complain?
@FlyingPandas could he do the same activity but on a less intense level? We gave up the associate programme and classes were she "doubled up" so she's not missing out too much, even though she sometimes doesn't go...

@Caddycat no I have not complained. She also gets comments from 2 other teachers. One who makes digs that she is so busy but really exaggerates on what she does e.g if she climbed a hill he would say she climbed a mountain no wonder she missed a question on a test bearing in mind she got a 9. Really wish I knew what to do ! Unfortunately that teacher is also the head.

DD seems to be sick of Y11 keeps saying she wishes she just didn't have to do it.
We were thinking about whether to stop her Saturday activity (out the house for 6 hours) next term but she told me after she came home this Saturday she really wants to keep doing it so that's fine by me. She also has activities on Sunday morning, Monday and Friday evenings which she will probably keep doing too.

I think mine is somewhere in the middle - looking forward to 15 June when it'll all be over!

At the moment, it's all about getting art finished for final exam which is the week after next, and then thinking about everything else.

She's also somewhere in between stressed and excited at the prospect of 6th form but really unsure whether she wants to stay where she is or not. Pros and cons to both so it will probably come down to what her friends are doing.

Definitely miserable here! DS really not doing much unless he’s nagged (or even then) DH getting very angry, DS getting angry with DH, I’m fed up with both of them. I’ll be delighted when it’s over.

@wonderstuff pretty much same here

I really wished school wouldnt put marks online before the mocks are finished... someone mentioned the marks were on the maths portal for the paper 1 (which they did last monday) and DD got 50%. She's going to be so upset and she has another 3 mocks to get though 😟 This wasnt an edexcel paper but a school made one so I'm not sure what the grade boundaries are. She's been a consistent 8 so this seems very low and im so worried it's going to knock her confidence for the rest of them. She said at the time that the paper was hard but she wasnt upset with how it went. Im dreading her finding out, she's already so overwhelmed. Would you speak to school? Or is crying 3 times a day and working all hours part of the deal and she needs to build resilience?

@Caddycat why is your DD crying three times a day ? Might be worth speaking to school if you think it will help.
DD school where also giving out results with 3/4 mocks to go. If its a school paper she could still have a high grade.

Oh dear @Caddycat that's definitely not normal and I think you possibly need to have a chat with the school about how difficult DD is finding things.

Our school isn't providing mock results until we have our one to one with Head of Year so they can give the results and explain the context and what to do next etc so kids aren't getting the results and either panicking or resting on their laurels depending. And this is a massive "requires improvement" comp.

I can only think providing results mid mocks is designed to encourage those that haven't put the effort in to start but as usual with these things they tend to negatively affect the kids who are trying and those that it's aimed at still don't care.

Ah @Caddycat your poor DD. For what it’s worth, as a secondary teacher I’d recommend 2 hours per night revision with one night off, and 3 hours each day at the weekend, at this stage. Obviously I’m not your dd’s teacher (I assume!) and am only one voice/opinion. It really could be worth her hearing from a teacher she respects at school that she can ease off a little, tho. Crying multiple times a day and working all hours sounds like she’s burning out a bit.

Wow that is really good of the school.
Wish my DD school did that. Instead Electronics teacher explained very slowly how she should have answered the question like she didn't understand on a very simply question. It was just a silly mistake but she had got 78 out of 80.
Got told by Maths teacher she didnt do well and had been beaten by other classmates still in top 5 for her year and got a 9. But made to feel like she didnt do well by the teacher. Dreading the other results if they are going to talk to her like that.

Thank you. She just gets very overwhelmed, that's all she says. She revises and then comes across something she doesnt remember/can't do (what's happening right now...) and says she'sworking so hard and not getting the results she wants when her friends work a fraction of the time and get 9s... We have tried so hard to play it all down but she's not listening. Ive helped to make sure she's covered everything, we have talked things through as she thinks it helps, she's done lots of past papers, used cognito, save my exams, rag rated all her subjects, planned essays in English, read all of her texts several times and annotated 2 copies of each... shes working so hard 😒 She hasnt noticed the mark online yet, but she's got maths tomorrow. @littletreefrog Your school seems to do it in a lovely way. Our school has mock results days, when you turn up and have your mock results in an envelope, with the rest of the year... we only have the maths paper mark because all maths results from year 7 go on a portal with which questions you get wrong so the pupil can go back and work on those topics. Someone logged on and saw the mark was in there.

@ECT22 ive told her that this should be enough but she feels guilty if she does less. She wants all 9s 8s and 7s and ive tried to gently say that perhaps it wasn't necessarily meant to be and that that was ok... I've convinced her to go to dance tonight so she can let some steam off.
Thank you for the support x

Just had DD’s exam timetable and there is a clash one afternoon where she also has an exam in the morning. As she has extra time, she goes over the 5h 30min limit in one day. They say she has two options. Either take all three in one day and have “special consideration” in the last paper (additional 2% added to the marks) or move one exam to the following morning but isolate at home. She seems very excited about the extra marks added but it could mean that she is so tired that she loses more than 2% anyway… any advise here?

@Tebheag your school seems to be handling their high achievers marks by knocking their spirits rather than boosting them. Hopefully they’ll celebrate when the real results come.

@mutbee for your 3 exams in a day challenge. Are they subjects your dd is strong in? If one is rolled to the next day, will next day be a single exam day or a double day?
think I would go for the rollover option especially if it’s towards the back end of the exam timetable, I am guessing they’ll be really tired in weeks 4 and 5

Hope she's ok @Caddycat

@mutbee I would definitely roll over. 2% isn't much for the stress and tiredness of having to do 3 in a day.