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.

@3GoldenLamps those home made veg heavy sausage rolls sound ace!

Thanks!

I usually baste the pastry (on the inside) with apple sauce but I saw on MN someone grates apple direct into the sausage mixture. i tried it and it keeps is really moist.

There is a group of parents on our street that share lifts on exam days, we did it for mocks, so DD will get driven to school for exams. This is because they get a public bus to school and it’s so unreliable due to road works in our city. This is a massive bonus when missing ‘morning motivation’ (assembly on old money) but less so when missing an exam!

They also have some breakfast revision sessions so on the days they do maths they go in early and get breakfast and a last minute revision sessions.

This is an interesting one DS2 never eats breakfast - so despite my reservations I wasn’t planning on trying to change that - but I will pick him up straight afterwards complete with flapjacks ( I’m also a hider of nutritional things - milled seeds in this case)

First exam tomorrow so we are having fish fingers for tea 👍 hopefully that will counter act the fact that DS is revising Biology (his favourite subject) rather than IT which is actually what the exam is for tomorrow 🙈

I’m feeling a bit shit that I won’t be there in the mornings of DD’s exams - not flexible as I’m a teacher - made worse by the fact I’ll be leaving to go and support other kids with their exams 😢 Mum guilt never lets up, I guess. My DH will be at home most days, but I’m the main GCSE supporter for dd so it sucks a bit. Oh well.

I was on a school trip to France for one week
of my DS1’s GCSEs! I felt bad but it had to be done. What you are doing to support other YP, others will do to support yours.

I’m also a teacher but in the same school (I teach infants though, it’s a through school) so dd will come with me every morning as she does every day anyway. I’m grateful to be able to give a hug as she gets out the car. She’ll have to get herself back home after morning exams though.

I am excited that our thread now has a food aspect, although it’s making me hungry. 😋 Flapjacks, sausage rolls, porridge and fish fingers so far. Keep them coming.

we have chickens so a ready supply of eggs, so will try and get the DTs to have scrambled eggs as they enjoy them but normally have as a snack after school rather than breakfast

all started by the BBC article www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/c937eg0ze3ko

Boiled eggs a before school staple here already - sadly he doesn’t really like porridge.
But I need a good lunchtime thing for between exams on days he has two exams/before afternoon exams. I’m not very good at flapjack, mine tends to go all crumbly (tastes nice but not great for packed lunches).
He wants rewarding with macarons but don’t think they would be at all good for energy levels!
Anyone got any ideas?

Well done to all who survived Art.

Also another mum who feels guilty DS I dropped off for every exam as had flexible work hours. Did breakfast poached eggs, scrambled eggs pancakes and the classic bacon and eggs now I start at 8am so leave 7.30 no time for cooked breakfasts for DD. DH just says they are old enough and capable to do own breakfast.
DD got her leavers hoodie today also email about study leave and more revision sessions.
DD NEA got picked to be moderated other child winged again and now has full marks DD said teacher was panicking he had marked to well even asked DD her opinion the other day 😱. Today he seemed happy DDs NEA was picked!

Has anyone found a good calander planner.
With two doing exams, clubs struggling to keep track. Got on phone and diary but prefer something I can see the whole month and cross out.

I just googled and found something I could print out.

Staple breakfast here is smoothie and bananas as child doesn’t really do breakfast

That's hard. Hopefully your DH will do a great job and so will her teachers. I'm supposed to be in London, Beijing and Warsaw but told work I'm not going anywhere until July. DS can't be relied upon to get to school on time for the exams, let alone the pre-exam hot tips sessions, and I'm better than DH (not his dad) at getting him up and out of the house. Guilt trips R Us at the moment!

It's DDs last day at school today - emotional!!! Gone by so fast.. Feels a moment ago we were buying uniform for Y7..

Eta - I think they can go into school to study for exams if they like, or stay at home. Think DD will do a bit of both

@EducaatingRita same for us too - rather bizarre that we’ve got to this point so fast

I am still, 11 days after I first asked, waiting to find out what is happening with my DS school and any study leave. They mentioned it on the letter about prom but haven't said a word since. 2 days ago the office (after the third email) said someone would get back to me.

First written exam for some kids is next Thursday. DS starts a week Monday. 🙄

Aww that's an emotional moment for you @EducaatingRita and @waitingquietly . I still cant believe how fast it has gone!

@Lemonthyme I wonder whether this is a grey area as in the schools want them in but legally they dont have to be so they dont say? Ours has been clear that there is no study leave and children "are expected to be in", but I'm not sure what would happen if your child didnt go in. Several of DDs friends have had a day off here or there, DD is going in and is grateful for the support from most teachers although a couple of them have been all over the place with revision. She was moaning about how "useless" her chemistry teacher is being arranging revision although I didnt get to the bottom of why it was bad. She wasnt impressed because 15min after her lesson the teacher came out and asked her if she was in year 10 😂 Overall she studies an awful lot after school, so being in school is a good thing for a different approach to revision. She would probably saturate at home.

@Lemonthyme I also wonder if they are not answering because they don't really want to commit. DS's school don't have study leave apart from they do if they think you would work better at home i.e very studious pupils who get annoyed with the other kids messing about or in fact if you are a naughty disruptive kid and they would rather keep you away from everyone else.

To be honest my son isn't bothered either way but I just want to know so we can make arrangements if we need to get him there outside of normal travelling hours. I share custody with my ex husband and on days he's with him, he gets the bus so he'll either need to be doing so on exam days or I might need to give him a lift if I'm working from home. (We live 3 miles apart and I contract so I have more flex.) It's for arrangements not for anything else and I've made it clear on my emails. I'm just getting nada in reply.

I've mailed again this morning, including the teacher it's now been forwarded to apparently. That makes it the fourth time I've asked. 🙄

That must be so frustrating @Lemonthyme We have been told attendance is compulsory so no study leave but I do wonder what they will be doing as time goes on. They've said there will be tailored study sessions around exams but in the final full week of exams, my dc only has 3 exams in the whole week and I doubt they will be doing, for example, a full day with a maths or physics teacher revising when they are the only exams left. Perhaps they mean they will be free to do their own revision in some lessons but as my dc struggles with attention at best of times I'm not sure revising in a room full of other kids will work well! I guess I'll see what happens...

I think @Caddycat might be right that attendance may not be compulsory at this point so some schools dance around the wording they use when describing what they want students to do. Our school have said compulsory but I get the impression a lot of children in previous years haven't gone in every day with no repercussions

That's the thing though @BeasKnee there's no wording. They've not said anything apart from a brief mention on the letter about the prom which I mostly discounted as that's my DS's idea of hell.

I am doing what is best for DD at this stage, I don’t think school is going to serve up repercussions for kids working from home, surely?