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.

I told this to my son yesterday after maths too

Medicine paper here too. It was good apparently

Edexcel medicine in Britain here too. Again happy. Just hope he wrote his conclusions carefully throughout.

chemistry, English literature and then next week not too bad…

Any general feedback on question themes in Medicine in Britain? DD was hoping for something on Medieval and Renaissance. No phone until later.

She’s exhausted, hopefully can have a lie in tomorrow then prep for Chemistry, English and French next week.

Florence Nightingale, Four Humour's, Miasma and a strong focus on the war is what I got from DD

Chemistry, lit, RE and lang next week.

Thanks, I think she’ll be happy with that.

My son chose the modern medicine question on Edexcel history

So AQA History - conflict and tension between east was Prague spring, iron curtain and buffer zone and cuban missile crisis and communism in Asia. Boom and bust was America opportunity and inequality, civil rights movement, prohibition, changes for women in the 1920s and Roosevelt’s election and hoovers response to the depression - DD said it was ok, timing was tight

History (medicine) was great according to DD, that’s all I’ve got so far. Leavers Mass, shirt signing then home for the most longed for weekend in a while and then we go again with another 6 next week.

Big well done to everyone’s DCs on getting through this first week.

@Stowickthevast We are in London too but luckily DD can get Bus or Tube, DD1 and DH are both hoping it will be called off, DD1 is in a fairly new job so tried to get in last time and it was a bloody nightmare.

Not sport but ds is a musician, 3x practice sessions a week + 2 gigs this weekend. He also goes to the gym twice a week after school. His school have got them in full time too, no study leave. He seems fine atm but half term will be a blessing though.

That was DS's as well. he said it was 'okay' but also could not finish it in the time. He ignored the 8 marker and tried to get something down for the 12 marker but ran out of time.

He was hoping for an 8, but said he'll be happy with a 6-7 now.

@Sorrento2014 the 12 marker was Industrial and the 16 marker was a choice between medieval or modern apparently.

@UncomfortableSilence DD can get a bus too but the roads get really busy on strike days which makes me nervous - the bus goes along the north circular. She usually gets tube/Overland.

Thanks for that info!
So you know if they have to answer on all those topics or can they choose?

My DD had a complete ‘crash out’ (as Gen Z say) last night. Kept getting flash cards wrong that she was getting right in mocks, up till midnight, looking for books she couldn’t find, up at 6am cramming again. Basically the absolute opposite of what you’d want the night before.

it’s been a brutal week and she’s exhausted and overwrought - as am I 🫩

just joining this thread - hi everyone. we're in Wales with WJEC exams underway for 2xDS on GCSE and AS-Levels. am exhausted and we've barely scratched the surface.... school finishes next friday for half term and then study leave. hope everyone is doing ok!

We’ve had this too. It’s brutal, isn’t it?

I had my number 1 (GCSE child) when I was young & spritely, and in my wisdom ending up with a 3rd in my late 30’s - she’s 2.5, so i’m trying to potty train her and cope with these GCSE’s 🫠 Poor child number 2 has been neglected lately!

Regarding these newer grade equivalents, why did they change them? I can’t fathom how 7 and 8 can both be an A? Is a 6 a B and does both 4 & 5 equate to C?

Aqa history here , Germany and conflict in Asia , very happy with the questions so that’s a relief. Happy weekend all

My daughter is telling me she will need 110% in her Paper 2s given how Paper 1s have gone so far 🤣

I think it is more like 9 is A**
8 is A*
7 is A
6 is high B
5 is low B, high C
4 is low C

That's been our working hypothesis anyway. I don't think the 9 grade was a thing when I did exams, it was introduced to distinguish those exceptional candidates. Which makes me boggle when MN kids get all 9s. In one or two best subjects maybe, but all?

Someone posted a link on our last thread to a database showing actually what % of candidates got each grade each year, going back decades to when it was A* being the top grade.

I didn’t go through it forensically but what I will say is that from my (albeit quick) observations, approximately 2.5% of candidates used to get A* back in the day. Nowadays, the amount of candidates getting a grade 9 is actually higher.

So I’m basically thinking now that a grade 9 is broadly equivalent to what was an A. Not some kind of crazy A* standard, which was what I’d always thought the grade 9 to be.

I know one kid in real life who got all 9s last year. Not my kid unfortunately 😂

Ugh, help, that bit in bold is not meant to be in bold it’s meant to say A * * (an A with two stars!)

A much better end to the week thankfully. History was better than expected and although ran out of time, the questions were fine (aqa Germany & Cold war). It's been a topsy turvy week with the expected bad ones going well and the expected good ones going very badly. The weekend now though so very happy it's ended on more of a positive than the past couple of days. I hope that's the same for all of you.

Another 5 next week...

This made me giggle 🤣 Wishing her lots of luck! And I bet she does way better than she thinks. They can be their own worst enemy.

Re - Grade equivalents… I just think it’s all a bit confusing.

I reckon she’ll hit a 4 if luck is on her side in the subjects she loathes - Chemistry and Physics. Possibly a 5 in Biology, History, RE and Maths. Non of those are her favourite subjects and she hasn’t prioritised them.

We’re looking at 7/8’s in English Lang and Lit, Drama and Sociology, so a real broad spectrum for my DD

Then again we could get a terrible shock on results day, or a very pleasant surprise 🤣 We shall see!

This sounds like DD. Predicted every mark from 3-9 across all subjects! Very much highs and lows that could go either way. They don't make it easy for us do they?