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.

Just a small pencil case and 15cm ruler here too.
Drama apparently went ok, sociology didn’t but at least that’s the right way round for him. Had a bit of a meltdown over the fact he has another 2 on Tuesday today though :(. We have a chart we are ticking them all off on but not sure it was the right move as he can see them all and think it’s overwhelming him a bit.
Nothing on Monday here - what have other people got?

English lit on Monday then biology Tuesday.

We’ve got…(and I say “we” because this is definitely a team effort between dd and I!)

Monday - English lit
Tuesday - RE and biology
Thursday - maths
Friday - history

We have one of two awful weeks next week with 6 exams. English lit, religious studies, biology, geography, maths and history. In theory they also have lessons when not in an exam. There’s no study leave at DS school

Similar here
Monday English Lit
Tues Biology
Friday History & Latin

Also find out Art mark / grade - so that'll be interesting.. I agree with PP they shouldn't be getting them in midst of other exams.

Full week next week for DD with exam every day. Then every day Mon to Thurs the week after (with two on the Tuesday). So 13/22 will have been done by half term and just 9 after. It's going to be a busy couple of weeks.

Eng lit and business studies on Monday, then one every day for the rest of the week. It’s the first week of exams (apart from art) for my DC and feels a bit harsh having two on the first day.

Similar to others with 5 next week, Eng Lit, Biology, Maths, German and History.

DD got her marks back for the portfolio bit of art and got an 8 which is she is tentatively happy about. Tentative because lots of people got moderated down in her schools art course last year so she doesn't want to get too excited.

English Lit, Biology, Maths, History and Latin (last 2 on same day) next week.

He’s feeling more relaxed and happier today which is great after a couple of emotional days. Conscious there are likely to be ups and downs though.

5 next week for DS - 2 on the first day which I think he will find hard . His fav subject is the second one which sucks . I’m expecting the week to be a bumpy ride . I’ve spent a lot of time emotionally regulating him so far … it’s 100% different to the hands off approach with his brother … though I wish I’d found save my exams last year as I would have tried to help with his English lit too

Ah well done her, I hope it stays - they (the school) should've learnt from last year to be more accurate, fingers crossed for your DD. The process seems unnecessarily harsh, such a long drawn out method. Oh well. I read that only 5.1% of students got a 9 in Art last year. Ouch.

I was under the impression that the amount of kids that get 9 is pretty tiny ? I thought 5% was about the norm across all subjects .

Someone else though will probably know more

Could you just show a week at a time? And then the completed ones so its not so overwhelming?
Think I used to feel the same. So much to do and feeling like you aren't getting anywhere
Ds has 26 exams so working his way through the alphabet!

4 next week. First day with 2 on the same day.
No study leave
English lit, biology then maths and German on the same day. Although think then German is complete

Oo your comment motivated me to have a look. I found this interesting information - %'s of marks in each subject over a few years. Looks like Sciences and Languages are the 'easiest' to get higher marks. Obviously they're not easy but you know what I mean!

https://www.bstubbs.co.uk/gcse.htm

I always say 9s are like unicorns. I discourage kids from setting their hearts on a 9, especially for more subjectively marked subjects like English. A 7 is brilliant, an 8 is fabulous, a 9 depends on a sprinkle of magic on the day.

https://analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/GCSE/County/

this is eye opening - it shows the % based on County . Where we live is 9% … a few other Counties I looked at 3/4 % .. it’s not good really is it 🙁.. where I was born and bred 2%

How interesting, much lower numbers getting level 2 pass and top grades than I thought.

The amount getting a 3 and less in English is shocking. I say that as someone whose daughter might end up with a 3 if she has a bad day. 40% getting a mark that means they would have to retake! There's something massively going wrong with the way it's assessed (or possibly I guess the teaching) for that to be the case. I know for my DD, she is bright, articulate, writes with a lovely style but just cannot get enough marks to score well in English. I can't work out why not, and neither can her teachers / tutor but she just falls apart in the exam. I think she'd really benefit from extra time but the school would not pursue it. So sad that so many children aren't achieving a standard pass in a subject like that. Although does make me feel less guilty about it as everyone I know seems to have high flying children excelling in everything.

Is this language or literature?

I’d say a lot aren’t getting ver high in maths either. I’ve always thought there should be a ‘practical maths’ option

Eng Lang is difficult and depressing for less able students.
Some of the texts are long and old fashioned.
The timing on the paper is very tight.
The questions can be quite esoteric.
The extended writing on the fact paper can be hard if you have never thought about the topic before.
And to top it all the speaking and listening doesn't even count.

(My DD ended up doing Functional Skills - much more tangible.)

There must be something about the English Language paper. My DS has been getting high 7s in English Lit and struggling for 4s in English Language mocks. You would think this would be the other way round.

@36and3 "we" have the same timetable, minus RE: English lit, biology, maths and history.
I'm a little worried about history, dd seems fairly confident but im worried she doesnt know it as well as i think she needs to know it (dates especially). I dont want to knock the confidence. Anyone has some tips on how to do some general review everyrhing in a couple of hours? Or should i suggest some practice questions?
Today she's done a maths paper, some history revision by doing mind maps of her knowledge and studied model answers, then some english lit revision (making essay plans and revising quotes), and is now doing flashcards on biology. Pretty much non stop since 9.30 this morning... i suggested a movie, catching up on BGT or watching taskmasters but she wanted to do biology. She said the flashcards (possibly save my exams or seneca) are "fun" 🫤
@Littletreefrog I agree... DD thought she did well in her mock and got a 6... she was so upset.
I looked at these stats with DD as she was getting so wound up about the fact that she was unlikely to get a 9 in dance and drama and i wanted to show her not everybody gets 9s (it doesnt help all her friends do!). The grade the most given in maths is a 3. How sad that 40% of children dont pass. Equally, i see what DD does in the higher paper and i never did this at her age (didnt study here). The gap is huge and I'm not sure that's necessary or whether it would be better to have a middle of the road paper for all (the concept of foundation and higher was also a shock to me).

@Walkingbkwrm does your DC not take English lit? That's quite unusual IME.