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.

without being too outing, I agree with all of this but my DS is disabled and so has a particular computer!

In other news however DS really liked French!

Realistically, how can it possibly be detected if a student used AI to pre-prepare an essay that they then adapt in an exam?

Yes, AI has specific 'tells' which aren't very helpful IMO in terms of developing your own writing voice (or indeed writing anything worth reading, I actually really hate AI content). Hopefully in this case the student has amended to make it their own voice.

I know quite a lot of teachers and they all consider AI use in terms of directly copying AI content plagiarism. It's ok to use for research and as a starting point but needs a lot of checking (as is often wrong) and heavy editing / paraphrasing to make it not awful and not plagiarism.

Most teachers I know use AI checkers too. I'd be surprised if these weren't also used in exams so as to avoid the memorising something AI has produced issue.

Mine too! He worked so hard for the speaking part (I'm an ex French teacher so could help him) but did zero revision for today. DD has RP this afternoon so will see how that's gone when I get home.

DS did a total of 10 minutes revision which was my reading out words he didn’t know in mock 2… after yesterday we just wanted him to think of French as a skill not a memorise everything test. I’m planning on doing the same pep talk on English Language tomorrow.

My son is terrible at creative writing so what we’ve done is I wrote 3 stories (I can write a story in 25 min) he chose the one he liked best and he’s memorised that story. So no AI but he’s playing to his strengths which is his memory (another STEM kid)

Paper 1 is creative writing (write a description/opening of a story), Paper 2 is transactional. So it’s creative writing tomorrow.

I was going to say the same as @MayasJamas - creative tomorrow

This was the advice from the "Lightub Hub" and DD did this for her mocks. Dd got a good mark too (i wouldnt necessarily recommend the platform as it wouldnt let me cancel for months after i requested to stop). The idea is to write that whatever the picture is brings you back to a memory and then write down your text.

sorry she's iGCSE (edexcel) - I mentioned it earlier but I should have specified. We have it the other way around.

The teacher said (and I have checked he is correct) that GCSEs aren’t AI checked as they are under exam conditions. She has tweaked the story and mixed bits from two stories that chatGPT wrote for her, but it is all AI generated originally, with her prompt to give her a grade 9 piece of writing. I’m not sure I’m a fan of AI generated writing either but it ticks all the boxes and tbh I’m not interested in her developing her own writing style and voice. She wants to be a vet and unless she wants to be James Herriot she won’t need to develop her creative writing!

@Onthesofawithmydog I agree with this approach. Do whatever you can to tick all the boxes on the marking scheme 👍 No exam will be checked for AI as it's done in exam conditions

Huge guilt here today , we have essential building work for 2 days - DH can work and I have managed ok too - DS2 says he can’t and will revise when they go at 3 . I think he just doesn’t like there being strangers in the garden . He tends to revise lunchtime onwards anyway . If he doesn’t get the grade he wants in tomorrow exam (which he’s never achieved ever ) I know who’s going to get the blame

Our living situation is currently even worse - long story but basically my daughter has to revise in public places like cafes etc as it's pretty much impossible to revise at home. I'm getting a lot of blame (and do feel a lot if guilt) but I told her that it's no excuse 😬

GCSE boards do check for memorised AI content. Exam conditions don't eradicate that. Best not to do that!

Memorising and regurgitating AI-generated essays or content in exam conditions is considered academic malpractice. Exam boards, such as AQA, use advanced detection methods and trained examiners to analyse writing style, vocabulary, and inconsistencies to identify memorised AI templates.

'If an examiner suspects that content has been heavily influenced or memorised from AI, the script is flagged for investigation. Under JCQ guidelines, confirmed cases of AI misuse or malpractice carry severe penalties, which can include:
A zero on the affected paper or assessment component.
Disqualification from the entire subject qualification.
Disqualification from taking any future GCSE or vocational qualifications'

I’ve been thinking about this today and discussed with DD.

She’s doing iGCSE’s although none of hers have coursework.

English is her weakest subject so I asked her if she would have preferred an exam board that had a coursework element. Her response was yes, as it would have made the exam period less stressful but she doubts it would make a difference to her grade as the grade boundaries are probably higher. So those who are amazing at English would still easily get a 9 and those that struggle would still be fighting for as good a grade as they can get.

This is interesting. We have used AI to mark papers or answer questions dd couldnt work out, always taking it with a pinch of salt, but surely remembering ai content isnt any different to recalling word for word your history textbook? Especially as no one knows the questuions beforehand?

Don't the people who do the marking get something like £2.50 per paper? Surely they're not going to doing an AI check on something that's handwritten.

I have to say though, if you are good at prompting, you can produce something that gets through an AI checker pretty easily now

Reddit telling me that RE - Judaism was a mean one. Waiting to hear from DS

Any feedback yet from Cambridge Geography? I'm waiting for DS as he was worried about this one.

Verdict from today - French - "so easy, looking like an 8" he cracks me up.

Judaism "alright - quite pleased we looked through the book last night" faint

DD and friends thought French listening was a bit harder than expected but she was relaxed about it.

I did think DD would generally be more stressed out than she is so it's going really well at the moment from that perspective. Time will tell.on the grades achieved...

The only stress in our house last night was one cat vomiting on the bed and the other weeing behind the TV!

Verdict from DS today was that French was pretty great (reading better than listening), RS he definitely ran out of time which compromised his longer answers but questions were fine. Both AQA.