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.

It's all just so intense.

I was not brought up in the UK- but what was it like 'in days of yore?'. I had nine subjects and did 9 exams over 2 weeks but in the final year of school which was the equivalent of Year 13. This pressure at such a comparatively young age is outside of my realm of experience.

I remember a pretty intense period of exams probably over 2/3 weeks and I'm sure we did 2 exams per day, if not 3! That was in around 1996

School have announced a compulsory English revision lesson on Saturday, DS really needs to concentrate on Chemistry ready for Monday but it is what it is.

I did O levels in the 1980s. I did Maths a year early and my remaining 10 subjects in Y11. The main differences from then to now are that the exam period was shorter (fewer gaps, we just had exams pretty much every morning and afternoon) and the exams themselves were longer. Now with lots of students having extra time they have had to break the exams up so that there are more short exams which can reasonably be lengthened for those with extra time. There are also more gaps built in so that if a student gets a short-term illness they don’t miss loads of exams.

From what I can remember we did a lot more subjects and there was no options for Btecs which are usually less exam heavy. Also the exams were longer.

We were sent out on study leave before the Easter holidays and basically never heard from the school or teachers again. There was definitely no before or after school revision sessions or sessions you could attend during study leave.

I think it seems more intense now because the school stay very involved so there is a lot to juggle between staying in lessons, extra revision sessions and exams.

I've just read the thread on english lit on the education board and now I'm quietly panicking. DD volunteered that she found this "great guy" on youtube on sunday and used that in the essay. Days and days of revising and she followed the advice of some random youtube guy. I was panicking internally but followed your wise advice, didnt question more than she volunteered and said well done enthusiastically... 😰

DD had a power nap, then did some biology revision and a past paper. I marked it and it was a comfortable 9, which helped her go to sleep better. She got a 6 in the first mock and an 8 in the second (just though), she needs a 6 for A levels.

@3GoldenLamps I didnt grow up here either, and did something similar to you. At 14/15 we had another exam, just basic language, maths and history/geography. The level was accessible to all and pretty easy. Half of the mark was your school grades of the past 2 years. My nephew is doing it at the moment and the comparison from my family is annoying me so much, it is not comparable in the slightest. My sister even sugfested GCSEs were easier because there are so many exams so everything is tested so there is no risk of failing because of 1 bad question... 🙄

@Callmejudith I also woke up from a dream that I had to do a biology exam and was really confused as I'd given it up and had no idea what an enzyme was!

I did GCSEs in the early 90s. 9 subjects but at that time most had 50% coursework so there were far fewer exams. I think I was only the second or third year to take them after the old O levels were phased out. And the whole point of the new system was that they weren't so exam based and there was constant evaluation through coursework...

Sadly Gove chucked that model out the window!

Yeah, I did GCSEs mid 90s and although I remember having quite a few exams, there was also lots of coursework so things weren't so dependant on a few good hours in an exam hall. I'm pretty sure we could also take our (annotated!) texts in for the English Lit exams so didn't have to memorise any quotes at all!

Yes, that sounds very similar to me. I'm from Australia. But also in my 50s.

GCSEs are easier because of more exams? Interesting take!! I have to say, from my point of view this is just exceptionally rigorous.

I have Australian family members who unilaterally decided to land on us mid exam period. There was no discussion, just a self-invite but I HAVE managed to direct them to a BnB rather than staying with us (not least because we only have a sofa bed). Wheh I said 'not a good time, GCSEs' their response was 'Oh, it's not that important when they are 16. Ds would surely welcome some time away from study and showing us his favourite places in the area'. That got firmly stomped on also and thankfully my parents in Australia also made it very clear that this was a whole different kettle of fish to 'Year 11 exams' at home.

Ds is revising well- he's currently giving me an answer to a jokey practice question about if his cat goes through photosynthesis.

Good luck to everyone today.

@Caddycat try not to worry - there are some fantastic YouTubers .. Mr Salles and Mrs Rumsey are the two that spring to mind … Mr Salles turned my stem heavy DS1 into a 7 for language and only a couple of marks off a 6 in lit . I’ve listened to Mrs Rumsey with DS2.

