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.

Hi @Haribosweets . That’s really early for a written exam - before our board’s exam season even starts! Is his revision for it doing ok?
Anyone else got any really early written ones?
Here DS 1 seems to think his Drama performance went well, which is great as the written paper is his weakness but at least he’s hopefully going into it in a good place.
Thanks for the paracetamol tip on the brace @wonderstuff , I will have some on hand.

English lit on 11th is our first written one… Spanish speaking tomorrow!

Thanks, it is 2 hours too! And he has extra time so if he takes the extra time it will be 2.5 hours finishing at 4pm! He is autistic so revision isn't his strongest point. He hasn't done any revision at all for any subject. He is going to specialist from September so can repeat Maths and English if needed then.

Apparently we are not revising today really as it’s Sunday. I’m taking deep breaths

German on 28th April here - then over a week to next exam

I have been asked to help DD with physics today....send help (yes I have got the A level but it was many cough 30 cough years ago).

DS's first written exams are on 11th May too: English Literature in the morning and Business Studies in the afternoon.

After sending him to an experienced, expensive PE tutor, the tutor tells me that DS knows all the content but just couldn't be bothered to write it down during his mocks (he got a 3 and a 4) 🤦‍♀️ Apparently his hand hurt so he had a nap instead. DS says of course he won't do that during the real exams. Anyone looking for me can find me in the rocking and crying corner.

Joining! French speaking next Friday, can’t believe we’re actually here!

Just trying to stay positive and remind my DD (and myself) that she has done the hard slog and lots of revision up to this point so she is in a good position. Though I did have a minor nag at her this morning after she had a good couple of hours of doom scrolling, happy for her to have a break but not just staring at a screen!

Anyone else just feel like they just want them to start? I’m so over the revision period and most importantly so is my DD!

@applecrumblespider science is my DDs weakest subject so I’ve been ‘helping’ lots. I joke at work that I could now resist my GCSE science and get a better mark 🤣

Definitely very much over the revision period here. I think once the exams actually get started the students can get into a bit of a rhythm with it all, and the stress of waiting is over - and more importantly every exam is one more ticked off the list!

German for DS on 28 April too and then next exam on 6th May. And the DT NEA is finally in 🎉

Good luck to everyone with any exams this week.

I am very keen for exams not to start. My DS is a crammer and also gets very tired. There is still so much content he hasn’t looked at again since the last mocks, however they were March! We are concentrating on older material. We help quite a lot but there is Soooo much material!

My DS is doing so little in comparison to his brother last year . I am worried . I have been helping with English Literature which is his second exam on the 11th - there is so much to do and so little being done . He tells me he’s done 60% of his fav subject and 20% of combined science . I’m glad to hear I’m not the only mum rocking in the corner @NotDarkGothicMama

Dd has been going hard on the Spanish speaking (thank god it’ll be over tomorrow!) and then her favourite/best subjects: she loves English lit and history so that hasn’t been too much of a chore. Physics/ chemistry and maths however…

I’ve tried to write out crib sheets for the poems. Trying to condense it all into 8 sheets (2 poems per sheet to compare) for my son to revise from. He wouldn’t do it himself but hopefully it’ll be better than no one doing anything! So much content for English lit

@applecrumblespider goodluck with the physics
@NotDarkGothicMama oh no I hope you don't have to continue paying the expensive tutor.

DD is back to school tomorrow. She has French speaking on the 30th, then history on the 7th and drama on the 8th.

My DS has had two sets of good mock results (they did two rounds of it for some reason) and has finished all of the courses so all he's doing in lessons is revision yet I remember doing so much more work than he is at home. I know what he's like though. If I force him, he'll not do any more, if anything less. So I'm trying not to be like my parents (who were pretty abusive about academic stuff but that's a different story) and realise that I can offer suggestions but I cannot do it for him.

3D design (which he hates as they changed the course, so we've both accepted is just aiming to get a 6 at best) is the first assessed thing but that seems pretty low key then it's not till mid May that his exams "proper" start.

Morning!

DS1 has had his French speaking and I think he has a drama exam next.

He's working very hard so i am worried about burnout (autism and anxiety).

Well after DS's mental health breakdown (and a psychiatrist telling us that he is most likely autistic and we have just not been aware of it for the last 16 years) we haven't done any nagging on the revision front over the Easter holidays.

Back to school today and whilst obviously his health and happiness comes first I know he will be very unhappy if this all derails the hard work he has put in so far so I think we need to find some sort of balance but what that looks like I have no idea.

I have no idea how to find balance either. He won't listen to us just panics.

That was me as a child too.

I'm trying to shut my own panicking mind up and accept that even if he doesn't do what he's capable of (he could get all 9s if he really tried, he's dead clever) that doesn't actually matter. Perfection isn't the aim. A well rounded and happy child is.

DS won’t talk to me in any detail about what he’s doing revision wise. His teachers all tell me he’s working really hard but that mock results didn’t reflect his true potential, particularly in maths (he wants to do A level next year). He also tells me he’s working and will reel off the list of subjects he has planned each day/ has worked through. He’s only started going through puberty in the last six months or so and he’s gone from being fairly chatty to quite challenging to get info at all from. Hoping for the best!

DD has speaking Spanish on Monday next week. She's so stressed about it. She's done fine in the mocks, but it is a nerve racking exam.

Oh bless her. Please tell her from me (genuinely! I know she doesn’t know me but I know about this) that her teacher wants her to do well and will do all they can to facilitate that (asking questions they can see she can cope with). Really, students do worry about this but IME (pretty considerable) they do much better than they fear. Always.

They also catastrophise one wrong answer but really that’s at most a mark or two.

I am sure she will be fine. All the best to her and anyone sitting speaking exams in the next few weeks.

Awww thank you @clary that's very kind. I think we are at the point that it all need to start because the stress is mounting so much. Stress has always got the best of her and it's so hard to help them. No amount of reassurance seem to help.