Y11 2025/26 The Final Stretch

[UncomfortableSilence]

New thread to see our wonderful DC through their exams and onwards.

Come and join for chat, support and solidarity.

hello everyone, hope art went well today. My son is tired already but ploughing on!

Hi everyone,

I hope Art went well for everyone? My DS's first is German speaking next week. Is anyone else in the same boat? 💐

Thanks for the new thread! Speaking exam on Monday here…

Thanks for starting a new thread.

No art here. DS's first exam is French speaking next Wednesday and then PE practical moderation on Thursday.

Thanks for the new thread!

Good luck to all DC for art and speaking MfL exams. No art for us here but DT final
project submission is Monday so will be good to get that in.

Hello!

FWIW I'm a German teacher and will be running the new style speaking exam next week..I'm probably far more nervous than the kids!!
Good luck year 11!

Yeh I did my first AQA French GCSE assessment today. Man there was a lot of bits of paper for the students. Worth getting them to lay it all out in order before starting the test (pretty sure that's allowable) so they are looking at the right thing!

Thankyou for the new thread

Good luck to all with the speaking - DS2 isn’t doing MFL … mostly due to DS1s experience and travails

Her Art went well! She said she’s nearly finished so tomorrow will just be finishing touches. She’s chilling out tonight, she looks knackered and she’s got a spinal condition so although she gets rest breaks her back is hurting standing all that time.

She’s got all her French cards written out, she’s very strong in languages so feels confident but I guess with the new spec it’s all a little unknown. Head of MFL in the school I work in seems particularly stressed!!

Thanks for the new thread. Hope all the art and speaking goes well.
Here no language speaking exams but he does have a drama practical exam tomorrow and is a bit worried as it is apparently marked by a visiting examiner rather than just videoed by his teacher and submitted. Have told him that they are probably just a teacher from another school but don’t actually know if that’s true! Seemed to calm him down a bit though. I have my fingers crossed.
In other bad news he had an orthodontist appointment today and they want to replace his current brace with “train tracks” (no idea what the official name is) mid exams. Managed to persuade them into a half term appointment to give him a few days to get used to them before actual exams but bit worried that it will totally distract him from revision.

Aw ‘The Final Stretch’ - the thread title makes me feel quite emotional! In a good way. The finish line is in sight (even though we’re not properly over the start line).

Thanks for new thread, DS had ICT today, he’s still on Easter break, they obviously staffed the exams, but after he has gone to a friends for a sleepover, so I’ve not been able to talk to him! I got a ‘good’ on WhatsApp!

Frustrating timing @Walkingbkwrm , my eldest is just coming to the end of her treatment, must have started just before Y11 exams, it is painful the first day after an appointment, have paracetamol ready.

Hello. Not joined this thread before. Son had graphics today (and tomorrow). He said he thought it had gone well so 🤞

Dd has her first art exam next week, I wish she hadn’t taken it, it’s taken far too much of her time over Easter when she should have been revising other exams. I don’t understand why the actual creative work has such a small percentage of the marks. She struggles academically, but is a very talented artist, unfortunately her book work means she’s on course for a 3-4 despite very high marks for her creative pieces. I really don’t understand why we value academic ability over creativity / artistic skill, especially for subjects like art / food tech / drama/ dance. Surely creating amazing food, or putting on an incredible performance or designing and creating a fabulous art work, should be awarded higher grades than the academic side of these subjects? I dunno, I just feel a bit despondent about our educational system.

DD's first exam is French speaking on 29th, although did get food tech and drama practicals completed before Easter so the timing worked out well with those. Discussed her revision timetable up until study leave with her yesterday and she doesn't seem too stressed at the moment. Long may it last.

Hello. Thanks for starting the new thread.

Hello everyone. Thanks for the new thread.

Good luck to all those doing exams. We have another week yet before DTs French speaking exam.
Im hoping the exam boards are bit lenient with the grade boundaries for all our DC and the teachers doing the new MFL spec and format.

@UncomfortableSilence thanks for the new thread, glad to hear art went well. DD had hers last term but still has to finish off bits from the other two projects this weekend. Final hand in is on Tuesday and then they have an exhibition to show it all the week after. It will be a relief to finally have it over with. I agree @notnowmaud there's too much emphasis on the writing and analysis than the work itself.

@SweetDreamsAreMadeOfFizz DD had German speaking on Wednesday and seemed pleased with it.

@Walkingbkwrm DD also did her drama practical at the end of last term. They had an external examiner and had blocked the seats around him so none of the audience could see what he was writing. I really enjoyed seeing them all perform their pieces though, and they seemed to enjoy it.

It’s very tricky to predict a grade as we have no GBs so I have been going off the previous years for that board but obvs old spec.

I think some elements of the new spec are easier tho. A lot of my students used to dislike the reading qus in TL for example, and those have gone. Also the prompts for the roleplay for example are in English now which I think could help. The writing prompts are in English – which helps if you didn't understand them in French (! I have known that) but of course takes away the useful vocab you could use from them TL prompts.

Our school was just working on statistics for grade boundaries on mfl, using the whole of the multi academy trust, ranking all students and then putting percentages into each band. I am told DS was right at the boundary!

Thank you for the new thread...

@UncomfortableSilence thank you for the new thread.

Good luck to all doing speaking, art or drama this week.

Hello, my son's first exam is Travel and Tourism on 1st May