Im also in the early GCSEs group where there was plenty of coursework , less subjects , longer exams and study leave from Easter

@Funkylights
yes my son has history Friday too. Bloody history!!! Will be nice to have one of the 4 massive topics done but it’s so much!!!

@BeasKnee yes you're right we all had our books with us with tons of highlighter and notes in. DS didn't believe me.

I’m glad you’ve said that because I also remember taking my eng lit book in fully highlighted and annotated but DD didn’t believe me and I started doubting myself!

Tbf tho (and I took O levels in the 1980s so it was different) if you took in a highlighted and annotated text, the expectations of what level of work you would produce would be that much higher, surely.

Did those of you who did this all get massively high marks? probably not bc the GBs and the MS would reflect that you had access to the text.

In the same way with the current closed-book exams, yes knowledge of the text is important of course, but not in the sense of reeling off a paragraph of memorised quote. No one is looking for anything super amazing produced in a closed-book exam in 45 mins. A mark of 30/30 is more than possible, even with those constraints, and without anyone writing War and Peace. Or using 25 quotes.

Thanks. I have read negative comments from teachers saying they get quotes wrong and then all the kids write the same stuff... It was a funny name, I googled and think it might have been Mr Everything English, but not 100% sure. I wont be asking but after the hours of studying, the summaries, flashcards, draft plans... i didnt expect her to rely on the last min video she watched right before bed.

Feeling like a long day today.
DD has her worst subjects RE and Biology she used to get 9s in RE till she started it for GCSEs and Biology she has never liked.
Anyone heard from their kids?

Just heard from DD who is just out of her biology revision session. They did a predicted paper and it was hard and she's in a panic. Her friends all want to do medicine so they are all very scientifically minded and "making her feel dumb". I suggested getting some fresh air and stepping away for a bit. She's not scientifically minded, but she's worked incredibly hard.
I usually think the day isnt long enough but now it really drag. I cant concentrate on anything that needs doing.

@Caddycat all those hours of studying WILL have paid off, they really will. I don’t think the YouTubers do harm, apart from when they act like they definitely know what the Lit questions are going to be (they don’t!), and so kids don’t revise anything else. When it comes to exam technique, tho, most are teachers and can be useful resources. I recommend Mr Bruff and Mr to my students (and dd), for example. But it would be impossible to base your entire Lit answer on a YouTube video - your dd will have brought in all her fabulous ideas and knowledge much more than anything a YouTuber told her. It’s more likely she just picked up a tip or two.

Any news on AQA RS? I usually get a text from DD post exams but radio silence. I did tell her paper/s out of your head onto next one. So won’t be texting or quizzing her. Just wanted a heads up if anyone had heard from their DD or DS to read the room before she gets home so can support best. Biology this afternoon. Long day with three papers and extra time. And expected in school on non exam days/periods. 🤯 Really feel for them all and yes absolutely remember taking English lit books marked up during A-levels at least. I did 10 GCSEs too but did not have 24 exams! I hope everyone is faring up ok, kids and parents.

@Caddycat your poor DD that's awful of her friends. Hope she gets a break from them.
DD has a classmate like that says paper was easy DD says it was hard and she normally scores higher than her classmate.

Agree with this. As an ex teacher I always taught flex. What do you know, how can you apply it to the question and what they are asking. Avoiding the situation of - that’s not the question I thought or wanted etc….SM telling kids this is what they predict is going to come up is not helpful.

@Caddycat your poor DD that's awful of her friends. Hope she gets a break from them.
DD has a classmate like that says paper was easy DD says it was hard and she normally scores higher than her classmate.

@littleredpianoDD said it went well and nothing unexpected came up. Didn’t get too much from her but like you said they are onto Biology now.

Thank you. Good to know!

You can usually get an idea of the exam content straight afterwards on the gcse Reddit thread. It seems like a race to get on there and post a comment or meme about something that came up!

DD said it was “fine”, make of that what you will. I couldn’t get any more out of her as she was busy cramming for Bio.