Y11 2025-26 Exams have started - chat, support & drink of choice if needed here.

[UncomfortableSilence]

New thread for all of us with lovely Y11s to support them and us through the coming weeks.

First double exam day for DS today but the second one is Sports Science which isn't a GCSE maybe a Cambridge Technical (is that a thing).

Yes agree , I feel so much calmer and more relaxed this week - I was an emotional wreck this time last week 😂
5 exams for DS this week , bio, Eng lit, Eng lang, business stud and PE . Roll on Friday afternoon and good luck to all x

@beasmithwentworth my ds also uses pmt education. It surprised me to with the name and I presume he has been recommended it by school rather than finding it by chance when I was a moody cow last week 😂
Good luck all this week
3 this week then half term and study leave. Can't quite believe its the last week of actual school!

Is anyone or has anyone ever gone through the process of getting a re mark after Art raw scores. We were given the process alongside the results and dd has emailed and asked for mark scheme etc..

I am happy that our school have a timetable called pre teach, so after today's Chemistry exam all afternoon they will be doing Eng Lit. LN Wednesday she will go in all day for English Language. My ds only went in for exams and not much went on at home!.

Our son (London comprehensive) has been on study leave since before his first exam although I believe some pupils are asked to come in for revision, dependant on whether they are likely to be productive at home or benefit from extra support. I think our younger son will be likely to benefit from that.

I do find it odd that some schools have year 11s still going in for usual lessons.

That sounds great. Our school has some changes to the timetable but it’s usually only to allow for revision before an afternoon exam. I desperately wish they were just doing English this afternoon.

It might not be the same at every school but at DS's school whilst it looks like they are going in for usual lessons and the timetable still reflects that the truth is the lessons are just revision sessions and if that subject is finished they will be allowed to revise for something else.

They also have booster sessions prior to exams so the morning lessons are replaced by English Lit booster for English Lit exam in the afternoon etc.

It has been proven to work very well for a lot of students, I know most schools will still consider study leave for certain students even when staying in school is the norm.

DD still has very packed days at school, all day, every day. Starts at 7.30 on days with morning exams for pre exam boosters. Extra boosters replacing lessons throughout the day for exams in afternoon or the following morning. And normal lessons when not in boosters. There are also optional after school sessions but she hasn't been going to these now exams have started as it's all a bit much.

Friday will be the first day without an exam for her and it's a normal timetabled day. They've said it's full time compulsory school until end of exams but after the first week of exams after half term they become very spaced out for her (only 3 exams in second week after) so I can't imagine her wanting to be in constantly then.

Yep DS is in school every day from 8am with revision lessons between exams. They even had them in on Saturday for extra English!

I think it's great though because I'm at work so can't be there to moan at him to revise and I know he is prepped for the next day.

All my zen-ness has disappeared though this morning and now I'm worried about chemistry

The booster sessions sound useful. Our son’s school doesn’t do those and I didn’t know they were a thing until I joined this thread.

Oh, would love to know this. In our school the raw marks looks very sus, i.e. teachers basically gave the same mark for exam and sketchbook to pretty much everyone, so looks very lazy and not like they put a lot of thought into the mark scheme. A girl in my daughter's class produced an absolutely AMAZING painting in the exam - it was clearly the best in the class, yet her Y10 sketchbook was about mid-range. She literally got the same raw marks for the Y10 sketchbook as she did for the exam, which doesn't seem right and looks very pre-determined.

Bloody hell we've just had an email that they are in school again this Saturday and on Tuesday of half term! These teachers are saints

Mine uses PMT also. He always giggles at the name. (Typical teenager boy!).

Mine went off relatively happy today- he's staying at school today to revise and seems happier about that too.

I couldn’t agree more. We had a Chemistry teacher on here comment ‘Don’t take it unless you need it’.

How did you see the exam painting?? We're not even allowed to see our DD's work for the exam. No photos allowed either. Won't see it til August :(

Afaik no one at our school has challenged the internal scores (but I guess they wouldn't shout about it if they were doing so). From what I can gather (in the scraps of intel I pick up), the teachers marks were fair. DD has a friend at another school where most got quite high scores, which seem disproportionate.

I think if a DC wants to challenge the raw marks - they need to say what they think they should be, and justify why, with balanced detailed reasoning.

Those of you that don’t have study leave and still have normal lessons, can I ask what they are doing? Let say they’ve finished English lit and language, what do they do in their timetabled English classes?? They’ve obviously completed the year 11 syllabus and even sat the exams!

I think it’s so tough for those who don’t have study leave. DD has really benefitted from being able to have lie-ins some days or being able to just come home and decompress after a tough exam.

I agree that study leave is a good thing. I think coming into school for extra revision should be optional. Many kids revise better at home with fewer distractions.

English lessons will change to focus on English Language instead of Lit. Their last language exam isn't until end of week after half term so not a problem until the week after that. That's when I think our school will probably change to say coming in is optional. DD has already finished one subject but those lessons happen to mostly have been when booster sessions have been timetabled, so far only had one 'free' period - she took some of her own revision in to do in her art classroom. I actually don't think having an hour with friends to chill a bit at school would be a bad idea even if she hasn't taken revision in. I think the school are planning to give out structured revision for the free periods soon.

But yeah, I agree it will get harder as more subjects get ticked off for the school to keep saying no study leave. I think they are taking the compulsory line at moment to encourage as many as possible to take part in the booster sessions. And make sure they arrive for the exams on time - much easier if they are already in school!

@EducaatingRita we had a exhibition that showed each final piece for each section - exam and the 2 projects . It was really nice to see the work that they had all produced and how different they all were.

There's a separate thread about raw Art marks @XelaM. Sounds like your school had really had some issues with coursework, not very satisfying!

The jump from AQA gcse chemistry to A Level chemistry is particularly tough as I understand.

I did Chemistry A Level after getting A* GCSE back in the day and it was a shocker. We did modular A Levels and I failed my first module. I had never failed a chemistry test in my life! I was beyond upset.

I did pull it back and ended up doing a Chemistry degree but I have warned DD who is also planing on doing Chemistry A Level that next year will be humbling even though she is predicted a 9 at GCSE.

Yes I have mixed feelings about study leave. DS at a London comprehensive and they don’t do study leave. It’s quite intense Ie after finishing History on Friday he had 4 hours of Chemistry. You could argue that he should / could be doing that at home anyway but at least they are at home.
On balance I think I am glad he doesn’t have it as he’s not the most diligent of revisers and likes a lie in! That said if he said he didn’t want to go in for any particular day I’d let him stay home even if it is unauthorised absence.

Chemistry this morning! I dropped DS off as he was running late and shouted at him, "It's chemistry! Act like a proton and be positive!" He did NOT appreciate it.

Dies anyone know whether the jump to A Levels for Biology and Physics is as big as for Chemistry? They are two of DDs potential choices. She's predicted 89 in combined science. She doesn't want to do Maths which is encouraged but not mandatory with Physics at her school (likely a 7 in Maths so she could take it but she thinks she might struggle to keep up and she's not all that enthusiastic about it)