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.

Just read Tissue. Wtf is that poem and why is it on the curriculum?! 🤯

Our school is very good but reality is that there is mini bus to collect DC that won’t get in for exams otherwise and a whole list of DC who get a call from teachers to check they are up and on their way in. Parents closely involved in revision with their Yr11 isn’t really a thing either. They are expected from yr7 to be independent & self organised etc. I’d love to help my Y11 revise but no one I know does that either. Hats off to all of you who know about the actual poems

@myladyjane whst about Hartbury university.
Can't believe how many are already looking at university. Does she do sport at a high level. Recently discovered that you can get slightly lower grades at a couple of unis.

@Funkylights I only had a quick read of one as I am terrible at English definitely would be no good at helping DD.

I just read Tissue too - what a load of drivel though lots of similes I guess :)

I'm extremely bloody minded! As are they... but not always in a good way 🤣

It's a decent strategy if you have missed lots of lessons, certainly.

Oh gosh I haven’t read any of the poems either but dd says her favourite is Tissue and has everything crossed it comes up, and says she will use it to compare some others… now I’m wondering if it’s the best choice given all your comments 😂🤦‍♀️

It is unlikely (IMHO) to actually come up as it is very challenging (in terms of its meaning etc, as PPs have noted 😂) and after all, this exam has to be accessible to grades 1 - 9, but it’s totally fine to use it as your choice for comparison. As long as the subject matter is relevant.

My DD seems to be the opposite here as hoping her favourite does not come up so that she is able to compare it !

Not long to go till we find out could be a long morning, so grateful work is manic !

Agree it’s unlikely to come up - but is a very ambiguous poem so is a good one to compare for a variety of questions. So those who love it are in a good position 😊

Good luck everyone today, another one who is very grateful that work is manic to distract me.

DD also has Computer Science this afternoon, she seems to have focused on English today but coding/programming seem to come very naturally to her so fingers crossed she’ll be ok.

My DD is doing love and romance for poems. This is one of her stronger subjects and she actually enjoys it, so after yesterday’s disaster I’m hoping for a confidence boost today!

Looking at the weather forecast looks like it’s going to be gorgeous half term week, which is a relief as currently pissing it down here!

A long morning for DD, she has 25% extra time and rest and movement breaks on top so she'll be in for over 3 hours. She's looking forward to it though, Eng Lit is her favourite subject and is one of her A level choices, so a lot is riding on today.

Exactly the same for us here!

Good luck everyone.

DD has a theory that they're reusing 2018 content. She had almost the exact same on Much Ado as the 2018 paper, and yesterday in Chemistry had the same question as a 2018 paper. So Ozy which she really doesn't want!

Very much looking forward to today being over. Longest exam will be ticked off as well as CS which DD wants to continue with and has worked really hard on after making a silly mistake last week in the first paper (accidentally missed a page). She'll have finished 3 by end of today so 6 more subjects to go...

Good luck to all with English Lit. May the exam gods give them the poem they have revised.

Neat writing, paragraphs, punctuation! The last few words I blurted at my son as I dropped him off in the rain for English Lit revision.

I couldn't help feeling emotional seeing all the nervous boys in tiny blazers crossing the road (they've all grown 3 inches in the last 6 months).
Their last few weeks at school. The end of an era.
God bless 'em.

My ds 3 years ago said it all went well for Eng Lit. We were talking about it and then I asked how was the unseen poetry? And he answered, what unseen poetry?? 🫣🫣 he missed out on 40 marks! He wasnt the only one in the class so not sure how prepared they were, think there was a 3 year break for unseem poetry due to covid and maybe they did those practice papers, I am not sure!

Eduqas English lit here so Inspector Calls, Jekyll & Hyde and unseen poetry. Son is nervous and doesn’t feel as prepared for this as he was for the others. Then a day off. And English lang and Latin on Thursday. By the end of this week he’ll have finished English Lit and Latin so that’s something.

Good luck to all.

@Tebheag it’s too close to home (same as Bath). Birmingham and Exeter are a bit close too but over the hour so acceptable. She really really wants to go away. Liverpool John Moores is piqued her interest. She is very sporty but doesn’t excel iyswim - just above county level in a couple of things. What she does love is coaching (she’s just qualified as a junior athletics coach) and the engineering of it. The only reason she’s looked at specific unis is the btec vs a level choice - she has places at 3 colleges and they all offer something different so she’s looking ahead.

i am cross with both of mine today. They have a great English teacher who offered a last minute session this morning to settle them. Neither of mine have been arsed to get out of bed (I left early for work, made sure they were awake).

Oh wow! The poor kids. I have no idea how many marks DD missed and don't want to know at this point to be honest. It will affect her grade but just hoping results day beings her the 6 she needs (the 8 she was predicted and hoped for is surely out now)

The good outcome is he still got a 5! In his mocks he got a 3 so its not like it was a strong subject of his either but he did really well in the other sections of the paper and paper 1

DS is hoping for something that he can compare with Ozy as he knows that one inside out. This is going to be a looonnnngggg wait

i hope they are all ok in their exam. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